Eleanor West plans to create an indie/alternative magazine aimed at teenagers and young adults aged 17-30. While Q Magazine will be its main competition due to a similar genre and audience, her magazine will include more younger age groups and appeal to both male and female readers. It will be released monthly to provide more content than weekly magazines. Key elements will include high-quality design, long-form articles on up-and-coming artists, and engagement through social media to make the magazine unique.

1. By Eleanor west

2. For my magazine that I plan to make; I want the use the genre of indie/alternative, I plan on using elements that
make it more appealing to mainstreamer as I believe this will draw in a large audience. However saying that I want my
main featured article to be about an upcoming artist rather than an established one. This is because I think that if an
upcoming artist is coming out with music there is more to be said about them, whereas with an established artist
already has other magazines wanting to speak about them as well. To add to that, with an upcoming artist it will
emphasis how the magazine I create is unique in comparison to other magazines I will be competing with. However
saying that I will feature names of established artist so that even if the audience isn’t drawn in by the unique upcoming
artists, the other names of artists will.
I have chosen to use this style of magazine because I believe that there is always room for a unique
indie/alternative magazine in the magazine industry, especially one that is aimed for a teenaged to young adult
audience. I think that with this genre I am able to taken cool quirky pictures that will look professional when in my
magazine.
One of the most important elements of a successful magazine for this genre, In my opinion, is the images used, I
think that the type of images used and taken for an indie/alternative magazine can either break or make the
professional appeal of the magazine. Another important element is the name of the magazine, this is what the
magazine will be known as and will be the brand image, therefore the name has to be something people will
remember.

3. As I created a survey, on one of the questions for this I asked people “how often would you like a magazine
company to release a new magazine”. From this question I got the response of a monthly magazine being the
best time to release it. Because of this result I need to ensure that my magazine is a lot larger than other
magazines that come out on a weekly basis.
As well as the amount of pages increasing because of the monthly magazine, the quality has to also increase.
Quality can come in two forms, the magazine’s physical appearance has top be of a better quality than others.
For example the front page and back page of the magazine will have a glossy look and feel to it, there will also be
pages throughout with the look to make them stand out. The content of the magazine will also be of a higher
quality, I will ensure this by having unique points to pages. When creating my article I will make it longer than
most because I believe this will also increase the quality of the magazine, going into more detail.

4. My target audience will consist of older teenagers to young adults, specifically aimed at 17-
30 year olds, I want to aim my audience at both boys and girls because I believe that this will
then widen my target audience and then increase possible purchases. However by making it for
both boys and girls I think that it will be harder to create as I will need to constantly be
considering both genders.
I also want to aim it at this specific age range because I think that these ages are very
common age for people to be reading magazines. I also think that because people are more likely
to read them and the range between the ages of my target audience is so large; it is more likely
that I will get more possible reader.
I have ensured that the plan for my magazine will fit the age range and both genders because
there will be key information on the artists that these types of people listen to. My target
audience will benefit from reading my magazine as they will learn more about established artists
and will know first who knew upcoming artists are.

5. There are many magazines that I believe are like me and like what I want to create and aspire to be like.
However, I believe that my main competition is Q. I think this because this magazine is also indie based;
(which is the same genre as mine). As well as the genre being the same the target audience is also very
similar. However, my target audience includes a few more younger groups.
I think that Q are good competition for me as they are a strong established company which people
know of, they have an iconic name which is known worldwide. Because of their name when making my
magazine I am ensuring that I use a smart name which will get remembered.
Although saying that Q magazines often are more masculine looking, therefore relate more to boys
rather than girls. In my magazine, I will include some features that will make it obvious it id for both
genders.

6. My magazine will include an eye-catching front cover, which will draw an audience in to look at what will be
inside my magazine. A double page contents page, to inform people what will be on each of the pages and so
that readers can find the information they want quickly. A double page article about and upcoming artist so that
the readers will know who to look out for and who is entering the music industry. Finally, I may include extra
information like adverts, social media, reviews and an inside scoop of artist.
Although Q are my competition I plan on studding what is successful about them and imitating some key
points into my own work. For example, I may include self-advertisement on each of the pages, e.g. the website
and social media sites.
I do aim for originality, however, not by too much so that it becomes to unique to buy, by having the
conventions of a magazine still included people will sick well with what they know.

7. For my ideas, I want to have a range of photos in a range of different places, I think that a variety will make
the magazine more appealing and look more interesting to readers. I also want to include a main artist who will
be on the front cover and have the article written about them. I will then include extra models to use on my
contents page and throughput my magazine.
For my feature article, I will have 2 different layouts; first one with an image on one page and introduction
and start of the article on the other page. Then across a double page I will incorrect the photos and the text to
finish off the article. The article will be written about an upcoming artist who is entering the music industry and
becoming the ‘next big thing’.
I will use dark colours as colour scheme in my magazine; however then use bright colours which contrast with
these, as this is what was said in my primary research feedback.

8. I want my magazine to be an entertaining magazine that people will read because they enjoy it and think that
it’s interesting and fun. However, at the same time I want my magazine to be an informational magazine and
give the readers information on the current music updates. Although I will be giving out information, this will
not be presented in a way where it will be taken too seriously, but will still be trusted by the reader. I also
want my magazine to be edgy and unique, I want it to stand out from amongst the rest.
I will promote my magazine through social media mainly. I’ve decided to do it through this way because
most of my target audience are likely to be on at least one form of social media where they will be able to
notice the publicity. I also think that as my age range can go up to 30 it will be a good idea to put mentions of
the magazine within newspapers as most young adults get the tube.
My unique selling point for my magazine will be that I will be the involvement in social media. I think
basing a lot of my magazine around the idea of social media will be successful and unique because it is
keeping up with the current trends in society and relating a traditional information source with current
sources.