Ads in magazines-do they work

J.Wade

J.Wade

Joined
Sep 3, 2004
Messages
775
Hi guys,

My question is to any of you guys that have placed ads in any of the knife magazines, Did you find an increase in your orders/sales due to the ads?

I am thinking of running ads in Blade but I want to hear some feedback for you guys first.


I know any press is better than no press but I would like to put my money where it will work best for me.


Any suggestions would help as well


thanks a bunch
jimi
 
Last year I had 5 ads in blade. At $210 for a 1/12th of a page you don't get much. I placed them in 2 issues before the blade show, the blade show issue and 2 after which included the Guild show issue. The blade show issue is a good one to advertise in because everyone who attends the show gets an issue, even those who don't subscribe.

I had guys calling me saying "I didn't know that you lived so close" and "nice work" ect. I didn't get a single order from them.

I've heard that the way it works is if you buy a years worth of advertising they will do a large article on you with lots of pictures and promote your work. The thing that sucks is that it is not based on the quality of your knives but on how much you spend with them!! There goes $1050 that I will never see again! Save your money.

I get more orders and do more PR online on the various forums than blade ever got me. Just promote yourself online, have a website and include the link in your signature in every email you send. Send in pictures of your knives to the knives annuals, that's free advertising. I have gotten new customers by listing a knife on ebay, guys email me offline to see what else I have available.

Just my 2c
Chuck
 
I was going to take out a 1/6 page ad in Blade. It was going to run $3500 for a year. No way can I afford that. :(
 
Jeff, for $3500 a year you could do a few big shows. Get some guys to vouch for your good workmanship in the forums and post good pics , like your current dagger ;) . I love the looks of that knife and would buy it if I had the dough.The only unknown for me , if I never saw your work at a show,is the quality of workmanship. I think most guys have a short inspection period but if a known forum member, or several,says , "Hey, that Higgins is top notch" that goes a long way in my book to make the sale.
 
I'm with striper. Put the time in on the internet. I get alot inquiries from emails. You have a much broader audience online then the magazines will give you. IMO, being featured in an magazine article is better then an ad. The forums have been an excellent way for me to communicate with my customers.
Scott
 
severtecher said:
Jeff, for $3500 a year you could do a few big shows.
Click to expand...

My point exactly, but allow me to clarify this in that I would be submitting an ad for my tappers, and not my knives.

Soon as I focus on getting an inventory of knives available again I intend to hit the shows. Until now, knifemaking efforts have been fragmented with machinery and tappers - which is boring and monotonous. I am going to concentrate on making knives again, which is my first love anyway.

But please allow me to steer this thread back away from the hijack-abyss, and say that Jimi should follow this advice as well. There is no substitute for pressing of the flesh in public.
 
For the most part print ads do not work well in knife publications unless the magazine does it's part and comes through with an occasional article or two because you are a regular advertiser.

Yes it is common practice to reward regular advertisers with coverage.

The key in deciding how much bang for the buck you will get is to divide the cost by the paid circulation of the magazine....not the print run figure but the paid circulation figure. The magazine will provide the information if you request it.

Another problem is getting into magazines that do not attract knife buyers.
 
Put your knives up on the forums...............thats the best advertizing IMHO.
I havent run an ad yet but they mail me and call all the time. I may one day..............but I dont think that thats needed if you spend alot of time showing knives around on the forums.
 
Spend the money on GOOD pictures and keep sending them to the mags and Knives 2006. Get your knives out there for anyone and everyone to see. If your any good they will notice you.
 
I haven't done any ad's yet.I have had my work published in the KNIVES Annual for the last five years and Joe asked me to do the Knifemaker's showcase in Blade.I have recieved several good orders from that but the best was still the shows and the internet.Dave :)
 
The only success that I have ever had from a "paid for" advertisement was in the old "Fighting Knives" magazine. Their rates were exceptional ($125 per issue for 1/6th black and white) and I ran an add for 6 issues. The add was for a vietnam style hawk I used to make a lot of, and it brought in about a dozen orders.

I get a little wrapped around the axle when someone at one of the major knife mags tells me that IF I advertise for "X" amount of time, I'll get an article in the magazine.........sounds too much like extortion to me.

With the internet, and especially if your an individual who webmasters your own site, then your set. Where else can you choose how to represent yourself, how to lay out what it is you want the public to see, as well as having the capability to communicate almost instantly with prospective clients? The only way to get closer to your buyers/potential buyers is at a show, which is the other half of the equation.

I've often wondered why makers never advertise on the radio. I did a spot one morning on a local station, talking about a local "crafts" event where I was demonstrating Blacksmithing/Bladesmithing, which got picked up on a regional basis and produced a ton of inquires, and a number of orders. I really didn't even pitch myself......I only said "If anyone has any questions or would like to know more, they can contact me at".........
Maybe I was lucky, and just stumbled into that, but it did make me think that radio MIGHT be a good medium for advertising,
 
I've been making knives for over 30 years now, and have noticed a trend not touched on yet. I once ask a well known publisher, why his mag, had never published my work. His answer. How much have you spent in ads, with us. It takes more than good quality to get published, some of themore recent top names out there are producing crap, that sells for high dollar, due to media coverage. Read Hype. Bought and paid for in one form or another. The un-noticed part. Years of ads, gets your name well remenbered, helping precieaved value, and the price that you can get in the years ahead for your work. Instant sales are not the most important result.
 
2¢ from your local advertising guy (me)...
If you do spend the big bucks on a magazine ad, be prepared to also spend the big bucks on a quality ad, with quality photography.

Not doing so would be like going hunting with a Weatherby rifle, bargain basement scope and handloads from some guy you don't know.

The ad is a reflection of your work. It should show/have the same amount of quality that your product does.

Advertising/branding takes time and therefore $$.
It isn't an immediate reward system, but part of a whole. That includes shows, website, and maybe even purveyors. As well as word of mouth.
 
Somewhere I read that getting your name to the collecting public is a three legged stool. One leg is the internet - website for sure, forums as a fill in; the second is print advertising and the third and most important is going to shows. Shows are where you actually meet collectors who get to inspect you and your work in person. The other two mediums keep your name fresh in their mind.

I've had excellent results from simply having professional photos taken of a few knives. The photographers include submitting the photos to publications as part of the package and because they know how publishers want to get the photos that's what they do. It's taking a chance because a magazine just picks and chooses between photos they have in stock and your photo may never be used. But I've been fortunate that every photo I've had taken was eventually published and always generated orders. One order will more than pay for the photo and after that it's gravy.
 
Good question !! I have been wondering the same .I have done some inquiries & one thing that hasn't been addressed is the lead time to get your ad in the magazine . Last time I checked Blade Mag. it was about 5-6 months !!
 
The other thing nice about the internet is you can promote yourself. The one thing I've found that has helped me is that I make knives for the outdoor market of buyers. I make working using knives that are for specific knife buyers, which are people who are serious about their outdoor cutting tools. My knives would probably have little interest to the collector. Find the market area for the type of knives you make and concentrate on promoting yourself there. It seems to be working for me. :)
Scott
 
Just make knives. Don't worry about spending money or extra effort on advertizing. It won't be necessary. We may need or should have a good means of contact, such as a web site. You'll be a year booked in little time and without paid for advertizing.

RL
 
rlinger said:
Just make knives. Don't worry about spending money or extra effort on advertizing. It won't be necessary. RL
Click to expand...
What Roger said...................... I am fast proof of that!!!
Just try to make what your good at also. If a certain style aint you...............dont do it.....you wont do a very good job.
 
About 10 years ago, I won a pack of Blade Trading Cards as an attendance prize at a knife show. It was like baseball cards, with pictures of famous knives on 'em. Instead of a stick of gum, there was one card that was good for a free advertisement in Blade Magazine. This was not one of the ads with pictures; just a listing in the classifieds section.

So, I thought, "what the hey?" and sent in my ad. I got two responses from it. One guy was a dealer in New York, and after I sent him the knife, it took months of calling before he finally paid me. Maybe just a fluke, but I didn't take any more orders from him. The other guy was Mike Tamboli, a knifemaker from Arizona. He turned into a repeat customer, buying at least 10 knives that I can recall. In fact, I still have a folder sitting in pieces on my workbench for him. Have been away from making knives too darn long...

So in my case, even though I only got one customer out of it, it would have been well worth it even if I had paid for the ad.
 
I have been advertising in Blade for over 20 years, it has paid off well. I have never heard about the article free if you buy enough ads, at least as far as Blade goes.

In my experience, you have to have something to sell, you have to be creative in your advertising and stick with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top