Magazine advertising?

[Steve]

Have any other callmakers on here tried placing an ad in any state or national magazines. I've been seriously considering it, in fact I already have the ad ready to go...I just have to send it in. I'm just a little hesitant still. I don't operate with a huge budget and I don't care for losing propositions, I do realize that's the risk I take and it's all part of the game.

So my question...if any of you have tried this in the past did it work out for you as far as increased sales? Would you do it again? I know there are a lot of variables that aren't accounted for here. I'm just looking for a general conclusion before I bite the bullet and send the ad in.

Thanks for the input,
Steve

[VanHelden Game Calls]

Only 1 way to find out.  Just make sure your infrastructure is ready to deliver, nothing faster to lose the effect of marketing is not being able to deliver in a reasonable amount of time.  And unfortunately that means you need product in hand ready to go as people want product fast.

Marketing is huge, just look at the ads very few of the products are at the top of there field but they make you think that way.

[lightsoutcalls]

I have not spent much on advertising in the 9 years I have been making calls.  I have sold on ebay, which has lots of viewers across the country.  I have posted pics of calls here on O/G, one of the best places to get your calls in front of turkey hunters across the country.  I have donated calls to NWTF banquets and have set up booths at numerous chapter banquets. 

Of all of these venues, I have found my best responses (sales) from ebay and O/G.  You can't beat word of mouth advertising.  Once you get your calls in the hands of hunters in a number of states, you may find yourself getting calls from folks who "know a guy that has one of your calls".  If your state has a good bird population and turkey hunters there are passionate about their sport, it may be worth your time. 

If you don't have a website, you might think about that as an option...

[alclark2]

I just looked at your calls on your website and they look great! If they sound as good as they look I'd think you should be selling a lot of them. I'd start putting some on ebay and OG call threads like someone already suggested. I imagine word of mouth should keep you very busy. I have  not tried to advertise my decals in any magazines because I'm worried about getting 20 phone calls a day when the magazine comes out. Right now I can't balance a full time job and THAT many decal inquiries each day. It may be cheaper to do some kind of online advertising campaign to generate more web traffic to get them to see the calls you have in stock. .. If that toxin call is on there much longer I may have to buy it...

[Steve]

Thanks for the insight guys. I've been struggling to make a decision on doing this for the last year or two. You all make some valid points...having enough stock on hand AND having my website waiting and ready to deliver when the ad runs are my biggest concerns. I can likely get all that squared away by the time the ad runs, but I'll need to do some planning ahead.

I also donate a lot of calls to our local banquets...NWTF, DU, PA Trappers Assn., to name a few. I haven't sold a call on e-bay, in well...I don't recall ever putting a call on there. I'm not knocking the guys that do, I just prefer not to use E-Bay for call sales...it's way to unpredictable for my liking. I suppose this advertising idea is as well, but I'm curious to see what the outcome is.

al...Thanks for the kind words on that bocote Toxin too. If you were on my website did you get a hance to look at the "Trophy Room" (picture page). All of the turkeys in those pictures will verify that my calls do indeed sound as good as they look. You better jump on that one while it's there, I might be going on an inventory stocking venture here for the next few weeks. I'll make that decision over the weekend.

Thanks again for the responses,
Steve

[stone road turkey calls]

Steve, you got some great looking calls, hope you work out your dilemma.

[magnoliagamecalls]

I have advertised in national and regional magazines on multiple occasions.  I will not do them again. It did generate some sales but it never covered my cost. Most people look over a magazine once or twice and never pick them back up. I checked my website views after the magazines ran and did see some hits but not for the amount it cost. This has been my experience on multiple times.

If I giving you advice I would tell you dont waste your money. Jmo

[Gooserbat]

I've tried it a couple of times and it didn't do much.  I like digital media much better.  It's much more affordable, and usually it links them directly to your site.  That said I also agree with Lights Out. 

[Lonehowl]

.

[RickC]

Hope you dont mind but I thought id throw in as a consumer not a call maker.
Im brand new to Turkey hunting so I've been digging around for all the hints and help I can find on these forums. One place I looked was your site after seeing your calls, which by the way look great. Truthfully a magazine wouldn't have gotten me there az quickly as this place did. I rarely buy a magazine at the store because I could rarely find one that I wanted without driving 45 minutes.
EBay - Right now I have maybe 5 active searches on eBay regarding Turkey calls and have bought from there. A lot of questions are asked about various items involved in this sport and others and it seems that EBay is always mentioned with a listing. Oh and I have searches running for barrels, optics and other items relating to my hobby - making decoys.
Anyway there's one consumers point of view, hope it helps.

Blessings,
Rick

[Ticklishtompro]

Personally I would shy away from the magazine ad.  The print media is suffering.  The next issue of Turkey & Turkey Hunting Magazine will be there last and that woud be the one I would thnk you would want to advertise in, cause that is the audience you want.  Digital media is the way.  Perhaps a paid google ad would get you more bang for your buck or advertising on webites such as OG or other places where you get the audience you are looking for.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Personally I would shy away from the magazine ad.  The print media is suffering.  The next issue of Turkey & Turkey Hunting Magazine will be there last and that woud be the one I would thnk you would want to advertise in, cause that is the audience you want.  Digital media is the way.  Perhaps a paid google ad would get you more bang for your buck or advertising on webites such as OG or other places where you get the audience you are looking for.

X2
Unless your willing to waste a lot of money for a full page add, your much better off advertizing on the net. Post people skip the mag adds because your buying the mag to read, not to buy something out of. Your much better post your calls on these web pages and that puts them under everyones noses, and word of mouth sells a lot more calls than an add ever will.

[Steve]

That's some good info from all of you guys...thanks a bunch!

Stone Road Turkey Calls...Thank you sir, your calls are looking pretty good as well. Hope ya bag some big ones this season

Magnolia GC / Gooserbrat...My website is also set up that I can check what kind of traffic an ad generates, along with some other useful information. That's a good way to go and I do appreciate your guys' advise on the ads. I was hoping to hear from somebody that has done it in the past.

Rick...I very much appreciate the input from a consumers perspective. You got me too thinking...How many magazines do I read and how many ads do I give a second thought to? The answer countless magazines...and I generally don't bother looking at the ads at all. I was figuring that's just me, but I suppose other guys may do the same thing I do. Again, thank you for your input from a different perspective.

Ticklishtompro...Sounds like digital media is the way to go for any kind of advertising. I'll have to look into this some more and put a plan together. That's a shame about Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine. I always tossed that into the grocery cart when my wife drug me to the store with her.

Mark...I agree 100% about the cost of the ad and time of year etc. I thought I had this all taken care of, but it turns out the ad I was going to place would miss the big spring turkey issue by two weeks. That and back to what VanHelden GC's mentioned - make sure your infrastructure is in place. The infrastructure is there, but I have been working on calls all weekend and have come to the realization that I'm out of stock on a good portion of what I sell. Therefore, it really wouldn't be practical for me to go ahead with the ad at this point. I may still try it somewhere down the road, but only if the moon and stars are aligned properly.

WillowRidge GC...I'd love to place a full page ad, but man I'd have to sell some serious calls to be able to pay for that. I wasn't going to do small one, but it wouldn't be huge either. I think for right now I'm going to work on promoting my website and trying to get the calls out there by word of mouth...definitely the best advertising there is out there.

So, that's it in a nutshell...a rather large nutshell. I'll work on promoting the wesbite and postpone the ad indefinitely until I have sufficient inventory on hand to justify it. Thanks again for all the input from everybody.

Steve

[VanHelden Game Calls]

Its all about exposure for name recognition over actual sales generated.  Although they do go hand in hand to a degree.  Its going to be expensive and thats why few go that route. But if you ask a "normal" hunter to name a brand of turkey call I don't think anyone selling strictly off the net would be mentioned.

Its a multi sided approach to marketing, name recognition and having product available for impulse buys. While ebay helps, OG helps, the stores are where you sell volume.  And where you need to be to make it all pay.  From a client I do business with its not so much the ads but the inventory and infrastructure that kills the wallet.

A side thought I have had, is the call business over saturated?  It seems there are more players in the business.  If so you would have to have something unique to even compete.