To define the target audience, one must first look at demographic factors:Gender, age, economic level, educational level, etc. Then, one must ask questions of this group to determine psychographics: Interests, lifestyle, wants, needs, likes, dislikes, etc., |
This is the listing for Campus Life magazine.
For 2005: "Personal experience stories that demonstrate a life lesson learned; must be written from a teen's perspective and must demonstrate a Christian worldview.What writers must know: "Campus Life is a magazine for high-school and early college-age teenagers. Our editorial slant is not overtly religious. The indirect style is intended to create a safety zone with our readers and to reflect our philosophy that God is interested in all of life. Therefore, we publish 'message stories' side by side with general interest, humor, etc."
Key element: "The best way to break into Campus Life is through writing first-person or as-told-to first-person stories. We want stories that capture a teen's everyday 'life lesson' experience. A first-person story must be highly descriptive and incorporate fictional technique. While avoiding simplistic religious answers, the story should demonstrate that Christian values or beliefs brought about a change in the young person's life. But query first with theme information telling the way this story would work for our audience."
Here is another listing for PETS Health News magazine:
PETS Health News, Fancy Publications Inc., P.O. Box 6050, Mission Viejo CA 92690. (714) 855-8822. Editor: Virginia R. parker. 50% free-lance written. Monthly magazine covering pet health. Our main emphasis is animal health care. Estab. 1985. Controlled circulation. Pays on publication. Publishes ms an average of 2 months after acceptance. Byline given. Buys first North American serial rights. (An Esquire magazine article by Aaron Latham is the source material for "Urban Cowboy," the movie. "Saturday Night Fever" was based on a New York magazine article titled "Tribal rite of the new Saturday Night, which looked at the then-emerging disco scene. So, don't sell all your rights.) Submit seasonal/holiday material three months in advance. Query for electronic submissions. Reports in 2 months. Sample copy for $3.50. Writer's guidelines for #10 SAE with one first-class stamp.Nonfiction: We need informative articles geared toward educating the public about animal care in an accurate, timely and reliable manner. Topics include, but are not limited to, ongoing research in veterinary medicine, health care, training, nutrition, animal welfare legislation and grooming of pet animals. Pays 5-10¢/ word. Length: 1,500-3,000 words. The free-lance writer must know the name of the editor, the address, what the magazine wants, how much the magazine pays, whether to query, etc.,
Important information from the Writer's Market insertion above includes:
Name of magazine, address of magazine, editor's name, amount of editorial conent that is free-lance, payment schedule, rights, whether to query, sample copy price and guidelines availability.Also, you can determine the formula of the magazine, pay per word and length.
This exercise is designed to demonstrate the proposition that the formula of several magazines may be similar, but the specific articles will be quite different.
Group A magazine Men and women, between 18 and 25, upwardly mobile, sexually active, high school education and some college, middle- to lower middle-class, health conscious.
Group B magazine Boys and girls, between 8 and 13, upper middle-class, upwardly mobile, high intelligence, with two-parent families.
Group C magazine Men and women, 55 and older, affluent, interested in travel, college-educated, health conscious, available time.
The formula or mix for stories for groups A, B and C is:Sports, health issues, fashion, celebrity interview and personal finance.
Considering the demographics and psychographics of your target audience, describe a story you would propose for each part of the formula.Describe the kinds of interviews you would have, any sidebars you would plan and titles for the stories. What kinds of people would you interview and why?
Suggest a sidebar. A sidebar is a story or other bit of information such as a graphic which comes out of or goes with the main story. For example, if you were doing a sports story about golf, you might consider a sidebar about the Top 10 golf courses in the nation or the latest fashions for golfers or golfing tips from an expert or locator maps of the toughest holes - or . . . Get the idea?
A title is a short, memorable, catchy couple of words which reflect the content of the story and attract the potential reader, viewer or listener. You may use puns, alliteration, historical or literary allusions, direct address, the words "why" or "how," a question, direct quote or a startling statement.
Chester F. "Chet" Hunt and San Antonio College 2004.
San Antonio College is a college of the Alamo Community College District.