How to Advertise in a Magazine

By Sage Dean

So you would like the public to know of your company and services and/or products? A magazine advertisement is an excellent way to get noticed, but it is not so easy. This marketing strategy takes some effort and planning on your part in order to fully take advantage of the medium.

Which Magazine?

Magazines can be an excellent source of advertising, but you have to know which one. Besides choosing a magazine with readers that will be intrigued by your products and/or services, you most likely want to choose a magazine with a large readership. Determining the level of readership for the magazine should be one of the first aspects looked into, but sometimes the reports of readership can be misleading.

A magazine may tell you that over 100,000 people will be exposed to your ad. That sounds great but the magazine only prints about 60,000 copies. You have to consider that a decent proportion of the magazines they produce are going to dealers and newsstands meaning that a good number of magazines may never be opened at all. Also, publishers may conduct surveys to gain a sense of readership that could be misleading to the advertiser. For instance, a publisher may ask an office subscriber how many people work in the office, so the publisher will count all of the people working in that office as readers (though they may not be so). Publishers do the same with single subscriptions delivered to a library.

There is a huge difference between readership figures and distribution figures, and to their own benefit, publishers will do their best to blur the difference to advertisers. An advertiser has to get a sense of how often a potential reader will generate a potential sale. You want to get a number of paid subscribers instead of distribution numbers because paid subscribers are most likely going to be your target market and the ones that are more likely to read the magazine all the way through (looking at the advertiser’s spread).

Media Kits

When contacting a magazine about possible advertising, ask them to send you a media kit. The media kit will contain useful information and will provide you with a better outlook about the company. The kits include: - Sample issue of the magazine
- A rate card which explains the advertising rates, allowable discounts, positioning, etc.
- Advertising specifications
- Circulation information

The media kit will give you a better view of the readership and the benefit of placing your ads with the magazine. Some information may show intricate numbers into demographics and the socioeconomic status of readers.

Newsletters

Advertising in newsletters is another excellent source of advertising. Most people who subscribe to them will read the entire newsletter through and therefore will definitely see the advertisements. Prices vary greatly for running ads in newsletters usually depending on the popularity of the newsletter. Some publishers will charge a very high amount for running an ad, but your ad may be the only one in the newsletter. Other publishers will charge less money because advertisements on the newsletter are in abundance.

Keeping Tabs on Sales

When making a sale in relation to your service or product, it is important to find the reason for the consumer’s interest. If their road to you was paved by ads in a certain magazine, then you know that it is beneficial to your company to continue advertising through that avenue. A company that is experiencing success may not think about ‘where’ the attention is coming from, but keeping track of advertising should be of high importance regardless of success rates. For instance, some companies may find that a great amount of revenue is generated through word-of-mouth. This is great for the business because then they can not spend so many extra dollars on advertising through billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc.

It is always good business to assess how well your conversion rate is doing in relation to dollars spent advertising and sales made. Most likely, you will want to do this at least twice a year (if not more). Figure out how much you are spending on each thoroughfare of advertising and if it is worth it to continue on with the process. For instance, if a lot of revenue is not generated from advertising with a magazine, consider either lowering the frequency of your ads, decreasing the size of the ads, or not advertising in the magazine at all.

Ad Size

Ad sizes differ and the prices differ as well. It is suggested to start small and see how well the ad is attracting consumers. A well worded and graphically intriguing ad will always be better than a dull but big ad. A good idea would be to look at the other advertisements in the magazine and see what the majority is doing. You may want your ads to ‘stand out’ from other ads, so you may choose to go bigger or smaller to mark a sense of differentiation. This is something you will either want to assess for yourself or by getting some advice from a third party. You do not want to seek the consultation of the magazine because they will obviously tell you to go with the bigger size which will mean more money for them.

Ad Placement

Just as size matters, placement matters as well. Your ad’s effectiveness may be contingent on it being in the front, middle, or back of the magazine. This is another reason to get a familiarity with the magazine before placing ads within it. If the magazine is in the habit of putting their most intriguing (cover) articles in the middle of the magazine, then it would be logical to assume that most readers will be perusing through that portion of the magazine and will most likely see the ads placed there as well.

Unfortunately a lot of magazines usually call the shots as far as placement goes; or, if an advertiser wants to have more of a say, it means they will have to pay more money. Regardless of the size of your ad, it may be good to see if you can get it juxtaposed to text. A lot of readers grow anxious when confronted with a block of text and their eyes naturally begin to wander for some other stimulation. A lot of publishers will block advertisements together. This creates a break from text, but most likely readers will not look at every single ad on a page full of ads. Usually, a really enticing headline or out-of-the-ordinary coloring will make an ad standout. This idea will work great in the midst of the magazine, but will not be necessary in other sections. If the magazine usually runs ads in the back and readers know this, they will already go to the back to make a possible purchase anyway. In this scenario a solid advertisement will serve you well, but it doesn’t have to be as overt because the consumer is already looking to make a purchase (they are looking for you instead of vice versa).

Rates

Depending on the popularity of the magazine, rates will vary. The good thing is though most rates may be standard, they are not set in stone and exceptions do apply. For instance, if you are a first time advertiser the publisher may offer you a discount to make a good first impression or to assuage any anxiety in spending money with them to begin with. The frequency of your ads and the size of each will play a part in how much money you will spend with the magazine. If you make a long-term commitment with them (say over the next couple of years) you will most likely get a discounted rate as opposed to an advertiser that is fickle in their nature with working with them.

Folio is the magazine source for the magazine industry. We are a multi-channel, multidimensional information source, using print, online and face-to-face delivery to bring actionable information to the publishing community and encourage a richer dialogue between buyers and sellers.

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