What's In An Ad... The Advantages of Ad Testing
by Theresa Cahill
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2003


Hello and good morning! I've got something truly useful to
share with you today about your ezine advertising.

The other day I joined a new leads program designed to
increase one's mailing list or ezine subscriber list,
PushButton Leads http://www.thewizworld.com/pb.html. 

The system itself is a simple one - join for a 10 day free 
trial (at the time of my writing this), insert your ad for 
your ezine into the system - sit back and watch the new 
subscribers just "roll on it!"

Okay, so I did all that - using what I believed to be an
ad fairly representing my own ezine, TheWizWorld MRC
Newsletter. This first ad read:

======================================================

TheWizWorld MRC Newsletter - Build your personal name 
branding online! Innovative, interactive!

======================================================

The results? Less than stellar I've got to admit. Given
only 100 characters to explain ones ezine is a tad tricky,
this is about 1/5 the size of a typical ezine ad you're
normally given to express yourself.

So what did I do next? Yep, exactly what we are told 
(or tell) others to do - I tweaked the ad. 

It then read:

======================================================

TheWizWorld MRC Newsletter - LEARN HOW TO build your
name branding online. Marketing tips, tricks, resources,
and more!

======================================================

And guess what? If you're thinking that my signups jumped
(a bit) you are absolutely correct! Still the results
were not nearly up to what this is going to cost per month
to keep the service - currently $19.95 a month subscription.

That's where Raymond McNally of RTDWebsolutions.com stepped
in. He, too, is using the system and I mentioned to him
my first ad's lackluster performance, and that the second
(tweaked) ad seemed to be doing a bit better. Not great, 
but better.

Knowing that sometimes it's hard to put into words what
one does all day long, Raymond volunteered to look at my
current ad to see if he could improve on it.

His rewrite reads:

======================================================

TheWizWorld MRC Newsletter - Discover the secrets to 
proven marketing methods online. More than an ezine... 
it's a community!

======================================================

If you are a subscriber, you'll know "Bingo!" he hit the
nail on the head with this ad. It is a community! Without
TheWizWorld readers there literally would be no ezine -
every issue is created from input sent in, questions,
thoughts, comments and ideas by readers for readers.

So, of course I opted to give his ad a go!

And, I can safely say that to date this IS the best ad
for my own ezine - it IS pulling much better than the
first two.

So, what's the point of this article? Testing!

Testing, tweaking, and working your ad until you get 
it "just right!"

Initially my first impression was to "blame it on the
program itself." I admit it, it just must be human nature.

But, having an advertising co-op has taught me a few
things - the most important - never settle for less.
Put your time and attention to your ad, and advertise
on a consistent basis - the two most important rules of
thumb for any online marketer.

Hence, my own process to make my ad into something so
noticeable that a person would just HAVE to subscribe or
they'd feel like they were missing out :)

And my experience can be your experience! Advertising
is persuasion at it's finest. 

Having little luck with your current batch of ads? 
Tweak them. Test them. Delete them and start fresh if 
need be... but never give up!

You, too, can have better results with YOUR advertising.

Don't settle for the rehashed affiliate ads. Be creative!
Test, test, and test again.

Rome was not built in a day - and neither is the world's
best ad!

=========================================

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Theresa Cahill is the owner of two advertising co-ops,
http://www.mywizardads.com and http://quickneasyads.com
Two services for two types of advertisers! Those who
enjoy subscribing, and those who prefer to advertise
without the need to subscribe. Come for a vist! And,
to gather more opt-in leads of your own, visit: 
http://www.thewizworld.com/pb.html