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customer magazines are the fastest growing marketing medium after internet advertising.
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Source APA
Why?
Because they are so effective. In this little book of tricks, we want to guide you through the flourishing jungle of customer publishing. We will show you the reasons for the effectiveness of customer magazines, explaining how they can be used, what they should include and most importantly how they can deliver real results for your brand. At The Marketing CafĂŠ, we have been producing quality customer magazines for an array of clients for some time now, leading the process from start to finish. Furthermore, our membership of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) gives you complete peace of mind.
So sit back, relax, and let us show you how a customer magazine can elevate your business.
why a
magazine? Today, 79% of the population read customer magazines. Are they reading yours? A magazine can help you reach new heights with your communications. The key is to identify at the outset what you need it to do for your business and gear the complete magazine towards the fulfilment of that goal.
You can use it to: Build brand awareness Increase customer loyalty Obtain feedback from your customers Capture data Inform customers of new developments, products or services 6 Show customers who you are and what you stand for 6 Generate new revenue 6 Improve customer communications 6 6 6 6 6
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Source APA
On average customer magazines keep a consumer’s attention for 25 minutes, which is significantly more than the eight seconds looking at a poster or 20-30 seconds listening to a radio ad...
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... in essence it compares to 50, 30 second TV ads.
where do you
start?
The first step towards a successful magazine is to choose the right support team.
The perfect agency will be able to write copy in the tone of your brand, choose content that will appeal to your audience and produce show-stopping creative that strengthens the appeal of the magazine. The customer magazine is a unique medium that requires a mix of specific skills. These include strong project management, editorial know-how and advertising sales expertise. To achieve the right result be sure to choose an experienced magazine agency that understands this unique dynamic.
5 key questions to ask when choosing an agency 6 Do they have good experience of magazine
publishing?
6 Can they create great content? 6 Do they listen to your suggestions and
feedback? 6 Are they offering good value for money? 6 Does their creativity excite you?
If the agency scores
go for it!
no man can whistle a symphony... it takes an orchestra to play it.
H.E. Luccock
Look and Feel Getting the right look and feel is vital. If your magazine appears too much like a corporate sales brochure, your customers will be turned off. The creative should echo the editorial content in whatever manner you have chosen. Whether you are fun, adventurous, sophisticated or fashionable – make sure your magazine is designed to sing about the personality of your brand. Always design with the reader in mind. Remember - what looks best on the page may not always be easiest to read or simplest to navigate. When your magazine looks appealing, substantial and well branded your audience will be keen to pick it up and engage.
Ensure that your agency is able to provide you with the right imagery for the magazine at competitive rates. At The Marketing CafĂŠ, we can create professional images using our own stylists, models and photographers. This means we avoid inflated costs from image-libraries providing you with tailored photography including full rights of use for the future. Perfect!
Be Consistent In order to have a strong impact on your readers, your magazine should be published with consistency. Whether it is published weekly, monthly or seasonally, you should launch your magazine with the intention of it being a regular component in your marketing plan. Let your readers learn when to expect the magazine on their doorstep. Make sure each publication is consistent in terms of design, layout and content, helping the reader to navigate easily around the magazine.
Pay Attention Check every detail vigorously. In a magazine, mistakes are easily made. A good agency will avoid this with careful systemised checking.
The content of your magazine is critical. Stating the obvious? Perhaps, but we all know what a dull publication is like. So use these top tips to ensure you are including exactly what your audience wants.
5 top 6 tips
for sticky content
6 Focus on the target When constructing editorial content, remember that you may not necessarily be part of the target audience. Interesting to you may not be interesting to your reader and vice versa. Similarly, the tone of a corporate brochure will differ hugely to the tone of your customer magazine. Always research your target audience carefully, remembering who you are talking to. 6 Give your readers a voice
Let your audience tell you what works and what doesn’t. Only they can tell you – so listen. Feature reader-generated content and give them a reason to pick-up your magazine. Turn the magazine into a research tool as well as a marketing tool. 6 Stick to the brand like glue
For your readers, picking up your magazine should be like entering your store, sampling your product or talking to your staff - it should be a little taste of what you are and what you stand for. Make sure your publication looks the part, reads the part and plays the part. 6 Make it worth their while
You are asking your customer to take time out of their schedule to read about you – so make it worth their while. Be generous with competitions, giveaways, and offer discounts. Focus on making the magazine useful for them by including articles and features that will truly add value to their lives. 6 Use professional writers
Ensure that your agency employs excellent writers. Whether you want to feature a celebrity interview, fashion spread, financial climate article or political debate, your agency should have the writers available to produce nail-biting, cutting-edge articles.
At The Marketing CafĂŠ, we have a wealth of experience in the production of customer magazines. From choosing a masthead name to developing the circulation, we provide the complete service with excellent value for money.
We have outlined below the services we have to offer:
6 Project Management A regular customer magazine can take up a lot of time. Our expert account managers can have as much or as little input as you wish. Whether you prefer us to take the activity completely off your hands or simply act as a support network, we will aim to become a seamless extension of your marketing department. 6 Creativity
We have a team of experienced designers who are laser-focused on client objectives. Our designers know what works for a particular audience and always design the look and feel of the magazine through the eyes of the reader. We are good listeners and will be keen to get your views on the best creative approach to suit your target audience. 6 Content
Using a team of journalists and professional photographers, we can manage and produce the entire content of your magazine. Whether you are looking for fashion expertise or sound health and wellbeing advice, our team can provide thoroughly researched, expertly written articles on niche subjects, adding value to your publication at the turn of every page. 6 Advertising If you are looking to generate revenue from the magazine, or even just recoup some of the production costs, we can help. We will suggest a list of appropriate advertisers for your title and set about securing complementary brand advertisements for your magazine.
6 Data Capture
We can design and run competitions and promotions for your readers with the aim of capturing data from them. Reader response cards within the magazine are also a great way of asking your customers key questions. 6 Distribution & Fulfillment Help is on hand to ensure you get your magazine from the printer to your reader effortlessly. We can recruit stockists of your magazine or assist with the packaging and delivery to your existing database, whichever you prefer. 6 Segmentation With your magazine, we can target specific segments of your audience. Specific magazines can be tailored and edited according to the preferences of each segment ensuring that the content relates as much to those individuals as possible. 6 Integrated Marketing
We offer an integrated marketing service, allowing you to tie in other marketing activity with your magazine. This will ensure that all of your marketing communications are singing from the same sheet. 6 Digital
Our digital expertise will make sure your magazine works together with the website to achieve your marketing objectives. Direct your readers online to enter competitions, find out more information, watch videos or supply a short digital version of the publication.
magazines and websites should pull together harmoniously, so make sure you are working them both to their full advantage.
take a closer look We also offer the following services that can be blended perfectly to work alongside your magazine. 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Branding Advertising Marketing Planning Multimedia Video Graphic Design Copywriting
Don’t just take our word for it... Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) The Marketing Café are full members of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA). The APA’s commitment to establishing codes of practice and respected standards for customer publications means you can remain confident in the quality of services and products provided by The Marketing Café. Recommended Agency Register (RAR) The Marketing Café is delighted to be listed on the Recommended Agency Register. This means our clients have happily recommended our creativity, publishing and service delivery rating us one of the best agencies in Britain. The register is designed to save you time and manpower in agency selection. Getting you the facts without the fluff, just real agency recommendations.
The Marketing CafĂŠ can deliver real results for your brand, call us today for a chat or to arrange an exploratory meeting. 0141 621 3900
Glasgow Office Suite 29, Unit 1 Spiersbridge Business Park Spiersbridge Way Glasgow G46 8NL t. 0141 621 3900 e. info@themarketingcafe.net w. themarketingcafe.net Milton Keynes Luminous House 300 South Row Milton Keynes MK9 2FR t. 01908 933 512
ps.
a good beginning ensures a good ending proverb