"Small magazines" for niche market research

[madchadder]

In the book, Tim recommends creating a list of your interests, groups, etc. and then says to look for magazines aimed at those groups. Easy enough, but then on page 149 he says, " Narrow the groups...above to those that are reachable through one or two small magazines."

a) Any idea what he means by "small magazines?" Small readership? Small number of pages? Why small?

b) Also, does this mean we should pick two magazines from a list of many or we should find a group/interest that only has one or two magazines total geared toward it?

Thanks for any help clarifying this.

[Drewkerr]

Well one example would be NOT Golf Digest. This is a huge magazine, with national distribution and thousands upon thousands or readers. Very costly. Instead look for a golf magazine that is only distributed regionaly instead. The "smaller" magazine might have less advertisers, and less national advertisers like Nike or Calloway.

Hope this Helps!

Drew

[final_id]

I think what you're looking for, is a target-able buying audience. If that helps, then think in those terms. The "biggest" magazines (intelligently) want to maximize their readership by adopting an image and content that appeals to a wide range of people. As magazines get "smaller" (in circulation, frequency of issues, or even number and size of pages) they cater more and more to a single group, and less and less to a wide variety of groups.

I think it doesn't matter how big a given group (catered to by a given magazine) happens to be. I think it's most important to be able to find the "gatekeeper." There may be 10,000 or 100,000 or 1,000,000 Americans interested in knitting. The total number is beside the point. The point is, that there is ONE major knitting magazine (or two), in which you can advertise. If you sell 9,000 of your special wham-o-knitting needles at $100 profit each, it doesn't matter if you sell them to 90%, 9%, or .9% of the total number of America's knitters. Either way, you've made $900,000. To find knitters via Vogue and Cosmopolitan is difficult; to find them through Knit-Freak-Magazine is easy.

The question isn't one of absolute size, relative to other magazines (or other groups). It's one of reach-ability.

[cartoonfan1983]

Another reason to find the smaller magazines is your ability to negotiate. They probably do not have as many advertisers clamoring to get ads, so you are able to get them to drop their ad rates substantially.

[houdini]

Go to a chain bookstore like Barnes and Noble (or any other major book/magazine retailer) and check out their magazine section. There will many many magazines that you have likely never heard of. They have magazines that cover nearly any topic that you can imagine. I'm sure you will find a magazine that fits your niche market.

[madchadder]

Thank you all. This makes sense now. It's a matter of balance - finding a magazine that's not too small and not too big.

I still find it odd that Tim gives a hard number for the minimum size ("no fewer than 15,000 readers," pg. 149) of the magazine you're looking for, but no maximum size other than "small."

Thanks again for the replies.

[final_id]

I think there is a law of diminishing returns, for ultra-small magazines. That's probably why he gives a minimum. Below that, you MIGHT be dealing with a flea-bag operation that is less than professional -- with inaccurate circulation numbers, or an unreliable advertising layout, which could thus cost you money. That's not necessarily the case for many low-circ magazines, but it's a slightly greater possibility. Just keep yourself big enough to remain within the realm of professional reliability. Otherwise, the more niche-oriented the better.

[MariaG]

One area to look at is specialty/trade publications. For example, there is a magazine for professional caterers called (wait for it...) Catering Magazine! I don't know there circulation, but I'd guess it's "small" compared to GQ. Most professions and trades have similar publications. Once you've gotten your niche narrowed a bit, you can begin to search for those types of publications.

[doug124]

You will only find a fraction of magazines at your local store. Many of them are in specialty shops or by subscription only. Your best bet is to Google your interest and magazine. Tim also gave the option of using the SRDS. Go to your library and you can quickly search this by topic. It will also give you contact information for the publication.

[mattk]

I still find it odd that Tim gives a hard number for the minimum size ("no fewer than 15,000 readers," pg. 149) of the magazine you're looking for, but no maximum size other than "small."

Actually, he does give a maximum size: "with full-page advertising that costs less than $5000".

From what I've seen in one niche, the cost of advertising scales with readership.

[travelerjjm]

For help finding small and trade mags, check out the Writers' Market at your local library.
--john