5 Ways To Use A Publication's Media Kit
Today, I'll show you 5 ways to use a publication's (magazine or newspaper) media kit to help you build your own business. When you visit a publication's website, you will typically find a link to their media kit waaay down at the bottom of the page--look for "Advertising", "Advertise With Us" or "For Our Advertisers" in very tiny print. Once you click on that, it will take you to the media kit, which is either online or downloadable. In the media kit, you'll usually find the following:
- Circulation stats
- Editorial mix
- Reader demographics
- Editorial calendar
- Closing Dates
- Advertising rates
- Specs (also called production requirements or mechanical specs)
- Online rates & specs
Here are the 5 ways you can use a publication's media kit to build your business:
Circulation & reader demographicSee who is reading this publication. This portion of a media kit will give you the age, gender, household income, education, marital status, employment and number of readers. How to use it: Is this your target market? If not, move on. If so, use this information to hone your pitch or justify your advertising dollars.
Editorial calendar
This will tell you the "theme" of each issue and the planned articles & features for that theme. Some editorial calendars are better than others, and a few may even include ad closing dates & on-sale dates. How to use it: the editorial calendar helps you to pitch a targeted story--you can link your idea directly to one of the planned themes or features. Tip: The editorial calendar will also help you determine which issue would be best to advertise in--if you make a baby product, it would make more sense to advertise in the issue covering cool baby gear than the one covering Valentine's Day gifts.
Closing dates
Here you'll find the closing dates for ads. If you're advertising in a publication, you will need to have the ad submitted no later than the closing date stated for that issue. How to use it: Simply--this gives advertisers the deadline for ad materials. Tip: You can also use closing dates if you're bargaining for remnant space. Call your advertising sales rep a week or two before the closing date to see if she's trying to fill any empty spots at a very reduced rate.
Specs
This gives you the exact sizes & production specifications for each of the ad sizes that the publication offers. It also tells you how to submit the ad to them--by email, by FTP server, etc. How to use it: this is the information that you pass on to your graphic designer so she can create & submit your ad to the publication. Tip: Select a few ad sizes and have your graphic designer create your ad in each of the sizes you chose. That way, you have a "stable" of ads at the ready for great remnant space opportunities.
Online opportunities
This information will tell you what advertising & marketing opportunities a publication has available on its website. These can range from traditional banner ads to interactive games and polls to sponsored emails. How to use: If you know your target market well & know that they tend to respond to Internet & email promos, consider these online opportunities. Tip: Advertising on a publication's website is sometimes more affordable & makes it very easy for readers to "click" over to your site. Learn more about how to create the perfect pitch and get yourself noticed with the media pros in Get Famous.