Reader profile research

Reader profile research

A reader profile is what magazines use in order to identify and explore certain aspects of their audience and current readers. They develop this by doing surveys and carrying out research on their specific consumers. The companies do this by asking appropriate questions such as, how much their audience earn and what they like to do in their spare time. This is so that they can adapt and change certain aspects of their product in the hope that their mass audience will expand and so that they have more committed and regular consumers.

A reader profile consists of certain information on the magazines audience. Here are some example questions that are used and why they are used.

What gender?- This is so that the magazine company can determine what products to advertise and also what articles and competitions to include.

Are you studying and if so where at?- This is so that the magazine will appeal to their market in terms of price and how regular the magazine is sold.

How old are you?- Although this is a very wide spread question, it will give the company an indication as what to advertise, what colour scheme to use and also what graphics to include in the magazine. This is because if the majority of their audience are young people then more outrageous and eye catching graphics will be used in order to keep them interested, however if the majority are older people then they would use more subtle graphics as people of that age group are just interested in the information being published and they want to read article with ease, without being confused by brightly coloured graphics.

If the consumer is working full time, part time or unemployed?- This is the companies last indication on the readers budget and whether they will have a lot of free time or not. This is important so they know what quantity of free time activities to advertise such as, gigs, festivals etc..

Technology ownership- Magazine companies ask this so they know whether or not to advertise the magazines app or website and also how much information to include on their internet based portals.

Favourite TV Channel?- This is to determine their advertising market and also so they know what the majority of their audience like to watch in their spare time and what TV shows dominate that channel. This is so that they know what consumers like and what information they like to receive.

Favourite newspaper?- This question is so that they can receive the same information as the question above. But it may also be used to show a contrast of the readers preferred knowledge.

How often per week do you spend on the internet?- This is to give the magazine company a small indication on what to advertise and if they should advertise a lot of internet based subjects and articles. It will also help them if they want to advertise recommended websites and games on the internet.

What do you do in your spare time?-This is to give the magazine company a brief indication on what to advertise and what free gifts to include. This is so that they appeal as much as they can to the readers and to hopefully make them a committed reader and purchase most issues

Circulation- This is not a question used, it is a feature that is on every reader profile as it is how many copies of the magazine are sold every year.

Readership- This is also not a question and is just featured on a reader profile. This is slightly like the circulation of a magazine however the reader ship is how many times issues have been read more then once. For example you could buy a copy of a magazine and read it, then you could find it again a few weeks later and read it once more then lend it to friends and they read etc. This therefore means the readership is always much higher then the circulation of a magazine.