Question 5

The main way that I attracted my audience was by the front cover. The front cover is the first thing that the audience and will be attracted to. It needs to be different yet still follow the conventions. If the magazine is different it will attract attention to it, although if it is too different, many people will be put off by it. By following convention, the target audience automatically assume that this will be a magazine they want to read as it is aesthetically pleasing to them. My magazine is an Indie style music magazine. The cover model depicts a typical Indie male, wearing a white teacher with an image of New York City, skinny jeans and Vans shoes. These are all signifiers of an Indie person, and this immediately attracts Indie fans.
The cover model is staring directly into the camera lens, to give the effect of him staring at the reader. This breaks the fourth wall and makes it personal to the reader. This creates a relationship between the reader and the cover model, enforcing them to buy it. The lighting shines onto his face, making him stand out. The lighting also casts a shadow on one side of his face, making him seem mysterious and thus, implying there could be another side to him and in turn the magazine. This creates the theory of escapism, in which the reader can escape into the walls of the magazine.
At the top of the page is a well known American band, touring around the world. These big world tours increase the area of the target audience. It states that there are reviews and articles on the tour inside the magazine. This is used to build the personal relationship between magazine and reader in which they are conceived as a friend who would recommend music that you would enjoy.
Due to the audience being driven by social networking sites, the fact that the Facebook and twitter ensigns are situated on the front cover means that they will go over in the shop and pick up the magazine. This constant hunger for socialisation leads them to be active users of current social networking zeitgeists such as Facebook and Twitter. To keep up with these current trends I have created a Facebook and Twitter page in which my audience can follow attracting them to purchase the magazine.