Since then, I’ve learned to ignore the hype surrounding “fast money” with ezine ads. Like everything else, ezine advertising is something you get better at with practice, experience and knowledge. Here are a few things to consider before you buy an ad …

How many ads are run in each issue?

This makes a big difference in how effective your ad will be. Newsletters that are content-rich are far more likely to be read than those that are basically a list of ads. Fewer ads also means less competition for your own.

Where are the ads placed?

We’ve all seen newsletters that dump a mass of classifieds at the bottom of the message. This “classified black hole” is pretty much useless; people tend to skip this section entirely. Your ad, placed by itself at a key location within the ezine, is by far the best option.

Don’t only consider ezine size

Contrary to what many people believe, a bigger ezine doesn’t necessarily give you better results. It’s not the number of subscribers that matters; it’s the number of people who READ the ezine that counts. Check out past issues of the newsletter so that you can make an educated judgment about the quality of the newsletter, the credibility of the editor, and whether or not it appears that the editor has managed to develop a relationship with his or her subscribers.

How often is the ezine published?

Ezines that are published “too often” or “too infrequently” typically give poorer results. For example, daily ezines may cause busy people to automatically delete the message from their over-filled mailboxes without even reading it. Monthly ezines, on the other hand, may not be published often enough for the subscribers to “remember” what it is. My personal experience shows that the best results come from ezines published either weekly or biweekly.

Is it opt-in or opt-out?

“Opt-in” is the term used when someone must explicitly request a subscription before joining a newsletter. This is the type of newsletter you want to advertise in. “Opt- out” is also known as “spam”. Subscribe to the newsletter yourself first to see how the editor builds his or her subscriber base.

How likely is it that you’ll make a profit?

This is what it all comes down to. What kind of profit margin do you have? What are your click-through and conversion rates? Consider these questions and others when calculating the likelihood that your ad campaign will turn a profit.

And, of course, it almost goes without saying that picking an ezine that caters to your target audience is an absolute necessity.

While the selection of an ezine cannot guarantee the success of your ad, it’s a good start. Ad tracking, sales copy, and all that other good stuff obviously play a major role in how well you do. Start small, choose wisely, and consistently track and improve upon your results … and you’ll be on your way to doing well with ezine advertising.

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First of all, what are spam filter triggers? They are common words and expressions that are penalized by spam filters. When the penalty points assigned to a certain email message pass over a certain threshold, that message is usually routed to the intended recipient’s spam folder, rejected or even deleted at server level.

How to deal with such a problem?

The first part of the solution is relatively easy to accomplish: identify the problem words and expressions. Most of the third party services used to broadcast your email marketing messages (for example: AWeber) include pieces of software that point the words which trigger the filters. If you don’t use such a service, it’s still not difficult: search on Google for spam filter triggers and you’ll find many helpful articles.

The real challenge follows: you identified the problem words but what do you do next?

The worst and the most spread method was “invented” by someone quite many years ago and a lot of internet marketers copied it like parrots without checking whether the idea is right or wrong. What was that “great” idea? If you are subscribed to some newsletters, it’s impossible not to notice it: misspelling the words. Thus, money became m0ney, free became f’ree or f.r.e.e. or fr.ee, money back guarantee became m0ney back g’uarantee, etc.

Why is this solution the worst one?

Reason # 1: In marketing, image matters a lot. What do you think your image is in most of your readers’ mind, when they see that your emails are full of typing and grammatical errors? Most of your readers never heard about spam filter triggers. Whether you like it or not, for them “m0ney” is exactly what is it for almost everyone except you: a typing error. In such case, how’s your credibility?

Reason # 2: Many spam filters were now taught to penalize also weird spellings like “f.r.e.e.”, so you’re not actually solving anything.

Reason # 3: Gmail (and maybe more web-based email service providers) makes the word “fr.ee” clickable and there is a bigger surprise: that website exists (though it’s still under construction). Result: some of your readers will click on these links and some of your traffic will be diverted.

Then … what to do? Well, it’s very easy: remove the problem words and replace them by synonyms (or expressions having a similar meaning) that are not penalized themselves.

Example: instead of “100% money back guarantee” you can use “every penny back if you’re not 100% thrilled/satisfied”

To Your Success,
Adrian Jock

P.S. If you want to improve your emails deliverability, whether they are solo ads or newsletters, I highly recommend you to read the special report “How to Avoid Spam Filters”

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Ezine advertising is the perfect solution for beginners who want to test a market and get into profit fast. Here’s why:

• It’s highly targeted. People subscribe to ezines to receive information about specific topics. You just need to find ezines that cover topics related to the product your are promoting.
• It’s cost effective. You can find ezines that sell ads for as little as $8 – perfect for testing a new product idea.
• It’s a cheap way to test your ad copy. You can track several ads at the same time for next to nothing and find out which ad pulls the best.

What Is An Ezine?

An ezine is similar to a printed magazine except that it’s delivered electronically via email. And instead of purchasing an ezine, people sign to receive it for free or a monthly subscription fee. Most ezines are published weekly, but some are published daily, monthly or bi-monthly.

Types of Ezine Ads

Classified Ads: the cheapest and the least effective ads you can buy. Classified ads are limited to two or three lines and placed at the end of the ezine. Some ezines even give away free classifieds as an incentive to subscribe. Unless you place a classified ad in an ezine with 30,000 subscribers or more, your chances of getting a response are very small.

Sponsor Ads: these are more expensive than classified ads, but will give you a much better response. Sponsor ads can be placed at the top, middle or bottom of an ezine issue. You can include more text in a sponsor ad so it’s a good way to test your copy before going all out on a solo ad.

Solo Ads: this is the king of all ads because your offer is sent exclusively to everyone on the mailing list and gets full attention of the subscribers. No articles or other content is included. Solo ads can be expensive, but they can increase your response by as much a 100% over sponsor ads. You can usually expect a 20% – 30% response rate from a good solo ad.

In other words, if you purchase a solo ad for $100 in an ezine with 5,000 subscribers, you should expect about 1,000 highly targeted visitors.

Note: Solo ads can be purchased for as little as $10. You will get a much better response from a $10 solo ad sent to 500 subscribers than you will from a $10 classified ad sent to 5,000.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to successful ezine advertising.

Step One: Subscribe to 10 or more ezines.

Subscribe to ezines that offer top sponsor and solo ads within your budget. Subscribing to ezines before you place your ads will allow you to determine the quality of the list and potential profitability of your campaign before you spend any money. You may want to set up a specific email address for your subscriptions and filter them into a specific folder in your mail program for easy access.

You can search Google for “ezine directories” and “ezine advertising” to find quality ezines.

Step Two: Select three quality ezines.

Here are some guidelines for choosing a quality ezine:

1. Does the ezine have a domain name and website where you can subscribe and purchase advertising? This shows that the publisher runs a serious business and is not likely to take your money and run.

2. Is there an article archive? This shows you how long the publisher has been in business and how consistent the publication is.

3. Are subscriptions confirmed opt-in? After you subscribe, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription. This is a sign of a high-quality list. However, this should not be the only determining factor.

4. How often does the ezine owner publish? A weekly or bi-weekly publication is optimal. If you receive daily ads, that’s a good sign that people may be desensitized to your message.

5. Does the publisher offer solo ads? A solo ad is one that is sent to the entire list all by itself and usually the most profitable type of advertising.

6. Do the solo ads display the advertiser’s subject line? If the subject line is not personalized, results will not be as good.

7. Does the body of the message contain a lengthy disclaimer from the ezine owner that explains their SPAM policy and that they aren’t associated with the advertiser and aren’t responsible for the content? This is a red flag to me because it makes the reader less receptive to your ad.

8. Do you see the same advertisements multiple times? This is a good sign that the advertiser is getting a good response. One way to be sure is to contact the advertiser and simply ask.

9. Is there waiting period to run your ad in the ezine? A responsive list becomes popular fast and may have a waiting period of a month or more. If you find one, book your ads quickly and mark it on your calendar. It will be worth the wait when your ad finally runs.

10. Does the publisher respond personally to your questions? No response could mean that your mail was filtered. And if you mail doesn’t get through, you can bet your ad won’t either. Get a solid response before you pay.

Step Three: set up your ad trackers.

Never advertise unless you can track the response. You need to know how many visitors and sales you get for each ad you place so you can determine whether or not you want to run another ad in a particular ezine or upgrade from a sponsor ad to a solo ad.

This information is critical for determining how well each ad campaign does and how well you’re converting visitors into sales. Sometimes you just need to tweak your ad copy and run the ad again for better results.

If you get good results the first time, run your ad again in a week or two. Not everyone will buy the first time around. And many who were “on the fence” the first time they saw your ad, may purchase the second time around.

You can find a good ad-tracking service on Google.

Step Four: write your ad.

There are numerous books on writing good copy that you can find by searching Google. But, the best way to come with ideas for good ads is to read the ads in other ezines.

Look for ads that catch your eye. Modify them to fit the product you are promoting and then add your own personal touch. You can include an excerpt from an ebook you are selling, a section from the sales letter, or your personal endorsement.

Step Five: place your ad.

This is the easiest part. You simply fill out a form with your ad copy and credit card information. After you process the order. You will receive a confirmation of when the ad will run. And since you are already subscribed to the ezine, you can verify it yourself. Don’t rely on them to send you a “courtesy copy.”

Step Six: put half your profits back into advertising.

Okay, sounds simple enough. But where do you put the extra profit?

That’s why you track your ads. So you can make an informed decision and maximize your profits.

So if you were going to put half your profits back into advertising, where would you put it?

Let’s say you’re total profit was $400. Take two hundred and invest it back into the successful ezines and invest the other two hundred into two new ezines. And then multiply your profits from there.

The profit potential of this method is incredible. Once you tap into the strategy and see it working you’ll see exactly what I mean. And until you do, you’ll have a hard time understanding why I get so fired up about it.

Note: it can take up to two weeks (or longer) to get into some ezines. So it’s important to get your spot as soon as possible.

Once you set this system up and find some good ezines to advertise in, you’ll be making money completely on autopilot!

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