Market Research: Here, I have found many magazines that they have been displayed in WHSmith. By looking at these magazines, I have realised that all magazine have really big and bold mastheads that catch the audiences attention. All of them also have cover lines, skylines and cover stars, which help make them look like professional magazines. On some of the magazines, the price is also visible for the audience which is a good thing, as the audience are aware of the price of the magazine. Many of them also have Twitter and Facebook pages on the internet, as the audience of now tend to spend most of their time on the internet as well. This has make it easier for them to read what's new and what's going to be published as technology improves everyday.
Sale-Or-Return: The distribution methods for most of these magazines are the sale-or-return method, which is the oldest but most popular method for magazines to be distributed. The advantages of using this method are that the shop owners can get a good quantity of the latest issue of the magazine to sell them to the audience, and if some are left until the next issue of the magazine, they can return them back to the distribution centre. However, this method has also got a lot of disadvantages as well. For example, it wastes a lot of paper and energy as not all of the magazines are read, the process of making the magazine is also very expensive, it has a negative environmental impact as the inks used to make the magazine could be harmful to the environment.
Postal Subscription: Another way the audience can get their magazine is through postal subscription. This is were the audience is willing to pay the distribution in order for them to be posted the magazine every week or month etc... This process is more profitable as you pay for the subscription once a year instead of paying every week or month for an issue, therefore I think it's a better process compared to the sale-or-return method because then the distribution centre would know how many are needed to be published for each household.
Electronic Distribution: Other ways in which magazines can be distributed are through the internet or through apps even. For example, the 'NME' magazine has got its own website that allows the audience to catch up with the latest and most important news. Like I've mentioned it before, this makes it easier for the audience and the publishers because the internet is something everyone uses a lot in our everyday lives, it's also a quicker process/ method, which doesn't waste any materials and neither does it harm the environment. Many other magazines like NME have also got apps which you can get on your phones, so that all the things you're missing out is right in your pocket.
Ezines: Ezines are electronic magazines that can be found on the internet. Even though you can't physically touch the magazine, you can flip the pages on the ezines like you do for real magazines. These types of magazines also include all the pages on a normal magazine would have, for example all the adverts would be on this electronic magazine too. I find this method more suitable because like I've mentioned before, our generation now are always on the internet and on their phones, therefore it will be easier and quicker for the audience. This method also saves more money and energy as it doesn't waste any materials like real magazines do, which is an advantage. However, some people still would prefer to have the actual magazine in their hands rather than reading it through the computer screen.
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