I designed an 8 question survey which i sent to 11 people within my target age demographic of 16-25 year olds. This survey was useful in helping to find out the preferences of my target audience and develop an insight into what sort of things they wanted to see in my magazine. These are the questions I asked and how the results will affect my planning and design process.
QUESTION 1: What is your Gender?
I chose participants for my survey who are both male and female, as this allowed me to get a wider range of feedback. Out of 11 participants, 6 were female, and 5 were male.
QUESTION 2: How old are you?
I asked a variety of ages from 16-25 as I wanted to cover as much of my target demographic as possible. The most common age asked was 17.
QUESTION 3: When was the last time you purchased a magazine?
This question was very insightful, as it helped me see whether my target audience were actually interested in reading magazines, as if they weren’t already reading magazines, there would be a smaller chance of them feeling compelled to read a new magazine. 5/11 of the responders said they have read a magazine within the past month, which proved that there is a higher chance of people wanting to read my magazine. Only 1 person said they have never purchased a magazine.
QUESTION 4: If you read magazines, which do you read and why?
This was an open ended question which allowed respondents to type what magazines they were interested in and the reasons for reading them. The most frequent word in the responses was “fashion”, with many other popular words being “vogue”, “celebrities”, and “trends” all of these responses link to my category of style magazine.
QUESTION 5: Do you visit magazine websites such as Vogue or GQ?
The majority of respondents voted “no” for this question, which was useful as it told me that I need to make an interesting and engaging website that has cross media convergence with my print magazine, as this could be the reason many of the people I asked don’t visit websites.
QUESTION 6: If a new style magazine was being published, what would you like to see in it?
This was arguably the most important question in my survey, as it told me exactly what I should include in my magazine. The two most popular words in the responses were “style” and “fashion trends”, alongside words such as “celebrity”, “pop culture”, and “beauty”. Therefore, when I am planning the contents of my magazine, I know that my main focus should be on what clothes and fashion is trending at the moment, and I will also look to include exclusive celebrity interviews which would potentially compel my audiences into reading my magazine.
QUESTION 7: What price are you willing to pay for a magazine?
This question simply gave me insight into what price I should sell my magazine at. I gave a variety of price options ranging from £2-£7, however 100% of respondents chose from £3-£5, with 55% saying specifically £4-£5. Therefore, I will price my magazine at around £4 in order to sell to my target demographic.
QUESTION 8: Do you prefer print or digital magazines?
91% of respondents said they preferred print magazines, which surprised me as in todays society, the internet and digital world is becoming increasingly popular, as it is more accessible and modern. The responses to this question told me that my target audience will still be interested in purchasing physical copies of my magazine instead of just buying a digital version for convenience.
