Letter# 67: Expert interview on running ads to distribute content
Including an avoid-at-all-costs mistake and three secrets to create high-converting newsletter ads
Helloo hello!
Can you hear the excitement in my voice?
It comes from a new book delivery: Will Smith’s autobiography that I ordered because I enjoyed reading Disney’s CEO’s book. It got me thinking: why not learn from more memoirs? 🤔
Next up, I’m planning to order Steve Job’s biography. Have more recommendations? Please email ‘em to me 🙏
Anyway, onto today’s letter — we’ll cover a not-so-often-talked-about content distribution tactic, running newsletter ads that Robert Katai, a good friend and the Marketing & Communication Manager at Creatopy, uses to promote webinars.
As always, I asked him our regular three questions:
A mistake Robert made when learning to use newsletters to distribute content
An actionable tip to get you one step closer to running newsletter ads
And a secret tip to create high-converting newsletter ads
Here’s a newsletter ad example that Robert ran in the Psychology of Marketing newsletter:
With this, let’s dig in:
👉 Learn from Robert’s mistake: Not taking brand-newsletter fit into account.
“I thought that if I only threw up a web banner on that newsletter, people would click on it and come to the webinar,” admits Robert.
“But I found out that the topic the newsletter was writing about should be on the same page as the brand that was sponsoring the newsletter. So, for example, if the newsletter was talking about ad animations, it would be a great fit for Creatopy to be there, but if the newsletter was talking about email marketing, I didn't believe that Creatopy was a good brand fit.”
In short:
“I learned that when it comes to content distribution, it’s not only about quantity and I need to pay attention to the context too. A great brand fit will help me get better results and also respect the readers that see my brand in the wrong context.”
👉 Do this today: Regularly read the newsletter you’re targeting for your ads.
“Consume the content where you want to distribute your ad. It is very important to know what kind of content this newsletter is sending, how it is written, and how the readers interact with it. This will help you figure out what kind of message you need to craft and use to get the better results you want. The more you know about the newsletter, the better you will be at crafting the best possible ad for that newsletter.”
The process, therefore, starts with “[subscribing] to the specific newsletter, reading it for an entire month, and getting familiar with it.”
“It is [also] ]very important to understand what the newsletter is about, see how other sponsors have used it, and then figure out what you can do differently to attract readers’ attention and convert them to click on your ad.”
“After that, I would recommend reaching out to the newsletter editor and starting a conversation, finding out what they think about you and your product, and using their experience to craft the best ad that will work.”
Bonus tip: You don’t need a big newsletter with hundreds or thousands of subscribers to be successful. “A niche newsletter with a high open rate and ideal CTR” is ideal according to Robert.
👉 The secret tip to running high-converting newsletter ads: “Be consistent.”
“This doesn’t just mean placing the ad in the same spot every time, but also having a consistent message and offer that you are promoting.
Having a consistent message will help the readers of the newsletter not only recognize your brand but also build trust with them, as they know what to expect from you every time you place an ad.”
Robert shares two more tips:
Focus on the right audience when running newsletter ads.
“Having a tight target audience with specific interests and needs will help you get better results, as they will be more likely to click on your ad and then actually convert because they are interested in your product/service.”
Track your ad performance
“Having a good A/B testing plan will help you not only get better results but also figure out the best practices to use when running newsletter ads. Most newsletter editors will gladly help you track the performance of your ad, so make sure to take advantage of that and use it to optimize the performance of your ads.”
That’s all for today, fellas.
I’ll catch you next Tuesday.
Cheers,
Masooma
Memoirs can be a good resource for learning about the mistakes and successes of others. It's always a good investment to take time and find out about and really understand the audience you want to reach.