Advertising in magazines is something that hasn’t changed over the years. They are there to help keep the cost of the magazine itself down and are the reason some are free. But how often do you look at the ads? Do you look at all of them? What is it about those ads that you end up paying attention to? And, most importantly, how can I get my ad seen?
Most ads in a magazine end up being just a small bit of information about the business, its logo and some colour. This ends up being just another block in a sea of other boring blocks. If you are paying for ad space, why not make the most of it? There is potential there that very few businesses are taking advantage of.
Here are a few tips for advertising your business in a magazine:
Stand Out
There are usually around 2-16 ads on a single page depending on how much you paid and what magazine it is. Your advert needs to stand out from the others. It needs to catch the eye of the reader as they skim past that page looking for content.
Easy to read text, a non-white background and good looking images are great ways to stand out on the page.
“Most ads in a magazine end up being just a small bit of information about the business, its logo and some colour. This ends up being just another block in a sea of other boring blocks. If you are paying for ad space, why not make the most of it?” Tweet This!Write an Article
If you are able to, a good way to get your ad seen is for it to not technically be an ad in the first place. This will require buying at least half a page of ad space, but a whole page will serve much better.
Use this space to write an article about your business’ industry and promoting your business, instead of simply using images and headlines. This is far more likely to be read than a small ad between many.
Check with the magazine editors before you settle on this as some will ask you to add a border or something to ensure readers won’t mistake it for their edited content.
Bespoke Ads
Most businesses will design a few ads of different sizes and slap them anywhere their budget allows. Whilst this works to an extent, you will get more engagement with a unique ad. Try to make ads for the specific demographic that the magazine sells to.
For example: A generic magazine ad for handbags in a men’s magazine wouldn’t get any response. But if that ad focussed on handbags as a present for a girlfriend or wife, it may lead to sales. Rather than a large image of a handbag, men would be more likely to respond to a girl’s reaction to one as a gift.
If you are advertising in this magazine, try to cater your ad to business women. This may easy because, chances are, you are one too.
Use a whole page
Nothing grabs a reader’s attention more than a whole page ad. It is far more effective than even a half page ad. Not only will the reader be far more likely to pay attention to the ad, your business’ reputation will increase due to the obvious fact that these size ads cost far more than any other.
Samuel Beard
Director at Strawberry Studios
www.strawberrystudios.net
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