Distribution Research - World Soccer

World Soccer is a monthly magazine with a target audience of athletes, specifically soccer players, of all ages. This magazine uses both digital and print distribution. For print distribution, they offer three different types of subscriptions: rolling, 1-year, and 2-year. They are also sold in stores. For the digital distribution, you can buy a subscription for iPhone + iPad. You can also download each digital edition on Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Lekiosk, Magazines Direct, and Zinio. By having all of these options, it allows more people to read this magazine. Because this magazine distributes all over the world, it is important to have many reading options so it is accessible to as many people as possible. I can use the distribution method of having multiple download options so that i can maximize the amount of readers and subscribers of my magazine.

Distribution Research - SPLASH

SPLASH magazine is a quarterly magazine with a target audience of American swimmers of all ages. They use both digital and print distribution. For print distribution, all members of USA Swimming recieve a subscription by mail for free. Non-members can also purchase a year subscription through the USA Swimming website. For digital distribution, instead of just having the full issues available to download, they publish some individual articles on their website. They also post some features to social media, including USA Swimming’s own social media accounts and the accounts of well-known professional athletes. This is a good idea because it can help with advertisement as well as distributing the magazine. I can use the distribution method of posting articles on my website, because it will help to give possible readers a glimpse of what they could be getting if they were to purchase a subscription. 

Distribution Research - Traditional Distribution Model

In magazines today, distribution can be done in many ways. The modern times have changed the way magazines can be read. A typical magazine uses both print and digital distribution. Print distribution can be through a mail subscription or by buying individual issues in convenience stores. Digital distribution can be cell phone downloads, eBooks, or articles on the magazines own website. From apps to twitter accounts, digital distribution of magazines is easily accessible virtually everywhere. As technology is evolving, magazine publishers have to find the most efficient ways to get their magazines into the hands of the readers. These are just a few examples of today’s typical distribution of a magazine.

Marketing Plan

Through my marketing research, I have found many ways to market my magazine. The first form of marketing I will do is using social media. The social media platform I will use is Instagram. I think this will engage my target audience because swimming is most popular for ages 7-17, and I think Instagram is the most popular social media for this age range and older. The second form of marketing I will use is sponsoring an event. I plan on sponsoring a masters swim meet. This will engage my audience because it will let the swimmers aged 18+, plus all the timers and officials, hear about my magazine and they will want to support it because we supported them. The third form of marketing I will do is a partnership with USA Swimming's Kick Set podcast to talk about my magazine. This will allow all the swimmers who listen to this podcast to hear about the magazine and hopefully want to read it.

Target Audience Research - Sports Illustrated

A magazine with a similar target audience to mine is Sports Illustrated. Our magazines have the same targeted age, geography, income, and education level. While this magazine is mostly advertised towards men, there are many females who read this magazine, and there is a Sports Illustrated Women magazine that is advertised more towards females. This magazine markets their product through social media(including their YouTube channel, pictured below), their website, their app, their podcast, and even their sports league management software platform. This magazine uses mostly the emotional appeal by featuring famous athletes and sports teams.This magazine uses print, TV, radio, and digital media. An aspects I can use to market my product is making a YouTube channel or a podcast where I can post full interviews or other exclusive content.

Target Audience Research - SPLASH

One magazine that has a similar target audience to mine is USA Swimming's SPLASH magazine. The main reason our target audiences are similar is because they are both about swimming, so they would primarily interest swimmers or athletes in general. There is no specific age range, gender, income level or education level targeted for these magazines, as long as the reader enjoys swimming. There are various marketing techniques used to promote this magazine. One way they promote this magazine is by posting about it through social media, either by their own account or the accounts of the featured athletes(pictured below). Another way they promote this magazine is by giving USA Swimming members a free subscription, which also helps with distribution and advertisement. USA Swimming uses both logical and emotional appeals. It uses logical appeals by convincing the reader that it will help them to become a better swimmer. It uses emotional appeals by including pictures and interviews about famous swimmers, such as Michael Phelps. This magazine uses both print and digital media. The main marketing technique I can use to promote my magazine is the use of social media.

Target Audience Research - Runner's World

A magazine that has a similar target audience to mine is Runner's World. Both magazines are targeted towards athletes of all ages, genders, incomes, and education levels. The only difference is that Runner's World distributes editions all over the world, while my magazine is primarily targeted towards Americans. This magazine markets their product through social media, their website, an email newsletter, and even a store with running merchandise. This magazine uses a logical appeal with tips for runners of all different levels. It also uses an emotional appeal by including stories about different runners and their journeys.This magazine uses print and digital media. An aspect I can use to market and promote my magazine is the use of a website or an app.

Revision - Article

Within the article, I had a few changes that I needed to make. The first thing that I needed to change was adding a picture on the second page to make it look more appealing. To do this, I scheduled another photo shoot and was able to get a good shot of Reece Whatmore doing one of her many shoulder exercises. I also justified the columns so the article page looks more appealing. I also changed the background to white, so printing would be cheaper. I also added conventions like branding and page numbers.

 

Revision - Table of Contents

On the table of contents, there were only a few revisions I had to make. One thing I changed was the layout of the page numbers. This made the overall page look better and more cohesive. I also played around with the spacing of all of the headlines. Lastly, I added conventions like page numbers and a website.

Revision - Cover

On the cover, there really was not much that I had to revise. One revision I did make was making sure that the word "trials" did not have a hyphen in the middle of it. I also played around with the sizing and spacing of the words just to make the cover look cleaner and more cohesive.