An ezine is the online version of a magazine. There are two main kinds of ezines. One is web based and simaler to a website and subscribers can access it online. The other kind is delivered by email.

There are ezines that can be found on a wide variety of topics and each one varies considerably in the number of subscribers they have.

As for advertising options there are three. The first is a classified ad. They are very cheap or in some cases even free but I don't recommend spending much time on them. Classifieds are unlikely to generate any significant traffic or commissions.

The next option is a sponsor ad. these can be divided into top, middle and bottom sponsor ads. The top sponsor has the best chance of earning commissions and is usually not much more expensive than the middle or bottom slots.

Finally you can choose to have a solo ad. These are generally sent out as a separate email to all the subscribers without any other ads or content than your own. Thse are the most expensive ads.

To be effective you should advertise in ezines of the same topic as the product as you are promoting. The more closely related it is to your product the more targeted the traffic will be and hence the conversions will improve.

If you want to try and earn a lot of commissions right up front then the solo ad is the best option. Since you only get one shot at selling with a solo ad they are more risky than a sponsor. If you choose solo ads then it is important to advertise in a larger ezine with over 100 thousand subscribers which will help get your advertisement more exposure and lower your risk of taking a loss.

Another good strategy is to advertise in top sponsor spots to make commissions over a longer period of time. This can work in smaller ezines but you should still find ones with at least 50,000 subscribers.

It is also important to find out if the ezine archives its old issues for this strategy to be effective. Archiving will bring in a lot of exposure to your advertisement over time. The search engines will also index archived issues and will get more people viewing your message. Many subscribers will also read the archived issues.

To earn more commissions it is important to place ads in multiple issues. Your ad should also stand out from the rest. For that reason you should write your own ad copy and not use the pre written ones provided by the merchants.

Since conversions will vary with ezines and different products you promote it will take some testing to find the right matches which are profitable. The good news is ads are relatively cheap. Also since top sponsor spots are cheaper than solos and are less risky that is the best place to start. To find out if an ezine will be profitable for your offer will usually take at least 3 issues.

I hope you find my system for ezine advertising helpfull in generating more profits for your affiliate marketing business.