Distribution Research- Self

Self magazine has been active since 1979 and has been distributing their magazines through several different platforms. Self magazine used to use several different digital and print platforms to distribute their magazine. Self magazine is not as big or popular as other magazines, so they do not distribute as well. They do not sponsor and half marathons or 5k races like Women's Health. This decreases the distribution rate because these races bring in big crowds that could be potential viewers. In 2017, Self magazine decided to cut all print forms of the magazine. As of February 2017, Self magazine is an online only magazine. This means that there are no more magazines that would be in the checkout lines, at hair salons, or in stores at all. This also decreases the distribution around the world because in some parts of the world, there is no internet access so there will be less viewers now. Self magazine is adapting to the modern technology in the world and is trying to focus on the modern technology to help expand the magazine. I wouldn't just use digital techniques to distribute my magazine. I don't think that they will have the maximum audience that they can potentially have. I would stick to other distribution techniques like Women's Health and Shape magazine.

Distribution Research- Women's Health

Women's Health has reached a wide variety for their audience due to the different distributing techniques that they used. Women's Health is published 10 times a year. The viewers can access videos, print-outs, MP3 videos, and personal trainers that would help the readers focus on a healthy lifestyle. There are almost 500,000 viewers that come from social media platforms like Facebook, or Twitter. Women's Health also uses DVDs that can be used at home that would help people workout if they are unable to make it to a gym. This also adds to the wide variety of the audience because with these DVDs, anyone can workout at home and follow the exercises provided in the video. They also are sponsors for ZOOMBA which sponsors half marathon races, 5ks, and 10ks. They host an event that takes place in several states like New York or Illinois. This event is called Are you Game? This event is held all day and features work-outs, healthy cooking, and yoga. By using all of these different kind of distribution techniques, Women's Health is able to bring in a wide variety range for their audience. I would try and use most of the techniques that they used for their magazine like the social media accounts, sponsoring half marathons or 5k races which would bring a lot of attention because there are a lot of people that usually participate in these races.

Distribution Research- Shape

Magazines typically use different forms of media to distribute their magazines. Due to the enhanced technology there is in the modern world today, magazines are using more digital techniques to distribute their magazines. Most of the magazines are distributed online through social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, or Twitter. I would utilize this model by using social media accounts that would promote my magazine and would use celebrities or models in the ads to help gain interest. Shape magazine uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to distribute their magazine to the their 2,500,000 readers. They also put their magazines in stores or malls where they can be viewed on the racks in the checkout line, or at hair salons. This helps to keep their younger/middle aged audience of women to read each issue.

Target Audience- Self

Self magazine has a combined total of 10 million readers from digital and social platforms. Self magazine reaches an audience who regularly exercise, are wellness enthusiasts, healthy lifestyle influencers, and people who are willing to spend money on health. My audience is similar to this audience because I aim to target people who are interested in health and fitness. I think that these people are most likely younger or are in their middle years of life. Self magazine markets its magazine online mostly and has several different media accounts that promote the magazine. Self magazine only uses persuasive and encouraging language that gets people motivated to workout. Self magazine uses video, digital uniques, and social media platforms. I would use the same platforms they used, but I would also include print for the people that do not have access to the internet.

Target Audience- Women's Health

Women's Health Magazine has a total of 37 million readers which includes 18,782,000 adults and 16,335,000 women, in print, digital, and social media. Women's Health Magazine has a demographic profile that ranges from college students to married women, married women to millennials, and women with children. The age range for Women's Health Magazine is from teenage years (18) to 49 years old. The majority of the readers are either married women or college students who have jobs. My target audience would be similar because college students may have interest in being physically fit and are interested in fitness and health. They marketed their magazine by using different platforms of media to display their product. This allows people to access the magazine in print form, on the phone or computer, or through social media like instagram or twitter. Women's Health Magazine used events to gain popularity that would influence the reader to read or look at the magazine. I would use the same forms of media to display my magazine. By using the same forms of media, this will help my magazine to gain the same audience as Women's Health and Shape. I would also try and use snapchat as another platform because snapchat allows people from all over the world to read the articles and it is easy access to articles online.

Target Audience- Shape

My target audience for my magazine is gender neutral, ages teenager(13-14) and up to around middle age (40-50). Since our magazine is based out of Sarasota, the audience should be mostly in the South and should be areas surrounding Sarasota, Florida. Out of 5,384,000, 91% of the readers are female, the age range is 25-39, 80% of the readers are college graduates, 57% of the readers are married, 76% of the readers are employed, and 40% of the readers are moms. This magazine is similar to mine because it targets young women that are employed and that have recently graduated college or are currently in college. Shape markets its magazine by using several different platforms to display itself. Shape uses print, video, social networks such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, a companion app, and digital platforms to display the magazine to anyone at any time. They persuaded some of their viewers by having sponsors that would sponsor a new client or a new employee. Shape magazine uses a lot of print and digital techniques to acquire their audience. By using social media networks, this helps keep the college students interested and it also helps keep the stay at home moms interested too.

I think that we would market our magazine by using print, digital, social media networks/online. I think by using these media techniques we will rack in the same audience as Shape. We will be placing our magazines at the most convenient places like the grocery store, the mall, the movies, CVS, etc. This will help to attract the younger audience. This will help keep our magazine successful and keep enough money rolling in to continue making issues.

Feedback and Revisions- Revision 1 Cover Page

My magazine needs some changes to be made to it. These changes include changing the font color, include branding, and page numbers. My cover photo was very well liked by the class and they thought that the picture turned out great. There are several different subheadings with many different colors, some of them being hard to read. I will change the font colors from red to a darker color and I will probably have to move the subheadings around so that they are all visible. I will also need to include the magazine brand in the article along with page numbers for the article and table of contents. Our group needs to determine what the branding is going to look like so that it will be the same for every issue of the magazine. I was also told that the colors in the magazine matched the pictures that were included. The feedback I received also said that layout of my magazine was well structured and had a clean look. I will be changing the font colors on the cover page and will be adjusting the font size to make it bolder. I rearranged some of my texts on my cover page so that they are more visible and so they are not covering my model as much. I also made the main article title have it's own section on the bottom of the page so that it can stand out.

Use of Conventions

I think that my magazine adds to the conventions, rather than challenging them. This magazine is different from most health/fitness magazines, it still gives lots of information regarding workouts and wellness. By using the font type we chose, it really grabs the readers eye and is big enough for most people to read. By using a dark purple font, it adds color to the magazine which also helps catch the reader's eye when they are found on the magazine racks. The layout of our magazine is very closely related to all of the magazines that we had researched. This helps fill the pages and gets rid of excess white space which may turn away some viewers. The social groups that are represented in our magazine are the youth, and fitness lovers. Our magazine helps the young and fit people get inspired by new and improved workouts. This also inspires anyone who is looking to get more physically fit and for anyone who is willing to turn their life around.