Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Beyond Reading The Media Kit

Posted by marilynwo on 7/1/2014 at 4:34 AM ET 125 Points
Hello, I'm a designer who is commissioned to create and find people to advertise in my client's publication. We have created a media kit to show advertisers. But I was thinking, there are tons of media kits out there, do advertisers read them day by day to choose publications to place their ads? Or is it first come first serve basis by sales people from publication companies. If only huge popular publications get the attention most of the time, then small publications can rest in peace isn't it? Hope to hear from you guys to help us, thanks!
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  • Posted by telemoxie on 7/1/2014 at 7:31 AM Accepted
    I have just a bit of related sales experience, but I would encourage you to pursue relationships with potential advertisers. It will probably be your relationship, not your graphics, which will influence your potential advertisers to consider your media kit and consider your advertising opportunity.

    One book you might consider reading: the ultimate sales machine. The book makes a strong case for building relationships, and was written by an advertising salesperson.
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 7/1/2014 at 9:00 AM Accepted
    Advertisers will be looking for particular key markets. They will look at media kits to try to find out how you help them target their customers more precisely than competitors so they can get a lower cost per response. This will depend entirely on who they are trying to reach, so your media kit will work for some people and not for others - you'll have to identify where you fit. Over time you work with advertisers so you can understand and deliver an audience for them that they can't reach any other way.
  • Posted by marilynwo on 7/1/2014 at 11:17 AM Author
    Thank you guys! Ok, this means as publications people, we should hunt down potential advertisers and study them first, then share with them where we are heading. As we are working on our issues, we are always stuck with lack of advertisers to fund our prints. Do you think print is dying as compared to online content? If that's the case, why should we go on with prints and go through the hassle of getting advertisers, bonding with them, etc?
  • Posted by marilynwo on 7/1/2014 at 11:18 AM Author
    By the way, Telemoxie, thank you so much for the book recommendation, I'm now reading it on Amazon, very insightful indeed!
  • Posted by mgoodman on 7/1/2014 at 7:44 PM Accepted
    You need to start by defining who your readers will be. To whom will your editorial content appeal? Then you figure out which advertisers need to reach that target audience.

    As for print "dying," overall it probably is losing ground to online/electronic media. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there are no opportunities for specific print vehicles in niche markets for several more years.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 7/1/2014 at 8:20 PM Accepted
    Media kits generally follow on the sales process. They are not the start nor the be-all end all, but are excellent supporting material that can help close the sale.

    I started and ran a print and online sports magazine for about 4 years, just closing it down at the end of last year. I wrote a blog post related to ad sales about a year after I started it. https://expandabroad.blogspot.com/2011/06/ads-in-new-publication.html

    On your later question about print being dead or not - that depends on the niche. Print is not nearly as widespread as it was, but is staying strong in many niches.
  • Posted by marilynwo on 7/3/2014 at 12:19 PM Author
    Hi Peter, I've visited your link, thank you for your help on this. Say I have identified my niche, audience and potential advertisers, how should I approach them? Cold calls and email just don't work as well as before. Are advertisers keen to listen to independent publications in the first place? Hopefully they are also on the lookout for spaces to advertise, what do you all think? Thanks!!
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 7/3/2014 at 1:14 PM Member
    Cold calls and emails is, as hard as they are, the way to go.

    You have to sell them on the benefits. Most look at advertising as expenses, not investments, so it is important to be able to show them how it will help them (though this is hard for you to do). Unfortunately you will find some who just don't think advertising does any good no matter how much supporting evidence you have. Was frustrating that one or two retailers who I thought would be best served by advertising wouldn't advertise.

    If the magazine is currently in publication, advertise in your own publication. I regularly ran an ad in each issue that had a tagline of something like "if you are reading this, so are your customers" followed by a few bullet points of the benefits of advertising in the publication.

    Good luck.
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