Tips and Techniques for Advertising in Email Newsletters and eZines

“What’s the first step in planning an email campaign?”

Define your target audience. “Who is your ideal target audience?” A good way to answer this is to think about your current clients and what is similar about them. With this information and a target budget a representative will provide you with some detailed list recommendations for your review.

“Can I take possession of the data in the opt-in email lists?”

With list opt-in email list rental, you provide the message and select the appropriate list for your message to be delivered to. All of the deployment is handled by the list rental firm. One of the primary reasons email list rental companies don’t sell contact information is to protect your results.

If these opt-in lists were allowed to circulate, there is a strong risk that they their integrity would not be managed properly and they might be over-circulated or spammed. By having the list carefully managed you wind up with a much more responsive list and better ROI.

“How are email lists priced?”

Pricing varies based on the email lists you select. In the tech segment better lists average from $.05 up to $.45 per name depending on targeting criteria.
With data, price and quality are highly correlated, so be careful of lowball figures on lists. We have the opportunity to select the lists we represent and could, in many cases, make more money representing lesser quality lists, but the results are generally poor and we’ve noticed that advertisers seldom wish to renew on the low cost/low quality lists.

If you do decide to seek out lists based heavily on pricing make sure to ask for references. Ask the list provider to give the names of some advertisers they work with and see if they’ll allow you to contact them about their results or ask to see testimonials from companies similar to yours. If they don’t have any customers they can refer you to, be afraid. Be very afraid.

“Can we have the first click-through page be our registration page or form page?”

Yes, you can direct click-throughs to a targeted landing page. This is a great way to collect leads and make sure visitors complete the desired action. Some of our publishers do however require that you include a link to your main page from the landing page so visitors can get more info if they desire.

“How much does this brokering service cost?”

The best part of mostbrokering services it that they don’t cost you a dime. Email list brokers are compensated through a discount arrangement extended to them via the publishers for introducing them to quality advertisers and helping those advertisers to have a successful campaign. The prices quoted are the same as you would be quoted going direct and in some cases less.

Broker Services can help you by providing:

– One centralized point of contact
– Experienced help with list selection for a variety of publishers
– Unbiased recommendations

“What format do text messages need to be submitted in?”

If you are submitting an email message in text format you will need to author the message with a text editor. Most clients use a program called notepad and can be found on all PCs by selecting:

START > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > NOTEPAD

Make sure when you submit the copy to limit your line width to 65 characters and hit return at the end of each line. This will ensure that your message formats properly when viewed by a variety of browsers.

“Will the email list rental company host images for HTML email ads?”

In most cases — no. If you are running an email campaign with an HTML ad you will need to host the images on your own server.

“Can I create a landing page?”

Yes. Landing pages help to improve campaign results by guiding visitors who click on your offer to a specialized page that collects their information.

“How is payment usually handled?”

For new advertisers on their first run payment is required prior to campaign launch. After the initial campaign most publishers offer Net 30 terms.

“What lead-time is required to place an email campaign buy?”

In general you’ll want to allow at least 3-4 business days once all payments and materials to launch a campaign are submitted. This ensures amble time for any testing and creative modifications if they are required.

“How long does it take to see campaign results?”

One of the things that clients like the most about email advertising is the speed with which responses are received. In most cases advertisers see 90% of their total response in the first 3 business days.

“How can I track the success of my email campaign?”

A variety of methods for tracking campaign success are offered. List publishers often provide a comprehensive click through report showing how many visitors clicked on the links in your email. You can also develop a specific page and track the visits to that landing page. Finally, if you require visitors to complete a form or register, you can count these respondents.