Target Your 'A' Team Of Advertisers And Treat Them Special With Research

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Feb, 2001

Magazines facing cutbacks in advertising from dot-com companies that have scaled back (or even disappeared) should think about who was keeping them alive before that advertising, and start treating those old standbys right. They are the clients you should be concentrating on, noted Cheryl Woodard, co-founder of PC Magazine, PC World and Macworld.

Most niche magazines have an endemic group of advertisers--people who must be in the magazine. Bicycling magazines, for example, have bicycle manufacturers and bicycle touring companies. "Know who pays your bills and treat them really well," said Woodard during a seminar titled "How to Squeeze More Profits from Your Publications" at the fall FOLIO: Show in New York. "Position them as partners, not just someone who's selling something. For example, do research for them. You have an audience you can tap into to give them information. That's what they really want." But, said Woodard, don't do this for everybody. Look through your advertisers and identify your "A" people --those who pay most of your bills. If the economy does hit a downturn, you may want to reshape your business to survive within the amounts of advertising available to you. Options include decreasing the number of pages in your magazine, cutting the frequency, or getting readers to pay more of their share. Don't waste time trying to attract non-niche advertising, said Woodard. "All the dot-com advertising isn't going to last," she warned. "Go back to who was keeping you alive before that advertising."