CAFME Recap for Nov. 9: All About Beer Magazine Advertising Manager Amy Dalton

This Wednesday, Advertising Manager Amy Dalton from All About Beer Magazine came and talked to us about the magazine, what it's like to work for a smaller publication and much more! Keep reading to see what she had to tell us!

About All About Beer

-All About Beer is located in Durham, N.C. It's a small magazine, but it has an international distribution, with the largest audience in the U.S. There are seven full-time employees, including Amy, a managing editor, an operations manager and a publisher.

-All About Beer is a bimonthly publication. Every year, a special issue is released around the fall, Amy says. For example, two years ago, the magazine had an issue celebrating its 30th anniversary. There have also been a beer styles guide and a guide to beer festivals.

-Amy says All About Beer caters to consumers of beer, but more specifically, people who want to drink more than Miller Lite and Budweiser. But, at the same time, All About Beer wants to cater to people who are accepting of all beers and want to learn more about them. Amy says the magazine's job is to educate people about beer.

Amy's Background

-Amy graduated in 1990 from the UNC J-school. Although her concentration was in public relations, through internships, she says she realized she wasn't a "desk person" and enjoyed advertising more.

-After graduating, Amy got a job with The Herald-Sun Newspaper in Durham. She worked there for 16 years before leaving to work for All About Beer.

-This is Amy's sixth year at All About Beer, and her job as advertising manager is to be in charge of all of the advertisements featured in the magazine.

Q&A

Q: How do you keep a niche magazine (a magazine that is very focused on one demographic or topic, such as beer) fresh?
A: Amy says it is tough to do this, but the staff tries to keep up with trends. She adds that she's online all the time and checking forums to see what's new regarding beers. Because All About Beer aims to keep up with trends, they do not have an editorial calendar. Instead, they try to be flexible, and they may even change a story two weeks before the newest issue is released.

Q: How do you make revenue?
A: The majority of the magazine's revenue come from advertisements, Amy says. Conversely, subscriptions make up a small amount of the revenue.

Q: How has advertising changed over time?
A: Amy says that until the last three years, advertising more or less remained the same. However, this is changing because of the popularity of social media. For instance, Amy says, instead of buying an ad, a brewery can just tweet to promote business. This is also a challenge to selling ads, Amy says. Because of the economy, breweries are cutting back and not wanting to spend as much on advertising.

Q: How do you appeal to an international audience if you have a small staff?
A: Amy says that there are no writers in the office. Instead, All About Beer publishes articles written by freelancers. During the magazine's "Big Board Meetings," the staff will put article ideas up on a big board and decide what to put in the magazine. They try to fulfill certain categories, such as travel, entertainment and education, for each issue.

The freelance writers submit story ideas, but the staff also comes up with story ideas and will assign writers to certain articles. Amy says they get a lot of ideas from writers, and if they like certain ideas, they give them to the writers whom they know can write a story well. Persistence is key for a writer, Amy says. If you have a story idea, make sure you know the topic and be persistent about pitching it.

Q: If someone is a journalism major but doesn't specialize in advertising, how realistic is it for him or her to get a job in advertising?
A: Amy says it's relatively realistic for someone to be able to do this. For example, Amy recently received an email from a writer wanting to get a job in advertising. When you're applying to any job, use your cover letter to say why you want that specific job; don't just use one generic cover letter for all the positions you apply for, Amy says. Also, be careful of what you put on Facebook. Amy checks the profiles of everyone she interviews, so she advises not to have any tacky or unprofessional pictures on Facebook.

Q: Do you do much ad design in-house?
A: Amy says the ad art comes in ready, so she doesn't design any. However, All About Beer recently hired an in-house graphic designer, so this will probably change. There are some ads the magazine doesn't accept, such as gambling and porn ads, Amy says.

Q: What is the transition like from working for a newspaper to working for a magazine?
A: Amy says she knew the foundation of magazines before she began working at All About Beer, so it wasn't too hard for her to transition. However, the environments are very different. For instance, when she worked at the Herald-Sun, there were 400 people on staff; when she began working for All About Beer, there were four people on staff. She also says newspapers are more corporate than magazines. At the Herald-Sun, for example, she had a deadline every day; at All About Beer, she has a deadline every two months.

Q: Does All About Beer hire interns?
A: The magazine doesn't officially have an internship program, but she's hoping they will eventually have one. Amy thinks more internships at the magazine would be a great opportunity for students. One part-time employee at the magazine got her start there after she walked into the office one day with a clip and asked about jobs. Although she started out working for free, she now has a part-time paid position at the magazine. Again, as Amy says, be persistent, and you never know what could happen!

Q: Did you ever see yourself working at a beer magazine?
A: No, Amy says, but she loves working at All About Beer. She likes the small environment there, and because of this, she gets to take on a lot of different roles. For instance, even though her title is advertising manager, she reads everything in the magazine before it goes to print and helps to plan stories.

Final Advice from Amy:

Amy says to find something that you love doing -- especially because you'll be doing it for a long time. She also says to be persistent and passionate about your career. Her biggest piece of advice is to make cover letters and resumes personal. She says this will get you interviews.

Thanks so much for speaking to us, Amy! And thanks to everyone who came this week! See you next Wednesday!