"Hey! Where's My Ad?"

Have you ever wondered why you didn't see the free ad
you submitted? I bet you thought you had the perfect
ad! Why isn't it there? Well, let me give you some
idea of why newsletter publishers get gray hair!

You MUST follow the guidelines. Guidelines? What's
that mean? Is that like RULES? YES!

There is only so much space available for advertising
in a newsletter. To accommodate as many free ads as
possible there are limits on ad size.

Let's take a look at some of these guidelines:

1. Spelling and typing errors.

If you want to be believable, check your ad for
proper spelling and typing errors. Use capital
letters at the beginning of sentences, not through
the whole ad. Don't use all caps as it makes your
ad hard to read, and reminds me of salespeople
yelling at me to buy their product. Not likely!


2. Making your links clickable.

URL's must begin with http:// and email addresses
with mailto: in order to be 'clickable.' If readers
can't just click on your URL or email address to
see your offer, you will lose their attention.
Most are too lazy to 'cut and paste' your URL into
their browser window. Make it easy for them to
view your offer.

3. Formatting your ad.

When you get to the end of your 60 or 65 character
line - you do a 'hard return' (for you Newbie's -
that means you hit the Enter key) to go on to the
next line of your ad. This 'hard return' will
keep the lines from running all the way across the
page, which the publisher must take the time to
correct.


4. Characters per line.

The most popular choice is 60 to 65 characters
per line. Some list servers can only accept
a certain number of letters per line. If your
ad exceeds this limit, it will not look the same
as you typed it. It will be one long line and a
one word line, then another long line and so on.


5. Lines per ad

Some publishers allow 5 lines, others 2, 3, or 4
lines. This may or may not include the URL or
email address. This does not mean you can send
6 or 8 or more lines and expect to see your ad!
Personally, I like a 2 or 3 line ad best. It
is much easier to read than a very long ad.


6. Unacceptable ads.

Most publishers don't accept ads dealing with hate,
adult, racial or gambling content. Avoid these
topics if you want to see your ad published.

7. Use the proper Ad Code.

You will have to actually read the issue to find
the ad codes! Yeah! You might actually enjoy it
too! Some ad codes are found on a certain day
every week, others are in every issue. Some you
have to hunt to find, and others are with the ad
guidelines of that newsletter.

But.... you must use the correct code of the week.
If you use an outdated ad code, you will not see
your ad.


How do I know when to post my ad? How often can I
send my ad?

When I submit an ad I write the date I posted, and
that week's ad code next to it. Also, I put the date
I can send my next ad. This will reduce your chance
of accidentally submitting your free ad too soon and
having it deleted. Even with all this I have been
known to submit a duplicate ad. Then I have to send
an email to apologize!

Follow these easy suggestions and you will see your
free ads published. I am grateful that free ads are
still available. They are a lot of work for these
editors each week. Wouldn't it be a nice surprise
for these editors if we all submitted ads that are
correctly formatted, spelled and typed?

Mmmmmmm! Is that the sound of cheering I hear? The
publishers thank you!

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Article may be reprinted with resource box.

715 words
5/18/02