How to cut advertising costs

Published - 14th June 2010

magazines

  1. Prioritise the magazines that are most appropriate for your market. Any reputable magazine will have ABC audited readership figures and profiles.
  2. Review forward features. Most magazines plan their main features at the start of the year that enables advertisers to plan their schedules around relevant editorial.
  3. Decide which month/week you wish to appear. Ideally plan to place your advertisement when the magazine is running a relevant feature, but remember most magazines run features bi-annually so there’s usually a second opportunity. It’s also worth remembering that the readership remains pretty much the same throughout the year. So if you can’t get the space at the price you want, when you want it, it might pay to place your advertisement in a different month and take the discount.
  4. Every magazine has a published rate card. This tells you the price they would like to get for the space but you should then call them and ask for a ‘planning’ rate, which could be anything up to 50% cheaper.
  5. Above all let the magazine know you’re interested in advertising with them. And which month you want to appear in, then they’ll make a point of calling you with offers.
  6. Prepare your design and artwork to the specification required. You will find this in the Rates & Specifications data available from the magazine’s website.
  7. Wait for the call from the Sales Manager. There’s always a deal to be done, they need to hit targets, fill empty space and make a commission.
  8. Negotiate a little further. There’s almost always room for a further discount, but just like an auction, always have your limit in mind.
  9. Book the space and send the artwork. The last bit of negotiation is to try and get a good position for the discounted price. Right hand pages are proven to be more successful.
  10. Alternatively, speak to us. We will negotiate the best rate available and if you need it, we can handle the creative for you. We’ve been doing it for years. We know the magazines, we know the prices and we know your market.

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