What are best practices for displaying ads in email newsletters?

These are all good reasons to think hard before placing ads in your email newsletter. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. In fact, as you may have noticed, many marketers do feature advertising in their email messages. And as with any medium, there are best practices for displaying advertising in email. Here’s a few to ponder:

• What size placements work best for your email template? The most used and recommended ad sizes for email are 468 x 60 for headers and footers, 120 x 600 Towers to run along the right rail, the 250 x 250 square, and of course text advertisements of varying character lengths.

• Look at which sizes blend most naturally into your current template. And don’t stop at just one layout – create two or three versions each using different ad sizes and arrangements. Then test, test and test. Which layout has the highest open rate? Which has the highest combined click-though rate? The highest opt-out rate? Which ad placement rates the highest?

• Consider testing graphic ads versus text ads. Graphics typically garner higher click-through rates (and thus media cost), but you may opt for a more deliverability-friendly text ad that will always be displayed regardless of message rendering.

• Look to add to your email with advertising, not distract from it. Rather than sell each individual placement in your newsletter, sell them all to one advertiser. This ensures the advertiser “owns” that particular campaign and opens the opportunity for advertisers to create placements that all work together leading to a less jumbled look and higher performance.

• Where possible, try to control content. This is easy for some, impossible for others. Develop an Advertising Guidelines document that restricts distasteful ad content. If you can encourage relevant ad content then do so. For example, if your email newsletter content focuses on healthcare, then steer ad content to promote healthcare products and services. If possible, also consider which brands are being promoted in your emails – do they add or detract from your identity?

• Close the loop. While it has become easier to track the basics in email performance like clicks and opens, strive to be able to tie revenue to a click. This typically requires an integration, either manual or automated, between the data of the advertiser (revenue) and the marketer who is sending the email (clicks). Being able to know ROI from advertising in your email is a powerful selling point that allows you to demand higher media costs.

With all that being said, some email newsletters solely exist to display advertising. This is the case for many publishers. Many of the above recommendations around testing and content still apply, however, if ads are the reason the newsletter is being sent out in the first place, then your layout should reflect that.

When emails exist to display advertising, then content takes the back seat to ads. In these cases, advertising should distract. It should be placed to “pop”, not to blend into the background. It should be above the fold, not buried outside the viewable dimensions of your email where a user needs to scroll to see it. This will ensure your ads grab attention and garner more clicks, leading to higher advertising revenue.

Advertising in email newsletters can be done, and must be done in some cases. By following best practices, you can ensure that the ad helps you accomplish your objectives rather than just add to the clutter.

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