Our Top Ten Tips for Buying Print Advertising

Living Magazines Comparing advertising a red apple versus a green apple

As Berkhamsted and Tring’s first magazines established in 2001, our independent and unique approach to both our advertisers and the local communities means that we continue to deliver new customers with every issue. We know our readers love our magazines and often will keep them from one quarter to the next. To help with your decision making, please take a look at our top ten tips for buying and comparing print advertising below.

What does Berkhamsted and Tring Living Magazines Offer Advertisers

Only Berkhamsted Living and Tring Living Magazines are delivered to every single postcode within HP4 Berkhamsted and HP23 Tring. We can do this because we use the Royal Mail Door to Door guaranteed delivery service and, as such, our distribution continues to increase with every issue as more and more houses are built. Our current numbers as at October 2023 are as follows:

  • Berkhamsted – 11,467 homes & businesses
  • Tring – 11,119 homes & businesses

The combined total number of letterbox delivered magazines therefore now exceeds 22,500 homes and businesses every quarter, with a reach of over 67,750 readers – that means lots of potential new customers out there!

Furthermore, the advertising content of our magazines never exceeds 50% making sure that they’re a good read, and as our team is local, living and working in the area, we can keep our fingers on the pulse and on top of local news – this ensures the content is relevant for the communities of Berkhamsted and Tring and the surrounding vilages. We also support local businesses with free editorial coverage on and offline, leaflet distribution, social media, a monthly newsletter and a free online directory, which will help to boost your rankings on Google.

Advertising Considerations

If you’re comparing our magazines to other publications in the area, we would urge you to consider the following before making a decision:

  1. Is the magazine delivered directly through people’s letterboxes or only available for local pick-up? Don’t be afraid to ask for confirmation of the print run and ask your friends, family and colleagues when they last saw a copy of the magazine and when and where they picked one up.
  2. Assuming you are comparing a letterbox delivered magazine, how is it delivered? By Royal Mail or an independent delivery team? What is the profile of the delivery team, is it an agency, adults, or children, and how is the delivery guaranteed?
  3. What is the distribution? What numbers are actually being delivered through people’s letterboxes, is this the entire town or a small proportion? Are businesses included and is this relevant to you?
  4. What is the comparable cost per 1000 of those guaranteed letterbox deliveries?
  5. What is the overall quality of the magazine and print like?
  6. Is the magazine relevant to the local area, does it offer value to the local community it’s being delivered to, and is it a good read?
  7. How much editorial is included within the magazine or is it mainly adverts? Good quality editorial in the magazine means people will spend time reading it and increase the chances of them seeing your advert.
  8. What is the relevance of the distribution area for your business and the make-up of people who live and work in that area?
  9. What added value can the publication offer to support your business, outside of the print advertising? It’s worth comparing more than just the cost.
  10. Is the business reputable, ethical and environmentally friendly, does it align with your own personal or business’ values? Is it run by local people living and working within the community which it serves?

To find out more about advertising with Berkhamsted Living and Tring Living Magazines, download our Media Pack. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the team on tel: 01442 824300 or email: info@livingmags.info.

Alison Page Marketing (APM) purchased the two Living Magazine titles in March 2018. Since then we have been on a mission to make them the best that they can be! Read our journey: Publishing a Magazine – a Year in Retrospect.