Ezine advertising is one of the most effective forms of advertising on the internet. There are literally hundreds of thousands of ezines and newsletters on the internet, each of which has one of three main purposes: to build a relationship with your subscriber database, to make money from advertising, or a combination of both. Since this chapter is on advertising, we’re concerned with the paid advertising component of newsletters and ezines.

The main advantage of ezines as advertising vehicles is that they are delivered to a very targeted group of readers. Usually, the quality of the subscribers will be higher in ezines that focus on single, very narrow topics such as crocheting or knitting. Ezine ads generally fall into one of three categories:

1 – Classified Ads

Classified ads are among the cheapest newsletter ads and are usually found at the bottom of newsletters. Sometimes free classified ads are given away as an incentive to subscribe to the newsletter or ezine. They are also the least effective due to their poor placement and limited copy. The best results with classified ads are obtained in the largest newsletters, since response rates are usually fairly poor.

2 – Sponsor Ads

These ads are priced higher than classified ads and are usually found at the top of the ezine or in the middle (within the content). They allow for more words and are more effective than classified ads, but are also usually more expensive. Sponsor ads are generally more effective than classified ads simply because their placement is better and they can contain more content. Some ezines only have one sponsor ad per issue and some have a handful depending on the publisher’s preferences.

3 – Solo Ads

Solo ads are by far the most effective ezine ad type. Solo ads fill up an entire email with only your advertisement. That means that the content is sent on your behalf to the subscribers. No other content is included, so you get the reader’s full attention and your ad gets the biggest exposure. Since a solo ad is usually seen as an endorsement from the ezine publisher, your message will enjoy a great deal of credibility. Solo ads are more expensive than sponsor ads, but are also many times more effective. Needless to say, reserve them for your products with the highest profit margins.

Another way to run solo ads is to partner in a joint venture. This way instead of paying a fixed fee to run your ad, you reach an agreement with the ezine publisher to split the profits 50/50 (or any other mutually agreed percentage split). The benefit of doing it this way is that you only pay for what you sell. If you don’t sell, you don’t pay; and if you sell well, you and the list owner both come away quite happy.

Before you spend money on ezine ads, it is a good idea to do some research: ask publishers what their typical click-through rate is and make sure their ezine is highly targeted to your primary target market. The conversion rate will depend on what’s on the website you send them to, but the more highly targeted your ad and the publication it’s in, the higher you can expect your conversion rate to be.

If you’re aiming towards a sponsorship ad, it’s also a good idea to check to see if the ezine publisher has a policy of never running ads for two similar products in the same issue. Your ad will be much more effective if it’s the only one of its kind in that particular issue. Also ask the publisher if they have ever had an ad placed in their publication for a similar product or service to the one you are offering. And find out what the success rate was like.

Since ezines are published on different schedules (some weekly, some monthly or bi-monthly) the impact of your exposure is affected. More people likely read a monthly newsletter more thoroughly than a weekly newsletter and will be more impacted and exposed to your ad. For solo ads, there is a proportional relationship between the time period in which different mailings are sent and the overall response rate to the ad.

Another way to advertise in ezines is to write an article and allow the publishers to use it for free with your resource box. That way you also gain credibility and build trust, and any leads you generate will be more qualified than those arising from an advertisement. Articles may also be placed on websites for back issues of the ezine and can have a shelf life of a few years or more.

With any type of ad, always be sure to track it with your own ad tracking software, so you can follow your visitors through to the sale. If you’re running ads in subsequent ezines, don’t forget to test a different variable in each issue. If you don’t have an ad tracker, http://www.1StartCart.com has a good one.

Ezine advertising is a great way to deliver highly targeted traffic to your website. If you pick the right ezines and the right type of ads, you will experience an above average click-through rate for the product you sell, and with a good sales page, an above average conversion rate as well.
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