The word “audit” makes many of us cringe, especially this time of year as we gather materials to submit for our taxes. But, in the media world, “audit” has a positive meaning, as it is proof or verification of what we claim to have as our distribution and readership. As a reader, you certainly don’t question this, but those who place advertising do — and they should. Believe it or not, the media world also has some dishonest people who make big claims about their listenership, viewership or readership without any proof to back it up.
I have written about the importance of this in a past column, and I thank those of you who participated in the Lake Panorama Times audit. I also mentioned that we would be having our other publications (Guthrie Center Times and Panora Times) audited as well. Those audits are now complete, and we had the results from all three combined so we could have a better idea of who is reading our publications. This is important, as many of our advertising customers buy in all three publications. Here are a few data points you may find interesting:
- With all three publications, we have a combined net circulation of 7,122 copies to 10,288 readers. In a county this size, that is a large audience of readers of our publications.
- We also have 6,748 digital contacts, creating total estimated gross contacts of 17,036. This, of course, does include some duplication.
- On average, our print publications have 1.85 readers per copy.
- 73.2% of our readers say they purchase products or services from ads seen in our publications.
- 48% say they keep our publications one month or more.
- 56% of our readers are female.
- The average age of our reader is 56.3.
- Our average reader household income is $125,342.
- 81% of our readers have attended college.
I have had the distribution and readership of our other publications audited for decades. This includes CITYVIEW and our 14 Iowa Living magazines. I feel it is important to share facts and data and not simply make claims. For years, I have been frustrated when advertisers tell us they get customers from their websites and social media platforms, but they don’t give us credit for driving their customers to those platforms. In our most recent audits, the following question was asked, and the results are in parenthesis.
How do you respond to ads seen in the publication? (% of total)
- Call the advertiser for more information (19%)
- Go to the advertiser’s store or business (44%)
- Visit the advertiser’s website (56%)
- Visit the advertiser’s social media (13%)
- Internet search the advertiser’s business (34%)
- Email the advertiser for more information (01%)
The results are not unexpected to us and probably not to you as a reader either. You know that, when you see a print ad, you seek out additional information on the customer before you buy. These are enlightening facts for those who place advertising to market the goods and/or services of their business.
Times are certainly changing, and all of us are seeking multiple ways to seek out information before we spend our hard-earned money. I feel fortunate to know that so many of you look to us before you buy, and I truly appreciate that. Those who advertise in the pages of this publication do, too.
As always, I thank you for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Lake Panorama Times
641-332-2707
shane@gctimesnews.com