Episode #109: E-Zine Ad Marketing and Ad Swaps

Do you publish an e-zine? An e-zine is a web-based newsletter that is more highly designed to take on the appearance of a traditional magazine and it can be a powerful tool for building a list of loyal subscribers. Unlike auto-responder campaigns, your e-zine should be published less frequently, perhaps once or twice each month and should include information on topics beyond your business. This is the perfect format to share a little about your life in order to provide your reader with a chance to get to know you better.

E-zine ad swaps involve trading advertising exposure in your e-zine in exchange for exposure in another e-zine in your niche or a closely related niche. I recommend negotiating a direct swap making this a great free option although if the other publisher has a much larger distribution list, you may be asked to either pay a small premium or perhaps allow the other publisher two issues in your e-zine in exchange of one in theirs.

I recommend setting an objective to have two ad swaps for each issue you publish and closely monitor your opt in results by using a tracking link or promoting different pages in each e-zine. Continue to advertise in the publications that convert to opt-ins or sales and move away from those that do not. If you see traffic and opt-ins peak and begin to fall off assume that you have obtained maximum penetration of this list and begin looking for a replacement.

Focus more on building your brand and delivering value than making a sale. If you write ads that demonstrate your authority in your niche and give away a high value e-book, special report or auto in exchange for a name and email address from the reader. Keep in mind, you will have plenty of time to sell after the subscriber has joined your list, which of course if your objective.