Magazine Conventions

Yes…I have done a conventions page for a school magazine, but that doesn't mean I can’t do one for magazines in general!  

First off, in this post there will be a lot more terminology so get ready for all the jargon. Secondly, this post is generally better, stick around!

So, with non-school magazines, they have a lot more to stand up to. There are a lot of competitors all trying to win over that one reader, deciding which magazine looks better to read today. This is why you need conventions, to show that you are a professional, easy to follow, and won’t waist that reader’s time.

Get your pen and paper (or favourite this page), as this is what you need-

Masthead- you need a title for your magazine of course! This needs to be distinct and bold to become eye-catching and say ‘READ ME’.

Contents page- the contents page works as a directory. This tells the reader where the most important and entertaining stories are. This gives the reader the ease just to find the page they want without having to flick through the whole thing.

Secondary leads- these are the snippets of articles that give the reader an inside view of the magazine. These are mainly the most interesting stories and are represented by bold text or a picture to interest the buyer.

Splash- this is like a secondary lead but is the main story. This is represented on the front page with a bold heading and picture.

Stand first- these are good as they are the first lines before a main article. These need to be engaging to make the reader read the article.

Tag- tags are words or phrases that catch the eye of the reader and engage them. These can be words like- exclusive and new.

These are some main conventions for a magazine but don’t forget to keep the language suitable for everyone, readable fonts, suitable images and colours that work well.  

See you next time!