Where to Promote Your Ebay Ads

Here’s another reason why I say that you should know what you sell. If you’re selling collectible coins, you know which trade (or special interest) publications you like to read. Why don’t you give those a shot first? If you’re not really sure, or perhaps you’d like to see what other publications are available, go over to Google and search the words magazine, publication, news along with the keyword that describes the items you sell. Go to the publication’s Web site and check out their advertising department. You should plan your ad campaign several months before you’d like the ads to appear. Many publications have a long lead-time between booking and final publishing.

Following are a few more tips about advertising your business that you can take to heart:

• Preview the publication: If you’ve never seen the publication before, e-mail (or call the toll-free number) and ask for a sample along with the rate card. They’ll be more than willing to send you a back issue! After you get a copy of the magazine, newspaper, or whatever, take a hard look at it and answer these questions: Would people who read this publication be likely to shop at your eBay store? Do you like the magazine? Does it fit your perception of your customers’ lifestyle? Do the advertisers seem legitimate?

• Check out the ad rates. With publications, cheap doesn’t always mean best. Figure out what your cost per thousand readers will be and keep that in mind. When the ad runs, use your eBay statistics to see how much of an increase you get in visitors.

• Consider running your ad more than once: A one-time ad rarely pulls enough to pay for itself. A consistent advertising campaign of repeated ads (even every other issue) will get the attention of the publication’s readership and build their confidence in you and increase visits to your store. A consistent campaign works much better than scattered ads here and there with no direction.

• Start out small with a single publication: That will make it easier for you to track the success of your campaign. eBay maintains a list of qualified newspapers and magazines. It’s a long and ever-changing list, so go to the following for the most up-to-date information: www.ebaycoopadvertising.com/QualifiedPublisher.aspx