Ezine advertising it like having a crystal ball to targeted customers.
Ok before we get into what is ezine advertising, let’s answer the question…
What Is An Ezine?
Ezine is short for Electronic Magazine and it is a newsletter sent out by email to a list of subscribers.
Ok next question..
Why Is Ezine Advertising So Effective?
Simple…
With ezine advertising you’ll already know ahead of time before you spend one single dime exactly who and where your target market is.
There are thousands and thousands of ezine’s and each one of those ezine’s cover just as many topics. And it cost’s a lot less to advertise in an ezine then many people think.
I have spent as little as $25 for an ad to go out to over 80,000 targeted subscribers.
“If you’re going to spend money to drive TARGETED traffic to your web site Ezine Advertising is the most cost effective way of doing that”
For example let’s say your target market is people interested in dog products. Pick any interest for that matter. People, who want to start their own business, weight loss, self improvement…
ANYTHING!!
Each ezine will have a different size readership ranging from a few hundred to a MILLION or more subscribers.
Let’s pause for a moment…
Close your eyes and I want you to imagine having your ad seen by as many as a MILLION targeted potential customers.
How Do You Think That Would Impact Your Affiliate Business?
Yep that was a rhetorical question.
Ok let’s get into this ezine advertising thing.
Now before you can place an ad, and you have several ad options to choose from (more on that in a minute). You need to find an ezine to advertise in.
Finding The Right Ezine To Advertise In
Finding the right ezine to advertise in does take a little work, but it is well worth it. You can find the ezine’s you wish to advertise in by simply doing a search in Google.
Let’s say you’re looking for ezines about dogs. Simply type in “ezines about dogs” or “dog ezines” into Google.
Once you have gathered a list of possible ezines from your search results. You now need to go to each site and review each ezine. But wait there are several step you must do before you spend one dime on advertising.
You don’t want to don’t advertise in an ezine just because the ezine looks pretty. Don’t laugh many people do and they’re throwing their money away by advertising in useless ezines.
Here’s a few other resources: simply copy the link and paste it into your browser.
- http://www.ezine-dir.com
- https://directoryofezines.com
- http://www.ezinefinder.com
Before You Spend Money – You Must…
Subscribe
You need to subscribe to the ezine’s you’re thinking of advertising in before you spend one penny on advertising.
See what the layout (design) of the ezine looks like. A lousy layout can be a waste of money. If you’re not using solo ads you don’t want it hard for people to see your ad no matter where it goes.
Tip: In many ezines you can access the ezines archives for past issues; take a look at those issues to get a feel for the ezine.
Check The Quality
Look for the quality of the ezine. Does it provide good and valuable information to its subscribers? How well is it written?
You certainly don’t want to advertise in an ezine where the content is lousy. Remember the ezine you advertise in is a reflection on you and your product and/or service your promoting.
Simply put; would it be an ezine you would subscribe to and read? If not find another ezine.
Check For Testimonials
Try to find testimonials from people who have advertised in the ezine. If you can’t find any ask the publisher for some.
If the publisher does not want to give you any, you can take this either way. It could be a red flag or she/he is could be protecting her customers information, which is understandable.
You will find most publishers have no problem giving you references. Just make sure to include this in your decision to advertise, but take it with a grain of salt. You can be sure you will only see the best testimonials – but they are worth seeing.
Get More Info
Once you think you have found the ezines you want to advertise in you need to contact the publisher of each ezine to get more information. Most but not all ezines post their rates. If there are no rates posted simply contact the publisher for a rate sheet.
Below are the questions you want answered on the rate sheet. If these questions are not answered on the rate sheet simply contact the publisher and get the answers.
* Do they offer discounts if you advertise more then once?
* Do they accept free articles? (Maybe you do article marketing, I have found after advertising with an ezine my articles get priority for publication)
* What are the ad guidelines? Ad size etc.
* What is their publishing schedule? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly
* What payments do they accept?
* What is the ad deadline? How far out do you need to place your ad?
* What is the subscriber size?
* What is the reader demographic?
* How long has the publisher had her/his ezine?
Ok now that you’ve found your ezine to advertise in. What type of ad are you going to use? Well you have several to choose from, and they are as follows:
Ezine Ad Choices
Solo Ad
When I do ezine advertising solo ads are the one’s I use exclusively, and here’s why:
A solo ad is the only ad that goes out to that ezine’s membership, nothing else is sent. Which means instead of the ezine going out your ad is the only thing that goes out, so you’re exclusive.
The ad is actually a short sales letter, which is perfect because it gives you the opportunity to explain your offer and it’s benefits.
The next 3 following ads options are found within the ezine when it is sent to the publishers subscribers.
Top Sponsor Ad
Top sponsored ads are found at the beginning of the ezine. This is the best of the three other options other than a solo ad because it is at the beginning of the ezine article and can be seen by everyone.
Middle sponsor Ad
Middle sponsor ads are found in the middle of the ezine. Some ezines still offer these, and you will find them used as a break between the ezines articles.
Bottom Sponsor Ad
And a bottom sponsored ad is found (you guessed it) at the bottom or end of the ezine. In my opinion not the best money to spend on an ad, the chances of your ad being seen are more remote.
Each one of these ad placements will cost differently according to the ezine you decide to advertise in. Solos ads cost the most and as you move down the advertising options the prices go down.
Now that you know your options about ezine advertising it’s just a mater of choosing which ad option works best for you.
But before you do any ezine advertising let me share with you a ezine advertising check list, then I’ll get into how to write your ezine ad.
Know Yourself
What do I mean by this?
It means know your budget and stick to it. Know your target audience. Know the time table you have for your advertising. And know your ability to write an effective ad.
Your target audience is pretty easy to figure out. If you’re selling fishing gear placing your ad in a gardening ezine is probably not the smartest move.
Regarding time tables; each ezine will publish their ezine on a different schedule. It could be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
It could also take several weeks before your ad appears in your chosen ezine so be prepared for that. I have had to wait as much as six weeks before I could have my ad appear in an ezine. But it was worth the wait.
Writing an effective ad, just takes practice, believe me when I first started writing ads it was; well let’s say a small train wreck. But hey, with practice I got better and better. And even to this day I am still learning, and so will you.
So if you’re just starting out don’t panic you’ll be just fine.
Start Out Small
By small I mean ezine’s that are under 20,000 readers. The cost is less and you can advertise in more then one ezine at a time and not be over budget.
Most people I have spoken to have a budget of $100 to $200 per month. Some people have less and of course some people have more, but on average it’s this amount. Either way this is plenty of money to start a very effective advertising campaign.
Side note: Yes some ezine’s with a higher readership can be cost effective, but if you’re just starting out stick to ezine’s fewer than 20,000 and get your advertising legs under you first.
Remember you need to walk before you can run.
Count The Costs
The one thing that can put you in the poor house and have no results to boot is not paying attention to your advertising cost.
Advertising costs are done per thousand so you need to do a cost per thousand for your advertising.
And you do this by dividing the ad cost by the number of subscribers. This will give you the dollar amount per thousand readers.
Ad Cost ÷ Subscribers = Cost Per Thousand Readers
I try to keep my cost per thousand below $8 and I try to shoot for $4 to $6 per thousand. Try to only spend 25% of your total ad budget on one ad source. So if your ad budget is $100 per month, you should only spend $25 per ad, putting you in 4 different ezines.
Never spend your entire ads budget on one ad – you need to have your ad in more than one ezine to test how effective your ad is.
Take Action
This one is simple Start Placing Ads NOW!!!
I know doing something new can be scary, but it is also exciting as well. So jump in with both feet, you’ll be fine and the water is warm to boot.
Writing Your Ad
Let’s be real honest, I am not going to try to fool you by telling you ad writing is easy. Writing an effective ad takes skill, but it is a skill you can easily learn.
There are two different types of ads you can write.
The first is your typical ad. You’ve seen these all over the place; it’s where you have 5 to 7 words to write the headline and about 4 to 6 sentences to write the ad. All ezines are different and they will give you their ad guidelines, but this is about average.
Or a Solo Ad…
With a solo ad you have the opportunity to create a sales letter, and they can be as long as 750 words. Some ezine publishes will let you go longer. Personally I try to keep it around 300 words or so.
For the typical ad I will give you a great little trick for getting ideas for writing your ad. Simply go to Google and type in the search phrase you would use to find the product or service your advertising.
Let’s use a very generic search “Dog Training”
Here is a snap shot of that search on Google, look to the right of the page:
All these ads that pop up on the right side page of Google are paid ads or sponsored ads, and they cost money. And depending on the niche market they can cost a lot of money. So you know these ads are working.
You can use these ads to give you inspiration and direction. When I first started advertising I needed inspiration so I found ads I liked and changed them to suit my advertising.
Never and I mean NEVER out right take an ad and used it.
When you are creating your ad keep this one thing in mind. “What is the goal of your ad”?
Know exactly what you want your ad copy to accomplish. It could be to qualify prospects, make sales, generate leads, attract web traffic, etc.
You are NOT and I repeat NOT trying to sell people within your ad, you simple don’t have the time or space so don’t try.
All you want people to do is take action “Click On Your Ad”
Wherever that ad sends them, let that page do the selling.
Solo Ads
Solo ads are completely different from a regular ad, as I mentioned earlier a solo ad is sent out to the ezines subscriber base all on its own. There are no other ads and it is not placed within the ezine.
This is absolutely the best form of ezine advertising. When you write your solo ad you need to first create a subject line. Since your ad is going out as a solo your subject line is one of the most important elements of your ad, its’ the first thing people will see.
This is going to determine if the subscribers will read your ad or not. So take your time and put some serious thought into your subject line.
Don’t make your subject line to long and make it to the point. You can include the subscribers name if you want, I have had success with and without using it. But I do prefer to use it.
Simply ask the ezine publisher for the code used to insert the subscribers name and include it in your subject line as well as the body of your ad.
Side Note: Create a swipe file and start collecting subject lines and ads from the newsletters and ezines you subscribe to and you can use these for jumping off points when you’re creating your solo ads.
Here are the 2 main elements of your solo ad:
1) Begin your ad with the most important benefit either in your subject line, headline or first sentence.
2) Load your ad with benefits. Everyone wants to know “What’s in it for me” or “How does this help me”
So tell them!!
Create A Control Ad
What’s a control ad?
A control ad starts out as an ad which is placed in the ezines of your choice and then you track its results. After your set tracking period (usually the duration of your advertisement) you take that ad and change one element such as the headline. And now you advertise that new ad and track the success of the new ad.
If the success (conversion) drops, go back and change the ad back to the way it was and then change another element and track that. What you are doing is trying to maximize the effectiveness of your ad.
(Remember only change one element at a time or you won’t know which change made a positive or negative effect to your ad).
You keep doing this until you feel you have created the best possible ad. By doing this you’ll end up creating a super ad by finding what works better or worse in the ad. You can now place this super ad in as many ezines as your budget allows.
Track All Your Ads
You need to track your ads. This will be your source for information regarding the success or failure of each ad. If you don’t track your ads then you’re just guessing at which ads are producing and which one are failing.
You can do a search for Ad Tracking Programs to find the one that works for you.
Test, Test, Test
You’ve probably heard this a thousand times, test, test, test and then test again. This is the mantra of advertising. You are constantly testing your ads.
Side Note: One of the tests can be simply advertising in a different ezine and not change anything in the ad.
Ezine advertising is very cost and profit effective and you should defiantly be adding ezine advertising to your over all marketing strategy. In fact many affiliate marketers use ezine advertising to drive a ton of of target traffic to their offers.
I hope you found this information helpful.
And of course, if you need help with anything I have talked about here please leave your question or comment below. You can aslo email me or we can chat live one-on-one inside Wealthy Affiliate.
I believe in you!
Leo
