impression

impression The how to guide

Editor’s Note Has anyone ever told you ways to increase your readership for your print-based editorial? Do you use different ways to gain an audience and keep them engaged? Are these ways working? ... Well look no further in this issue of Impression we will bring you lots of tips, tricks, guides and so much more. Whether you are just starting out or have been in this industry for years, there is something here for everyone. In this first issue, the topic is all based on how to gain and retain your readers. We are going to help you sail through your next issue with top tips and advice. By just following some of our advice, if not all you can easily improve your company for the better. Everyone thinks starting a company is a lot of long hard work, well it shouldn’t be with these tricks it will be a breeze. You will discover interesting ways of retaining your readers and even ensure you gain loyal customers. I hope you all learn and take something from Impression and thank you for taking the time to pick up this magazine.

Enjoy Reading, Sydney

Contents 03 07 09 11 13 15

Social Media

Using social media to your advantage

Design

How the design can impact your readership

December’s Top 10 Picks

Magazines to inspire you for the new year

Audience

Exploring how to target the right audience

Interview

Exploring how to target the right audience

Outlets

Discover all possible outlets

#1 Social Media The most important tip we can give you is to use social media. It allows companies to reach out to potential readers. There are many different platforms out there to choose from and is completely free. We discuss why it’s essential for many businesses to have social media.

#1

1. How To Use Social Media To your Advantge The problem that the majority of big mainstream magazines are having is with their print and digital content, finding the right balance. As many mainstream printed magazines end up coming to a halt due to a massive shift with digital reading. An example is Marie Claire Uk, this company ceased their printed magazine after 31 years and was focusing on digital content. The biggest secret that we can tell you is that print and digital shouldn’t compete, they should in fact work in harmony. A lot of independent magazines are using the digital world as a helping hand to improve their printed magazine. This is why indie magazines are thriving.

ic. To choose your tags, choose tags that are very unique to your brand, but also make them memorable very short and snappy. The purpose of using hashtags on your social media is to help reach a certain audience which is very beneficial for new independent magazine publishers. As indie publishers tend to have niche subjects that allow smaller businesses to gain and find their targeted audience.

Having social media allows potential customers to notice your magazine where otherwise wouldn’t have heard about your magazine and of course promote your printed publication. Having social media is a win-win for both When starting up or the publisher and the just simply having a readers, it allows the reshuffle the biggest publishers to reach advice we can give the place where the you is to have social majority of readers media accounts. It spend most of their works alongside your printed publication, whether time and allows the reader to engage with your conthat’s an Instagram, a TikTok or just simply You- tent. On the next page are statistics to prove this.

Tube. By having multiple or even just one social media account it will surprise you at how much it You may be questioning what do I post on social can boost your audience and creates exposure, you media? Here are just a few ideas to help you get will be reaching out to millions of people all around started: you can promote your magazine, you can the world that could be potential readers. By using hold giveaways, you can ask the readers to submit hashtags on Instagram and Twitter, it is said that it work for a competition, share information that is can improve the engagement rates to up to 12.6% relevant to your subject area, challenges, questions this figure may sound tiny but think of that number and answers. Whatever you choose to make for every month, think how many long term readers you social media, make sure it relates to your magazine will gain. and there is a correlation- so make sure your brand identity is there. Overall, choose the platform which Hashtags are very popular and are used for users to suits your target audience and just create content discover new content based on a particular topwhich will engage your readers and promote print

“ You Gain Millions Of Potential Readers”

There Are 4.55 billion people using social media, which equates to 57.6% of the global population. Which on average use 6.7 platforms a month and spends an average time of 2 hours and 27 minutes per day.

Why wouldn’t you want to promote and engage with your readers on social media !

In 2021 There Were....

2,853 2,291 1,386 Million users on Facebook

Million users on Youtube

Million users on Instagram

740 732 514 Million users on LinkedIn

Million users on Tiktok

Million users on Snapchat

478 397 100 Million users on Pintrest

Million users on Twitter

Million users on Issuu

The Most Important Platforms For Publishers To Grow Audiences And Brand Awareness

73% Facebook

52% Instagram

38% Twitter

#2 The Design Tip number two is all about your design. Publishers underestimate the significance of the design. Here we explain how important the design is for not only you as a designer and your company but for the readers too.

#2

2. How The Design Can Impact Your Readership How you design and layout your magazine has a huge impact. Since everyone can access designing software, everyone can call themselves a designer and can publish on a blog or magazine website such as Issu. That is why it is super important you make your magazine design attract attention.

Consequently, your magazine needs to stand out from the crowd. By not following conventional elements which a typical magazine does it will allow your magazine to make an impact. It doesn’t have to be designed over the top to make an impact, it can be designed minimally.

your field and that your product is worth it. If elements are not precise it may put some readers off and it will mean you will lose some readers.

In addition, the way you design your magazine should reflect your target audience (we will go into more depth about the target audience on page 10.)

Your concept, target audience, purpose and message should drive how you decide to design your magazine.

Lastly, there is so much free content online, that’s the main reason why designers have to ensure their work is impactful. Most designers agree that it’s According to the UX magazine, Studies have shown easier for anyone to create a magazine so designers that we have 50 milliseconds before users have made have to do the up-most to stand out. In addition, their first judgments on our products. This may be is Graphic designer David Carson stated design that one of the main reasons why visual elements and the is produced today has made “everything less experdesigns are so important as it will be your reader’s imental, less memorable, less unique and less effecfirst impression of your magazine and it takes very tive .... is homogenized the work overall and made little time for individual to make an opinion about it. it easier to forget, with less impact”. This statement sums up why the design of The design will communicate your magazine is so signifa lot to the reader. Your magicant, as its important for azine will need to be designed your design to be impactful. very well, not only visually And this is your chance to but also typographically and change this you’re the fuin layout. It needs to reflect ture! So let’s start designing that you are a professional in powerful magazines!

50

milliseconds

December’s Top 10 Picks 1. Cereal Cereal is a biannual, travel & style magazine based in the UK. Each issue focuses on a select number of destinations, alongside engaging interviews and stories on unique design, art, and fashion.

2. Eye Eye is one of my favourites. Not only about design, but beautifully designed objected. This magazine features a mix of everything from designs to debates to critical writing and so much more.

3. i-D i-D is a British bi-monthly magazine. It is dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter.

4. Suitcase In London 2012, 22-year-old Serena Guen founded Suitcase the travel, fashion and culture magazine. This magazine gives you a taste of adventure and style aimed at young creative women.

5. Put A Egg On It Put A Egg On It stands out to me as it doesn’t look like a typical magazine. As it features no glossy paper, no styled food, no aspirational features, no air, no graces and is printed on green paper.

6. The Green Soccer Journal The Green Soccer Journal was Launched in 2009 in London. It is a biannual men’s lifestyle magazine that combines men’s fashion and football. Gathered a following not only of readers but with top brands.

7. Fool Fool is a stunning magazine all things foody which was launched in 2012. Amazingly only after just two issues, Fool won the Gourmand Award for the best food magazine in 2012.

8. T - Post Peter combined his love for magazines and t-shirts and created the first wearable magazine that launched in 2004. To start conversations there is a thought-provoking feature inside and outside in each issue.

9. Printed Pages Printed pages is a sister magazine to the popular blog it’s nice that. In 2013 it launched, adapting a youthful and irreverent tone. They unearth the very best in the creative work from around the globe.

10. Anorak Anorak came from Cathy Olmedillas not finding a suitable magazine for her son, so she developed Anorak. A kids magazine that is not a normal kids magazine.

December’s Top 10 Picks

#3 Your Target Audience #3 Target Audience is our tip number three. Having a target audience might seem obvious for any business at first, but most people overlook it and don’t realise how much work and research that is needed to have a successful business. We will discuss what is it, how to get started, how important it is and how to use the internet to help engage your potential readers.

When ?

?

How

Who ?

3. Exploring how to target the right audience Almost every business has a target audience.Target audience is the group of people that a company wants to sell its products or services to. It is very significant as it allows you to pinpoint your potential reader and a clear focus for everyone working within your magazine company. The first step is to identify and define your target audience.

When starting up your company you will need to do some primary research to find out all the information you can about your target audience, so you can tailor your magazine to suit the people that are going to be buying and reading your magazine.

Your target audience is very important as it informs the designer’s and the publisher’s many things.

Firstly, it points you in the direction as to what advertising to include if any, how to attract the reader and allows you to know what they expect from you as a company.

There are many ways you can find your target audience. Once you have your social media page up and running, get your followers engaged. Perhaps you could do a question and answer poll, this way it is beneficial for both yourself and your followers.

Another great idea would be to have a little look at your competitors and think why your clients should read your magazines and not theirs. Finally, conduct your own focus groups, interviews, surveys or even one-to-ones with possible readers and create clientprofiles from your findings.

Lastly, you may be asking how do I choose my target audience? Well... that’s pretty straightforward, ask yourselve what’s the topic/theme or what content am I going to include? Along with that information, you could then conduct some market research to find out what demographics would be interested in your idea.

What

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Why

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Where

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Exclusive

Magculture Interview With indie magazines on the rise, here we spoke with Danielle from Magculture. Magculutre is a shop that stocks a unique selection of over 600 magazines from across the world, covering all subjects and genres. Here we asked her a few questions concerning the future of magazines.

Exclusive

Do you think the magazine industry is thriving or dying?

Thriving! We’ve seen many more titles come out during the last 18 months+ (despite everything...)

Do you think technology is having a significant effect on the magazine industry ?

Yes

If yes, in what ways do you think it has effected magazines ?

It’s elevated magazines to the realm of “treat” rather than a go-to for news/current affairs. The internet (and online content) has also offered magazines a chance to “reign supreme” over printed matter, IMO.

How have you adapted your company to this technology based era we find ourselves living in?

We’ve improved/redesigned our website to ensure online shopping is as smooth as it can be.

Has the pandemic had a positive or negative experience for your magazine in terms of readership?

In short, we’re busier than ever... I think people grew tired of screens and phones and Zoom over the various lockdowns. Coming home to print was an escape/a something-you-can-hold-in-your-hands comfort.

From your experience what advice would you give aspiring designers to survive in an industry that is moving more digitally ?

I’m not sure that it is moving “more” digitally...

In your opinion, what are the most important skillset needed for an industry that is moving digitally ?

I’m from the editorial side of things personally, but I’d say as long as you’ve got Adobe Creative Suite under your belt, you’re good to go...

With a big shift going digitally, what do you think this means for Up and coming magazine designer ?

Again, I’m not sure there is a “big shift going digitally”, at least not a newer/recent shift. In fact, I feel like people are turning back to print and physical publications/ideas/ways of expressing themselves.

What is your view on online magazine in comparison to print ?

Print 4 lyf.

With Many Thanks to the shop manager Danielle and all at Magculture. Go visit Magcultures shop at 270 St John St, London EC1V 4PE

#4

Know Your Outlets Our tip number 4 is all about the different outlets you could use to reach out to more potential readers. It’s all about smart thinking, it might be that more work is needed however it will pay off in the long run as it will increase your readership. It’s all about getting your content on various platforms.

#4

4. Discover all the different outlets Magazines should not just be printed magazines like they were decades ago. As a result, technology has made the creative industry work much harder.

The print industry is a great example of this. In order for magazines to survive in a heavy-based digital world, companies now have to produce content to work alongside print. The majority of magazine brands now have the following but are not limited to: websites, apps, digital versions of the same magazine, social media accounts, blogs or video.

As an industry, we have to adapt and change the way we work in order to reach our targeted audience. One of the main reasons our industry has to produce digital content is to compete with everything else that’s digital, so we can survive. We have made ourselves easily accessible and custom-

ers can access the content with one tap or click of a button. As lots of our readers spend most of their time on a digital device so we have to change to suit the needs of our customers.

Some magazine companies have gone digital-only as they have ceased their printed edition. This could be due to lots of different factors but one of reasons is that their sales figures are too low as perhaps the customers are not reading the magazine, but still engaging with online content. So this demonstrates the importance of changing with the time, and if you don’t you could be at a loss. So our main advice to you is to make sure you have content online - make the most of the internet, don’t see it as a barrier, see it as an aid to help your printed magazines and help get the awareness out about your magazine.

impression The how to guide

Graphic Design Dissertation Artefact

by Sydney Merritt for Ravensbourne University London