Ezines are highly effective advertising tool if done correctly. One of the most important advantage ezines have is the target group of people they refer to. Of course there are rules to be followed in order to succeed in ezine advertising.
1. Write Benefits Not Features.
It may sound cynical but most people are selfish. They don’t care about your company or background but they DO care about the benefits they gain. So, instead of saying that the “A” software title contains these features, try to specify that it will save money and time in the exact amount. Be as accurate as you can on that.
2. Choose very careful the ezines you advertise.
An ezine of 150.000 subscribers may seem tempting but you should ask yourself, how the publisher got those subscribers? He bought the list, used FFA, or used similar methods? Does the publisher use contests for his subscribers in order to visit your website? If a subscriber visits your site because there is the expectation of gaining something how valuable this subscriber is for your business? Zero if you ask me.
3. Double opt-in much better than single opt-in.
Yes, if you find an ezine that builds the subscriber base with double opt-in method, it’s highly possible that you have a goldmine here. A double opt-in ezine of 2500 subscribers has more value than a single opt-in ezine of 10.000 subscriber base. With double opt-in you can be reassured that you will have no spam complains and the value of the prospects is much higher.
4. Run you ads more than once.
This is important because prospects have to see more than one time to absorb your message. One thing you can do is to run your ad 2-3 times and if the first is not successful you can modify your copy.
5. The Headline is all the money.
People have their mailbox filled with emails and spam these days. Obviously they don’t have the time to read every single email they get. So the screening process starts with the headlines. It’s a simple as that, if your headline sucks your all effort goes in vain. They will just ignore the whole message.
6. Call to action – Create urgency sense.
This is a copywriting rule you must follow. You must use the time pressure technique to the readers in order to act now. You can use limited time discount offers. In that way you tempt the reader to visit your website which is your first aim.
7. Track your ads.
Do Not underestimate that factor. If you start to have sales, how would you know which ezines produce the results? You can’t afford to miss that. With so many tracking software and services out there is no excuse to risk your advertising budget on guessing.
8. Focus on Top-Sponsor and Solo ads.
They are the most effective. Top sponsor ads are on the top of the publication and it is the first message the reader views. Solo ads are highly effective because the reader views your message alone with nothing else tracking his or her attention. Forget the classified ads, although they are cheaper. When you read a newsletter you focus on the content or the 15-20 displayed ads?
Finally, as a recommendation, you can start searching for effective ezines on the directoryofezines.com . It’s the ultimate resource for tracking and advertising on targeted ezines.
