Why You Need a Custom Magazine Publisher to Improve Your Marketing Strategies

Sean Press
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Print media, and specifically custom publishing, continues to grow at a steady rate, proving to be a desirable medium in creating a lasting impact on its targeted audiences. The custom publishing space has successfully delivered relevant and carefully curated campaigns to both local and national businesses looking for an effective outlet for their marketing strategies for years. The impact of custom publishing speaks through the strong and loyal following from its readers and, as a result, print media is flourishing amongst certain and specific communities.

How custom publishing can be part of your marketing strategy

You may remember, about 10+ years ago, when the collective ‘glass ballers’ of media, predicted that by 2018 we would be living in a paperless world (the trees cheered!) and that print would be nothing more than a moment in history. And here we are. It’s 2018 and… well, we still have magazines and newspapers and instead of print running for its inky life, away from imminent death by digital, the two mediums are now in fact engaged, and living very happily side by side. But not all print, mostly print that can offer a focused target market. Custom print!

Here are five reasons why you should be advertising in custom print magazines:

Focused target market

Mass media marketing, and more specifically the spray and pray technique, once held water in better financial times, but today budgets are tight and every cent counts. Considering that a marketer essentially pays for every set of eyeballs that sees their print advertisement, they really need to ensure that the right eyeballs are seeing their adverts, to avoid wastage of spend. Enter custom magazines that boast a dedicated market (often smaller) with an interest in your area of business. For example, if you are selling golf balls, wouldn’t you look for a golfing or sport magazine rather than general interest title?

Hooked

Yes, yes, we all know that Digital is the new everything – but that’s precisely the problem. It is too much to too many people and the “noise” is loud. Although digital is undoubtedly highly effective, distraction is at an all-time high and you have to work extremely hard to hold the attention of your “eyeballs”. Magazines on the other hand are affectionately known as “captivation between two covers”. When reading a printed magazine, the audience becomes immersed in the content, and is often relaxed enough to even absorb the advertising – especially when the content is focused and offering information on a known topic of audience interest.

Loyalty

Studies on magazines have proven that people trust magazines more than other media platforms – especially custom titles that plug into trusted communities and that boast credibility. For example: private school magazine Crawford Times, published by Contact Media & Communications on behalf of ADvTECH, has a high trust threshold with its readers because they have commonality in that they are parents at the same school, they have the best interests of their kids at heart, they have disposable income and lifestyle interests, and they trust the people around them… including the mouthpiece of the school they researched and chose.

Longevity

With digital media, every click serves a different banner advertisement. And so, after an hour of clicks and 400 online advertisements later, advertising becomes invisible. However, print advertisements are absorbed during a more relaxing reading time which means your print advert will not only have more impact, it will have longevity too. For instance, a magazine in a doctor’s waiting room may be read by hundreds of people over a few months, maybe thousand over a few years! Therefore, your return on investment (ROI) from custom print advertising is excellent.

Power partnerships

Unlike mainstream titles that boast extensive readerships and a wide variety of clients with differing products, custom titles are smaller and more personal. Custom teams often work more closely with advertisers to understand their overall marketing strategy and pillars, and even craft a print campaign to fit into that overall marketing strategy. Custom teams are often also willing to give added value to clients, including editorial inclusion and integrated digital and social support campaigns. They do this because they understand the value these clients offer, not just to the custom magazine, but to the custom market they represent.

To not consider custom magazines as part of your marketing strategy may result in a loss of valuable ROI, as well as quality leads with little waste. Don’t make the mistake of thinking print is dead!