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Accepting and Managing Advertising while Publishing

Every publisher needs to determine at some point a general plan of advertising within each publication. There are many considerations that need to be given when determining the amount of advertising that will be allowed, the type of advertising allowed, and what the eventual cost of the advertising will be.

Advertising does indeed bring in extra revenue, and can also add to a subscriber list rather quickly, especially if free advertising is accepted. Several issues need to be considered when implementing an advertising plan, however, and this plan does need to be in place before the very first publication goes out. Below is a brief outline of a possible advertising plan that hopefully will be of some guidance when planning an advertising directive:

1. Will advertising be allowed? Not all e-zines and newsletters accept or encourage advertising. It depends on the audience of the publication, the needs and wants of the publisher, the financial status of the publisher, the time constraints of the publisher, and the benefits that advertising may or may not bring to a publication. Advertising can be beneficial in that it does bring in some revenue and subscribers, but it also can be difficult to manage at times. Acceptance of advertising does mean that the publisher is responsible for the "correctness" of the ad submitted, as well as its timeliness of publication. It also means that the publisher needs a well-though-out plan of payment for any advertising, as well as realistic advertising rates. Advertising rates are usually based on the number of subscribers, i.e., the larger the subscriber rate, the higher the advertising fees will be. A plan for refunds must also be in place prior to publication if advertising is accepted.

2. If advertising is to be allowed, what types will be allowed? Specifications must be made to advertisers concerning:

a. The inclusion of free ads.
b. The inclusion of adult materials and other possible controversial matter.
c. The exact line and character length of each ad.
d. The use of punctuation, i.e, the use of capitals and other punctuation marks that may trigger "spam" filters.
e. The number of ad submissions that will be accepted in each publication by each individual advertiser.
f. The types of businesses that the publication prefers: If a publication speaks directly to a certain audience, it is wise to specify this beforehand.
g. The types of businesses that the publication disallows entirely: If a publication does not allow ads by MLM, Network Marketing, or Affiliate programs, this does need to be specified.
h. A date by which all ads are due, one that is well in advance of the date of publication.
i. A realistic approximation of waiting time for publication of all ads. The more popular the publication, the longer this may be, and publishers do need to specify the approximate waiting length to all potential advertisers.
j. A refund policy that is very specific as to the guidelines concerning refunds. This needs to include: type of refund (partial or full), how long an advertiser has to request a refund, how long a refund takes to generate, how to request a refund, how to expect payment of a refund, plus any other variables that the publisher feels would fit their schedules and payment options.
k. Any other specifications the publisher feels would benefit the readership, as the needs of the readership do need to always come before the needs of the publisher or the needs of any advertisers.

3. The responsibilities of the advertisers in the advertising process. Publishers need to establish all responsibilities of advertisers before acceptance of any ads. These include: having the ad polished and ready to publish, having the payment made well in advance of publication, contacting the publisher immediately when errors do occur, having the ad well-worded and written, as well as edited, and having the ad forwarded to the publisher before the due date. Publishers may also insist on a "review" of ads before publication and can use their discretion to disallow any ad they feel doesn't fit the publication or is unfavorable for any reason.

4. A disclaimer that the publisher is not in any way directly responsible for ads or their content, and cannot be held liable or responsible for ads that appear in the publication.

5. An overview of any accepted ads before publication. This usually entails a visit to either the Web site, product, or other publication being promoted, to verify authenticity as well as applicability.

Advertising in e-zines and newsletters can be very productive and fruitful not only for publishers, but for the advertisers. E-zine and newsletter advertising has been on the rise the past few years and good results do occur when this advertising is done effectively. A few other guidelines for most effective advertising do exist. These include:

1. Keeping the advertising targeted to the audience of the publication. Most response occurs when the advertising reflects the needs and wants of the readership.
2. Keeping the number of ads per issue limited. Too many ads makes readers "skim" over most of them, and causes any ads to be "lost" within an issue. Although many advertisers per issue, does mean more revenue per issue, having many ads defeats this purpose, as the response rate tends to be lower with the number of ads. Advertisers that don't generate responses stop buying advertising space rather quickly.
3. Keeping the number of free ads, if they are accepted, to a minimum. Free ads are a great way to garner additional subscribers, as some will join just to attain an ad, but they quickly move on, don't read the publication, and rather quickly annoy the other readers with repeated advertising.
4. Keeping the price of the ads in direct proportion to the readership. If a good publication has many dedicated readers, it is beneficial to use pricing that reflects this, permitting the publisher to "weed out" those that would hinder the publication and also provide readers with services and products that they might be seeking. An advertiser that is happy to pay a higher price, is almost certain that the publication will bring customers and that the product or service will reflect the tastes of the readers.

Advertising in e-zines and newsletters has become more difficult now than it was years ago. Publishers, because of the "spam" filters that are employed now, do find it sometimes difficult to accept advertising, or to charge a realistic price for it, as delivery to all subscribers sometimes does not occur because of the filters. Therefore, it is prudent to realistically weigh the price against the "number of possible deliveries". It is always in a publisher's best interests to be realistic about these filters and to take this into consideration when developing an advertising plan. Many publishers, because of the general "non-delivery" rates that have now increased have stopped accepting advertising recently, as they don't feel comfortable accepting rates that are based upon their subscriber rate, which may or may not really reflect their "delivery rate".

It's also advantageous for publishers to acquire good publication creation software that contains "spam check" features. These features allow publishers to check for "spam-filter" triggering phrases, and to replace these phrases before delivery with others that are acceptable and will enhance the highest possible number of deliveries. Top of the line publication creation software with these features is almost a "must-have" in the world of publishing today. Good publication creation software also makes the placement of advertising within any publication easier and more efficient, and can increase advertising revenues with a professional layout to the advertising. Publications that highlight advertising with correct placement and a professional look, can easily command higher advertising rates than those that deliver poor layout and enhancement of the ad.

Acceptance of advertising within a publication can be accomplished professionally with a well-though-out advertising plan and the use of good publication creation software. As with everything in the world of publishing, it simply takes the right tools and the right planning in order for advertising to be as effective and pleasant as possible for everyone involved.