The power of E-zine advertising is that it is the most targeted form of advertising you can use on the internet. If, for example, someone has subscribed to an E-zine about hunting, then they are expressing a strong interest in hunting equipment, tips on improving their skills, travel packages, and an unlimited list of other possibilities.
This is why E-zines are such a good choice for your advertising dollars. As long as your ad relates closely to the theme of the E-zine, the person reading your ad is already halfway moving toward what you have to offer. Locating your target market is half the battle when it comes to advertising. Hence the of advertising mantra: The Right Message, To the Right Audience, At the Right Time.
There are three basic types of ads that you can place in your selected E-zine.
1. Classified type Ad
2. Sponsor Ad
3. Solo Ad
The classified ad is the smallest and least expensive. This three – five line ad if often run in a block with other classified ads, one on top of another, similar to a page of classified ads in newspaper or magazine. These ads contain just a brief description of what you have to offer with an E-mail or URL link to your web site. They usually cost a few dollars, generally about half the price of a sponsor ad.
A sponsor ad is placed at the top of the E-zine, often under a headline like: “Please support our Sponsor.” This ten – to - fifteen line ad will draw more attention since it is the first thing the reader will see when the E-zine is read. Sponsor ads are generally priced around twenty dollars.
The most effective, and commonly the most expensive, is the solo ad. This is not part of the E-zine, but instead goes out as an E-mail to everyone on the E-zine mailing list. The message is all about you and your product or service. This ad can be as long as 700 words, allowing you to go into great depth, and will cost in the forty to fifty dollar range. As you can see it is about twice the cost of a sponsor ad. Some of the larger and more popular E-zines may ask for hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a solo ad.
Once you have written your ad and chosen an E-zine, the best way to proceed is to think like an educator. The most effective teaching method is repetition. Experienced teachers will cover the same information in several different ways or lessons. They might lecture one day, followed by a reading assignment and discussion, and then an essay, all on the same subject.
Very few people digest or learn something thoroughly the first time they see it. Since you are trying to educate and motivate your target audience, you want them to see your ad more than once. This is the same principle as using an autoresponder for an E-mail campaign. The first couple of communiqués allow people to get comfortable with you and your product. Then once you educate your customers properly, and build trust, they will buy.
This is best done by first running a solo ad, then running a sponsor ad in the next few issues of the same E-zine. Finally, for the next five to seven issues, run a classified ad. The readers will see your ad for many weeks and begin to understand the message and warm up to your offer. This gives your potential customer time to think it over, compare products and prices, and hopefully decide to buy from you.
