Best Ideas

It’s always good to revisit your media kit and update it says Kansas City Parent.

Northeast Ohio Parent created commemorative magazine covers to celebrate ten year anniversaries for three staff members. They did the first round of these last November and they were a big hit.

MetroFamily has always tried to run their company efficiently but by using the principles of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) they have improved their processes and efficiencies immensely. And it didn’t cost anything other than buying a few books.

MetroFamily noticed two of their big advertisers Metropolitan Library and OKC Parks had tons of events and programs and yet their websites were clunky. They helped by writing a content marketing story about them, promoting the story through the magazines email, on the website etc. Plus boosting it through a social media campaign. They are getting incredible results!

Charlottesville Family & Home Magazine created a schedule of twelve months of digital guides around content important to readers. With each annual guide there was an additional helpful story on the page. If they were already in a partner contract the advertiser could get the basic name/ phone number listing plus 125 words and a photo for $500.

TulsaKids Media says Saint Francis Health System bought a six-time contract for the second year. They pick a medical professional and a topic for editorial coverage.

‘hood Magazine reintroduced postcard inserts in print with two issues. A swim school saw great success with them. Monterey Parent revamped the postcard format for their back-to-school event and successfully sold sponsorship and a business section. Neopolitan Family created a fun Summer Passport with various businesses offering special deals. They are now working on a Holiday Savings Passport.

This is actually an old PMA idea that is new again. Atlanta Parent is participating in events once more and this program brings in incremental revenue that helps pay for staffing the events.

Monterey Bay Parent started a Birthday Club several years ago but after two years of participating the sponsor, Stanford Medicine, decided they wanted to go in another direction but still wanted a sponsorship of some kind. So, the Baby Club was born.

Nashville Parent Magazine addressed their worst month of the year, July, by making it themed to Biz for Families. It is sold exclusively by category and combines a full or half-page ad with matching story that is in print and also online as sponsored content. It increased their July sales for the past two years by 30K+.

Boston Parents / Parents Press started a program where schools can sign up by the month and post as many events that happen during that month.

Metro Parent and Chicago Parent have found that Campaign Reports drive more renewals and upsells.

DFWChild Magazine identified fourteen neighborhoods in their area. They send out one email blast per neighborhood with a maximum of seven ads to an eblast.

L.A. Parent tweaked this concept from an idea that was first introduced by Dan at Bay Area Parent. Print revenue from camps had been on the decline as camps opt for less expensive digital, or stop advertising and invest in some of the 20+ camp fairs in their market. L.A. Parent already have a fairly successful Online Camp Guide that picks up a lot of traffic, so they bundled it this year with our shopper, which they didn’t present as a magazine.

Chesapeake Family Life developed a short term advertising campaign that helps event planners reach their intended audience. Advertisers receive a post on the Chesapeake Family Life Facebook group, boosted status on the calendar and ads in their bi-weekly newsletter.

Midwest Parenting Publications sells three special Guides each year – Summer Fun Guide (June), Fall Fun guide (October), and Giving the Gift of Experience (December).

‘hood Magazine has always done an Educator of the Year award. They noticed recently they were starting to have more preschool/junior kindergarten teacher nominations. This year they added a Childcare Provider of the Year.

Mid-Atlantic Media will add videos, slideshows, and sound to their digital magazines to enhance reader experience.

Bay Area Parent originally started this concept as a once a year digital-only magazine. It has now expanded to a quarterly digital-only publication. This format is very popular with clients as they like the “old print directory style” for their private school listings.

Neapolitan Family partnered with their local hospital system (an advertiser) to distribute anti-choking devices to area schools, restaurants, senior centers, childcare facilities, and preschools. The device, LifeVac, has saved over 500 lives to date, and has been proven in studies to be easier and more effective than the Heimleich Maneuver.

Fredericksburg Parent and Family sold a 10-page special section to the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board based on important conversations to have with your kids about mental health.

Indy’s Child created a guide of over 75 Indianapolis playgrounds. Their team visited every park with their kids to create a guide that could be searched by location, type (indoor, special needs, etc.) and worth the drive.

Atlanta Parent offers a November and December print/digital opportunity for museums, zoos, and other attractions.

TulsaKids offered nonprofits a special $325/2 month rate so they could promote themselves in the November and December issues to remind people to donate to their cause.

TulsaKids sold a 6x contract to Saint Francis Hospital to run a full-page Q&A with one of their doctors every other month in the print magazine. The package also included other perks.

Monterey Bay Parent devoted their July issue to military parents to fill a need in the community. This is usually a slow month for the magazine and it coincides with the month many military families arrive in the area

Chesapeake Family Life decided to feature a family home of the month. It’s a great way to increase reader engagement.

Chicago Parent saw the need to develop Effective Customer Needs Analysis Questions to assist their sales team when they meet with potential clients. With a quick recap of the answers to these nine questions the sales associate is in better standing to gain agreement.

Fredericksburg Parent magazine worked with their local mall to bring an Acton children’s business fair to the area. The Fredericksburg Parent Children’s Business Fair allowed children to sell their business products at the mall on one Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. There was intense interest from the homeschooling and business community. With just a three-month lead time 27 tables (33 children) were registered. The event had three sponsors (an urgent care, a private school and SkyZone jump play space).

Catholic Schools Week in Cleveland has significant momentum so Northeast Ohio Parent magazine decided to try and ride the wave with an eblast featuring 10 spots for schools to showcase their open house.

Chesapeake Family Life introduced a weekly podcast with sponsorships. Right now Podcasts are the cool thing and it has helped them open doors to new advertiser categories.

Indy’s Child introduced Indy Grands Magazine. They’ve found the young grandparent (50’s and 60’s) market is a strong demographic. It’s a time of life that provides more flexibility with time, money, and resources.

TulsaKids Magazine’s most successful guide/directory is their Summer Camps & Activities Guide. They were able to maximize profit by creating a 3X Camp Guide package.

Bay Area Parent has determined the style and content in its market that drives high engagement and generates revenue that’s traceable directly to the newsletter deployment.

MetroFamily magazine runs seasonal lists that are very popular. For example: Fall Fun, Trick-or-Treat events, Vacation Bible School, Easter Fun Guide, Swim Lesson Guide. They found a way to use these lists to generate revenue.

MetroFamily magazine has a very popular online and digital calendar of events. See how they increased advertising revenue by using the calendar as a sales tool.

Colorado Parent created a new special section dedicated to Charter Schools to boost revenue in December, typically a slow month for the magazine

Focusing on professionals within their industry, the Faces advertorial promo has become a popular and lucrative feature for Colorado Parent magazine. Professionals are designated as the “face” of a particular industry (Face of Pediatric Dentistry, Face of Charter School Education, etc).

Coulee Parenting Connection magazine helped motivate readers to actively engage with advertisers through a bingo card inserted into every issue. The card directed readers to engage in activities and events publicized in the magazine as reflected by that month’s sponsors.

Sometimes the most traditional methods are the best way to promote something new, giving prospective advertisers and consumers a bridge between the familiar and the cutting edge. Such was the case with Boston Parents Paper and its Summer Camp Guide. Even though the guide was to be digital only, the company set out to promote it to advertisers in the way it knew best, with a print publication.

Neapolitan Family does not sell its cover, but it does think strategically when it comes to who or what is featured there. In some cases, it’s an existing longtime advertiser while other times, the process of being on the cover leads to a working or advertising relationship.

Chicago Wolves hockey is a very popular local sports team, but one that nonetheless struggled to connect with the children and family demographic. Chicago Parent partnered with the sports franchise to create a comprehensive advertising and branding package that harnessed all of the magazine’s platforms.

As anyone who’s successful at it will tell you, sales is a numbers game. The more efficient you are in managing contacts, the more sales calls an account executive can make and the more sales that can be closed.

Seeking a way to break into the travel advertising market, L.A. Parent launched a special new edition Beyond L.A. focusing on travel destinations for families. In so doing the company executed a five-step plan.

Whether you're just dipping your toe into the sponsorship pool or you're working on big-dollar renewals, this free white paper from IEG, "Invest, Dont Buy: A Smarter Way to Sponsor," will give you invaluable perspective on what sponsors want to spend money on.

Contact the community relations and/or events department of the hospital. Find out what fundraising events they have (walk-a-thons, banquets for physicians, etc).

I want to share with you all a new concept that we just rolled out in Indianapolis to increase our reader engagement  and generate new revenue through POP-UP Playdates.

Silicon Valley is a huge technology hub, and when we were down in revenue in the winter of 2015, we decided to launch a digital-only magazine focused on Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math (S.T.E.A.M.).

Each Ask the Expert (ATE) was given a best practices sheet on how the program works and are coached through each session by a Facebook manager/moderator from Fredricksburg Parent. ATE’s pay $200 to participate and $1800 for the option to add a print campaign

Looking for a fun way to engage your readers and generate new revenue? Hold an online contest to giveaway 8 birthday parties to kids in your community! Here's how it works...

Parents want the best for their children, but what differentiates one school from another or one camp from another? There are many factors, of course, but one should be the philosophy and background of the school or camp's leadership.

AAA provided the ads from major brands like Delta Airlines, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Visit Mexico. MetroParent editors wrote custom content on topics like "Escape to Mexico" and "The Cruising Family" and "How to Obtain your US Passport."

PMA members get the most out of their membership when they share their own ideas with others and take the ideas from others and make them work for their publication. I asked Terrie Goldstein ofHudson Valley Parent to share this story. Thanks, Terrie and thanks to Darlene ofMetroKids for bringing it up in the most recent PMA spring conference. Great idea!