I was recently researching alternate methods of advertising for a client since PPC’s like Adwords and Overture are so hit and miss. And since the optimization process for the search engines can sometimes be a long one, we needed to find a quick solution to targeted traffic.

There is a myriad of programs and services out there that offer great things when it comes to this aspect of internet marketing. You all have read my rants and raves about the uselessness of these over hyped self proclaimed “guru’s” and their “amazing laser targeted” B.S. Whatever you do, do not fall into their game. It will only be a waste of your hard earned money.

One of my most favorite quotes of all time is "the only thing that works is work". My Grand Father used to tell me that to get me to cut his grass with an archaic push mower with out an engine. So the question is what to work on.

The answer is eZines. People have been building opt in subscriber lists since the dawn of the internet and many have literally thousands of subscribers. This is where the work comes in.

The task? Locate these list owners and request an advert. This can be a tough project and a risky one. Let me tell you why. Finding an eZine publisher that will have an attentive and responsive list is like finding the proverbial “needle in a haystack”. These days almost every website has a newsletter. The issue at hand is whether or not that list has been abused. If the list owner rarely publishes, over publishes, inundates their subscribers with ads, publishes junk, or any other form of eZine malnourishment, the subscriber will opt out of the list, or worst case; junk mail it. If it is junk mailed the publisher will never know that his subscriber is not receiving his mailings, thus developing a padded list.

Now that you know the dangers and pitfalls, I will give you a solution. I have four tools and a process that will help you make an educated decision when choosing an eZine publisher to place your website’s ad in.

The first is an easy way to find publishers that are willing to place ads. The best part about this tool is you will be able to find many publishers that will allow first time ads to run for free. And for you webmasters with a list already, you will have the opportunity to run “joint ventures”. These are “swapped” ads on each others’ eZines. 

The Directory of eZines is the place to locate these publishers. I added my info to this directory and within 24 hours I was receiving offers for ads and joint ventures. With the help of the Directory you will have literally thousands of list owners just waiting to send out your ad.

Just because you have an abundance of advertisers at your fingertips in the directory doesn’t mean that they are honest about their info. Some will say they have 3000 subscribers and really have 300. You have to beware of the fact that people will lie to you to make money! So to protect yourself by using the following process and tools so you can discern the liars from the true players.

First step is to locate your chosen advertiser in theDirectory of eZines. Make a note of their list size and the frequency it gets published. Look for publishers with a large list and a bi-monthly circulation.

Next follow the link in the directory to the eZine sign up page and sign up. Use a free email address from hotmail or yahoo so that the address can be dropped if the box becomes a spam target. As the weeks go on read the publications and note the date and frequency they are published.

You should also read their archives if they have them available to see what kind of content they publish and what ads they allow to be run through their eZine. If you see a prominent ad, then you know that that advertiser trusts that ezine publisher.

The next step is to evaluate the traffic of the eZine publisher’s website. You will need to figure out if the traffic justifies the claimed size of the publishers list. For example; if the list is said to be 10k subscribers but the site only gets 2k visitors a month, it is unlikely that the list can be that size. Notice I said unlikely. They may have undergone other list building methods or build subscribers from multiple websites. 

The best evaluation tools are Google Page Rank, Alexa, and Metrics Market. All these tools will give you a rank or estimated traffic hits for a website. Look for a high Page Rank and hits from Metrics Market and a low Alexa ranking. Sometime on Alexa you can see how long a website has been online, and that will give you another good indication as well.

While you are going through this process be sure to be submitting your ad to the ezines that will allow a free ad. Don’t send an ad selling your wares; instead send an ad that is giving away a freebee that will require their readers to subscribe to your list. This will increase your subscribers from theirs and in turn can make you more money that an advert for your products or services.

In closing, use your best judgment. Be sure to budget your advertising expense and from your research, pick the best eZine to advertise with. If you get a good response from that ad run another. Mix the ads up so they look fresh and new.

Feel free to contact me with any questions about this method. There is a lot to it and it can be time consuming, but it is a highly effective way to build your list and website traffic.