WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A GOOD DOG BREED MAGAZINE?

Coming up with articles to write about day after day, for five days a week for my blog can prove very challenging. Being a writer, that’s what we do. We look to write about interesting articles that will make people want to read them. Not every subject we write about may be interesting to everyone, but we do try to attract as many people as we can. There may be some days that I just don’t feel like writing, but anyone that writes can tell you the more you do it, well….the more you do it. Many days I don’t have a clue about what I’m going to write until I sit down at the computer and let my fingers touch the keyboard. Oh I have a long list of articles that I want to write about, but some days they don’t look as interesting or exciting as when I first wrote them down.

And what makes a dog breed magazine a good dog breed magazine? No scratch that……what makes a dog breed magazine a GREAT dog magazine? There are many different dog breed magazines on the market right now. Some are dedicated to all breeds and then there are those that are dedicated to a specific breed of dog. Like you, I have seen many of the all breed magazines on the magazine racks in the stores. Some of them I’ve seen on the internet. The ones that I’ve seen on the internet are gorgeous. It’s like looking at a hard copy of the magazine without holding it. With modern technology what it is, many of these internet magazines are set up so you can turn each page individually just like you would if you held it in your hands.

The two breed magazines that come to mind for the German Shepherd Dog are, “The German Shepherd Dog Review” which is the official breed magazine of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America. The other one is “The German Shepherd Dog Quarterly.” I’ve written several articles for “The German Shepherd Dog Quarterly.” This magazine continues to be an excellent resource for its many interesting articles on the German Shepherd Dog. The Review used to be the premiere magazine for advertisers to showcase their top winning dogs or to advertise a new litter. Month after month, page after page this magazine was brimming with gorgeous pictures of our breed and you could literally get lost in its pages for hours. It was also a great reference magazine to refer to time and time again. This magazine was an award winning magazine and rightfully so. In recent years the magazine has shrunk in size and some people blame the fallen economy for the lack of advertising in the magazine. Let’s face it, advertising and especially if you are doing it in color is very expensive. I wonder then why more people are not advertising in black and white as the Review used to be when it was overflowing with ads. One would think that this is a more reasonable way to advertise.

I must give credit here to those who have helped the editor put the ads together and to those few who have contributed articles for the reader’s enjoyment and education. But still something is missing. I’ve researched on the web to look at what other breed magazines look like. Many of them have an e-magazine that would rival the best hard copy magazines out there. Some offer their membership both. Does the German Shepherd Dog Club of America need to step up to the computer age and publish its magazine on the web? Some people fear that they will lose the hard copy magazine if they go the route of the web. Some don’t have a computer. Some have it and don’t know too much about using it.

A good dog breed magazine brings the best of the conformation dog and obedience dog together showcasing the best attributes of their breed. The aim of the magazine should be to attract as many advertisers as possible to make picking up that magazine an enjoyable experience for the reader. Foremost, the reader is looking to see page after page of beautiful dogs. He’s looking to see which stud dogs are producing, which litters are available, who won at which show and many times something to refer to again and again when considering future breeding partners.

A good dog breed magazine offers its readers the most up to date, informative articles on all things related to that breed. There is a tremendous wealth of information that some writers share with the readership of a magazine. Again, these articles can be referred to time and time again. Many people save their magazines that go back for decades. They truly have a visual reference on the history of the breed.

If people are pointing the finger at the economy for taking away a lot of the advertisers for the magazine, I can agree with this. However, even before the economy gave many of us indigestion, The German Shepherd Dog Review was stumbling. Unfortunately we had an editor who had brought this wonderful magazine to its award winning status become ill. Those things unfortunately happen. However with that said, the magazine continues to suffer for lack of ads and contributions related to informative articles. What’s the answer?

The German Shepherd Dog Club of America is one of the largest breed clubs. After all it represents one of the most popular breeds on earth. Right now according to the AKC, the German Shepherd Dog is the number two dog in the country. This club is responsible for putting on one of the best National Specialty shows year after year with its conformation show and obedience trials. People count down the days until the National arrives once again. Some plan their one vacation week around this most prestigious of shows. Normally you can pick up your copy of The German Shepherd Dog Review at the National. It’s funny, the month before this National show, the Review is overflowing with ads showcasing people’s beautiful animals. This is the month that the Review looks like the old Review did so many years ago.

This is a passionate breed and so too are the owners that chose to share their lives with the German Shepherd Dog. Unfortunately, in this writers’ opinion, I haven’t seen that same passion extend to this breeds official magazine. Things are not like they used to be. I find that one has to go after what they want even more so than they did before. I feel that in order for this wonderful magazine to be returned to its glory that we need to all put on our thinking caps and perhaps market the magazine better than it is now. If other breed magazines are thriving, then why isn’t ours? It’s being done very successfully with other breeds and they are living in the same economy as we are. I feel we need to light a fire under the membership. Give them what they want and ask for. Some have suggested that the advertising rates be lowered or that those who advertise a lot give them an advertising courtesy rate. We need to try new things. If it isn’t working the way it is now, try something new until you find something that does work.

Years ago this magazine had no competition when it came to advertisers. This was the place to be if you wanted your dog showcased and your kennel one that people talked about. Now advertisers have many different avenues to “show you what they got!” And many times those places to advertise are FREE! There are a gazillion e-mail lists that accepts pictures. There are another gazillion people that own their own websites. There is the extremely popular social network known as “Facebook” that attracts millions of people everyday. There are many members that use this for advertising their dogs. So if they can do this for free, why spend lots of money in a magazine? The difference is…….although modern technology gives one instant gratification, there are still many, many people that want a hard cover magazine that they can relax with and read at their own pace. It may be old fashioned, but it’s still favored by many.

If the magazine is to show a profit, then it needs its advertisers. Advertisers look to see that a magazine is thriving. When you are asking for a company to advertise their products in your magazine, they have to know that their advertising dollars are well spent. When you ask for a breeder to advertise his stud dog or a litter, he has to know that people are picking up the magazine and looking at his ad. If you only have one or two ads in a magazine, most people never pick it up again after looking at it one time. So those one or two advertisers are really never realizing the full potential that their ad could have if more people were looking at the magazine.

I believe that those responsible for putting a magazine together need to be responsible to help fill it up with enthusiastic advertisers. Things are not what they used to be. You can’t expect the phone to be ringing off the hook with advertisers. The economy doesn’t allow it. However, it is proven by the content of other breed magazines that the advertisers are out there. Give them a reason to advertise in your magazine and they will come. No time is it more important than now to keep open communication with the magazine and its potential advertisers. In my opinion, I feel the magazine needs to come to the people and the people will come back to the magazine. How do we do that? There are many German Shepherd Dog lists. Come on the lists. Announce what you plan to do. Announce special issues. Offer better advertising rates. More ads at a cheaper price are better than one or two ads at an expensive price. Keep enthusiastic. Keep informed and keep the magazine one that advertisers want to advertise in.

The advertisers are out there. As I said earlier, look at the huge amount of advertisers that rush to get a good placement in the magazine the month before the National Specialty Show. Give them a reason to spend their advertising dollars and you’ll see them do just that even in this depressed economy.




My rating: "Whole Dog Journal" magazine: (4), breed magazines that inform and educate: (4)


From the dog magazine: "WHOLE DOG JOURNAL".....Provides dog owners with well-researched, in-depth articles about all aspects of natural dog care and training. Whole Dog Journal features unbiased test reports of food, treats, toys and training aids.

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?

Walk pass any pet store that sells animals and most of the time, you’ll see that the owner of the store has put the cutest puppies or kittens in the window. It’s good marketing strategy and it works. But what about the rest of us who want to advertise puppies for sale, stud dog services, or dog related items? Where do we go to advertise something? Where is there a market for what we advertise? Competition can be tough especially with today’s economy. People undersell other people just to make the sale. Believe it or not, there are more places to advertise than ever before. You just got to do a little research.

For those who can afford it, advertising is a dream come true for these select few. When money is no object, then selling what you have to offer comes easy. Most people don’t have this option. So let’s say you do have the extra bucks to put out for advertising. Probably your best audience for selling your litters or offering a dog at stud is your breed magazines. The German Shepherd Dog Review is a monthly magazine put out by the German Shepherd Dog Club of America. This is a “who’s who” of the German Shepherd community. It is definitely the place to be seen when you are advertising your dogs. Years ago, many people (myself included) would advertise our litters in this magazine by taking out a full page ad. Sometimes if they were older puppies, breeders would put in an ad with the pups pictures as well as their pedigree. I don’t see very many breeders advertising this way anymore. Mostly what I see in this magazine is stud dog ads as well as brags of show and obedience title winners. Ads in this magazine and others like it are very expensive, but no where else will you get the same type of attention to what you are advertising as you will here. This is for the serious student of the breed who is looking to reach like type of people.

Next to the breed magazines, advertising on the internet has become very popular. No where else will you attract as many people as you will here. There are all sorts of dog related websites where you can advertise your puppies and studs usually for a small fee.
Also if you own your own website, you might get people to contact you through this method.

One of the best (in this writer’s opinion) and cheapest ways to advertise your dogs is belonging to dog related e-mail lists. There are a gazillion lists that you can sign up for. Do be aware of the individual list rules as far as advertising is concerned. Some allow it and others do not. So check up on this before you sign up. Obviously those who can accept photographs of your dogs are an added bonus. Some that come to mind are, thegermanshepherddogshowcase@yahoogroups.com, and germanshepherds4show@yahoogroups.com There are many others that will allow this as well. Just ask around and you’ll get some recommendations. The reason that I like these lists for advertising purposes is that you have a ready made audience from the people who belong and read these lists. Plus the best part of all is that it is FREE ADVERTISING! What’s not to like about that?

Other places to advertise on the internet are social gathering places where literally hundreds of thousands of people will be able to see what you have to advertise. Places like “Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter” come to mind. These places are a great way to network what it is you are looking to sell and to get yourself known through other German Shepherd owners and newcomers as well. Once again, this is free advertising.


Obviously we all know that you can advertise in your local newspapers. Sometimes if you live by a big city, it might be wise to utilize that newspaper for your ad as well. I used to live about an hour and a half away from New York City, and occasionally I would advertise in the New York Times which is much more expensive than your local newspaper, but most of the time, it paid off.

Other places and ways to advertise are: your vet’s office (his bulletin board) or just let him and his staff know you have puppies for sale, pet store and grocery store bulletin boards, car bumper stickers (have one made and advertise your kennel), custom make a t-shirt advertising your kennel, wear a hat or cap with your kennel’s logo on it, business cards with you kennel name, advertise in your clubs show catalogs, futurity catalogs and of course the National Specialty show catalogs. Join a dog breed club and talk up your “stuff.” Advertise in their newsletters. Join the parent club and advertise on their website. When you go to a dog show, it’s very smart advertising to make yourself an album with pictures of your dogs or new litter or your stud dog. Make sure you have plenty of pedigrees available. Also tell your dog’s handler that you have a litter or stud that you want him to talk about. If your handler loves your dog, this can be a great way to get the word out. And naturally, the good old fashioned way to advertise is “word of mouth.”

So there you have it. These are just some of the ways you can get out to the public that you have something that they may be interested in buying. Make no mistake about it…..no matter how much of a well known breeder you may be, advertising is still important. Because there are so many people who are doing the same thing that you are, you must keep your name foremost in people’s minds. Pick up the Review and you will still see these people advertising their dogs. Joan Ford told me one time, that even though most people in the breed knew who she was, she still had to advertise her dogs or they begin to forget about you.

Advertising rates: Zero, zilch, nadda, nothing right on up to thousands of dollars.

My rating: magazines: (4), internet: (3), personal web-sites (3), e-mail lists: (4), newspapers: (4), clubs: (3), catalogs, newsletters (3), all others (3)