Business magazines might seem very old fashioned in this highly technical world. The print media—argued by many to be dying—followed by the newspapers and other subsidiaries of the magazine.
The insight talk is proof that print media might not be doing business in full swing like its early days, but it will surely have something that this digital media would never get and that is credibility and trust.
In today’s world where one thinks twice before spending a penny, a business magazine would require strong credibility and audience’s trust to be one of the best business magazines.
The foundation of not only a top business magazine but any magazine remains same to this date. Powerful research, proficiency in the language, ground reporting, real opinion and convincing professional writing are the spices that structure any magazine in general.
Keep your foundation strong and half the problems regarding credibility and trust will be removed from the identity of your business magazine.
Difference between a good business magazine and a great business magazine
The key to being the best business magazine is not the business that it does, the inflow of cash will be coming with the rise and fall of the market. The success of a business magazine is regarded in the accuracy of its content, along with a unique vision and target which should be different from others.
While the context of the market as a whole has been shifted towards customer being the king, the context of the business magazine market is still content being the king. Deliver quality content with accuracy, proper strategic planning and the world will be waiting for you to be conquered.
A good business magazine is what helps other businesses identify themselves to their customer. Now the difference here between a good business magazine and a great business magazine is that a great business magazine does what any business magazine would do, but along with that they help the businesses and customers educate and improve. A business magazine is a cuisine that is a mixture of several ingredients.
Here are five secret and extremely important ingredients that make a business magazine great. You might find some of these elements in all magazines but only a few magazines have all of these five ingredients. So, to stand out in the crowded industry and serve your customers a hot sizzling editorial and a cover story, here are the five important ingredients of a great business magazine.
#1 Content and Design: Should go hand in hand
When you are on the quest of making the best dish, you not only need to carefully choose the ingredients but also spend an ample amount of time on its decoration. Remember, content always stands superior to a design in a magazine, but the design is what makes the content great. Content alone cannot leave a long-lasting impact or won’t be interesting for the reader and design alone would just be an empty template.
Content should go hand in hand with the design. The design should combine with the content in such a way that it should create curiosity in the readers’ minds, which would force them to read it.
The design even pushes an average content to stand out amongst others. So have a design and editorial team that creates a complete magazine package. After choosing the first ingredient of your best dish, let’s move on to the dish that will enhance the taste that defines the quality of your dish.
#2 Audience: Know their daily routine
Knowing your audience’s daily routine doesn’t mean literally knowing everything that they do. It was a metaphor to tell you about knowing your target audience inside out. Though it won’t be that hard to know the daily routine of the target audience as a mass.
Studying the market, consumer behaviour can tell you a lot about them than one can imagine. Your new friend, the internet, can tell you those insights that one craves for.
Write for the audience that you are targeting, as a business magazine, you should know the business’ type inside out. Know their likings, their dislikes, the trends in that space, the history, the giants of that sector, etc.
Since the audience is funnelled and filtered, targeting becomes easy but convincing remains the tough part, as convincing masses, in general, is easy than convincing the major players of a particular industry.
#3 Experience: Keeping it real
Do you know what retains the reader to pick your magazine from the shelf every single time? No, it is not the attractive design and a relatable editorial from the industry, but it is a consistent style with fresh experience.
Many magazines do this to keep the same rhythm and beat of the magazine. Doesn’t matter if it is the best educational magazine or the online business magazine or a healthcare magazine; all good magazines have a consistent rhythm in them that helps them in setting themselves apart from the competition. Many magazines do it by keeping a similar style in the layout, this defines their identity.
Keeping it real, in short, gives the readers a fresh yet familiar experience. It’s like painting an old house new.
#4 Content: Long live the KING
The blurred line of difference between newspapers and magazines is the convincing power. Though the newspaper is quick to deliver news, it is the convincing power of the writing that puts the magazine superior to every other medium. The content should be so versatile that it should take the readers on a roller coaster ride. Write in such a way that the reader should be enlightened by the intellectual, feel emotional on the perception and be challenged on their opinion.
Along with the convincing power, the writing style also plays a crucial role in acquiring the conversion of the audience. The digital world has specified writing styles and that helps in connecting with the target group on a personal level.
In journalism, there is a saying which states, ‘A journalist should not be a master of one, but the jack of all trades.’ This applies to a business magazine as well, for the journalistic nature it has, and you never know which business from which industry is going to be featured in the next edition of your magazine. To gear up and keep up with the trend, know your audience and write like you are a master of that industry.
#5 Life: Character, Identity and Life
A magazine means nothing if it doesn’t have any character or identity that it stands for. Giving a character means it should have its own values, principles, and personality. As a company is considered as a separate entity, a magazine should also be considered the same.
The way to bring life into it is by maintaining good standards of reporting and a conventional style of writing. Every story and feature that is covered in the edition should convey the message that the magazine stands for.
These are the five extremely important ingredients for a great business magazine. It does not matter what kind of magazine you are publishing. Let it be a healthcare magazine or an online business magazine edition, the ingredients remain the same just the kitchen changes. Now, that you know the secret ingredients, make your good business magazine, a great business magazine.
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