Contacted by Vogue

Has anyone ever taken up advertising offers in British Vogue? I’ve been contacted (via my website) about buying advertising space in a campaign they’re running. It’s expensive, but I have no experience with paid advertising and no idea what the likely returns might be.

I’d really appreciate any shared experience/knowledge you might have.
Thanks

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Personally, i wouldnt touch it with a bargepole, if Vogue are contacting you, they must he desperate! I took out 3 months advertising in Country living a few years back now, and considered it a huge waste of money then, never again, it is expensive, and more and more people are on there phones these days, I would think magazines are struggling to sell many copies!

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Haha…thanks Sue, that’s flattering!

Ooooooops, i didn’t mean it like that :persevere: but, what i meant was surely they should have people clamouring to be in their magazine… am I digging myself further into a hole?

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It all depends on what your budget would be - if you had one - paid advertising in a magazine is probably not going to net any extra sales. Does the campaign feature any ‘advertorial’ content? or product placement? That would be considerably more appealing (I am guessing unlikely though).

@SueTrevor, Sue, I know what you mean…I thought the same thing myself. :slight_smile:

Apparently it’s a special page, and they want to include ‘brands that will appeal to their affluent readership’. I think it might be a bit much for me anyway, but wondered whether anyone else thought it worth trying.

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Andy, yes, it would include a product photo and a 50-word company biog, written in their ‘house style’ whatever that means! It would also allow me to use the phrase ’ as seen in/as featured in Vogue’ on my website and use of the page, logo and cover to use as branding.

Hmmm, It might be something to look into. The Vogue brand has cachet and depending on when the issue is released may net some extra sales and a boost to promotion.

Of course it depends on your budget. Vogue is selling around 25,000 copies of its UK magazine per month. Is that kind of exposure worth it?

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I wouldn’t pay for advertising in a magazine. There’s very little conversion to online sales. I’ve heard from other artist as well that Vogue and a few other high end mags are sending out these emails en masse. I think Vogue are trying to make up their advertising revenue as it has dramatically fallen over the years as more and more people move away from print and so they’re out trying to get your hard earned cash. My own advice would be if you have money to spend then a great professional photography session will last longer and great photos are a definite winner in terms of converting browsers to buyers. Good luck with whatever you decide!

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Depending on your budget, I think you should seriously consider it. I wonder how many of the people who have commented on this thread read fashion magazines. My experience is that if a product is featured on one of the pages you describe it sells out very quickly. I tried to buy a pair of leggings (from H&M) that had been featured in this way and found that the style had sold out within 48 hours. If Vogue are including a blog then they are endorsing your product and that will hold sway with their readership. As for the chance to use the words “as featured by Vogue” on your products-that will be something that will be with you forever. It might be worth quite a lot of money to you over time.

Sam x

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Do you have enough stock to cover a huge number of sales, if you get the kind of traffic mentioned by Samantha?

If your advert or feature means people are directed to a now empty shop because you’re not H & M and therefore don’t have thousands of pairs of leggings sitting waiting to be bought, would that be a good or bad thing?

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I wasn’t talking about myself, I was commenting on their offer to @ciesse . Perhaps you should ask her this question and not me.

Also, some of the most successful shops on Folksy fill up their shops and then quickly sell out and remain sold out until they have had time to re-stock. If people see what they wanted is sold, particularly in the case of unique or limited edition goods, they will just want their own version even more. That is a privileged position to be in, not a poisoned chalice. At the very least, people will remember your name.

Moreover, why are so many people complaining about something that would bring thousands of new customers to Folksy in general? Seems very strange to me, given we are always talking about how hard it is to get publicity for Folksy at a price we can all afford.

Sam x

Vogue has pages and pages of lists of small ads at the back of the magazine usually with a theme on each page (with a photo for each ad and a paragraph about the shop) at the back - is it one of these? these tend to be smaller companies and are not features - just looked and there can be up to about 20 adverts per page.

That’s more of a fashion spread feature rather than an advert which i think is what christine means.

Come on you lot! Cheer up :sunny: If @ciesse has been contacted by Vogue, for whatever reason, surely her glass is at least 75% full.

Sam x

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If it were me and I had the budget spare I would go for it. I’m pretty sure the majority are happy for @ciesse but it is a big jump for most to consider such advertising.

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My question WAS directed to Christine. Thanks for the advice though!

Ok! Not to worry :slight_smile: The way to reply to the topic writer is to use the Reply button at the very bottom left hand corner of the thread itself. To reply to a commenter, press the reply button at the bottom right of the comment itself.

Sam x

I know. That’s why I replied to Christine using the big blue button at the bottom right of the entire thread.

Thank you for all your replies, it’s great to get everyone’s opinions on it, as I’m completely undecided!

Sally @SallyandtheFreckles - yes, it’s one of the adverts with a short write-up of the company next to it, on a feature about Interiors. It’s actually my textile art website that interests them, not my accessories.

Sam @SamanthaStanley - it wouldn’t generate any views for Folksy, I’m afraid, as my textile art website isn’t linked to my Folksy shop and I don’t sell any original art on here, just a few prints which don’t sell anyway! But thanks for your positivity, it’s nice to hear from someone who thinks it might be worth it.

Andy @ChompStomp - yes, it is a big leap from doing no paid advertising to paying hundreds for one small space in a single issue, and I’m really not sure I want to spend so much when I don’t have a huge stock of originals or prints available to take advantage of any interest I might get. I think I’d rather wait until I’m ready to advertise, then choose my vehicle for it myself.

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