One person's opinion on my Front Cover and Contents page uploaded to YouTube.

Responses to all 3 sections of my Magazine

I have asked three separate people to comment and give me opinions of my 3 aspects of my magazine, I have asked them to use text message to present their views.

What I thought went well with my magazine?

Things I thought went well with my task:

COVER

• I thought that my front cover went really well, I spent a lot of time taking and editing photos to ensure that there was a lot going on. I wanted my cover to really grab the readers attention, as that is the main priority of a magazine is to sell! Throughout the task I made many changes to my front cover, I originally had a girl group as my main image on the cover but after some more research I found that if was not common for a main star on a cover to NOT relate to a double page spread. As my DPS was focused upon star 'Edward Chua' I felt it would be more appropriate to link them directly. 
• One idea that I was pleased with was the offering for a competition to win an iPad Mini. I had some space left on my cover and was wondering what I could fill that space with, therefore I knew that I had my own iPad and thought it would be a great technique to grab the attention of the audience if they could be in with a chance of winning a new gadget. In the same way I had included images that I took myself of a friends music gadgets to promote the gadgets themselves but also attract those audiences that are interested in the new modern tech.
• One other aspect that I made myself was the bar code, I spent a reasonable amount of time in paint cutting and pasting individual lines to make the bar code look as genuine as possible.

CONTENTS 

• Overall I was also really pleased with my contents page, I felt that the content was relevant and appealing as you would expect in a professional magazine. 
• I thought that the modern features of my magazine such as audience interaction with Twitter and Facebook would be becoming more and more common within magazines so I thought this would also be a good technique to appeal to the audience. If they feel like they can have their say and also keep up to date with the latest news online then they are more likely to become familiar with my magazine.
• I thought that the sub heading of my contents was organised well, having every article clearly laid out was important for me to allow all audiences to easily navigate around my magazine.
• I also feel that the amount of images used was just the right amount, originally I only had the one image of a female which made the general look quite dull. Therefore I spent time editing more photos to liven up the contents.

DOUBLE PAGE-SPREAD

• Continuing from my contents I feel that the interaction with my audience is key in my DPS. Answering followers questions and also showing their individual tweets offers a great relationship between reader and writer.
• I felt that the questions was relevant and relaxed to portray a relaxed atmosphere whilst interviewing the star.
• I have advertised this article throughout my cover page and contents to show the importance of having an exclusive which such a big star, again this is to advertise and encourage readers to buy the magazine in order to read about their favourite pop singers.

Final Cover, Contents and 2PS

Evaluation Question 6: Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learned in the progression to your final product?

Evaluation Question 5: How does your media product represent social groups?

How I Have Targeted and Engaged My Target Audience

• One technique I have used within my Front Cover is to advertise gadgets that are associated with the genre of music I have focused my magazine on.I have used this to on my cover to grab my audiences immediate attention. By offering reviews on the new music technology appeals to a wide variety of people interested in finding out the latest gadgets. 
• I have tried to allow my audience to relate directly with my magazine by using a model (pop star) that is of the same age range of my target audience. This will appeal to my target audience as they feel they can personally relate to the interview on the inside. In the same way the fact that the star is famous and their range. I was positive that my audience would be interested in reading about him, therefore I decided to make a big effort in advertising the star and his interview.
• One personality trait of my perfect reader was that they were fashionable, with this in mind I made sure that my model was dressed with the latest fashion. Wearing a snap-back which is common within this age group was another technique I have used to interact with my perfect reader.
• I felt that interaction with my audience is key, therefore throughout my contents page I have included banners advertising for readers to Like our Facebook page and to Follow us on Twitter. This will allow the reader to feel more engaged in the goings on on UPDATE magazine, this is the same way in which I have published followers tweeted on my double page spread. This increases levels of trust between Update and its reader as they feel that they are able to be involved in interviews and that their tweets will be seen.
• From my research I found that almost in every magazine there were advertisements for all sorts of competitions and prizes that could be won. By offering a chance to win the brand new iPad Mini will grab a person attention that if they buy this magazine then they can apply. I feel that by advertising a free competition it will engage the reader more, therefore resulting in more sales of my magazine.
• In the same way as offering a competition, I have advertised a famous musician's free poster within the magazine. Using this will attract readers to purchase my magazine as the famous artist will attract their own followers.
• I have ensured that my targeted audience is both male and female by adding an image of a girl pop group, this can be targeted in two ways. By females that enjoy their music and males simply because they are female, this ensures that my front cover is open to grabbing the attention of all sexes.