My ad contract with Guitarist was up for renewal - Almost from day one I've advertised with Guitarist, with which ever business I've been involved with - Guitars4You is almost 14 years old this summer and been in every issue since - I've recently ran with a 1/4 page ad, but for years a page, then 1/2 page
I've now decided to call it a day and not renew - Very little dealers in there today and even the classified section at the rear is far smaller than in the past - Times have changed from monthly mags as your only, or major, promotional outlet - A few months ago there was chat on FB about guitar mags and who read what and when - Of those who responded to the blog, it was quite clear that many no longer read such mags on a regular basis
So now just a 1/2 page in Guitar and Bass
Comments
(formerly miserneil)
For advertising, the Facebook, Twitter and instagram seem to be the way to go.
Although, IIRC, Feline Guitars ( might have been another small business on here but I think Feline) did similar a while ago - unable to trace a single sale back to the expensive Guitarist ads.
I still buy Guitarist, but I'm getting more and more ambivalent towards it.
I do wish they would run a feature of the History Of Les Pauls though...
My local weekly newspaper was effectively paid for by car dealers and estate agents. The car dealers went first - the agents stuck with it in the belief that a newspaper presence won them instructions - but one by one, they pulled out too.
Now there is no local weekly newspaper.
Future used the CD with Guitarist as a justification for the price - last time I thumbed through a copy, it was £6.25. That’s just too much....
I always liked Guitar Buyer.
Alas, social media seems to be a stronger platform at the moment for advertising as evidenced by the traffic of Andertons, Guitar Guitar and Peach that comes my way.
Good luck Mark whatever you've chosen and to continued success and congratulations on 14 years of G4U
@miserneil is also right: Guitarist's contents don't really inspire any more, or seem to reflect the interests of the average guitarist ... but I see that as the whole medium gradually slipping into isolated senility.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
I think we are in the minority though
The key point now is how valid are such mags to generate sales - As a small store I can generally ask most/any new potential buyer how they discovered Guitars4You - answers include word n mouth, mate/recommendation, google search, web site, even FB - many will state they saw me exhibiting at a guitar show - Years ago Guitarist magazine was the source - Now it barely gets a mention - Yet still strong interest via Guitar and Bass and far less to advertise compared to Guitarist