View This Presentation fullscreen to learn how you can critique your magazine and improve its design structure, editorial content and overall appeal to your readers.

1. F O R P U B L I C AT I O N S O N LY
THE 10-STEP
DO-IT-YOURSELF
CRITIQUE
W O R K B O O K
A fresh approach to
your magazine begins
with new ways
to see what’s working—
and what’s not.
©2010 AURAS
CUSTOM PUBLISHING
WWW.AURAS.COM
8435 GEORGIA AVENUE
SILVER SPRING, MD 20910
301-587-4300
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2. An expert evaluation of your magazine? Seems like a great idea.
There’s valid reason to have industry professionals apply their judgment to aspects of your
publication that fit their expertise; but in the end, the results may seem subjective or superficial. At
worst, what if a reviewer just doesn’t “get” your title?
The value of a critique rests on the credibility of the reviewer, and on a coherent rationale behind
the evaluation. Like the blind wise men and the elephant, the focus may be on only one area—like
editorial, design, workflow, budget or marketing—resulting in an unbalanced and out-of-context review.
A proper evaluation should be based on specific criteria that address all parts of the magazine
creative process and conducted by the best evaluation “experts”—the people who know the title
most intimately. No outsider knows a magazine like the staff who produce each issue. That’s why this
10-step critique is designed to guide you through evaluating your own publication.
Three Big Ideas BIG IDEA 1 Magazines that have applied meticulously to a template that
The basis of the critique rests on three distinct and clear “personali- organizes your magazine’s scope into
broad ideas about what makes magazines ties” perform better than those easily definable and navigable sections.
successful. Even if you don’t agree with that don’t. Branding, a well-defined
these ideas, accepting them as valid editorial scope, unique content and a BIG IDEA 3 Interesting approaches
criteria can still supply valuable insights, consistent editorial tone are the major to “selling” content enhance a
because they demonstrate one approach components of a magazine’s personality. magazine’s readability. How editorial
to applying practical ideals that span the Just as you get to know and admire is presented in your publication is just
whole creative thrust of a publication. certain people, readers like to “know” as important as the content itself. Your
the magazines they read, and that leads cover, TOC and even the openings
to loyal subscribers. of departments and features are all
valuable opportunities to engage your
BIG IDEA 2 Clear structure, con- readers and help them begin to absorb
sistency and tight fit ’n finish are the content before they read the first
hallmarks of good publications. A sentence of copy. Moreover, less obvious
magazine isn’t just words and pictures considerations, like page navigation,
on paper; it requires craftsmanship and visual theme and variation, and story
attention to detail. Editing, writing, rhythm, are all part of the magazine
typography, image, page layout and experience that engages and encourages
prepress production each contribute readers to enjoy the entire issue—and to
to a finished product. That product come back for more the next time.
should reflect sophisticated skills
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3. Evaluate How Well 3. Consistent visual and typo-
Your Pub Performs
Ultimately, any critique needs to answer
graphic language distinguishes
the publication. The visual language
A magazine
the question, “How are we doing and of your publication is created through
what can we do to improve?” The
10-Step DIY Critique uses the three
the application of a deliberate palette of
typographic, color, art and layout choices.
isn’t just words
Big Ideas above to create criteria Even the most sophisticated or complex
for evaluation. The following five
performance criteria are at the heart of
design needs an underlying aesthetic
sense to pull the publication together and and pictures on
the critique. make it memorable to readers.
1. The concept fulfills the mission 4. The magazine meets the needs paper; it requires
of the publication. Is the scope of and retains the interest of your
craftsmanship
your magazine fully covered in the primary audience. Change is the
content? Does it match the audience only constant for any creative endeavor,
and advertising potential that are part of and magazines are no different.
the original intent? Finally, is the content Understanding your readers and their
structured to keep readers and advertisers
alike excited about the magazine as an
priorities is key to keeping the magazine
fresh and developing a growth strategy.
and attention
ongoing periodical? To really understand Creating a direct relationship between
how well your magazine performs, you
need to evaluate your publication not
your readers’ expectations and the way
the editorial structure and content to detail.
only as an issue, but also as a volume. address them over time is the challenge
of every periodical.
2. The design and structure com-
municate the tone and scope of the 5. Attention is paid to the design
publication. Your publication needs to details of your magazine. The second
communicate to loyal and new readers Big Idea demands high craftsmanship in
alike what it’s all about. The choices in your publication. Typographic styling,
structure for the book (grazing section, the fit of images in your grid, even
front matter, features, back-of-book the quality of your illustration and the
sections) and clear concepts for each of color correction of your photos make
these parts—described through depart- a big difference, because readers notice
ment titles, heads and decks, and even details that show up on every page.
the way things are grouped—are oppor- Sloppy execution, tolerance for error
tunities to explain how your magazine and random inconsistency are just bad
is important for readers and why they business. Most important, they cause the
should continue to subscribe. credibility of your publication to suffer.
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4. Doing the Critique everyone fill in the statement indi-
Since this is a do-it-yourself critique, vidually, then compare and discuss the
what’s the most valuable approach to results. Choose a master mission state-
using this material? ment to use for the subsequent steps by
working as a group to craft a document
Choose a small team and review that everyone finds appropriate.
this document first. Anyone familiar
with your publication, from the pub- Score the rest of the steps individu-
lisher to a writer to a loyal reader, can be ally. A group dynamic can sometimes
on the critique team. It’s best to go over influence scoring. It’s hard to contradict
each of the 10 steps first to make sure a publisher or an editor, and the goal of
that everyone understands what they are many internal group interactions is to
supposed to do. find agreement. That’s not what we want
here—not yet, anyway. (See “Now What”
Each step begins with a SHORT ESSAY about at the end of the 10 steps.) Score with the AURAS
the subject area that explains the ratio- Exclusive Mag-O-Meter
nale for the ACTIVITY that follows. The Review the individual scores as a [FPO] Labs has developed this state-of-the-art
activity usually involves examining one group at the end of the critique. “instrument” to score each step. (It must be
copy of your magazine, but sometimes On page 17, we’ll discuss the best way to accurate because, as you can see, it’s digital.)
“Too Little” or “Too Much” can be rated from -10
you’ll need a few consecutive issues. (For conduct the final review of the critique points to -1 point, while “In The Zone” can be
Step Two, you’ll need an entire volume to and draft an active makeover document. rated from 1 to 5 points. This makes it hard to
count the pages and ads.) The EVALUA- score positive results if there are mixed scores.
TION section that follows explains how to How to Score That’s the way it should be. If the scores are
use the information you’ve collected to Subjective evaluations are always mixed, there’s no consensus on what constitutes
a better product, and that’s the point.
arrive at a score. Each step has a SCORING better understood with objective
GUIDE to help you get the most from your quantification—so it’s easier to see how
critique. We’ve provided a SHORT MISSION you’re doing with a visual scale. In this Too little and too much are both neg-
STATEMENT FORM for you to use in this case, though, there’s a catch. When it atives, so it’s more a “sweet spot” that
document, but it’s better to make a copy comes to understanding your publication, needs to be hit than a point on a sliding
for each member of the critique team. it’s important to see if you’re doing too scale. Evaluate how well your publica-
The same is true for the WORKSHEET, little or too much. For instance, using tion finds that “zone.” Doing too little
located at the end of the document, a few interesting type families helps to make the publication distinctive robs
which you will use to collect information establish identity, prioritize content and the magazine of character; doing too
and compile scoring. build navigation through your book. much makes the publication busy and
However, too few font variations and the hard to define. Examine each part of
Do the mission statement together. book lacks excitement and looks flat; too your publication and critique it on how
Everyone should pitch in and create the many and the book lacks identity and well it meets the Big Ideas as expressed
mission statement as a group. First, have becomes unfocused and busy. in the five performance criteria. [ƒ]
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5. 1 1.MISSION
2.CALENDAR
3.ISSUE STRUCTURE
4.VISUAL LAYOUT
MAKE IT YOUR MISSION
The mission statement is the document
that puts everybody on the same page.
The foundation of every magazine
is a clear MISSION STATEMENT. And the
ability to critique every magazine is
dependent on being able to evaluate how
well it meets the criteria of its mission.
Using the Short Mission Statement Form
The Short Mission Statement is a quick method of describing the purpose
and scope of your magazine. As a group exercise, it’s a great way of seeing if
everyone involved with your publication is, well, on the same page.
5.COVER The most important elements of any
The exercise consists of independently filling out the form, then comparing the results as a
6.CONTENTS magazine are the SCOPE (the range of
group and honing a final version that can serve as the bare bones of a longer document.
content and the rationale for inclusion),
7.DEPARTMENTS
the AUDIENCE (the potential readership It may seem self-explanatory, but here’s what each blank needs:
8.FEATURE TREATMENTS and reason for their interest) and the
9.BRANDING TONE (what defines the unique approach Our magazine, ( MAGAZINE TITLE ) Your magazine name goes here.
to the way content is presented).
10.C/P/R is a ( PRINT SCHEDULE ) How often is it published per year?
( MAGAZINE TYPE ) Is it a consumer, business-to-business (B2B), controlled circulation, etc.?
ACTIVITY: Completing this Short Mission for ( ADJECTIVE ) ( COMMUNITY ) Describe your audience with an adjective and a simple
Statement Form is an exercise in creating demographic. For example, if your magazine were called BusinessWoman your answer
a basic set of criteria for your publication might be (adjective) busy (core audience) female executives. Your total potential
—just fill in the blanks. The words you audience is your universe; they are a potential part of your community of readers
choose—especially the adjectives, which
describe the tone of the magazine—are who need ( ADJECTIVE ) Describe the type of content tone in your publication:
critical in defining the missing elements. accurate, cutting-edge, secure, safe, out-of-the-box, etc.
information on ( ADJECTIVE ) ( PRODUCTS, PROCESSES, ISSUES ). Describe your magazine scope
When you’ve filled out the
E VA LUAT I O N : with an adjective and a noun. Using the above title again, you might put down (adjective)
form to your satisfaction, it’s time to pro- corporate (noun) employment, management strategy, business networking, etc.
ceed with the evaluation of your magazine.
Compare your Short Mission Statement Unlike ( COMPETITION ), Your closest competitor. If you have none, then list other
against the magazine’s content and the sources of similar content that readers might choose instead of your magazine.
H O W TO S CO R E: Rate
your way that content meets the needs of your
our coverage has ( DISTINCT APPROACHES ) How is it different? Be
consensus. The easier it is to defined audience.
agree on the mission statement, specific: more in-depth, less boring, better researched.
the more points you should
award. You shouldn’t get any and also has (unique CONTENT AREA[S] ) This is your secondary interest area, which
positive score if anyone says, might be a growth direction for your title or an attempt to broaden the scope for more
“Oh, so THAT’s what we’re readers. Again, using the above example, you might write fashion, lifestyle, relationship.
supposed to be doing.”
content that interests ( ADJECTIVE ) ( SECONDARY AUDIENCE[S] ) What kind of
secondary audience? Using the above example one final time, you might answer
(adjective) ambitious (secondary audience) younger entrepreneurial women.
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6. Short Our magazine, (MAGAZINE TITLE)
Mission is a
Statement (PRINT SCHEDULE) (MAGAZINE TYPE)
Form for (ADJECTIVE) (COMMUNITY)
who need information on
(ADJECTIVE)
(ADJECTIVE) (PRODUCTS,PROCESSES,ISSUES)
.
Unlike ,
(COMPETITION)
our coverage has ( D I S T I N C T
APPROACHES)
and also has
(UNIQUE CONTENT AREA[S])
content that interests
(ADJECTIVE)
.
(SECONDARY AUDIENCE[S])
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7. 2 1.MISSION
2.CALENDAR
3.ISSUE STRUCTURE
4.VISUAL LAYOUT
CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
T poles hold up
ent
your pub—in a good way.
A single issue of your magazine should
be representative of all issues of your
magazine, but not necessarily exactly the
same in length, content or structure. In
fact, looking at your magazine as a single
Gather a year of issues and count
AC T I V I T Y:
the total pages and the number of ads in
each issue. You can also count the number
of copies distributed, as that can be signifi-
cant in some publications. Input the figures
5.COVER volume of issues opens up approaches to on the chart below to make a volume chart
6.CONTENTS content that you might otherwise miss. for the year.
Readers can be lulled into boredom
7.DEPARTMENTS
if every issue has the same rhythm and The more placid your chart,
E VA LUAT I O N :
8.FEATURE TREATMENTS similar content. Think of a magazine the less your magazine takes advantage of
9.BRANDING with a static issue map, page count and the benefits of “special” issues. If your chart
10.C/P/R feature structure as a steady but uninter- has two or three spikes generated by special
esting beat of a drum. issues that have a greater number of pages
The periodical structure of the and/or advertisers, or special distribution to
magazine and building an interesting larger audiences, it’s easy to see why those
annual cycle allows so much more. issues are often called “TENT POLES”—they
Making several issues “special” issues hold up the rest of the year.
creates a much more dynamic rhythm
in the yearly cycle. Instead of a simple _ _
_ _
cadence, a change-up in the content cre- _ _
_ _
ates a more sophisticated beat, one that _ _
generates anticipation in readers and _ _
_ _
keeps them as subscribers. _ _
_ PAGES _
SPECIAL ISSUES can have franchise con- _ _
_ _
tent (material created for and specifically _ ADS _
reflecting the core mission of the publica- _ _
_ _
tion), special seasonal content, or simply a JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
H O W TO S CO R E: The
flatter focus on one topic in a typical issue.
your chart, or the more _ _
random the dips and peaks,
_ _
_ _
the lower the score. Positive if you are trying _ _
_ _
FLAT FALLS FLAT
points are achieved by having to hold your readers through _ _
a few regular “peaks,” which the year. Deliberately designing _ _ in
_ _
THE TALLEST TENT POLE
should correspond to special issues with different page counts,
_ PAGES _ the industry is the Sports
issues or content. special content and even expanded
_ _ Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The
distribution is a smart business _ _ 2004 issue used other franchise
tactic. It encourages readers to _ ADS _ concepts too, like an anniversary
renew their subscriptions and _ _
advertisers to go into more issues. _JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV
_
DEC
theme, a Hall of Fame premise
and even a free CD-ROM.
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8. 3
C1
C2
HOUSEKEEPING 1
HOW DOES YOUR PUB SHAPE UP?
2
3
4
5
GRAZING
Your issue map should create interest
6
7
and identity, one section at a time.
8
9
10
11
DEPARTMENTS
12
13
1.MISSION Just as variations from issue to issue Two variations on your issue map
AC T I V I T Y: ISSUE STRUCTURE 14
15
2.CALENDAR make your magazine more interesting, will help you understand your magazine. should be easily
16
apparent in the
variations in the ISSUE MAP give your First, decide how many coherent sections paginated content 17
3.ISSUE STRUCTURE
magazine shape and definition. Your your pub has. Easy choices are features chart on the right.
18
19
4.VISUAL LAYOUT
publication might have scintillating (A and B features), advertisements, front-of- This magazine A FEATURE 20
has eight distinct
5.COVER content, but if, for example, its structure book, back-of-book, etc., but you could also sections of editorial
21
22
6.CONTENTS consists entirely of eight-page stories in have things like advertorials, grazing sections, and advertising. 23
the same typographic style and layout— classifieds, columns or service sections. Yours could have 24
7.DEPARTMENTS fewer, but too few 25
like many academic journals—the reader Things like the cover, TOC, Editor’s Page and your magazine 26
8.FEATURE TREATMENTS
will soon become bored. and Letters fall under the “Housekeeping” has no rhythm. 27
28
9.BRANDING A magazine is like a fine dining rubric. However you define the structure of B FEATURES 29
10.C/P/R experience. We want an amuse bouche your book, include every page. 30
This time, we are making two vertical
31
to get us started, a nice appetizer to 32
add piquancy so we enjoy our entree grids, with each horizontal bar representing 33
all the more. Then, we want to finish a page of the issue. The examples show a 34
35
with something light, sweet or savory typical layout of a 68-page book, with each CLASSIFIED 36
that rounds out our meal. We enjoy the page divided into 6 equal segments to make 37
38
familiarity of the order of the meal, but positioning ads easier. The left chart shows 39
we want to be pleasantly surprised by the amount of space in an issue devoted to 40
ADVERTORIAL 41
what we find, too. each section, and the right shows page-by- 42
Just as the parts of the meal vary in page how material is distributed in the book. 43
44
SIZE, STRUCTURE and INTENT, so should 45
your publication. And, like a meal, the Your book should have clearly
E VA LUAT I O N : 46
defined sections and enough of them
47
structure of your magazine should have 48
natural groupings that are clear in scope, to create an interesting rhythm. If your 49
with theme and variation defining each first chart shows too few variations, your 50
51
part. book will be visually simplistic. If there 52
H O W TO S CO R E: If
you have are too many, your book will be busy and 53
54
fewer than three sections, award unfocused. This is more easily shown in 55
negative points; if the sections ADS
the second chart, where you’ve laid out 56
don’t appear obviously grouped 57
the book in page order. The sections, even
in the pagination chart, also 58
award negative points. Positive interspersed with advertising, should still be 59
discernible. As we’ll see next in the critique,
60
points should be given for an 61
issue map with clearly defined each section should have its own unique 62
and positioned sections and a visual navigation and design. 63
bias for coherent editorial pages. 64
C3
C4
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9. STRUCTURE
IS DESIGN
Lead [
InspI
re [
e x p Lo
re
SEP TEM
BER -OC
TOB ER
200 9
ST. JOHN
SCOUTING MAGAZINE MATRIX 64PP SELF COVER troop 5’s ca
campgroun ribbean
d
JANUARY MARCH APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER
FRONT OF BOOK
COVER
TOC 2-PAPGES
CEO LETTER
LETTERS 1 PAGE WHEN WE HAVE ENOUGH
SCOUTING MAGAZINE ISSUE MAP/64PP PLUS COVER
rg
zine .o
TRAILHEAD (GRAZING)
gmaga
coutin
The Danger
NEWS & NOTES (News Briefs) s Of
w w w. s
What You Obesity
New Scou Can Do
DID YOU KNOW? Promisest Handbook
Adventure
SHOUT OUT! (GOOD NEWS, PAT ON THE BACK)
LOL ( 1 or 2 humorous anecdotes, replaces Worth Retelling) EDITOR’S
COVER AD WELCOME/ AD AD TOC AD TOC AD
GOT TO HAVE IT (single product notice) LETTERS
THIS OLD PATCH (collector’s item or interesting background)
WAY BACK WHEN (historical tidbit) FRONT 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
COVER
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
COUNTDOWN TO 100
GOOD READ AND/OR WATCH IT NOW (single book or dvd notice) CHIEF’S TRAILHEAD/ TRAILHEAD/
MESSAGE/ AD TRAILHEAD TRAILHEAD AD AD TRAILHEAD AD TRAILHEAD AD
MASTHEAD
F O B D E PA R T M E N T S ( L E A D E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E )
Merit Badge Clinic (methods & resources for teaching MBs) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
What Would You Do? (replaces Front Line Stuff)
Cub Scout Corner
Advancement Trail or Advancement FAQs
ROUND ROUND ROUND
Ethics Column (Using Scout Oath & Law in Daily Life) TRAILHEAD TRAILHEAD/
AD TABLE
ROUND
TABLE AD ROUND
TABLE
ROUND
TABLE TABLE/ ROUND
TABLE TABLE/
The Nature of Boys (behaviorist traits, age appropriate) AD AD
Q&A Leader Interview (What I’ve Learned)
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
B O B D E PA R T M E N T S “ G R E AT O U T D O O R S ”
FIT FOR FUN (health & fitness for outdoor activities
GET IN GEAR (specific line for equipment review)
ROUND AD ROUND AD ROUND AD ST. JOHN ST. JOHN ST. JOHN ST. JOHN
TABLE TABLE TABLE
TRAIL TIPS (brief look at hike or river route)
SURVIVE THIS
DUTCH TREAT (dutch oven recipe) 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
GROUND RULES (best practices camping techniques)
FOOD FOR FUEL (camp menu for strenuous outdoor activity)
WHERE AM I? (reader contest guesses outdoor location from clues) ST. JOHN ST. JOHN ST. JOHN ST. JOHN ST. JOHN BSA NAT’L BSA NAT’L FAT FAT FAT
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION (the planning stage of an outdoor trip) MEETING MEETING CHANCE CHANCE CHANCE
MY FAVORITE CAMPSITE (generated by readers)
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
OPCOVER III: COOL CAMPS--SINGLE PHOTO OF BSA CAMP
FAT FAT SCOUT SCOUT SCOUT SCOUT SCOUT SCOUT PUMPKIN PUMPKIN
CHANCE CHANCE HANDBOOK HANDBOOK HANDBOOK HANDBOOK HANDBOOK HANDBOOK CHUNK CHUNK
F E AT U R E S
A Feature--New Boy Scout Handbook Debuts
50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
B Feature--Scout Leaders Combat Youth Obesity
C Feature--Venturing Crew on Chisholm Trail Cattle Roundup
D Feature--Boy Scout High Adventure Fishing in Alaska
PUMPKIN PUMPKIN OUTDOORS OUTDOORS OUTDOORS OUTDOORS OUTDOORS OUTDOORS/ OUTDOORS OUTDOORS/
CHUNK CHUNK AD AD
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69
IN EVERY ISSUE ADS TRAILHEAD FEATURES ROUNDTABLE OUTDOORS
9 W W W. A U R A S .C O M