One of the most powerful methods is the use of solo ads in Ezines. An Ezine is an online publication that has a specific focus. The word "Ezine" is a combined form of the words "electronic" and "magazine". These publications are sent to a list of subscribers at a regular interval. This could be every week, two weeks or monthly.

A solo ad is precisely what it says. It is an ad that goes by email all by itself with nothing attached to it. If you've ever noticed, in an email ad there are sometimes ads at the top and bottom of the main ad. A solo ad will NOT have those, so there is nothing to distract the attention from your advertisement. When you send a solo ad your marketing message is the only message the Recipient receives. This increases your click thru rate and gives you greater overall conversion rates.

Solo ads can be of varying sizes. The ezine publisher will provide you with the exact guidelines as to how your ad must be formatted. Usually the number of lines and characters per line are the main concerns. These ads are extremely affordable starting at about $2 per mailing, but our focus here is on free methods. So how does this apply to solo ads?

Most Ezines will offer subscribers a "Paid to read" option. For reading emails sent out you receive a little cash or points. This can be saved up and used towards a free ad sent to the entire subscribership. In essence you are receiving a solo ad for free or at most a very low investment of advertising dollars. This ad will then be seen by many prospects in your target market these are the exact type of prospect you want to reach with your marketing message.

By putting your opt-in form inside the email, you could essentially get a couple hundred or more FREE leads. These leads are not only free, but laser targeted due to the fact that your ad is probably focused on the theme of the Ezine. Since we are using a funded proposal, you also stand to make a little money off of this free ad.

All you need to do is join a few Ezines and take the "paid to read" option. Then just read some ads. Save up your points or cash and use it towards the purchase of your ad. Essentially, this is a free ad since you have earned the right to send it rather than pay for it outright. Add the fact that the leads attained are targeted and you are in a win-win situation. There is no way you can lose here.

The ads you read may also yield something you haven't thought of before that could enhance what you already do online. All successful marketers are on the lookout for anything that will enhance their businesss. So you get to scout the Internet while earning free ads to thousands of subscribers AND getting free leads to boot.

What could be better for any business? This is a win-win-grow scenario for the serious marketer.