How to sell more advertising.
If there is one thing a magazine owner must do above everything else it’s sell advertising: if you don’t your magazine will fail. People tend to be a bit defensive about selling advertising, almost apologetic in fact. But EVERY magazine is an advertising magazine: even those with a cover price of a few pounds. This article explains how even the big boys are advertising magazines…and how to learn from them!
Several times over the past few months I’ve been contacted by members because they’ve forgotten to download the content and are going to press the next day! While I’m always happy to help out in such instances I can’t help but feel that they’re missing a bit of a trick.
The Write Content was designed to make it EASIER to sell your advertising space. Advertisers want to see editorial content. They want to know that your magazine is a ‘proper’ magazine and that people will read it. Readers like to see editorial because that’s what they expect from a ‘proper’ magazine. Whether it makes them laugh or think it should also start the process of connecting them with some of your advertisers.
Each of the articles we produce is written with a particular group of advertisers in mind. We make suggestions on the site as to who the articles might interest but you will probably be able to think of others fairly easily.
Most people find picking up the phone to sell advertising difficult. Where do you start? What do you say?
A good way to approach this mental block is to download the content as soon as it becomes available and make a plan.
Let’s take the July 2011 Content.
BBQ Bliss is all about hosting a barbecue. Which potential advertisers can you approach? What about garden centres? They sell barbecues. Some hardware stores also sell them. Then there’s the patio furniture store, and the accessories store. There’s the butchers, the grocers and the wine merchant.
Fakin’ It is all about fake tanning. Here the list is pretty obvious: beauty salons, mobile beauty therapists, tanning salons…even private dermatologists.
Garden View is all about seed collecting. Garden View is aimed fairly and squarely at attracting garden centres, nurseries and gardeners or odd job men. Garden centres should be top of your marketing ploy this month then because there are two articles which should appeal.
Do the same for all the rest of the articles and you should end up with a good list of leads. One by one you can contact them and explain about your magazine and how it was developed to help local businesses like theirs attract more local business. You will always sell more advertising by explaining what your magazine will do for their business: people want to know there’s something in it for them. If you’ve approached it correctly they should express some interest and this is now your opportunity to talk about doing an editorial (advertorial) piece about their business to dovetail with the article. Editorials (advertorials) can be charged for at a premium rate and help to give ownership of your magazine to the very people you’re trying to attract. Make sure anyone who takes out a full page ad or a two page editorial piece gets a copy to show their friends. It’s all about connections.
Mix up the articles with advertorials and you’ll soon have a very readable little magazine which advertisers will want to be seen in.