Magazine Advertising

When it comes to magazine advertising, most people think of thelarge, glossy, national publications full of big brand advertisers.And it may seem like your own business doesn’t belong alongside the”big guys,” especially if you don’t sell your product outside aone-hundred-mile radius–or even outside of your own state. Butthat’s just not the case.

In fact, it’s quite possible the next time you open one of thosenational magazines to see an ad for a business that’s right in yourown town that just has that one location. That’s because, like alot of other forms of advertising, many national magazines havelocal sections aimed at smaller businesses. Of course, these localsections are a bit larger than what you may be used to, coveringsuch areas as the “Northeast” or the “Southwest” parts of theUnited States. So while you’ll be reaching people way outside yourneighborhood, you’ll also attract local business (and may just wowthe locals who see your ad on those pages).

Who should advertise in the local sections of the nationalmagazines? Although it doesn’t seem so at first blush, these adsare really good for small, “niche-y” stores that carry veryspecialized products, like hobby items. People will travel greatdistances to find a new supplier or expert or specialist for theirhobby, and they’ll spread the word of your existence to others withsimilar interests. These ads are also wonderful if you havelocations in more than one area of any state or in more than onestate. You can probably cover most or even all of them with justone ad if they all fall into one of those wide geographical areasthat are sold as “local.” Check the first few pages of any magazineto find contact information for the advertising department, whereyou can ask for a media kit and get information on rates anddeadlines. And be sure to ask for a map that shows you what eachlocal territory includes.

Of course, advertising in magazines with national distributionis going to be expensive even if you’re only advertising in thelocal sections, and it’s not be the way to go for most small ormidsized businesses. You don’t really need to cast such a largenet–what you really need is to choose publications that areclosely associated with your target market.

One option is to go really local with free magazines that you’dfind in grocery stores or pharmacies. The focus of these types ofpublications is on home sales, cars, boats and other topics–you’veprobably picked up one yourself. Your business doesn’t have to tiedirectly into the topics of any one of the magazines, as long asthe readers of those magazines would also be interested in yourproduct or service. Remember, it’s the audience that counts, andyou can find that audience in any number of places. The contactinformation for advertising in these publications will also belocated within the first few pages. One thing to be aware of isthat these types of free publications are published on differentschedules, sometimes just a few times a year. And like mostmagazines, your deadline will be way ahead of publication, so don’twait until the last minute to call to place an ad.

One advantage of magazines, especially monthlies, is that theyhave a much longer shelf life than newspapers; they are oftenbrowsed through for months after publication. So your ad might havean audience for up to six months after its initial insertion.Moreover, readers spend more time per sitting with a magazine thana newspaper, so there’s more chance they will run across yourad.

No matter which type of publication you’re buying space in, besure to ask the following questions before you purchase any adspace:

• What’s the magazine’s circulation?
• What are the demographics of the readers?
• How often is the magazine published?
• How is it distributed?
• What are the special sections or themes planned for theyear?

Also note that you have the opportunity with all magazines tosave money on each ad by agreeing to run an ad in more than oneissue. In fact, before you buy space in any magazine, it’s a goodidea to see which businesses that are targeting the same audienceas you advertise in each magazine on a consistent basis. Remember,if the ads weren’t working, they wouldn’t be there issue afterissue.

You can find publications that are appropriate for youradvertising needs by looking through references such as thedirectories put out by the Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS). The SRDSdirectories list all the relevant information about consumer andtrade publications, including a short description of eachpublication, its editorial content, who the publication goes outto, and breakdown of circulation figures. Using this information,you can compile a list of publications suitable for youradvertising.

For more in-depth information, contact an ad representative ateach publication you’ve chosen and request a media kit. Thesecontain sample copies of the publication, detailed informationabout the editorial content, a breakdown of readers’ demographics,the publication’s ad rates, and an audited circulation statementfrom the publisher.

There are two primary audits: the Audit Bureau of Circulation(ABC), and the Business Publications Audit (BPA). Auditedcirculations are sworn statements by the publisher, verified by anoutside source, that the publication is distributed to the numberof people claimed in the circulation figures.

With this information in hand, you can judge thecost-effectiveness of advertising in a publication by determiningthe relationship between its circulation and the ad rates. Thisratio is your CPM, or cost per thousand. For example, if thecirculation is 30,000 and the rate for a full-page ad is $600,divide $600 by 30. You’d see that advertising in this publicationwould cost $20 to reach each thousand readers.

As well as finding out each publication’s CPM, inquire aboutwhat kind of deals you can work out with the ad rep from eachpublication. For example, you can sometimes negotiate for specialpositioning in the publication; inside the front cover, on the backcover, or within the first few pages of the book are primelocations for ads. Publications will often charge an additional 10to 20 percent of the ad’s cost for special positioning, but ifyou’re a good negotiator, you can sometimes get it for noadditional charge. Always ask for your ad to be placed in the firstthird of the publication (where readers are apt to read moreclosely) on a right-hand page, which is not considered specialpositioning.

You can also negotiate with the ad rep on a frequency discount.If you run your ad three times, six times or 12 times instead ofjust once, you’ll get a reduced rate for each insertion.Publications have standard frequency discounts by the SRDSdirectory or on the rate card the ad rep gives you, but often therep can give you an even better deal than the standard frequencydiscounts if you run your ad on a regular schedule and if the repwants your business.

Most magazines also offer to place ads on their website,sometimes at a very reasonable rate–even for free–if you’readvertising in their hard copy issues. If you can swing it andyou’re interested in selling worldwide or reaching a wider audiencein your own hometown, this is a great idea. Be sure to put your webaddress, or URL, on every print ad, no matter where it runs, andput a link on your online ad that takes people directly to your ownsite.

No matter what magazine you choose to advertise in, your messagewill need to be strong and eye-catching. You only have a fewseconds to grab the readers’ attention and pull them in to read therest of the ad. A bold graphic and an interesting headline willhelp you make a connection with readers right off the bat. Thegraphic and the headline must come together to pinpoint a problemand offer a solution to the reader.