How did you attract/address your audience?

ResearchTo find out what I should use to attract my audience to my magazine, I researched magazines that are currently on the market and looked at what conventions I could use. I researched into magazines like ‘Q’ and ‘UNCUT’ as these are similar to the genre of magazine I chose. I took a lot of interest in what should be included in my magazine and found out what my target audience looks for when purchasing a magazine like mine.

QuestionnaireI took a questionnaire to find out what my target audience would like to see in my magazine, this helped me as it made me understand what I should include in the magazine and who would actually buy the magazine off the shelf. I handed my questionnaire out to people within the local community so that I could find out what exactly a different range of people want to see. Question 1: Shows me that either males or females will be most interested in my magazine. My results showed that mostly female would be interested in my magazine however, there were quite a big range of males that were also interested in the magazine. Question 2: I then wanted to find out what age ranges would be interested in my magazine, this resulted in finding out that my magazine appealed to many people aged between 16-24.Question 3: The next thing I focused on was what genre of music my audience were interested in, the people that I asked were mostly interested in listening to pop/rock music. Question 4:I then asked if they usually buy music magazines and this resulted in me finding out that nearly 99% of the people who took my questionnaire buy music magazines. Question 5: I then found out what way do people listen to music, I found out that most people nowadays listen to music on computers.Question 6: The next question I asked was ‘how often do you listen to music?’ I found out that most people listen to music everyday.I then asked questions like ‘Who is your favourite music artist’ and ‘what is your favourite thing about music magazines?’My final question I gave the audience was the choice of different prices to pay and what they thought was a reasonable price for a magazine, which lead me to make my magazine £2.00.This whole questionnaire helped when making my magazine and will hopefully help my magazine be successful.

Masthead

My masthead for my magazine is very bold and stand out really well on the background of my cover, this will hopefully attract people. I used a white font and black outline, this is known for standing out and makes the audience know that this is the masthead, this is placed top, centre of the cover like a typical magazine. The font I chose is sharp and large, this fit well with the genre as rock is known for being very sharp and edgy. It is Bold and large, the colours go with the rest of the magazine as a lot of red and white is used throughout. The title sits slightly behind the main image which happens a lot in magazines.

Colour SchemeWhen deciding what colours to use on my magazine I researched rock/pop magazines to find out what colours are mostly used. This then helped me decide to use Red, black and white as this is what most rock magazines are known to use, however I used a background to my image which is made up of nature colours, this isn't normal for a rock magazine as the image background is normally edited off the image. I think the colours I have used are acceptable for the age of my magazine readers as they’re mostly older readers. If my readers were young I would use more bright colours to interest them. The colours I have chosen can appeal to both females and males which is my goal when selling my product.

LayoutThe way I have made my layout will hopefully help attract my audience. I placed my main image in the centre of the cover and made it large so that it will attract the readers attention. I made my masthead standout by making it bold and make sure that it standouts on the background. I kept my colour scheme basic so that the pages done look too crowded but I hope that my colour choices attract the audience. My tag lines stand out and don’t look too crowded on the front cover. I The article on the double page spread is split into columns to make it look like there is less text than there really is, I did this so the readers will take more interest in reading the article. I have took high inspiration from the magazine of We Love Pop in terms of the layout so that my magazine will appeal to my target audience. I think my cover is attractive and will attract a wide range of audience members. My double page spread is split into columns so that it is neat and tidy and also doesn’t make it look like there's a lot of reading for the reader to do as a lot of writing can put a person off buying the magazine.

Marjorie FergusonMarjorie Ferguson in 1980 established the four types of facial expression in the cover photos of British woman's magazines. Chocolate Box: Chocolate is a full or a half smile when the models lips are together or slightly parted, and the teeth are only slightly seen. The models face is either fully or three quarters seen in the camera.  Projected mood: warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.Super smile: Full smile and face seen and teeth are visible. A cheery, happy looks is given to suggest  attraction and hair is often wind blown. Romantic or sexual: The projected moods are possibly 'available' and definitely 'available'. Limited clothing and props are used.  Invitational: Invitational is when the eyes are mostly emphasis. The mouth is shut with only a hint of a smile with the teeth being slightly seen and the head  is placed to one side slightly. The mood is suggestive of mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise.

Marjorie Ferguson’s Uses and Gratifications!

• Escapism: This is when magazine and websites allows the audience to get to be involved with artists. This can cause people to think about other peoples lives other than their own.

• Personal Relationships: The audience of magazines can talk to other people about music. Users sometimes consume media as a form of companionship, developing relationships with onscreen characters.

• Diversion: This is the same as escapism, it gives the user consuming media a way to escape from their problems that are caused in their own lives. Media allows the viewer to focus on what they are watching or reading,. This could involve someone watching or reading an up beat story or programme to cheer them up or watching/reading something miserable, and thinking ,the diversion model also includes people consuming media for relaxation or entertainment purposes.

• Personal Identity: This is the ability to compare someone's own life with the life of an onscreen character that is the same view of life as them. Viewers may learn how to deal or not to deal with this situation this could be by watching how the characters deal with it. Alternatively, it might help the viewer come to terms with their own similar situation and be able to express it.

• Surveillance and Information: Music websites and magazines provide various kinds of information about music, artists and the music business etc. Surveillance relates to the need know what is going on around you. This leaves the viewers feeling safer due to the fact that they are aware of what is going on around them and what could happen around them . The surveillance model is most often used in relation to the news. The news is often filled with the stories of tragedy, after watching these stories the viewers are left feeling more secure about their own lives.