Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Need A Great Headline For Flyers...

Posted by Anonymous on 8/19/2008 at 11:22 AM ET 70 Points
Hey gurus,

You guys came through for me before... I need you to bless me again. I own a starter Christian lifestyle mag that circulates in Baton Rouge, LA & Houston, TX. We deal with faith, politics, travel, health and finance. We pride ourselves on being unlike most people's ideas of Christian publications and our slogan/tagline is "Redefine Christian Lifestyle".

Anyway, we are a free to the public mag and make mostly all of our revenue through ad sales, so I have to make the best attempts at letting all of the business owners in my circulation areas know we're available. With this in mind, I'm about o go out "pavement beating" to all a bunch of places with a copy of my mag and a flyer directed at the advertising decision makers with contact info for those interested to get in touch with me. My question to you guys is what is the best headline for my flyer and what benefit should I focus on the most?

To better help formulate ideas: 1) We have great rates as we are introductory, though I'd rather not promote on low pricing, 2) We are a Christian lifestyle mag, but I'd prefer to take it from the angle of we get the business owner visibility to 12,000 readers per issue - you'd be surprised the stigma attached to Christian mags - we usually get great responses from skeptics after they see it, so though I want to mention it, I don't want to hone in on this fact, and 3) We are dynamic, new and fresh. Our target audience and actual readership is the 21-35 crowd.

Go to town, guys!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/19/2008 at 12:08 PM Accepted
    To sell advertising, you need to promote the benefit to the customer (the company buying the ad space). Some may buy space due to religious beliefs, but most will want to buy space based on the type and number of folks they feel they will reach with your magazine.

    So I would suggest you focus this (reaching 12,000 Christians between 21-35) as the benefits and the headline.
  • Posted on 8/19/2008 at 12:25 PM Author
    Good One, Boss. Keep it coming, guys!
  • Posted on 8/19/2008 at 3:40 PM Member
    Alex,

    Since your positioning is "Redefine Christian Lifestyle" I think you are already heading the right way. I think the term Christian is both self defining and limiting at the same time -- for a lot of people it immediately connotes 15,000 evangelicals waiting for the Rapture in a megachurch.

    Personally, I think you could gain some traction by posing a question (thought it can be overused, I like this technique because it offers an element to engage people)
    like "What Is A Christian?" and then define your readership. Along the same lines, you could pose the question "can you spot the Christian?" and offer some visuals of people engaging in everyday activities.

    Put simply, it steers you away from the evangelical connotation and to a more mainstream perception that might broaden your reader base.

    The main thing is, don't portray yourself as something you are not. As Peter suggested, sell your demographic to advertisers -- "reaching 12,000 Christians between 21-35" is a compelling message in itself.

    Regards,

    ~ Jason

  • Posted on 8/19/2008 at 10:09 PM Author
    I agree, Jason. Very insightful... I actually cut a flyer earlier using just that headline and I like the angle it presents.

    By the way, you couldn't be more right about the public perception of Christianity! I live it devoutly everyday and I am certainly no "Bible Thumper" hitting folks over the head at every opportunity and none of my friends are either. We love to live, have fun and strive to succeed in life like everyone else! That is precisely why our magazine exists. To BREAK the stigma.

    That is also why it is so very important for me to find great ways to present the very concept of my publication to business owners not as just some bland Christian magazine, but as a proficient player in the advertising game in my areas that their potential clients ascribe to BECAUSE we deal with what's important to them.

    So, great analysis and keep giving great insight, guys! P.S. Thanks Peter, for the headline. It's great!
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/20/2008 at 8:30 AM Accepted
    As an advertiser, I would care more about WHO those 12,000 readers are. Where are they located? What % are women? How much on average do they earn? Spend? The more you've identified your demographic, the better I can tell if advertising is for me. For example, if I sell high-end women's clothing, I need to make sure that the readers of my magazine are my potential customers.

    So, the headline should focus on the demographics: "Want To Be Seen By _________?" (fill in the demographic info)
  • Posted by aresnik7 on 8/20/2008 at 9:23 AM Member
    I completely agree with Jay Hamilton-Roth. You should probably make specific flyer's for your specific customer (potential advertiser). The more you personalize to their target market the more advertising money they are willing to spend. Good luck! And I love the idea of the magazine!

    aresnik7
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 8/20/2008 at 1:47 PM Member
    Hey we may want to advertise in your magazine if possible. Email me on my profile.
  • Posted on 8/20/2008 at 2:21 PM Author
    Nice answer, Jay. I actually do have researched demographic numbers for my publication that I refer to during my face to face pitches. So, I think it would definitely make sense for me to incorporate this into an attention- grabbing headline. I will certainly utilize different headlines on different flyer campaigns and see which ones "hook the most fish".

    And thank you, too, aresnik! If you guys want a free subscription to it, let me know. We usually charge a nominal fee for it, but the members of this forum can get it free if you mention MarketingProfs in the email. My direct address is sales@loiremagazine.com. Thanks again, guys!
  • Posted on 8/21/2008 at 12:38 AM Author
    (Smiling) That's a catchy angle to take that...great play on what we "do". I like the become a believer thing...that's cool.
  • Posted on 8/21/2008 at 10:19 AM Author
    I really appreciate you guys' input. I'm gonna close this one now, but I'm sure I'll have a bunch of questions soon... you guys are great!
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