Launch promotion

The more effectively any target market is informed about a new magazine, the better the chance that a planned sales level will be achieved for the first issue, and, therefore, the higher the eventual sales level will be. A percentage of purchasers of the first issue will decide that the publication does not satisfy their needs and will not become regular readers. It is therefore important that the number of copies out in the marketplace is high enough to permit a satisfactory level of sampling.

Expenditure on promotion should be considered a real investment for the future success of any new magazine. Large amounts of money have to be spent to reach mass audiences; the sums involved in influencing the consumer's buying decisions probably equate to around £5 spent for every copy sold.

Promotion can still be effective at more modest levels and the amount that you need to spend is heavily dependent upon the market you are aiming to reach. It is worth bearing in mind that the newstrade is extremely unlikely to accept a title without a supporting consumer spend.

After launch, most titles need to promote regularly to stimulate sales growth and to compete with rival publications. As a guideline, a monthly title might promote between four and six issues each year.