The Law of Large Numbers

[Rudi Vanhaecke]

One of the things that excites people about the Internet is the huge audience that exists online. The Net truly is a marvel, allowing anyone with a dialup connection to compete with Fortune 100 companies.

 

 

 

One of the best ways to reach those large numbers, while staying true to your objectives of targeting a niche market, is ezine advertising.

 

 

 

Since advertising in these giants can be expensive we want to take care that we do it right. In that light, here are six steps to take that will help you maximize the return on investment you make when advertising in a large ezine.

 

 

 

NOTE: Not all are expensive. One ezine I found has 215,000 subscribers and you can buy an ad for $35. Another has 200,000 and sells ads for $20. Not bad.

 

 

 

That said, here's the six step formula I use to maximize my return on investments.

 

 

 

1. Ask for the top spot. When you advertise in a big ezine, you're going to be in a crowd. People will get tired of reading and you can get lost if your ad doesn't pop. Obviously, the top ad in the section gets read the most.

 

 

 

While there are no guarantees, ask the publisher to give you to top spot in the section. Ask nice. If they don't sell that spot for more money (few do) you have a good chance of getting it.

 

 

 

2. Use a catchy headline. I know, I know ... you've heard this a million times. But what I mean is not just the words, but the characters you use.

 

 

 

I start a lot of my ads with a few asterisks. You could use dollar signs, question marks, etc. The goal here is to catch the eye of the person scanning by showing them something different. Which catches your eye?

 

 

 

Ezine advertising works! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

*** Ezine advertising works! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

??? Ezine advertising works! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

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You can also use bold text creatively to achieve a similar effect.

 

 

 

EZINE ADVERTISING WORKS! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

Ezine advertising works! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

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Combine the two effects and you have something that works .. at least for me.

 

 

 

Ezine advertising works! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

*** EZINE ADVERTISING WORKS! Find the perfect ezines in minutes!! Save time. Make money. Easy to use. Free ads too! Start selling today!

 

 

 

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3. Use a well written ad. This is easier said than done. Remember that the job of the ad is to sell the click, not the product. Selling the product is the job of your website or email follow up. The headline sells the ad, the ad sells the click, the site sells the product.

 

 

 

4. Be easy to do business with. Read their rules about formatting and line length before you send the ad. Pay them at the time of the ad. Don't expect them to check your ad copy for typos or that your link works. Do all of this work before you contact them.

 

 

 

The easier you are to work with, the more welcome you will be the next time.

 

 

 

5. Use an autoresponder for your response device. This one is risky, but it works. The usual classified ad sends the reader to a website. That's okay since the hope is to make the sale now. But what if you did it this way?

 

 

 

Instead of using a URL in your ad, use an autoresponder address. Say something in your ad about sending them a private link or that the offer is just too hot to give the link out to the public. People like humor.

 

 

 

When they respond to your autoresponder, set it up so that they immediately get the first message with the link. Then start sending them follow up messages every week or so until you make the sale! This is how many of the top marketers today do things, and it works.

 

 

 

NOTE: If you have a one-shot sales letter on your site, and no follow up system yet, do not use this technique. The fact is, you will lose clicks this way. You just have to decide if having someone in your follow up system is more profitable than having those extra clicks. As always, testing is the key.

 

 

 

6. Do not use the company ad. That may sound weird from a guy who runs an affiliate program (the DOE affiliate program pays up to 50%) but it's true.

 

 

 

When you run the same ad that everyone else runs, you are at risk for people saying "I've seen that, no thanks". Of course, the argument can be made that all of these identical ads reinforce each other, but I don't believe it to be true.

 

 

 

Use these techniques when you run ezine ads (whether in large or small ezines) and you'll see your click through rate rise, along with your profits. Remember to track every ad and always test your ad copy before rolling out to the mega-ezines.

 

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