Targeted Ezine Advertising

By Marla Bland
Posted Friday, October 15, 2004

So... what does "targeted ezine advertising" mean? It means placing your ads in ezines that are related to the product or service you are promoting. The readers of these ezines should potentially be more interested in your offer.

Let's get started!

Step 1 CHOOSING THE RIGHT EZINES

A good place to start is by looking in ezine directories. Most directories either have search capabilities or the ezines are listed in specific categories. I like to use a directory that gives information such as when the listing was updated, the number of subscribers, first issue date, if the publisher accepts free ads, and rates for paid ads.

Two directories you could use to start your search are:

(http://www.ezinelocater.com/)

(http://www.freezineweb.com/index.html)

The freezineweb listing gives all of the above information and much more such as ad rules, ads per issue, articles excepted, ad swaps, etc.

You can also enter a search directly into a search engine such as Google - (http://www.google.com) For example, if your product were vitamins, you could search the term "health ezines". If the vitamins were distributed by an MLM program, you could also search "MLM ezines" or "Network Marketing ezines".

Look at sample issues, if possible, and subscribe to those ezines you think will be best for your ad. Read a few issues to get the feel of the kind of content the ezine covers.

At this point, you should be able to make a list of targeted ezines that contain quality content. Content that you feel many of the subscribers are reading. Include the number of subscribers for each ezine.

Step 2 PICKING THE EZINES

There are a couple of other things you could look at to narrow down the field. First, what sort of ads does the publisher sell? Top sponsor? Bottom sponsor? Solo? Classified? Where are the ads placed? Classified ads placed in a separate ad sheet are nearly worthless. No content, no readers. How many ads are in each issue? Is there a blank line after the headline to draw attention? Do the ads look appealing to you?

If you want to check even further, you could contact the publisher and find out how the subscribers were obtained. Purchased subscribers tend to be less responsive than those that have readily signed up at the publisher's website. If the publisher has automatically subscribed people that have posted an ad at a classified site, don't EVEN go there!

Most publishers use multiple means of obtaining subscribers, which will yield a subscriber base that is hard to judge. Another good question to ask - Is the list cleaned on a regular basis? Are the addresses that have bounced several times removed? My list may be smaller because of it, but 3 times in a row and they're OUT!

You should now be able to narrow your list down to your favorite 3-5 ezines. The marketing "gurus" would give you a formula for determining if the cost is within reason.

My formula? I like to place top sponsor ads or solo ads. (and free classified ads - but those I'll place in any targeted ezine! Hey, they only cost a little time!)

So... I look at all of my favorite targeted ezines, and discard any that are out of my price range. Then I look at those left to see which offers the best price per subscriber for a top sponsor or solo ad. I'll try that one first.

Oh, and... don't forget to track your results!

About the Author
Marla Bland, Editor of Dynamic Marketing Newsletter Free ezine Ads for subscribers. Low cost and no cost advertising methods to build a profitable online business. (http://www.nettraffictools.com)