Warning! Beware Of Ad Attacks

by Sheryl Rich copyright 2002

Is it just me? ...or is the current trend in ezine advertising beginning to look like an ad 'feeding frenzy'?

With several years of online marketing under my belt and having published two of my own newsletters during most of that time, I have watched, and participated in, many of the 'ad fads' which continuously wane in and out of our marketing lives.

We all want to find the ultimate advertising medium; and understandably so- advertising is at the very core of our business success, BUT- I am beginning to feel like I am witnessing the beginning of the end of effective ezine advertising.

I unsubscribed from over a dozen newsletters this week because of a very popular advertising method that seems to be literally overpowering if not just downright smothering more and more newsletters lately. (I won't mention this ad method by name but I bet most of you reading this will immediately have a clue which one I am talking about).

As I was very pointedly told by one prickly editor when I told him why I was unsubscribing from his newsletter (well, he asked), "It wouldn't be so popular if it didn't work."

Well, on the surface that seems like a sound premise. BUT- it has cost him one subscriber that I know of, and I am sure several more- and without subscribers- who will read all those ads? I guess all the editors running those ads amongst their respective ezines.

Now this is just my opinion, and you know what they say about THOSE, but I happen to think that this particular type of advertising is creating a network of editors who are catering to the needs of each other in a sort of advertising 'round-table support group' instead of catering to the needs of their readers.

Many of these editors are placing their own ads in each other's newsletters and it just goes 'round and 'round and 'round, see what I mean?

And there are so-called 'subscribers' to these newsletters who are beginning to treat this ad option like the ad-blasting opt-in lists of the 'old days'. The opt-in concept was another good idea that ended up just as abused. Eventually everyone stopped reading THOSE ads, too.

All of you picking up big sticks just stand in line with the affronted editor I mentioned before. I know it sounds like I am bashing this one specific advertising program, but my point is this: (FINALLY, you say)-

If we, both publishers and 'subscribers' who are abusing newsletter advertising options, are not careful, and more responsible, we will see ezines go into the same trash bin as the ad-blasting lists I mentioned earlier. And that is going to be just so sad-too bad. Newsletters, are/ can be/ should be a great source of information, education, support, and yes- a highly effective advertising medium when ads are presented in addition to, not instead of, the main content.

When two-thirds of a newsletter are filled with ads, and usually the top two-thirds, it begins to get reallllly difficult to find the meat and potatoes content of the newsletter - which is what I subscribe to any newsletter for in the first place.

What is alarming about this is that as more and more room is needed to fulfill those advertising obligations to which these editors commit, ad placement agreements contracted through ANY of these obligatory ad placement agreements- not just the one I was picking on earlier- there is less and less room for any real content at all.

In some newsletters, like those from which I just unsubscribed, there isn't enough real content left to warrant the space it takes up in my inbox. And 'real' subscribers- those who subscribe to actually READ the newsletter- (can you imagine?) duck and run when they receive an ad sheet masquerading under the title of 'newsletter'.

As a publisher I personally know all too well how time consuming and labor intensive maintaining a newsletter is and that there are three main benefits to embarking on such a project, (excluding having a purely masochistic personality of course), and I will list them here in order based on most benefit gained in my own personal experience:

(1) Satisfaction-

I can stand here before you and truthfully say that publishing a newsletter has been one of the most satisfying things of my online life. There are subscribers to my newsletter(s) whom I now consider friends after years of correspondence back and forth. And I can't tell you what a feeling it is to receive a comment like, "Thank you for your wonderful newsletter, it helps me so very much. I am new to all of 'this' and I am learning so much from your newsletter."

(2) The opportunity to build a list of like-minded individuals who may also be interested in your own products, services or programs.

and (3).... .... .... .... ahem... .... .... .... .... Yes, waaaaay down the list is money earned from advertising. I would be embarassed to tell you what this income adds up to if figured by the hours invested. Just ask ANY publisher of ANY newsletter.

I am sure that is why so many publishers are getting lured in by the prospect of more advertising money. Publishing a newsletter is not easy and there is relatively very little monetary compensation.

But if we are not more responsible we are going to lose a valuable online resource.

P.S. Please do not send hate mail and death threats to the brave editor who decides to publish this article. I know that many editors who are energetically participating in some of these ad programs are going to be 'a little peeved' at some of my statements. If you truly MUST vent you can send letter bombs to this email address: sherrichyh@yahoo.com I will answer all except those containing attachments. Self preservation must prevail.

---------------------------------------------- Sheryl Rich publishes The GroupPost Newsletter and Your Weekly Reminder Ezine. Both newsletters are dedicated to helping home based workers and online marketers, both newbies and pros, succeed on a shoestring budget. You can subscribe free from either of the following sites: http://www.angelfire.com/zine/grouppost http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grouppost/join ----------------------------------------------

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