Advertising has always been a key part of any marketing strategy. A targeted, carefully written advert placed in the right publication can result in increased sales, but many companies don't take the time to filter their advertising opportunities and so often miss the best opportunities, and spend valuable marketing pounds on the wrong market.
Online advertising could draw you into the same mistakes, but there's one area of online advertising that can be successfully exploited for new sales leads: eNewsletters and eZines.
Ready and Waiting
There are thousands of eNewsletters and eZines circulating the Internet. The low production cost and ease of distribution means that people who couldn't begin to produce a hard copy publication can design, write and send out eZines on specific subjects to a dedicated group of readers. Bearing this in mind, there's probably more than one eNewsletter or eZine that meets your target audience exactly. Do some research on your key markets to find out how many publications there are, and then subscribe to some - subscription is often free - so that you can check that the tone, content and contributor qualifications meet with your criteria; by advertising in an eZine you are associating yourself with the publisher, so make sure they match the image you want to project.
Advertising in eNewsletters and eZines is substantially cheaper than in traditional print media, and are longer lasting because readers and publishers archive each issue for future reference. Both publications are also usually more frequent than their paper counterparts, as there's no lead time for online publications, and distribution is either just by placing them on a website, or emailing a subscriber list. Depending on the eZine, you can have a link from the publication to your site, or have an email link so that readers can contact you direct.
Many eNewsletters or eZines will also accept sponsorship from business. This can be more expensive, but will put your company name on each page of the eZine, giving you much more exposure than a normal advert.
Some eZines may not have used advertisers previously. This may be because they want to be advert-free, or simply because they haven't got round to soliciting advertisers. Unless the eZine states specifically that it doesn't want adverts, give them a call to see what you can negotiate, especially if their readership is a good match for your target market.
Before you spend your money, here's what you need to consider:
- Define your target market, and search the Internet for eZines and eNewsletters that serve it.
- Subscribe to, or read some of the newsletters to check content, authorship and to see which other companies are advertising.
- Decide whether you want to advertise in one publication, or a range.
- Check the ad rates. Make sure you find out about:
- subscriber numbers
- general advert rates and any discounts for block booking
- publication frequency
- how long the newsletter has been running for
- advert design, delivery and deadlines
Many companies have discovered that advertising in online newsletters has improved their sales lead generation. With a bit of planning, research and targeting, you can too.