I am asked quite frequently, “what ezines should I advertise in? I’m far from an expert, but here are some tips that may give you some guidance in choosing which ezines you may want to place your ads.
First of all, place your ad in ezines that are related to your product, service or biz opp. If you are selling fishing lures, you probably wouldn’t do too well in a food magazine. You may get some responses or even an order, but if you want your money’s worth, don’t waste your time or money.
Find the ezines that you think are related to your product, service or biz opp. Granted, you will probably be coming up with the same ezines that your competition advertises in, but that’s the best place to advertise…right where your competition is!
If you have a product or service that is universal in appeal, try some of the ezines that may not be exactly your targeted market. This contradicts my first paragraph above, but also remember, subscribers do have a personal life and may just find your ad of interest. Be careful here…notice I used the word “universal” appeal here. Also, make sure you use an ad that you know pulls the responses for your related product or service.
For instance, if you are marketing a cat or dog food, just remember that the subscribers of many of the ezines have a Fluffy or Fido and would be interested in your product. These people are already subscribed to a number of ezines pertaining to their business needs and don’t want to bother subscribing to pet ezines…they are getting too many ezines now! Your ad in an “off beat” ezine would catch their eye and Fluffy or Fido may get some new healthy, natural food!
Advertisers should look at the content of the ezines that they have chosen to advertise in. Subscribers may be turned off seeing the same article in multiple ezines and won’t bother reading the rest of the ezine…the part with the classified ads…your ad.
Also consider the number of ads that are in the newsletter. If there are a considerable number of ads, it’s possible your ad may be lost in that sea of classified ads…your advertising dollars may just have been wasted.
Next, you need to consider the circulation of the ezines you have chosen. Don’t expect the same results from an ezine with thousands of subscribers to an ezine that has a circulation of a few hundred. Its hard to know what kind of response you will get from your ezine advertising as there are other factors to consider such as a poorly written ad or ineffective headlines.
As far as circulation numbers, you just have to trust that the publishers are stating their true numbers. As of yet, there is no “policing” of ezines.
Next, consider the cost of the ad. With each ezine having their own ad rates and really no set standard, you have to do a little math yourself to compare the various ad rates in the ezines you are considering to advertise in.
An ezine with a circulation of 500 with an ad rate of $5, works out to 100 subscribers for each dollar spent or $.01 each. However, an ezine with 5,000 subscribers charging $25.00 works out to 200 subscribers for each dollar spent or $.005 each.
These are just some things you need to keep in mind when you are deciding which ezines to place your ads in.
Ruth Townsend is the Publisher of the Directory of E-Zines, a listing of ezines that accept advertising and the author of several advertising and marketing reports to assist the online advertiser.
