Ski Magazine

Not quite sure what you are getting at Ross, regarding circulation figures for newspapers when we are talking about ski mags...but anyway...
Seems others agree with me, that there is too much focus on people who seemingly have an infinite amount of disposable income. Thats reflected in the editorials which are way overmy head in terms of places to ski and the kind of skiing they are doing....heli skiing in Alaska for example...nothing for Mr or Mrs Average who makes 1, maybe 2 or 3 trips a season, and doesnt have thousands of pounds to burn on holidays and gear.
Anyway, this thread needs closing before I give all my secrets away.

Not so much newspapers (the only figures I had to hand) but print in general; including most notably, ski magazines. I would rather read about a weeks ski touring in Greenland than a weeks self catering in Sestriere when it is very unlikely that I will do either. 2 or 3 trips a season is not average :shock: I guess that is one of the problems of a ski magazine, it would be very difficult to cater to what everyone wanted. If they could chances are coverage would be thin on the ground.

Pablo Escobar wrote:Not so much newspapers (the only figures I had to hand) but print in general; including most notably, ski magazines. I would rather read about a weeks ski touring in Greenland than a weeks self catering in Sestriere when it is very unlikely that I will do either. 2 or 3 trips a season is not average :shock: I guess that is one of the problems of a ski magazine, it would be very difficult to cater to what everyone wanted. If they could chances are coverage would be thin on the ground.

You are absolutely right. Which is why market research and understanding the competition is so important. You wont please everyone, but what you can do is please a known or selected group for which there is a gap.
I would imagine someone like Ise or Bandit for example would not want to read about how to book a weeks holiday for a family of 4 in Austria, or where disabled skiers can ski comfortably in Italy, or where best to shop for first time gear on a budget....but there are plenty of people out there who want to ski for the first time, have been once and want to do it more and more, and lesser experienced people who could benefit from advice on where to go, what to take, etc etc etc. Anyway, like I said, too much is being given away already. I need to bail.

Hi All :D

With my usual add in the DMSSM (Daily Mail Ski & Snowbaord Magazine) i get free copies , and have found it to be about the best about ,but its correct as stated in a previous reply about a lot of the resort features being more of the far flung destinations us mere mortals will never go to.

I suppose the reason for this is that as someone else is paying the bills ,the skies the limit, much the same as the articles in the national papers Mail & Express for example, the reporters only seem to be able to find accommadation that costs £800 per person per week and upawards, if they wrote articles about average (normal) priced holidays many more readers would be interested......but seeing as most reporters and those in the media seem to have the thoughts that this is beneath them.

After going slightly off track, the DMSSM has some great equipment features and tips with pictures for skiers and boarders of all abilities, and fun features also i feel. :D

jon.

Jon

May I ask what kind of response you get to your regular ad in the Daily Mail Ski Magazine? Not after precise numbers or the like - that's none of my business - but rather a general feeling of its effectiveness as an advertising medium.

I do like the mag's house style of off-beat captions!

:DHi LOTA,

Thats ok I don't mind at all...

I run a basic add in the Nov/Dec/Jan and Feb issues and in an avaerage year have maybe 10 - 15 responses with propbably 3 - 5 confirmed bookings (i only rent out to cover my outgoings and not as a commercial business, once my outgoings are provided for i do not take anymore).

Once one booking has been confirmed that is enough to pay for the add's, the majority of my bookings come from my website which is free with Microsoft Office Live ( I only use the basic package , there are two others with the top one being about £20 per month for advertising etc), i have sevearl links with other companies which helps drive business to my website which also helps (these are again basic links, but when Google searches the web to update itself as my site is linked to much bigger companies it thinks i am a bigger more important website than i actually am.....many times from just the search of "bourgstmaurice" or "bourg st maurice" i have acheived top listings on the first google search page.....not bad for a free site. :D

jon.

I'm with Pablo (who's Ross?) on this one. Printing houses are experiencing less and less demand, partly because of the economic climate but also because people can get the same information from the internet for free.

I'd also rather look at insane pics of heli-skiing in the Himalayas than a beginner on a green slope scared sh*tless! Look at Top Gear (off subject i know) 90% of the cars they feature and test are way beyond most people's budgets but the show is so popular!

A lower-end skiing magazine is definitely a big gap in the market, just not sure how many people would buy a magazine of that sort to make it worthwhile.

bennyboy wrote:I'm with Pablo (who's Ross?) on this one. Printing houses are experiencing less and less demand, partly because of the economic climate but also because people can get the same information from the internet for free.

I'd also rather look at insane pics of heli-skiing in the Himalayas than a beginner on a green slope scared sh*tless! Look at Top Gear (off subject i know) 90% of the cars they feature and test are way beyond most people's budgets but the show is so popular!

A lower-end skiing magazine is definitely a big gap in the market, just not sure how many people would buy a magazine of that sort to make it worthwhile.

That's probably true, it's quite probably the dull lack of aspiration that makes ski magazine so dire and explains the near total lack of literature. There's a huge demand for help and advice on skiing but that really has moved to the internet which is better, real advice is better than a second rate journalist on a freebie, you see better stuff here on J2SKI than most magazines have ever managed.