Do sales increase from magazine advertising?”

I received an interesting comment the other day that really set me thinking about advertising and what you receive for your investment. “Do sales increase from advertising in the magazine?” hmmm. At first thought I would like to boldly announce, “Yes! Of course they do….”, but if I stop and think about it the answer lies in a grey area of “Sometimes”.

I have been organizing co-op ads for a year now, with a group of lampwork bead artists (GlassMetalClay.com). Our ad has appeared in Step by Step Beads, Beadwork (once), Beads 2008 and a class catalog (Bead Philadelphia). The artists have received varying levels of success with their ad spaces, with some artists feeling the ad has contributed to their sales, and others noticing less of an effect. I have been able to observe some of the contributors to success as well as some of the challenges.

· A fully stocked store front at the time of publication is very important to sales
· Only advertise in a magazine relevant to your customer
· Make sure there is an easy way to contact you
· Excellent photos of your product make it easier for customers to buy
· The image in the ad is more important than the size of the ad

At the time I started the co-op ads in beading magazines my primary goal was to advertise my (now offline) store for beadable objects. I did see a direct response to the two original ads I participated in but by the time the ads published my beadables business no longer had a studio for me to create in. I made a major mistake and had an empty store when the ad came out. My big response was “What happened to your store?” E-mails (I did have an easy way to contact me!).

So, “Do sales increase from magazine advertising?” the best answer is that, your potential customer base will expand. Sales might or might not increase based on the number of items for sale on your site and your photos. Magazines reach a large number of potential customers. The more items you have for sale, and the better your photos the better chance of increased sales.

& One last tip. Make sure you have the item you feature in your ad space for sale.