Targeted Ezine Advertising

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!