Trying to find the best newsletters or magazines to place classified ads can be a daunting task. By far the best place to run classified ads is in those places your potential customers are looking for the kind of classified ad you are running.

In most cases, this will be in small, narrow market, subject specific newsletters. These are the kind of newsletters that people subscribe to for in-depth information on a single topic. And generally, they are read cover-to-cover.

Research has shown that people who subscribe to these type of publications put a high value on the information they receive in them, read them thoroughly, and read and act on the classified ads found in them.

Finding these small narrow market newsletters is like going on a treasure hunt. Because most reach only a small market, they can sometimes be difficult to find.

However, there are three easy ways to find these publications. You can go down to your local library and browse through the classified ads of most major magazines and see ads for these smaller newsletters.

While at the library, you can also ask to see the Directory of Publications, or Directory of Newsletters. Both of t hese have over 40,000 listings of newsletters and magazines that you might consider running classified ads in.

You can also utilize the power of the Internet by using search engines to locate newsletters specific to your market. In most cases, it will be well worth your effort to find one or more of these small newsletters to run classified ads in.

But before you choose the publication, it is very wise to test your ads. The most important element in mail order advertising is to test. Not only do you need to find out if your product will sell, but you have to find out what the best price is.

You have to test different ads, offers, and different publications. It is kind of like finding the combination to a three combination lock. Get all the numbers right, and you open the treasure chest.

When testing, you'll discover certain ads, offers, and magazines don't draw as many responses as another. Or after three months, a working ad may not seem to pull at all.

When this happens, try to find out what is not working, and make changes. It is a good idea to try several ads, offers and publications at the same time, so you can quickly find out what is working.

Don't be too hasty in dropping a publication. Sometimes it takes the repeat insertions of three or four months to get the proper percentage of responses. People become more secure with a repeat ad, and may pass it by until they finally get around to writing for information.

Other things you will be testing are the type of inquiry and the response package that contain a sales letter and brochure. You'll also need to test the frequency and number of times to continue mailings after you have a good customer list. Testing is the name of the game and this is where you need perseverance. Don't get discouraged. With an ad that does not work as well as you'd like, try to find out why, and use that knowledge to make your next ad better. After a while, your testing will show you what works, where and when. And that knowledge is invaluable.