How do you best convey your business or organization’s message to your readers? There are many factors to consider when designing a publication for your organization, be it as simple as a weekly newsletter or as involved as a monthy magazine. Your publication will be shaped by the time and resources you have available, your design choices, the content you choose to include in it, and even when and how you choose to publish and distribute it. Your publication can be a powerful tool for meeting your goals and expanding your client base and sphere of influence if you make these kinds of choices for your publication.

Publications are an expensive undertaking. When you’re designing a magazine or newsletter for your organization, you should do so with a specific purpose or set of goals in mind. Any place with the time and resources can make some type of publication, but unless it’s made with intention, it’ll end up in the garbage. If your business is looking to start its own magazine or newsletter, turn to the print design experts at BonoTom Studio, Inc. We have more than 30 years of experience in designing magazines, newsletters, journals, and more to help organizations around the country reach new clients and expand their industry influence. We can help you design the perfect publication to meet your goals and manage all parts of the production process, from initial design down to print management. Call us today, and read on to learn more about the first things to consider when designing a publication for your company.

Size and Type of Audience

The first factor you should consider when planning your company’s publication is who exactly will be reading it. Do you want your publication to be more sale-oriented and geared towards clients? Does your company have shareholders that will read your publication? What about other business and groups within your industry — do you want to “talk shop” in your publication?

Determining who your publication speaks to is an essential first step, because it will help you decide what kind of content your publication will focus on as a result. Publications geared towards customers tend to be sales-focused, publications for stakeholders tend to deal with big-picture company news and are performance and results-focused, and broader business publications tend to focus on high-level discussion of industry topics. This isn’t to say your publication can’t feature a combination of all of these types of content, but the primary audience for your publication should dictate the main focus for its content, at the least.

Time & Budget

The second factor you should consider when planning a publication for your company is how much time and money you can realistically afford to spend on it regularly. Publications can be a one-time expense, but publications are most effective for businesses when they’re produced on a regular, timely basis for your readers to expect.

How much time and manpower can you devote to producing your publication? Can you afford slight fluctuations in printing cost if you print physical copies? How many people will you be mailing or e-mailing your publication, and how much will that cost? Would it be cheaper to hire an outside firm like BonoTom Studio to design and produce your publication for you? Who will write all the content? What about photography?

Getting these questions answered will give you a much better idea of the size of publication your business can afford to produce, and how often. As the dollar amounts in your calculations increase, keep in mind what powerful publications can do for your business. Well-designed publications can help you expand your client base and build your company’s reputation as an industry influencer over time. You might not see real-dollar results right away, so you shouldn’t factor that into your budgeting, but the momentum that consistent publication builds can be a powerful tool for developing more business and more revenue down the line.

Goals of Publishing

Another factor to consider when planning your company’s publication are your primary goals you’re hoping to accomplish with this publication. Simply put: what are you hoping to get out of producing this publication? Are you hoping to increase your sales? Are you hoping to drive client engagement with your business? Are you trying to inspire more donations and volunteer support for your organization? Are you trying to boost your company’s standing within your industry?

Great publications can accomplish all of these goals, but it’s important to determine your biggest goal or two so that your publication’s content, design, and distribution schedule can be tailored to achieve it. For example, it wouldn’t make sense for a regional retail chain focused on promoting seasonal sales promotions to publish an industry-focused quarterly, just like it wouldn’t make sense for a scientific organization to publish a weekly newsletter about what’s going on around the lab.
Your organization’s publication should be carefully planned and crafted to meet your company’s goals with the right audiences within budget. If you’re struggling with planning your publication, then your top-flight print design team at BonoTom Studio can help you out. We bring more than 30 years of experience in the industry to help you produce visually stunning publications to enthrall and captivate your intended audiences. View some of the work we’ve done for businesses and organizations around the country, and call today to get started designing with us!