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September 20, 2006

E-newsletter Advertising Campaigns
Part 1: Buying E-Newsletter Ads

by Julie Clark

Advertising in e-mail newsletters is gradually becoming commonplace, yet I still keep hearing the same questions from many marketing professionals: “What do I look for when I’m buying ad space in an e-newsletter? How do I put together an e-newsletter ad campaign for maximum effectiveness?”

Both questions get right to the heart of the matter, and as such, deserve thorough explanations. Here, I’ll address the first question, and next week, I’ll offer insight on question number two.

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"What do I look for when buying ad space in an e-newsletter?"

Start by evaluating how many people will see your ad. This isn’t as straightforward as one may think. Any sales reps worth their salt can tell you how many e-mail addresses they have on their subscriber list, but what you’re looking for HOW MANY people will SEE your ad. This is the primary thing to care about.

Therefore, inquire about the open rate of the newsletter. An open rate will be the percentage of readers (on average) that actually open the newsletter. Do the math and you’ll have a pretty good idea about how many “eyeballs” you’re actually buying.

I recently did an informal survey of leading publishers serving the pro audio industry, and they all report an open rate averaging about 22%. Factoring in an additional 2-3% for non-measured opens (a few e-mail systems don’t allow outside cookie tracking and therefore can’t be measured), an open rate of 25% in our industry is a safe bet.

On the surface, this might not seem like much, but when compared to what we know about other media buys, it’s actually quite substantial. Consider:

Do you know how many magazine readers “open” a given magazine?
Do you know how many of those readers actually “see” (let alone notice and read) the page featuring your ad?

In comparison, knowing that 25% of e-newsletter subscribers see your ad is impressive. And that’s just the start. Because of the electronic nature of e- newsletters, more information is available beyond open rates.

The next time you’re talking to an ad sales rep, ask these two questions:

What’s the click-thru-rate (CTR) of the newsletter? In other words, how many of the people that opened the e-newsletter actually clicked on anything? Except for e-newsletters designed in column format (which don’t typically generate a lot of clicks), the CTR percentage indicates readership engagement.

In other words, it’s valuable to know how many readers are not just opening an e-newsletter, but how many are actually going the next step in acquiring information. If many people open - but don’t actually read – an e-newsletter then “eyeball” exposure is minimized, meaning that your message is not garnering adequate attention.

Based upon my research, a CTR of around 18% is relatively high in the pro audio industry. Anything higher is better while anything lower should be factored into your decision making process.

Which ad campaigns have worked well in the past? Ad sales reps should be able to provide examples of successful e-newsletter advertising campaigns, along with an analysis of why they worked. This information, combined with the assumptions you can make about reader demographics, lends valuable insight into how your ad campaign should be structured.

Once you’ve determined these pieces of the puzzle, its back to basics.

How many times do I need to advertise in an e-newsletter to maximize effectiveness? Consider your own e-mail newsletter reading habits. You probably don’t get around to reading every newsletter you subscribe to even if it’s your favorite. Who has the time? This is why we’re working with an open rate of 25%.

Therefore, although we may know that 25% will open the newsletter, we can safely assume that it’s not the same 25% each time. The key to maximizing eyeballs is to buy space in consecutive newsletters, helping to insure that you’re getting some repetitive hits along with some fresh ones. I suggest a minimum of four consecutive newsletters, and further, it’s important to give this number perspective as it relates to the specific goals of your ad campaign.

What about ad placement? Nail down your ad placement when you negotiate the media buy. Factors to consider and a couple of pitfalls to avoid:

People read left to right. Therefore a right-side ad placement is more likely to be read than a left-side placement. If you can’t secure right-side placement you should be paying less.

Ads that run within the copy of the newsletter – especially if they’re similar in look to the news bites being presented in the “real” copy – can be quite effective.

Many people view e-mail through their system’s preview screen. This may show the top 1/8 or 1/4 of the e-newsletter. Therefore an ad in the top placement will be seen even if the reader doesn’t open the newsletter. (This can be a plus if open rates are not very high.)

Avoid “below the fold”. Depending on the format of the newsletter, the reader may never get to lower-placed content (and therefore, lower-placed ads) even if they’re located on the right side.

What else can I do to get a higher return on my e-newsletter advertising? Creative and tracking are absolutely key. Tune in next week for part 2 of this article where I’ll address creating and tracking e-newsletter ad campaigns for maximum marketing effectiveness.

Questions or comments? E-mail me at jclark@insight-media-group.com.