Magazine Advertising for Small Businesses

How to Use Magazine Advertising for Your Small Businesses:

Magazines are a great way to reach a specific target audience of potential customers. Although free advertising (like being featured in articles or news stories) can be a great way to show off your small business products and services, you can't always get free press or control the message within articles written by journalists. 

Magazine advertising, when done properly, can put your business in front of the eyes of your exact target market.

Consider the following strategies and tips before committing to magazine advertising:

1. Make Sure the Magazine's Readership Fits Your Primary Market:

Ask the editor or sales representative some questions about the magazine's readership. Know how many readers have access to the magazine, whether the publication's ads are also put online, and some of the basic demographic information of the readers (i.e., average age, income level, etc.).

It's important to make sure that the tone and style of the magazine fits your business as well.

2. Ensure You're Equipped to Handle the Potential Response:

Being featured in national or international magazines (i.e. Time, Oprah) can generate a significant response. If you're a small business with only one or two employees, it might be difficult to justify placing an ad in a large national publication that will generate more business than you're equipped to handle. You'll just end up frustrating potential customers if you can't respond to inquiries fast enough.

3. Know Who Else Is Advertising:

Never place an ad in a magazine with which you are unfamiliar. Obtain back copies (often a sales agent will provide these free of charge if you ask) or scope out the magazine's website. See what other companies consistently place ads and, if possible, talk to one or more of them directly to see if they are happy with the investment they've made by advertising in that magazine.

4. Understand What Is And Isn't Included in the Ad:

Know exactly what you're getting for the price you are paying. Consider the following or ask these questions when negotiating any advertising campaign with a magazine:

1. Is a contract required or necessary? If so, be sure to see a copy beforehand.
2. Where will your ad be placed? Are there options?
3. Does the magazine include graphic design of the ad for free? If so, will you get to proof and revise it at no extra charge?
4. Will your ad also be placed online? If so, can you provide the graphic for it?
5. Are there discounts for new accounts or for regular/recurring ads?

Magazine ads can be tricky because it's not always easy to measure response. Offering a special coupon or discount with a time-sensitive expiration is one way to track the success of an ad. 

Some small business owners I know also place a special e-mail address, phone number or website link in the ad that is specific only to that campaign, so that they can track the exact number of customers who respond in some way to the advertisement. 

Understanding the effectiveness of your ad is important, so that you have real information about whether or not your dollars are generating the response you hoped for!

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What's Next

Next In This Guide
Part 18:
Creating Marketing Fliers That Work - When you're making marketing literature for your small business, you can use an effective flier to help advertise and sell your products and services.

Previous In This guide
Part 16:
Newspaper Advertising: Key Strategies - If you're considering advertising in newspapers, make sure you understand some key strategies for small businesses to make your ads effective.

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