How NOT to bore your readers to death - Brief Article

Presenting even the freshest editorial in the same old package can put your readers to sleep. Here are 15 eye-opening alternatives.

As the American mass market shatters into smaller and smaller slivers, magazine editors find themselves covering increasingly eentsy niches. Not just Parenting, for example, but Atlanta Parent, Bay Area Parent, Biracial Child, Christian Parenting, Divorced Parents, Grand Rapids Parent, Growing Parent, Healthy Kids, Home Education, L.A. Parent, Long Island Parent, Metrokids, Pediatrics for Parents, San Diego Family Sesame Street Parents, Smartkids, South Florida Parent, Twins and more.

The problem is, after a few dozen issues, we editors sometimes feel that we've exhausted the tightly targeted topic of, say, power boating in Canada or bass fishing along the Gulf Coast. More important, if we present our topic in the same way, time after dreary time, we can bore our readers to death before their subscriptions run out.

Try new formats

Tight editorial positioning is essential. But same-old, same-old doesn't sell. One solution to this fresh-vs.-focused dichotomy is to "rewrap the banana" with creative editorial formats. These formats allow editors to present our niche topics in innovative ways that keep readers coming back for more. So instead of that well-worn 2,500-word feature, consider:

Anatomy of a ... : Remember those popular posters from the 1980s that detailed the anatomies of nerds and Yuppies? Use the same layout to take a closer look at your topic. For example, in "Holiday party schmooze primer: Tips from Atlanta's favorite dinner-party diva," Atlanta Magazine ran a photo of a local party planner surrounded by strategies for throwing a successful bash. Sample: "Invite someone infamous. Try a Buckhead matron who was put in a paddy wagon for shoplifting."

Animation: One trade magazine runs a flipbook in the lower, right-hand corner of each issue. The reader flips the corner and watches a short, animated "movie" Use this approach to illustrate a production process, demonstrate a safety procedure or show how to use a new product.

Centerfolds: Brainstorm and figure out how your magazine can take advantage of its center spread. One astronomy journal, for example, publishes a regular center gatefold called "The sky this month."

Comparative charts: Charts make the complex material you want to present to your reader easy to understand--or in the case of Restaurant Hospitality, easy to digest. In "Take this food and eat it," the magazine invited readers to see how their restaurants stacked up against six national chains for a carryout order. The one-page chart covered the container, length of wait, food quality and other comments. (The bottom line: "It's better to eat inside.")

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