ezine internet marketing

Michael Copper asked:




While ezine ads tend to be cheaper than a blurb in your average glossy print magazine, you are still wasting your money if your ad doesn’t work. There are some keys to writing effective ad copy that you can start implementing today. Let’s take a look at them.

First, you need to have a clear goal in mind. What do you want people to do or feel when they read your ad? Since we are talking about a business ad, you will probably want them to either contact you or go to your website where you can sell them on your product or service. The main point of your ad is to create enough interest that the reader will want to learn more and will click on the link.

Now, list all the features of your product or service and how these benefit your customers. Remember, potential clients couldn’t care less about you, they only want to know what is in it for them. So you need to let them know what you are offering them and how it benefits them, right off the bat.

Once you have your list of benefits, you are ready to start writing your ad. Organize the benefits into a list, with the most important at the top. This will open your ad. For example, if you are selling ink refills, your strongest benefit is probably saving money. So you might want to start with something like “Stop Wasting Money on Ink!” You don’t necessarily need to use all of your features in one ad, but the top three should definitely be included.

Depending on what type of ad you have purchased, you will write between 2-20 lines on your product or service. A simple classified is usually very short and you need to sum up all benefits (or at least the most vital ones) in just a couple of lines. This calls for tight writing. A top sponsor ad, or one that is featured at the top of the ezine, will be a bit longer and a solo ad lets you really spread out.

Remember that the ezine readers are not interested in you or your ad. It is up to you to catch their attention with a flashy headline and then a couple lines of text designed to make them curious enough to check out your website. Avoid headlines that look spammy, such as “Earn $4,000 a Week, Doing Nothing!” Most people are immune to these sorts of empty promises. You will do much better by focusing on true statements that appeal to the consumer such as “Increase Your Earning Potential by 25%”.

Now that you have your basic ad, it is time to test it. Use a tracking system to monitor the different ads that you place. Try changing just one small feature such as the headline or the order of the text lines and see which ad brings in the best response. It is vital that you track your ads or you will never know what copy is more effective.

Ezine ads can be a powerful tool for the ebusiness if you know how to use them correctly. Starting with well-written copy is the perfect start.

Alfonso