Marketing Lessons from a Magazine?

I write to you today from the Plymouth District Library. I’m in between appointments with coaching clients and all the tables at Panera Bread were taken because it’s lunchtime.

(Sidebar: when you’re at Panera by yourself during lunchtime on your laptop, get up and let someone who is there to eat lunch have your table. It’s just common courtesy and your $1.69 cup of coffee doesn’t cover rent for 3 hours.)

I’m sitting in the library adjacent to the magazine racks and a magazine caught my attention. On the cover was the title: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

I thought to myself, “Interesting, a magazine devoted to atomic scientists.”

Then I remembered, “There’s a magazine for just about any topic or industry.” Sure enough, after glancing around a little more, I spotted Backyard Bird - for bird watchers, Costal Living – even though Plymouth is land locked, Cooking for 2, Current History, Cosmopolitan, Genealogical Helper, The Herb Companion and on and on.

Each had an attention grabbing headline. Atomic scientists do have a sense of humor; one article is called “Home On the Nuclear Range.’’ Coastal Living is touting “Summer Vacations” and, of course, Cosmo’s is “Taboo Sex.” Each of these did what they were designed to do…stop me in my tracks and notice it!

Magazines are a great place to start as you select your target market of potential fans. They are so focused on a single, niche subject that you can gather a lot of marketing intelligence from the ones that serve your chosen industry.

You may not be able to afford to place an ad in a magazine at this moment. But you can check out the tactics and techniques that are being used to market to that niche. What’s their strategy…image or lead generation? Are they trying to drive traffic to their website? Do they use coupons?

Notice their headlines and ad copy. What’s the benefit their selling? What’s their call to action? Do they have a guarantee? What are the emotional triggers their using?

Check out the articles inside. What topics are they discussing? Are there any trends that you can spot? What’s the point of view and the attitude they are using? Is there anything you can leverage in your marketing?

You can learn a lot inside the cover of a magazine that serves your market. Take the time to do some research in your industry magazines and study the contents. You may find a wealth of ideas and concepts that point your marketing in the right direction.

At least now I know how to reach atomic scientists! Oh, by the way, here's their website - http://www.thebulletin.org