Distribution Research- Real Simple

A digital distribution method Real Simple magazine uses is an online website. Their website has many different features that make it very accessible. They have an option to subscribe to their magazine. Their explore button can let you choose any category to see small articles from, without even subscribing to the magazine. They also have little social media icons you can click and it will bring you right to their page on that particular platform. The website can also bring you to the Real Simple shop to buy their products. I could use this method to distribute because a website brings people to many other applications for the magazine. There is a wide variety of selections and is easy to navigate. I would have the option of smaller articles for free so that the consumers know what kind of product they will get and it will leave them wanting more.

Distribution Research- Good Housekeeping

A digital distribution method that the Good Housekeeping magazine uses is having their own app for devices. They have a subscription option where you can choose to subscribe for a monthly or annual subscription. You can also log into the app if you already have a subscription. Then they have a magazine option. In the top border, they have a search bar where you can search any magazine you want. At the top of the page, they feature their newest magazine. Under this, you can scroll to find all of their other issues in order from newest to oldest. If you aren't a subscriber, you can get 5 minutes of free access for every issue. After 5 minutes, you can unlock the issue for $3.99. I could use this method for my magazine distribution. I would make an app for my Celebration magazine and include the option to subscribe to the magazine or buy single issues for a cheaper cost. I would also add some other features like having smaller articles to look at.

Distribution Research- Southern Living

There are many methods of digital distribution for magazines now that technology is more advanced. The Southern Living magazine has a way of distributing their magazine digitally through tablets. You have the option to purchase a subscription on their website and then new issues will be downloaded onto your tablet automatically. This is a fast and easy way to read the magazine and you can take it anywhere you want to. It is available on iPads, Kindles, NOOKs, and some Android devices. It is available on a variety of tablets so that it is easily accessible. I could incorporate this method into my distribution plan. I would have an option to make the magazine available on tablets and smart phones. This way, if you are subscribed to my magazine, you can take it anywhere with you to read.

Traditional Distribution

The main traditional type of distribution for magazines is through print. Subscription letters are sent in the mail to the house's address and people fill it out and send it back to the magazine company. The magazines are then distributed in the mail to all the people who are subscribed. They send a printed copy of the magazine to you that will come monthly. Magazines are also available to buy at grocery stores, book stores, and many other stores. Some common distribution agencies are Hearst, Meredith Corporation, and Penske Media Corporation. I would utilize this model of distribution by also sending subscribers a magazine in the mail. It is easy because their product is delivered right to them every month.

Revision #1

I made my first revision for my magazine. I started with my cover the magazine. I expanded my picture so that it took up the whole screen, since there was a white border around it before. Then, I changed the color of my title because I wanted the red to be a little more bright than the original color. I changed the fonts of the smaller articles because I thought my old font didn't go with my magazine and I didn't like the way it looked. I changed the font to go more with the title font. They are similar, but different. The last thing I revised was the placement of my articles. I moved them off towards the sides because my classmates, teacher, and I decided that the picture should not be blocked. I tried to move the majority of the words off the picture and put them on the edge of the tree, towards the top of the page.

Marketing Plan

Based on my research in to the marketing of other magazines, I plan to market my product by using social media. I am going to use Instagram to market my magazine. Social media is a very current form of advertising for magazines and to get people to notice their product. As technology advanced, social media is taking over other forms of marketing. It is a fast and easy way to find the product and can be used by all ages. Parts of some current articles, new, smaller articles, and updates can all be posted on the Instagram. My visual aid shows one of my posts made, promoting my December issue of the magazine.

Audience Engagement Research- Southern Living

78% of the readers for Southern Living are women and the median age is 54. It is meant for adult women. Also, the median household income is $70,209. This income level is in the middle class. Our target audience is similar because it is meant more for adults, since they have their own home. Both of our magazines are aimed more towards women because of the types of articles featured.

A marketing strategy that this magazine uses is partnering with Dillard's, an American department store, to sell their own brand. Once people see and buy the type of products associated with the magazine, they might want to subscribe to them to find out more.

To market my product, I would use aspects from this. I could have my own brand with furniture, decorations, clothes, and much more. Then I would partner with a big store, like Macy's, to sell and advertise my brand, Then there would hopefully be more subscribers to my magazine.

Audience Engagement Research- Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping has a total of 6 million readers. 84% of these readers are homeowners. The median age is 53 years old and 43% of the readers are women ages 25 to 54. A majority of the readers have a household income of $50,000+ which means most of them are in the middle class. Our target audiences are similar because most of them are homeowners, which the magazines are designed for. Most of the homeowners are in the middle class because of the types of articles featured in our magazines. They are both mainly targeted for older, adult women.

A marketing strategy that this magazine uses is social media. They use Facebook to post videos relating to their magazine, such as DIYs, and they post their own articles. This encourages people to follow their page and eventually subscribe to the magazine.

To market my product, I would make an Instagram for my magazine. The posts would include some new, short articles that anybody could read to get inspired to redesign their home or better themselves. I would use Instagram because it would also target younger adults, as well as middle aged adults. This form of social media is user friendly to everyone.

Audience Engagement Research- Real Simple

Real Simple has a total of 7 million readers. Most of the readers are women since they advertise it as a "women's magazine." 82% of the readers own a home. The median age is 52. Our target audiences are similar because the magazine is meant for homeowners since most of the articles are about improving your home, cooking, and decorating. Our target age is similar because it is meant more for adults, since they have their own home.

I researched how this magazine markets their product. They have a press release saying that Real Simple launched their own online shop where consumers can buy clothes, furniture, and more. Another marketing technique was an event created by Real Simple. In 2019, they had their own "home idea" located in Brooklyn, New York. They transformed a townhouse into their own designed home that give strategies to other homeowners. People can take a 360 degree video tour of the house.

To market my product, I would create an event with other magazines of my genre and other home decorators to sell our very own products. Some products would be the ones featured in the articles, while others could be newer. At the event, I could subscription papers there so people can subscribe to the magazine if they liked the event.

InDesign Class Activity

Today in class we utilized Adobe InDesign to lay out our 2 page spread. The features on the software were very useful and it had many different options for editing. We learned how to use the select tool, type tool, and picture box tool. These are the main tools we would need to create the basis of our article. It was a bit overwhelming for me though. I did not feel fully comfortable working with this software on my own because there was a lot of features I did not understand. Also, the tools we used in class were kind of confusing to me. There were a lot of steps to fix the text we put in and adding in the pictures confused me and I didn't get to it. I don't think I will be using InDesign to make my revisions or the third quarter submission. I will probably keep using Microsoft Publisher because I am familiar with it and know how to use it. My layout that I made using InDesign is not complete or the final look I want. I was just practicing putting in pictures and formatting text, so the pictures I chose are not the correct ones.

My Target Audience

My magazine has a target audience with many different qualities and characteristics. My magazine is aimed at people who are aged between 25 and 60. It is not really meant for younger people. It can be for all genders, although much more women may want to read it than men. It is meant to be read by homeowners so they can spark up their house. It is also aimed at people who are part of the middle class because the magazine has simple ideas that can be used by those who might be on a budget and don't want to spend money on elaborate decorations. Personal interests of the audience could include cooing, baking, arts and crafts, fashion, and personal care. The product will be appealing to the audience because it has a variety of decorations to make for the current holiday, it is easy to read, and it is relatable to help people better themselves.

Feedback and Revisions

After getting some feedback on my magazine from my midterm submission, there are revisions I need to make before my final submission. For my cover page, I need to expand my picture so that it fills the whole page instead of having a white border. Then I need to move my article titles so that most of it is not covering the main picture. I want the picture to be seen so I just have to move my title up and some of the articles to the sides. I don't want to much revision with my table of contents because I felt that it was formatted well. The only thing I need to add to it is a page number in the bottom corner. For my two page article, I need to get a picture of the person I am interviewing to show who she is and to add to the variety of pictures. I think I should also add a main photo to the top of the page above the title. These changes will improve my product because it will make it look more organized and professional. To make these changes happen, I am going to start working on the cover page first and then keep going from there. I am using Microsoft Publisher to create my magazine and make any changes.

Use of Conventions

My magazine that I made uses many different conventions of my genre that I am able to recognize because of the magazine research I did. On my cover page, the font of the title of my magazine was very similar to other magazines that I saw. They both have a clean, simple look that is bold and stands out. I have some other features on my cover page that were similar to other magazines, such as having a colored circle around one of the featured articles. I put the main article on the cover in a bigger font, since the other magazines in my genre also had that. My table of contents is very organized and symmetrical. The other table of contents' in other magazines I looked at had multiple sections that had different articles listed underneath them. This is what I did with my magazine because I have four different topics related to my magazine genre. My article is similar to the other magazines because there are pictures scattered throughout the article. I do not have a main picture at the top on the first page of the article, even though some of the magazines I saw did have this.

My magazine is meant for homeowners who are most likely in the middle class because my magazine has articles that are for people who want to buy or make things on a budget for their home.