Advertising can be quite expensive.  The Internet provides many marketing channels you could use for free. However, you would be competing with countless other marketers in the same venue.  You would have difficulties with regards to having your home business message stand out among the rest.

Many Internet marketers have tried paid options.  One of these is paid solo ads in electronic magazines, or eZines.  Let’s analyze the widely believed notion that having a certain space in a popularly distributed eZine would be a very effective way of sending out your business message.

Power Of Ezines

Individuals subscribe to eZines because they want to read the information that is shared by the said publication.  They decide to receive the eZine issues.  This is why an eZine’s subscriber base is usually called an opt-in list, because users opted to subscribe to the service.

Could this benefit you?

Since eZines have a dedicated base of subscribers, you’re sure to tap into a highly targeted market.  The failure of most marketing strategies is they target a general market.  The people who would receive their business message may not necessarily have any interest on their products.

With eZines, you’re sure to have a subscriber base that would be perfect for your marketing campaign.  They are subscribed to the eZine because they are involved with its subject.  There is no reason why they won’t show the same fascination with what you’re advertising.

Choose The Right Ezine For Your Solo Ad

The one rule in choosing the right eZine for your solo ad is: it’s not the number of subscribers that matter, it’s how responsive they will be.  You may find more success with an eZine that has 3,000 readers rather than one with 70,000 subscribers.  Ezines with a smaller subscriber base usually mean a more focused audience.  These are subscribers who opted for the service because they really want to, not because they were swayed by a sweeping promotional campaign that would reward them with a freebie in exchange for their subscription.

Ask the editor the following questions to know whether a particular eZine is responsive enough for your needs:

  • What is the average number of subscribers that decide to make purchases per offer, vis the total number of subscribers the eZine has?
  • What is the conversion rate exhibited in the mailing list, per offer?
  • How many repeat advertisements has the editor gathered in the past months?

Writing The Solo Ad

It is now time to write your solo ad.  Keep the below guidelines in mid while composing your promotional piece.

  • Decide on a format.  Should it be a straight advertisement or an article that would promote your business?  I would recommend the latter.
  • Craft an attention getting headline.  The headline is your chance to capture the interests of your readers.  This should be fascinating enough to compel them to read the entirety of your piece.
  • Your ad is not a sales page.  It would serve you well to treat your ad as a means of capturing leads for future offers instead of directly selling your readers a particular product.  People would want to read an informative piece, and they generally dislike being told what to do.  Suggest your business if they have relevant needs in the future, instead.
  • Make your ad concise.  It doesn’t have to be long.  The longer your ad, the harder it will be to sustain your readers’ interest.  Go straight to the point.
  • Enumerate the benefits.  This should be the focus of your ad.  What’s in it for them?  Why should they choose your business?  Why should they spend their hard earned money for what you are offering, and what you will offer in the future?
  • Impress upon them a sense of urgency.  This would be what people label as a call to action.  Tell them why they should act as quickly as they could.  For this purpose, you could afford them a discount or free bonuses if they would decide to buy your goods within a stated period of time.

These guidelines would assure that you will be investing on a solo ad that would be worthy of your money.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing

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