ANALYZING EZINES
After having selected ezines to advertise your
program in based on how the content of the ezines relate to what you
wish to advertise, there is still another process to choosing the best
ezines for your marketing dollars.
Analyzing the ezines is a rather subjective
process, however. There are no hard and fast rules to follow that give
you a clear indication of whether or not an ezine is worth the cost.
However, there is an information gathering process that can help you to
make better decisions.
AD FORMATTING
One important aspect is how ads are handled in the
ezine itself. Where are the ads located in the ezine? Are they made
visible by being placed directly between or at the start of the
articles, or are they pushed all to the end of the ezine or published
separately in an ad sheet?
How many ads are run in each issue? Are the
headlines of the ads offset to attract attention, are the ads separated
in some way from each other, or does the entire ad section look like
one big chunk of text?
Naturally, anything the ezine publisher does to
give visibility to the ads is a plus for you as an advertiser.
SUBSCRIBERS: Who Are They and Where Did They Come
From?
Don't be afraid to contact the editor, publisher,
or advertising agent of an ezine and ask them some questions. Find out
not only how many subscribers they have, but get their opinion of what
type of markets their subscribers are interested in, AND how they get
their subscribers.
Some marketing practices, such as automatically
subscribing people that post to an FFA or ad site, may pull a lot of
subscribers for an ezine, but result in very little readers. Ads for
subs programs also have mixed results. Some stick around and read the
ezine, but many don't. The best subscribers are those that are
completely volunteer opt in readers.
However, many ezines use multiple means of gaining
subscribers and while some use not so great methods, they may also
clean their lists of non-responsive subscribers regularly. That's why
it is best to ask and make a judgment based on the answer you receive.
This may take some practice and trial and error, but at least if you
have the information you are giving yourself something to learn from.
So, ask where, how, and what type of subscribers the ezine has. Ask how
effectively they retain subscribers as well. That is a good indication
of many subscribers are reading the ezine and viewing it as worthwhile.
FREE vs. PAID ADVERTISING
There are many ezines that do offer free ads to
their subscribers. Some of these are worthwhile others are not. It
really comes down to reader involvement. If people are still reading
the ezine and not just subscribed to put their ad in every week, it may
be worth your time. If the ezine has passed all of you're other
criteria up to this point, it has to be worth a shot. At least this
costs you nothing but your time.
Paid advertising at this point where you have
studied, selected, and analyzed many ezines and come up with a short
list is definitely going to be worth the cost.
Let's just review what you have gone through in
selecting the ezines to advertise in.
1. Targeted Content that matches the product,
service, or opportunity you are advertising. 2. Acceptable Potential
Market based on the content of the ezine and what the ezine's editor
says about his or her subscriber's interests. 3. Acceptable Ad
Formatting and Placement in the Ezine. 4. Acceptable Subscriber Base as
described by the way the ezine gets it's subscribers and keeps them.
Now comes the kicker, ad cost. What's a good
price, and what isn't?
Well, it just depends. That's not what you wanted
to hear, I know. You'd rather I provided a simple rule to go by that
made all of your decisions for you. Sorry, but I don't believe that is
possible. It is a big subject, however, so we'd best save it for the
final installment in this series.
Joe Bingham, Editor of the NetPlay Newsletters
Subscribe to 1 of 3 Quality NetPlay Ezines, See which one fits you at: http://www.netplaynewsletters.com
Need To Publish Your Own Ezine? I'll Write It For You and Show You How
to Make It Successful! http://www.netplaynewsletters.com/publisher.html
