Introduction



People page through a magazine in a similar fashion as they surf through the web. The average attention span is not very long; eyes wander attempting to take in all of the stimuli. While paging through a magazine, a person is most likely to glance at a great number of advertisements. While reading articles, it relieves pressure on the brain to take a break from the text and take in some visual graphics.

Millions of people either subscribe or peer through magazines generating great potential for sales for an advertiser. Are your ads featured in magazines? Consumers are more likely to focus on the more compelling images on the page during the process of looking through a magazine or reading an article.

“The successful advertiser is the master of a new art: the art of making things true by saying they are so.”

Magazine advertising is a spectacular way to gain the attention of a larger base of consumers. A potential customer may serendipitously become intrigued about a product or keep a company in mind while thumbing through a magazine. Ads come in different shapes, sizes, and times of occurrence. Contacting a publishing service will enable you to get a good idea of options and pricing available. The magazine medium is not something to be ‘looked over' by advertisers. Here are some tips to think about in orchestrating an ad:

Grab attention

An advertiser does not have a large space and most likely not a lot of time to get the reader's attention. Colorful graphics, stellar images, and intriguing headlines and text will be the tools of enchantment.

An insight to consider is to come up with multiple ads and use them judiciously depending on the magazine and the usual audience for the medium. For instance, placing an ad in a music magazine may warrant a more edgy feel for the ad, while an ad for a business magazine may be assembled in a more formal manner.

The main idea is to make a huge impact with a small window of opportunity. This may sound discouraging to some, but once you have the reader's attention, the potential to eventually make a one time sale to having a lifetime customer is good.

Be colorful

More color in an ad means more money, but it will be worth it. Having a dull colored ad among other ads with vibrant colors will only mar your image than help it. Four-color ads have the highest response rate from readers. Some will tell you to settle for ‘enhanced' or ‘matched colors' which will be better than black and white, but still lack vigor.

“It pays to advertise.”

It is recommended to purchase as many four-color ads that a budget allows for. Typically, magazines offer ads for one-time, three-time, six-time, and twelve-time cycles. A one-time four-color ad will make a bigger impression and is more likely to be noticed than a multi showcased ad that is less colorful.

Choose your wording

The readers are more likely to look at the images in the ad first and then read the text. There will not be a lot of time to grab their attention, so the wording should be short and sweet. It is suggested to think of the wording of the text in regards to the type of magazine and fan base it has.

“A satisfied customer is the best advertisement.”

Wit and humor has their time and place in some arenas while being practical and succinct has their place in others. Along with the graphic image, paint a particular picture of your product, service, or company based on the projection of who will be looking at the ads.

Drop the reader a line

Regardless of the tailored graphics and text, you want the consumer to know how to make the next step in contacting or buying from you. Have a telephone number, address, or email somewhere in the text of the advertisement. Now that you have the reader's attention, you want to facilitate future contact in some way.