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Ezine Advertising

How our 18 tested techniques can optimize your email newsletter advertising campaigns

© MarketingExperiments.com

1. Use strong, proven ad copy. Ezine advertising often does not offer the abundant opportunities for micro-testing available in other areas, such as PPC engines and the pages of your own website. It is much easier to test ad copy beforehand and bring tested copy to your first ezine campaigns.
   
   This is not to suggest that testing and refining your copy shouldn't continue as you explore ezine advertising. Using the tracking methods outlined above, you should continue to find tune your ads for this unique medium.
   
   
2. Avoid hype in your ezine ads; the postmodern consumer won't buy it. But do include a call to action. Review our report on Transparent Marketing: How to Earn the Trust of a Skeptical Consumer: http://meclabs.com/cgi-bin/pl/pl.cgi?mtm
   
   
3. KEY POINT: Give yourself multiple ways to win. If the primary goal of your ezine ad campaigns is to sell products, don't overlook the secondary benefits. These might include generating newsletter sign-ups, members of your affiliate program, members of your online community, strategic partnerships, and so on. Many retailers are so focused on the immediate monetary return that they miss the true potential of reaching a new audience through ezine advertising.
   
   
4. Utilize the expertise of the ezine publisher. He or she should know the ezine's audience better than anyone. While the publisher does have an interest in selling you an ad (and thus may overestimate the audience's value), he or she should still be able to advise you on the types of ads that perform the best with the given audience.
   
   
5. Create your own email list. Don't pay to reach the same individuals twice. If interested visitors click through to your site but are unsure about buying, they should have an opportunity to sign up to be reminded about your offering in the future.
   
   Several of our past reports have dealt with creating an in-house email list. Two of them are:
   
   Email Capture Tested: http://meclabs.com/cgi-bin/pl/pl.cgi?mec
   Email Capture Pop-Ups Tested: http://meclabs.com/cgi-bin/pl/pl.cgi?mep
   
   
6. Format your ads well. Most publishers will provide specific guidelines for the dimensions of your ad. If possible, use ample white space to set your ad apart from the surrounding content. Make your ads easy to read and understand. Use bullet points when possible and outline the key benefits of your offer/company/website.
   
   Some publishers will accept text-only ads while others will allow you to use HTML that incorporates graphics. Both can be effective, depending on the expectations of the audience. Ask the publisher's advice on the ideal ad format.
   
   
7. Use an effective ad headline. Utilize this headline analysis tool: http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/index.htm
   
   
8. Don't ignore branding. Include your domain name and/or company name prominently in your ad copy. This is especially important when your ad will be seen by tens or hundreds of thousands of recipients (as in the example above). Some ad recipients may remember your URL and check it out later, or they may be more likely to click your ads when they see them in the future.
   
   
9. Shop around. Utilize ezine directories (see the Literature Review, below) and traditional search engines (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to locate the best ezines catering to your target audience. Don't look only for the best price on ads, but focus on finding the most authoritative voices in your sector of the market.
   
   
10. Weigh cost against exposure. CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is often the best indicator of the kind of value you are getting, but it ignores quality. An ezine with 3000 avid, engaged readers may perform better overall than an ezine with a million disinterested subscribers.
    
    
11. Ask your colleagues and customers about the ezines they read. This is often a more effective means of finding quality, targeted ezines than searching for them online.
    
    
12. KEY POINT: Before placing an ad in an ezine, subscribe to it and read several issues. Pay attention to the tone of the copy, the consistency of the publication schedule, and other factors that may impact the reception of your ad.
    
    
13. Pay attention to ad placement. Different publishers will offer a multitude of placement options and ad dimensions. Test a variety of approaches.
    
    
14. Micro-test where possible. While many ezine publishers have a minimum ad buy, some do allow smaller buys to evaluate the service. Micro-testing allows you to measure your potential return with the minimum risk (outlay of cash).
    
    
15. Don't shy away from repetition of your marketing message, especially where multiple ads will get you a discounted rate. Studies have shown that consumers often need to see a marketing message as many as seven times before they will respond.
    
    
16. Utilize custom landing pages for individual ezine ad campaigns. For specific advice on optimizing landing pages, see our recent report: http://meclabs.com/cgi-bin/pl/pl.cgi?mlp
    
    For example, you might create a page that welcomes visitors from the specific ezine in which your ad runs. You could offer an additional, customized incentive for these visitors.
    
    Customized landing pages can also be used as an alternative means of tracking the response of your ad campaigns.
    
    
17. Utilize incentives. Give readers a reason to click your ads and check out your website. Tailor the incentive for readers of the specific ezine in which your ads run.
    
    For example, you might offer frée shipping for any "XYZ Ezine subscriber" who clicks the special URL below in the next three days. This provides a clear call to action and a sense of urgency to respond to the ad.
    
    
18. Review our report on Effective Email Campaigns for additional ideas on optimizing your email marketing messages: http://meclabs.com/cgi-bin/pl/pl.cgi?mem

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• Solo ads will be sent as Special Solo Presentations to in-the-loop Ezine readers
• Sponsor ads will be prominently displayed in in-the-loop Ezine's weekly issues
• in-the-loop Ezine circulation: 4,579 readers
• Target audience: Solopreneurs & Small Business Owners
• View sample solo mailings: #1 / #2 / #3 / #4 / #5
• View sample sponsor ad displays in our past issues: #1 / #2 / #3

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