Learned a few things today...

I have said for many years that if I learned something today, it was a good day. Well, today was a good day. In fact, it was a very good day because learned several things. I'm only going to blog about a couple of the things I learned today, simply because they relate to my livelihood and are of interest to me.

The company I work for recently added a new product in my area that I am selling. We now have a really nice community magazine publication that I'm selling ad space for, something that is totally new to me. As I've gotten into presenting the magazine and talking about it more with business owners and their staff, I've learned a few things about magazines in general, people and a different conversation that make sense... to me anyhow.

Magazines are usually sold to subscribers, right? Magazine ads are sold to businesses who want to brand their business and cause "top of mind awareness" amongst the readership, right? Well, at least this has been my personal take on magazines forever. I subscribe to several magazines. In fact, I have one laying by my chair, another in the bedroom and others in each bathroom in our home. Magazines have always been a part of my life so I enjoy them. Well, I did until I learned a little about how some magazines are sold and "circulated".

Ah, there's that word circulation. Circulation by definition as it relates to printed media means "the distribution of copies of a periodical among readers". Now, today though I learned that not all circulation statements from magazine publishers means the same thing. For instance, there are magazines I see all around town, in banks, insurance offices, realty offices, doctor offices, etc. In fact, these things are everywhere! I believe it is actually on purpose so they are easier for me to find. They are a great lead source for me! See, circulation means a totally different thing to that publication than it does to the one I am selling. Let me explain.

Here is the circulation process of the magazine I am selling. The magazine is printed with an address and name on the back each month. The magazines are taken to the post office and every copy is mailed out to a specific list by zip code, age, annual income and home value. Next month, the same process or "circulation" if you will, is followed again. In fact, there are so many of these magazines being "circulated" or "distributed" that the numbers rival those of the WSJ.

Let's think about the circulation of the publication I see laying around in banks and insurance offices. The magazines are printed, lots of them I've heard, and then they are bundled together. Those stacks or bundles are then delivered or "circulated" out to all the advertisers who have paid to have their business represented in the magazine. For about two months, those magazines "circulate" around the lobby. Then after a couple months, a new magazine is ready to start "circulation" and the old stack is "circulated" right into the trash can. That's right folks, off to the landfill with all those "circulated" magazines. Then the vicious circle begins all over again with the next publication.

How sad! All those trees! All that garbage! I learned a lot about circulation today. I learned that when a company states that they circulate a number of magazines, we should ask them how many are being mailed to a person's home, and not just a person, but a person who can use or may use the services or products I offer from my company.

I await your comments.