How can I maintain good credibility with the consumers and the advertisers?

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Permalink Reply by 6thAveConcepts on December 18, 2009 at 5:36am

Can you share a little more with us about your magazine first? What type of magazine are you? What articles do you have? What is your target audience?

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Permalink Reply by 6thAveConcepts on December 18, 2009 at 6:16am

6thAveConcepts said:

Can you share a little more with us about your magazine first? What type of magazine are you? What articles do you have? What is your target audience?

WAAHHH!!!! I spent a long time editing this and IAMSAM ate it!!!

(deep breath)

OK. I went and read some other posts of yours, so I have an idea of what you're doing. You may still want to, however, refresh our memories and help any latecomers out by summarizing what your publication's about.

Honesty is always the best policy. Be honest and upright with all your clients. That doesn't mean be blunt or rude. You can be polite and tell them the truth.

Do they want to know how you choose your editorial content? Tell them. Explain in summary the methods you use in determining what to write about. You shared a nice summary in the initial post and that can be a good start. How do you chose your stories?

Are they really asking about the advertiser bio? Is that different than your editorial content? This type of thing is normally referred to as advertorial content. It's a paid piece. Perhaps you're using this as part of your marketing strategy (if you buy this size ad or if you sign a contract for this many months then you will be featured in our bio section)...

How is that handled? How do you do it? There is no shame in this. Perhaps you're featuring 1 bio a month. Is it on first-come, firs-serve basis? If so, then tell them that. "If you agree now your bio will appear in our March issue..." This could be a selling point. If they delay, someone else will get the spot.

Don't worry about offending anyone. Really, you're not going to seek to write about anyone you don't want to. Similarly, you're not going to seek any advertisers you don't want connected with your publication. If you don't want Michael Vic's Dog Obedience School to advertise with you, you won't ask them. Conversely it may be rare for an objectionable advertiser to seek you out. Advertisers will advertise where their target audience will see them.

On the other hand, don't be quick to bite the hand that feeds. Be cautious about turning any advertiser away IF THEY COME TO YOU. Still, you need to have standards. Don't feel bad. Big corporations do it all the time. Usually it's the sponsor or advertiser that pulls their funding from a specific TV show or athlete of the week that's in trouble. If they do it, you can to. Just do so tactfully.

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Permalink Reply by Les LaBranche on December 18, 2009 at 8:06am

I appreciate the insight. My publication is called Connects Magazine it is a small business and entrepreneur publication. I have a digital version and print version. My goal is to feature business men and women that have made great accomplishments in their business and have helped others accomplish something. These business men and women would be considered the underdogs within their industry. My idea is to feature these people with a short bio about them and their business and information on how any aspiring entrepreneur can do something similar to what they have accomplished. At the same time I will have advertisers that are not considered the underdogs and are up and coming and need some exposure.

One of the ways I find my advertisers is through social networks. I recently went to a speed networking event and met several business men and women that had an interest in advertising with me. These are a few of several questions I had been asked like: How do you choose your advertisers? Since I am a startup business would I be an ideal client to advertise with you? Are the advertisers reliable?

I had never gotten these type of questions before and honestly didn't really think about it if I did. I don't know if there is a conflict of interest in what I am trying to accomplish or even if any other magazine publication is doing something similar but I know having accomplished people next to those that aren't may cause a conflict in how advertisers see the reliability of my publication towards others like the big magazines that aren't doing what I'm doing.


6thAveConcepts said:

6thAveConcepts said:

Can you share a little more with us about your magazine first? What type of magazine are you? What articles do you have? What is your target audience?

WAAHHH!!!! I spent a long time editing this and IAMSAM ate it!!!

(deep breath)

OK. I went and read some other posts of yours, so I have an idea of what you're doing. You may still want to, however, refresh our memories and help any latecomers out by summarizing what your publication's about.

Honesty is always the best policy. Be honest and upright with all your clients. That doesn't mean be blunt or rude. You can be polite and tell them the truth.

Do they want to know how you choose your editorial content? Tell them. Explain in summary the methods you use in determining what to write about. You shared a nice summary in the initial post and that can be a good start. How do you chose your stories?

Are they really asking about the advertiser bio? Is that different than your editorial content? This type of thing is normally referred to as advertorial content. It's a paid piece. Perhaps you're using this as part of your marketing strategy (if you buy this size ad or if you sign a contract for this many months then you will be featured in our bio section)...

How is that handled? How do you do it? There is no shame in this. Perhaps you're featuring 1 bio a month. Is it on first-come, firs-serve basis? If so, then tell them that. "If you agree now your bio will appear in our March issue..." This could be a selling point. If they delay, someone else will get the spot.

Don't worry about offending anyone. Really, you're not going to seek to write about anyone you don't want to. Similarly, you're not going to seek any advertisers you don't want connected with your publication. If you don't want Michael Vic's Dog Obedience School to advertise with you, you won't ask them. Conversely it may be rare for an objectionable advertiser to seek you out. Advertisers will advertise where their target audience will see them.

On the other hand, don't be quick to bite the hand that feeds. Be cautious about turning any advertiser away IF THEY COME TO YOU. Still, you need to have standards. Don't feel bad. Big corporations do it all the time. Usually it's the sponsor or advertiser that pulls their funding from a specific TV show or athlete of the week that's in trouble. If they do it, you can to. Just do so tactfully.

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