now that’s something worth shouting about...

customer magazines are the fastest growing marketing medium after internet advertising.

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In this little book of tricks, we want to guide you through the flourishing jungle of customer publishing. We will show you the reasons for the effectiveness of customer magazines, explaining how they can be used, what they should include and most importantly how they can deliver real results for your brand.

At The Marketing Café, we have been producing quality customer magazines for an array of clients for some time now, leading the process from start to finish. Furthermore, our membership of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) gives you complete peace of mind.

Because they are so effective.Why?

So sit back, relax, and let us show you how a customer magazine can elevate your business.

why a magazine?

A magazine can help you reach new heights with your communications. The key is to identify at the outset what you need it to do for your business and gear the complete magazine towards the fulfilment of that goal.

You can use it to:

6 Build brand awareness6 Increase customer loyalty6 Obtain feedback from your customers6 Capture data6 Inform customers of new developments, products or services6 Show customers who you are and what you stand for6 Generate new revenue6 Improve customer communications

Today, 79% of the population read customer magazines. Are they reading yours?

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why a magazine?

On average customer magazines keep a consumer’s attention for 25 minutes, which is significantly more than the eight seconds looking at a poster or 20-30 seconds listening to a radio ad...

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... in essence it compares to 50, 30 second TV ads.

The perfect agency will be able to write copy in the tone of your brand, choose content that will appeal to your audience and produce show-stopping creative that strengthens the appeal of the magazine.

The customer magazine is a unique medium that requires a mix of specific skills. These include strong project management, editorial know-how and advertising sales expertise. To achieve the right result be sure to choose an experienced magazine agency that understands this unique dynamic.

start?The first step towards a successful magazine is to choose the right support team.

where do you

questions to ask when choosing an agency6 Do they have good experience of magazine publishing?6 Can they create great content? 6 Do they listen to your suggestions and feedback?6 Are they offering good value for money?6 Does their creativity excite you?

5 key

If the agency scores

go for it!

no man can whistle a

symphony... it takes an orchestra to play it.

H.E. Luccock

Getting the right look and feel is vital. If your magazine appears too much like a corporate sales brochure, your customers will be turned off.

The creative should echo the editorial content in whatever manner you have chosen. Whether you are fun, adventurous, sophisticated or fashionable – make sure your magazine is designed to sing about the personality of your brand.

Always design with the reader in mind. Remember - what looks best on the page may not always be easiest to read or simplest to navigate.

When your magazine looks appealing, substantial and well branded your audience will be keen to pick it up and engage.

Look and Feel

In order to have a strong impact on your readers, your magazine should be published with consistency.

Whether it is published weekly, monthly or seasonally, you should launch your magazine with the intention of it being a regular component in your marketing plan. Let your readers learn when to expect the magazine on their doorstep.

Make sure each publication is consistent in terms of design, layout and content, helping the reader to navigate easily around the magazine.

Check every detail vigorously. In a magazine, mistakes are easily made. A good agency will avoid this with careful systemised checking.

Ensure that your agency is able to provide you with the right imagery for the magazine at competitive rates.

At The Marketing Café, we can create professional images using our own stylists, models and photographers. This means we avoid inflated costs from image-libraries providing you with tailored photography including full rights of use for the future. Perfect!

Be Consistent

Pay Attention

The content of your magazine is critical. Stating the obvious?

Perhaps, but we all know what a dull publication is like. So use these top tips to ensure you are including exactly what your audience wants.

6 Focus on the target When constructing editorial content, remember that you may not necessarily be part of the target audience. Interesting to you may not be interesting to your reader and vice versa. Similarly, the tone of a corporate brochure will differ hugely to the tone of your customer magazine. Always research your target audience carefully, remembering who you are talking to.

6 Give your readers a voiceLet your audience tell you what works and what doesn’t. Only they can tell you – so listen. Feature reader-generated content and give them a reason to pick-up your magazine. Turn the magazine into a research tool as well as a marketing tool.

6 Stick to the brand like glueFor your readers, picking up your magazine should be like entering your store, sampling your product or talking to your staff - it should be a little taste of what you are and what you stand for. Make sure your publication looks the part, reads the part and plays the part.

6 Make it worth their whileYou are asking your customer to take time out of their schedule to read about you – so make it worth their while. Be generous with competitions, giveaways, and offer discounts. Focus on making the magazine useful for them by including articles and features that will truly add value to their lives.

6 Use professional writersEnsure that your agency employs excellent writers. Whether you want to feature a celebrity interview, fashion spread, financial climate article or political debate, your agency should have the writers available to produce nail-biting, cutting-edge articles.

65 top tips

for sticky content

At The Marketing Café, we have a wealth of experience in the production of customer magazines. From choosing a masthead name to developing the circulation, we provide the complete service with excellent value for money.

6 Project ManagementA regular customer magazine can take up a lot of time. Our expert account managers can have as much or as little input as you wish. Whether you prefer us to take the activity completely off your hands or simply act as a support network, we will aim to become a seamless extension of your marketing department.

6 CreativityWe have a team of experienced designers who are laser-focused on client objectives. Our designers know what works for a particular audience and always design the look and feel of the magazine through the eyes of the reader. We are good listeners and will be keen to get your views on the best creative approach to suit your target audience.

6 ContentUsing a team of journalists and professional photographers, we can manage and produce the entire content of your magazine. Whether you are looking for fashion expertise or sound health and wellbeing advice, our team can provide thoroughly researched, expertly written articles on niche subjects, adding value to your publication at the turn of every page.

6 AdvertisingIf you are looking to generate revenue from the magazine, or even just recoup some of the production costs, we can help. We will suggest a list of appropriate advertisers for your title and set about securing complementary brand advertisements for your magazine.

We have outlined below the services we have to offer:

6 Data Capture We can design and run competitions and promotions for your readers with the aim of capturing data from them. Reader response cards within the magazine are also a great way of asking your customers key questions.

6 Distribution & FulfillmentHelp is on hand to ensure you get your magazine from the printer to your reader effortlessly. We can recruit stockists of your magazine or assist with the packaging and delivery to your existing database, whichever you prefer.

6 SegmentationWith your magazine, we can target specific segments of your audience. Specific magazines can be tailored and edited according to the preferences of each segment ensuring that the content relates as much to those individuals as possible.

6 Integrated MarketingWe offer an integrated marketing service, allowing you to tie in other marketing activity with your magazine. This will ensure that all of your marketing communications are singing from the same sheet.

6 DigitalOur digital expertise will make sure your magazine works together with the website to achieve your marketing objectives. Direct your readers online to enter competitions, find out more information, watch videos or supply a short digital version of the publication.

magazines and websites should pull together harmoniously, so

make sure you are working them both to their full advantage.

We also offer the following services that can be blended perfectly to work alongside your magazine.

6 Branding6 Advertising6 Marketing Planning6 Multimedia6 Video 6 Graphic Design6 Copywriting

take a closer look

Recommended Agency Register (RAR)The Marketing Café is delighted to be listed on the Recommended Agency Register. This means our clients have happily recommended our creativity, publishing and service delivery rating us one of the best agencies in Britain. The register is designed to save you time and manpower in agency selection. Getting you the facts without the fluff, just real agency recommendations.

Association of Publishing Agencies (APA)The Marketing Café are full members of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA). The APA’s commitment to establishing codes of practice and respected standards for customer publications means you can remain confident in the quality of services and products provided by The Marketing Café.

Don’t just take our word for it...

The Marketing Café can deliver real results for your brand, call us today for a chat or to arrange an exploratory meeting.

0141 621 3900

Glasgow OfficeSuite 29, Unit 1Spiersbridge Business ParkSpiersbridge WayGlasgowG46 8NLt. 0141 621 3900e. info@themarketingcafe.netw. themarketingcafe.net

Milton KeynesLuminous House300 South Row Milton KeynesMK9 2FRt. 01908 933 512

a good beginning

ensures a good ending

proverb

ps.