This article will save you $10,000. 

 

I advertised with two different companies who offered a banner ad and a text link in their newsletter that went out to 300,000 plus people.  I will not name these companies but one was a top 10 magazine in the U.S., another was a leading web service provider.  The price to do advertising with either was a minimum of $10,000.  I later found out why there's a $10,000 minimum.

 

I tried to get them to let me try a sample.  How about 20,000 newsletter emails for $1,000?  If I get 0 sales for 20,000 newsletter emails, why would I want to send out 300,000 newsletter emails?  That was my logic.  Guess what?  That's their logic too!  That's why they don't offer it!

 

Both were companies who's readership was pretty much targeted for my product and the sales rep told me about all the successful companies who have advertised with them.  “Their newsletters work!”  So I paid the $10,000 to both companies for their newsletter emails.  It was basically 0.33 an email newsletter going out to this supposed great targeted group, a fair price, if it was effective.

 

These companies promised certain placement, they said I could change the ads the next day if they were ineffective, they promised a detailed text product description in the email then put in only a five word title.  They told me the campaign would last for a full week and I could change the ad if necessary, blah, blah, blah.  It was all a lie!  They blew the entire ad campaign out in 8 hours.  From the two ad campaigns $10,000 each ($20,000 total) I received five orders for $200!  Talk about getting smashed on a deal.  One of the most unprofessional business dealings I've ever had, at least in the top 5.  A TOTAL SCAM.  Once they got the $20,000, I couldn't even get a hold of anyone.  No one would even answer my phone calls for days.  When they did, they were like, "Oh well, you lost your ass.  NEXT."

 

So I cancelled the two checks and they got nothing.  I'm the most honest person you'll ever meet, but I'm not letting someone just steal $20,000 from me, then tell me "Oh well, we got paid that's all that matters."  These big companies threatened with lawsuits for a year but eventually dropped them.  I’m telling you to do this.  I’m just telling you what I did.

 

Another thing I learned here.  A #1 sales rep trick you'll always hear is, when they tell you of all the different companies who advertised with them, starting with the biggest ones first.  Sales reps reel off names of 50 companies who did this same ad campaign you’re thinking about doing, "So you should too."  Ever think maybe all 50 companies lost their asses too?  Not "think they did," most did.  Who cares that they just advertised with you, give me results on paper of how many sales these companies received from the newsletter.  Major corporations easily spend a hundred million dollars a year in bad marketing.  That's $20,000 wasted every two hours.  Someone’s job is to spend all of the money in the corporate budget and they get paid a check every week whether the ad loses money or not.  Me.  If I lose $20,000, I Iose $20,000.  I don’t get a check for losing the money.

 

I actually think this could be a great medium, which is the reason I tried it to begin with, but you have to have real exposure in the newsletter for it to yield any results.  Five words or a banner at the very top of the newsletter is going to get you NOTHING.  Your ad has to appear somewhere within the middle of content of the newsletter.  Even better, your company should be mentioned and endorsed in the newsletter by the company who puts it out.  This way whoever reads it, hears about your company too. Smaller companies may do this.  But the big corporations have the newsletter writer in one department, the person who puts the ad in the newsletter is in another department, and they have a fulltime sales person in another department trying to squeeze every penny out of you.  Once they get the money and your ad, it's sent to the ad department and thrown anywhere on the page, without a second thought if it will be effective for you.  They may even edit your text down, change the ad, basically do whatever they want.  You lose $10,000, they make $10,000, next.

 

I never got this but if you're selling ad space, wouldn't it be smart, even common sense, to position the clients ad in a way that they actually get business from it?  Really.  What's the big deal to put the ad in the middle of the newsletter instead of at the very top and to mention the company in the newsletter too?  Is the goal to get sales for the business who is advertising, or just sales for the newsletter owner?  It should be both but many companies just don't get it!  Maybe give customers an honest service, an honest chance to succeed, and they might come back and spend money with you again.  Am I the only one who ever thought of this?