Newsstand sales have some overarching rules that apply to everyone, but rules specific to a magazine's category are equally important. Rules for one category may be drastically different from another, and it is necessary to be aware of this and sell your magazine the way your target audience will buy into.

An example of differences in rules from one category to another is computer magazines versus video gaming magazines. Even though the people who write these magazines may see the difference easily, retailers and wholesalers may not see any difference at all and market them similarly as a result.

What these retailers do not realize is that while one gimmick may capture the consumer interest for one, it will not do the same for the other.

Ziff Davis, a major publisher of both computer and video gaming magazine titles, publishes the two magazines Electronic Gaming Monthly and PC Magazine. Let us consider these examples. Each of the products has certain set design elements, elements that hardly vary from one issue to another. Each has discovered definite ways of attracting the newsstand reader. Yet these two publications look as different as night and day. The successful design of one publication would mean certain failure if used on the other.

Generation Gap

A clean look is the way to go for the computer magazine. The white background, simple picture, the neat lines (there are no drop shadows on this cover) inform the business audience that the editorial will be clear, to the point, and easily understood; that it will be presented with an organized layout; that it will be quick and easy to find, read, and absorb the useful information within.

In contrast, a clean look for a gaming magazine means death. The action packed cover complete with broken lines, black background, and lots of competing images let the younger, hipper reader know that this magazine is thrilling, modern, and busy.

Although each cover is different, they both reflect what the reader wishes to find within the pages of the magazine: order and precision for the business reader; lots of challenges and excitement for the gamer.

Whether to use a photograph or an illustration is a long run argument, and in most cases a publisher will choose a photograph. The computer magazine agrees - a photograph is better by far. The most preferred choice for this type of magazine is a photograph of a newly released system. Humans stay out of the picture in this case though. Equipment works, people don't.

Gaming magazines take the opposite approach. Illustrations, met with a resounding "no" by so many shrewd publishers, are the order of the day. Screen shots are a big bonus. If the publisher finds it absolutely necessary to insert a photograph, it will at least be some sort of heroic action shot. A wise gaming magazine publisher will never put equipment on the cover.

The games magazine also uses another method to present itself as something a younger, more entertainment-oriented reader would want to buy: the edition number on the cover. This may lend the title some continuity credit for having been around for a while; but more than that, it relates it to the comic book genre, and offers it a sort of collectors-edition feeling.

The cutlines are an obvious contrast: the game title promises battles and adventure, whereas lighter, faster, and easier are the words used for the computer title. The gamers want to knock down plenty of bad guys; the business readers aspire to stay connected and in control.

Some Things Never Change

Despite all the differences, some similarities exist here. Numbers are used in both cases: "58 Notebooks" in the computer title; "Over 100 Games" in the gaming magazine. Both titles use action words that portray a sense of freedom: "Surf the Web" for the computer users; "Take to the Sky" for the gamers.

Reviews and previews can be found in both publications: The Best of '96 awards could easily work for either publication; lab tests and reader's choice bridge category walls. EGM boasts of "all-new" on the cover; PC Magazine poses a special Network Edition. Both of these lines would draw in either set of readers.

Both magazines know that their readers are seeking empowerment. The audiences want handy tips to help them use the technology that they have, whether they are using it for business or gaming.

Even if the categories differ, in order to bring empowerment to the readers, some things always stay the same.