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E-ZINES 701: Creating and Increasing Profits |
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Building
a Successful Advertising Business for your E-Zine
Part 4: E-Zine Classified Ad Data Management
Starting a classified ad section in your E-Zine is a terrific way to add another revenue
stream to your business. If your E-Zine reaches a market that others want to reach also,
selling classified ads in your E-Zine can provide added value to both your subscribers and
advertisers.
If you have followed the articles in this series about E-Zine advertising, you have
already created a media kit, established ad rates and developed methods for accepting
orders and payment.
WHAT DO I NEED TO MANAGE?
1. Ad Inventory
2. Orders
3. Revenue
Keeping track of ad space in your E-Zine can be done quite easily and without spending a
lot of time and money on tools.
First, you will identify the data that needs to be tracked and then look at some simple
methods for tracking it. As you continue to develop your publication, these methods can be
adapted to your choice of database or accounting software. The key element to keep in mind
here is to find a system that is convenient, easy and one that you will use consistently.
TOOLS
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The first tools you need are a pencil and a piece paper! You will use these tools to
sketch out the data elements you need to track. Databases and computer programs will
factor in later, but remember, a computer program is used to automate manual tasks. Let's
make sure you understand the manual tasks first!
You really only need to keep track of three things.
1. Ad Inventory
2. Incoming Orders
3. Revenue from Ad Sales
1. AD INVENTORY
If you are new to classified advertising sales, the first thing you need to understand is
your ad inventory and how to calculate your maximum potential revenue. Visualize your
advertising space sitting on the shelf in a warehouse. It is unused and available. Every
time you sell an ad, you will take it out of inventory.
EXAMPLE: You publish a weekly E-Zine with five classified ads per issue. Each
advertisement will be sold for $50.
Your Ad Inventory and Maximum Potential Revenue
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Calculate Maximum Weekly Advertising Revenue
-> Five ads @ $50.00 each = $250
-> Maximum earning potential per week is $250
-> Weekly inventory of Five classified ads
Calculate Maximum Annual Advertising Revenue
-> 52 weeks multiplied by $250 = $13,000
-> Maximum earning potential per year is $13,000
-> Annual inventory of 260 classified ads
TRACKING INVENTORY USING A CROSS-TAB
Create a simple cross-tab like the one illustrated below as a quick method of tracking
your ad inventory. The first column in your cross-tab has a row for each ad. The
subsequent columns are dates of publication.
In this example, an X indicates that the ad position has been sold. You can see in this
example that your ad sales include:
-> Four ads for the July 2 issue
-> Three ads for the July 9 issue
-> Two ads for the July 16 issue
When you get another ad for 7/2, you put an X in the fifth row. You will be able to tell
at a glance that your advertising is sold out for July 2.
Many publishers keep a little paper grid like this one on a clipboard next to the
telephone so that when they receive a call about ad space, they can tell at a glance what
is available. It may not be very glamorous or high-tech, but it works!
2. Incoming Orders
=> PREPARATION
Using your master E-Zine template, create files for future issues of your E-Zine.
1. Copy your master E-Zine template to create files for future issues. Once a new file is
created, edit the publication date and issue number in the masthead to reflect the issue
number and date of publication.
EXAMPLE:
Ezine News, Issue 3, July 16, 1999
Ezine News, Issue 4, July 23, 1999
Ezine News, Issue 5, July 30, 1999
2. Save the files of future issues using file names that are
easy for you to find on your computer.
EXAMPLE:
ez_071699.txt
ez_072399.txt
ez_073099.txt
=> HOW TO PROCESS AN ORDER
You receive an order and payment for an ad to run for three weeks in your weekly E-Zine.
-> Check For Available Ad Space
First, check your cross-tab grid for available space (pencil and paper are fine). After
validating available ad space, you decide to run the ads in the 7/16, 7/23 and 7/30
issues. Using your cross-tab as illustrated earlier, put X's in the third row of 7/16,
first row of 7/23 and first row of 7/30. These X's indicate that these positions have been
removed from your ad inventory and are now sold.
-> Next you will copy the text of the ad directly into your E-Zine templates for the
dates the ads will run.
1. Open up file ez_071699.txt and copy the ad text into the classified ad section.
2. Repeat the procedure for the templates for
ez_072399.txt and ez_073099.txt. Now your ads are in place and ready for publication.
Your next step is to record your payment.
3. Revenues from Ad Sales
The last step in processing an advertisement order is to record the payment. The tools you
use to record payment will vary by publisher, depending on how you keep your financial
records. Whether you use accounting software or manage your bookkeeping with paper
ledgers, the procedure you follow is the same.
-> Create a record for a customer
-> Record a sale
-> Enter the payment information
-> Deliver a receipt to your customer
If you follow the order processing in the steps discussed above, you will always be
assured that at the time you record the payment, the ads have already been placed in your
E-Zines. Once the E-Zine is published, you have fulfilled your part of the advertising
contract.
Using any of the popular accounting software packages available today, you can run reports
on advertising revenues and further analyze trends and the profitability of your E-Zine.
Adding a classified advertising section to your E-Zine is another strategy in successful
e-publishing.
The End |
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