Ezine Advertising: Does a Solo Ad Still Work?

It's time to revisit the concept of running Solo Ads, or paying for Ezine Advertising...

Email Marketing has changed dramatically over the last few years. It used to be very common to include 1-2 articles and a couple of related resources, with small classifieds-type advertisements between each feature. Between mailings, publishers would send out something called Solo Ads.

A Solo Ad is an ezine advertising option where an advertiser can purchase an entire "page" to be sent out to the publisher's email list. Instead of placing a small classified ad within the content-filled issue, the advertiser gets an exclusive mailing that contains only their ad...

This was somewhat effective several years ago when people generally found new online resources through email and personal recommendations. However, with the constant rise in junk email and the widespread popularity of Google's search engine, people spend less and less time in their Inbox. There are simply better, more reliable ways to find information and people are more skeptical of email advertisements now.

Add in the fact that people have less time to spend reading emails, and that there is much more competing for their attention, and even the format of email newsletters - also called Ezines - has had to change to a much shorter and more targeted format. What worked well 2-3 years ago simply doesnt in today's market.

That's not to say that Solo Ads dont work at all, or that they cant be an effective form of online advertising, just that the conversion rates are much lower overall now than they were a few years ago.

As a publisher myself, selling ezine ads doesnt make good business sense to me. If my subscribers are responsive and my email list has a good conversion rate, it would be more profitable to promote affiliate programs or my own products than to sell an advertisement.

And if my subscribers were not responsive and my email list didnt convert well, then why would I sell that space to an advertiser?? You get my point, I'm sure.

There are two great ways for a publisher to monetize their list without selling ad space. The first is to promote products or services as an affiliate, earning a commission per sale or per lead. With a responsive list, the publisher stands to earn far more as an affiliate than they do selling that space to an advertiser. The second is to Joint Venture with another online business owner. Both of these can be very effective, and incredibly profitable.

If I wanted to get my message in front of a publisher's email list, or get exposure to a specific group of readers, I would also use one of those two methods. Not only are those advertising strategies free, but they are much more effective and result in a much higher ROI (Return On Investment) - for both the advertiser and the publisher.

Which do you think would get the best results: A sponsored advertisement or a personal recommendation and endorsement from the publisher themself? The latter, of course.

Points to consider before buying a Solo Ad:

• What kind of relationship does the publisher have with their readers?
• What is the overall quality of the emails sent by this publisher?
• Why do readers subscribe to this list?
• Besides advertising revenue, what other sources does the publisher use to monetize their list?

If you are interested in Ezine Advertising, the first thing you should do is research the publishers in your niche. Make a list of each one, their website, what they offer their readers, and then subscribe to each of those lists. You might want to set up a Gmail account just for this research.

It doesnt matter upfront whether they offer an advertising option or not. You simply want to choose the absolute best lists to target.

Spend a few weeks monitoring these emails and determining which are the industry leaders. Make a note of how they monetize their list, how they present their content, how they prefer to be contacted, etc.

Only then can you make a sound decision about which ezines or email newsletters to advertise with. If the publisher offers an advertising option, you might start by placing a smaller ad with them so that you can test the results.

But ultimately, the best results will be if you work with the publisher as your Affiliate or Joint Venture partner. If you dont have an affiliate program set up, you can work out other details for a profit-sharing promotion.

If the offer is a good match for their publication, and would be of direct interest to their readers, there is a good chance the publisher will at least consider your proposal. If their list is any count at all, they stand to earn far more by partnering with you than by selling you a basic ezine advertising package...

Best,

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