| Copyright (c) 2008 Classified ads have been around | | | | 4. Outline your benefits in the body. Don't use the body |
| as long as I can remember. Whether you're reading a | | | | of the ad to promote your products or service. You'll |
| newspaper or perusing the back of a magazine, you | | | | get the best results when you offer readers |
| see classified ads. Before the advent of online | | | | something that they can get immediately at no cost, |
| marketing, placing classified ads in print publications | | | | like an ebook, audio, special report, ecourse, etc. |
| was the method many people used to sell their | | | | Readers never want to learn more for the sake of |
| products or services. | | | | learning. They want to get to the benefits you |
| What has worked for years in traditional marketing is | | | | promised, or what it will do for them, instead. |
| also quite effective in online marketing. Advertising in | | | | 5. Create a call to action. Tell the reader what to do |
| email newsletters with ads is one of the greatest | | | | next -- what action to take. Typically this means |
| adverting bargains available today. Moreover, it can be | | | | directing them via your URL to a web page to take |
| a very effective strategy to help you grow your | | | | this action. This step is even more effective if you |
| mailing list and drive traffic to your website. | | | | create a sense of urgency -- give them a reason to |
| There are thousands of ezine publishers eagerly | | | | act immediately. |
| standing by to take your money for a classified ad in | | | | 6. Keep it short. Most ezine ads vary between 25 and |
| their publication. And, writing an ezine ad isn't quite as | | | | 50 words, including your URL. This means that you |
| easy as it looks. How do you know the ad will be | | | | have limited space to create maximum impact. |
| effective, and how do you create an ad that will result | | | | 7. Design your landing page. Make sure your landing |
| in a desired action? | | | | page listed in your call to action speaks specifically to |
| Here are 10 steps to help you write a profitable | | | | the readers of that ezine. Don't send them to a generic |
| classified ad for an ezine: | | | | page of your site and expect them to be able to figure |
| 1. Choose your publication. Finding the right publication | | | | out where to go on that page and what to do. Greet |
| that goes out to the right target market is the key first | | | | them by name, i.e. Welcome subscribers to ABC |
| step in this process. Optimally, you want an active list | | | | Marketing Ezine, and reiterate who you are, what |
| of at least 10,000 double opt-in subscribers who are | | | | you're offering, and how they can receive your offer. |
| accustomed to receiving regular ezines from the | | | | 8. Track your results. Truly effective advertising is only |
| publisher (publishes weekly). Unfortunately, not | | | | effective if it creates your desired result. Be sure that |
| everyone opens every email that they receive, so ask | | | | you have a tracking mechanism in place, like ad |
| the publisher about her "open rate," which is the | | | | tracker software, so that you can see exactly how |
| number of subscribers who actually open and read the | | | | many people took action on your ad and exactly |
| ezine. A respectable and reasonable open rate is | | | | where they came from. If your ad tracking system is |
| 30-40%. A great place to look for ezine publishers | | | | integrated with your shopping cart, you'll also be able to |
| who sell ads in their email newsletters is Charlie Page's | | | | track how many sales resulted from your ad. |
| Directory of Ezines, | | | | 9. Test and change. You may actually come up with |
| 2. Be one of few, not one of many. Check out the | | | | 10 or 20 variations as you design your. Don't discard |
| publisher's sample email newsletter, as well as back | | | | any of them, as you may find them useful in the future, |
| issues, before you decided to advertise. How many | | | | especially as you test which versions of your ad are |
| ads does the publisher run in one issue? For maximum | | | | effective. Test different headlines or different calls to |
| effectiveness, choose one that runs 5 or less ads per | | | | action over a period of time in the same publication |
| issue. This gives you a much better chance of being | | | | and see which versions get the best results. |
| seen when your ad is competing against a smaller | | | | 10. Run multiple times. A one-shot ad never works. Plan |
| number of ads. | | | | to advertise at least 4 consecutive times in an ezine to |
| 3. Craft an attention-getting headline. Your headline is | | | | see how you do. The more the ad appears, the |
| the part of your ad that must grab your reader's | | | | greater the likelihood that the ezine reader will notice it. |
| attention immediately. Otherwise, the reader scans | | | | Over time, you will begin to see which versions of your |
| right past your ad to the next one. Use action words | | | | ad are more effective with what kinds of target |
| that emphasize a solution to a problem that your | | | | markets. |
| target market has. Or, ask a question that attracts the | | | | Ezine advertising is a proven, low-cost strategy to help |
| reader's interest. In order for your ad to be read, your | | | | you market your online business, grow your lists, and |
| headline must effectively answer the reader's most | | | | increase your profits. Start writing your classified ad |
| basic question, "What's in it for me?" | | | | today! |