Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I addressed my audience by using such things as gig guides and competitions on the front cover of the magazine and by using a title that would catch student’s eyes. My audience feedback showed that my target audience liked the layout of the magazine and the font but nearly all the people I asked said that they would like a much better gig guide. 

I used a large photo of a band member on the front cover but some of my audience feedback said that it was too out of focus, I think this may have been due to the print out but I could edit the photo on the computer to make this photo better. The main thing that my audience feedback showed was that my target audience like a wide range of music so if I did another issue of the magazine I would include many more genres. In order to make my magazine appealing to my audience, I looked in detail at the questionnaires and interviews I gave so I could be certain at what my target audience wanted. 

From my primary research I concluded that the target audience was most attracted to a concise layout that was not too cluttered with information and images. 

As my research also shown that the audience was most attracted to the front cover when buying a magazine I made sure that the cover was striking enough to stand out on a shelf against competitors. From this I decided on an unusual but musically related name such as ‘Insurrection’, and made sure my masthead stood out against the page yet looked classy and professional, and coupled with its meaning (violent uprising). I done this as I felt it would help attract the reader, rather than over-powering them with a distracting masthead that took away from the magazines image and content. This colour scheme also helped to create a sophisticated theme, which flowed throughout my magazine, included on the front cover, contents page and double page spread.

I also feel that the appropriate images i used help to attract my readers and make them want to read on. I tried to make my images look professional as possible, and did a considerable amount of manipulation in Photoshop in order to make them appeal hard-core, which was a favorable quality according to my primary research, as the target audience are edgy and hard-core. 

I also feel that the price is a significant element to attract readers, as from my primary research I found the majority would be willing to pay between £2.00 to £3.99. I also wanted to keep to this price as I found it quite reasonable and thought that if it were any more expensive, people within my age range would not be willing to pay. For my DPS i specifically chose to make the article more text heavy than just filled with pictures as I felt this appeared more professional and would suit the needs of the music fans that would read my magazine and want to know all the latest news in a specific detail.