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Extraordinary offer for Teddy Talk members from Teddy Bear & Friends!!!
Connect with over 25,000 teddy bear lovers with an ad in a special Teddy Talk co-op ad section in the upcoming September/October issue.
The section will consist of 1/8 Page four-color ads each costing $200 (or $225 if we will create the ad for you).
Your website is one of millions but in Teddy Bear & Friends your ad is one of a kind. Advertising in Teddy Bear & Friends improves the odds that your bears and your website will be seen by people who buy bears.
Give me a call or send me an email as the deadline to place this ad is June 22nd. And I will need all materials for your ad by June 28th.
Best,
Kellie Love 
Teddy Bear & Friends
617-536-0100 x116
KLove@madavor.com
Back Road BearsHi Kellie!
What I super idea! I've had great success with the ads I've placed in TB&F!
I'll contact you with my ad info!!! 
Daphne
Canna Bear PaintHi Kellie,
I remember talking with you at the April Schaumburg show, and am really glad you followed through with the Teddy Talk co-op idea! I'll contact you with ad info as well!
Kelly
This sounds great!! :dance: I'll be contacting you too, Kellie!
:hug:
Tracy
Hi Kellie, 
Now don't laugh everyone! For those of us who've never advertised before, what exactly is involved in this process? What do you actually need to get started? I've always been interested, but my stumbling block was thinking I actually had to do all the graphic art stuff. I can cut and paste....paper....but, I'm a computer ditz. If you could give us all a better idea of what WE do for $200.00 versus what YOU do (and what is required for us to send) for $225.00. Does that make sense?
Warmest hugs, :hug:
Aleta
Sunnie BearsAleta, Kellie is great to work with. If you want her to do the ad, you need to send her
1 your contact info
2 a picture of a bear or whatever you would like to be in your ad
3 any special wording you would like
They always send whatever they come up with to you for approval prior to the ad getting printed.
It is best to call her at her 800 number. She is very helpful
Sonya
Hello Aleta,
Thank you for your message. Advertising is really simple, and I am here to help you through the whole process!
For starters we will have to get an insertion order taken care of. An Insertion Order is a form which outlines the issue you will run in, the ad size and rate and it will have your contact information. I will send this to you and you will need to be sign and fax or mail it back to me.
The next step is materials – don’t be scared!
My artist Jamie will do a beautiful job of creating an ad for you! I will first need a picture or a bear or whatever you would for the ad (or you may choose to not have a picture). You can email one to me (it must be hi resolution, 300 dpi or more to print clearly) or you can mail one which we can scan!
Then I will need the text you want to include. I recommend: Company Name, Contact Information (email, URL, phone number), a description of the picture, a special you are running etc.
Once we have all that we’ll put it together and send it to you for approval!
Now if you would like to create the ad yourself… Digital files preferred in pdf, jpg or tif format. The ad must be hi-resolution (300 dpi or more) and fit these dimensions 3.25” x 2.125”.
And that’s it! Please do not hesitate to ask any other questions.
Kellie
May I add that Kellie has been a DREAM to work with on my last few rounds of advertising with TB&F (I'm on a budget but for the TT co-op ad and some TOBY advertising I felt I needed to splurge!)
They always send you a PROOF to approve or decline prior to publication. If you submit your own artwork they will send you a proof of how your artwork has been cropped or adjusted (if at all; mine never are.) If the art department creates artwork FOR you, they will send you a proof of your ad as they've created it.
The insertion order part is simply a matter of signing your name to a form that Kellie creates FOR you...and submitting billing information so the magazine can get paid. Very easy!
Don't be afraid to advertise with TB&F or any other publication, for that matter. It's really fun to see your name and work in print!
Back Road BearsI echo Shelli & Sonya... Kellie is great to work with... so helpful!! And the whole processis a lot easier than you'd think. Much easier than making a bear! :)
Gina.... I'm thinking that they'll use as many pages as they need to! Can you imagine even a fraction of the 550 or so TT members advertising in this special section of TB&F??? It'd be a VERY THICK magazine! How cool!!! :hug:
Posts: 8,574Gina,
Honey thats not the way I read the post- 4 colors but 1/8th page....so figure a page has 8 sections....or 16 for 2 pages and so on....
Shelli, hoe did you read it?
dilu
Posts: 3,177Daphne wrote: .... I'm thinking that they'll use as many pages as they need to! Can you imagine even a fraction of the 550 or so TT members advertising in this special section of TB&F??? It'd be a VERY THICK magazine!
Soooo, if we TT'ers are going to go for this are there any further reductions if more of us take out an Ad Kellie?
I'll only do it if i get a better rate - $200 is a lot a money to part with for one issue.
I'm not being funny honey - just shrewd :hug:
Penny 
I'm not in cahoots with Kellie or TB&F but just FYI, last time I checked online and printed out the rates for personal reference, the "normal," non-discounted 1/8 page, four-color, single-run, "Artist Studio" ad rate for TB&F is $260.
So yes, $200 is a pretty penny... but it could be more.
Dilu, Gina... I read Kellie's post as follows:
This special offer is for 1/8 page ads in a special TEDDY TALK co-op advertising section. Meaning, there will be eight ads per page, adn probably some sort of titling across the top or bottom which references TEDDY TALK, and therefore, the advertisers therein as participants here.
The ad offer is NOT for black and white but for a four color image... "four color" referencing the four ink colors CYMK (C-cyan, Y-yellow, M-magenta, K-black) used in printing, which, when combined, make up an infinite number of color possibilties on the page.
I don't know how many pages are possible in this special TT co-op section, but since TB&F are not just bear loving folk, but a serious big business, I'd imagine they'll take our money if we offer it in any number! I'd also expect that the number of pages for this section is expandable and can cover as many people as might want to participate.
Kellie, can you please comment???
Posts: 3,177Yeah, but i still want even more discount if 100 TT'ers sign up for this - think of what the mag is gonna make plus the exra interest they will gain in the mag edition.
I can be sooooooooooo tight.............that squeaking you keep hearing Shelli, it's not your shoes it's me!
:crackup:
Hey, I hear you Penny. Really I do. I don't have $200 just lying around, myself.
Keep in mind, though, that additional people advertising also means:
additional artwork requiring collection, review, and proofing
additional paper costs
additional ink costs
additional costs for art-production-related labor -- arranging and setting more pages, etc.
additional costs for advertising-related labor -- setting up accounts, exchanging contracts, email, etc.
So while bulk discounts make some sense, it's not goign to be a strictly mathematical thing.
It's not like, if ONE page costs $1600 to print, and if 8 people take out ads at $200 each, it's covered....
.... but if 16 people take out ads, which will take up TWO sides of the page -- thus, requring more prep work, more proof work, more ink, more paper, etc. -- it should therefore STILL only cost $1600 as a sum total, and thus, that those 16 people should therefore pay only $100 each.
In other words... regarding bulk discounts...
It's not the same as if, say, we're looking at a pizza. One pizza. One person can pay $15.99 for that pizza (I don't eat the cheap crap from Domino's; sorry). Or two people can pay $8.00 each for that one pizza. Or three people can pay $5 each for that one pizza. Or fifteen people can pay $1.00 each for that one pizza.
The important thing to note here, though, is that, no matter how many people contribute to the pot, they're still only getting the ONE pizza.
If more TTers take out ads, we're GETTING more than one page, more than one unit advertising, more than the work required to set up ONE account, ONE ad proof, etc.
I'll be interested to see what Kellie has to say.
Aren't you glad you opened up this can of worms, Kellie???
Apple Dumpling DesignsNot in my budget...dang it anyway! I'm ALWAYS a day late and a dollar short.
Perhaps we should share a space, Penny...it could read "Gotobed Apple Dumplings"... HA
Another time for me!!!
Posts: 3,177.... but if 16 people take out ads, which take up two sides of the page -- thus, more work, more printing, more materials, etc. -- it should therefore STILL cost $1600, and those 16 people should therefore pay only $100 each.
Make sense?
I'll be interested to see what Kellie has to say.
Aren't you glad you opened up this can of worms, Kellie???
Yeah, but they are at work anyway Shelli...this is their job, why can't they sort it out as normal.......we are talking about the Sept/Oct edition here - loads of time to get it sorted honey.
Well, I'm going to leave it to Kellie to comment further as I'm only guessing and don't want to pursue argument on this as I'm not that invested in making a case one way or the other. My way of thinking was simply that
(1.) TB&F probably already figured the "bulk discount" into the offer that was posted here, presuming that more than one person would opt in; and
(2.) A business can only cut costs so much before it operates at a loss, and I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that since TB&F has been doing this for some time, they've more or less thought of this aspect prior to making this offer, which is already substantially below the usual single-run rate.
As a last note... Penny brings up a good point re: knowing the dates involved!
I checked the dates for the Sept/Oct issue at the TB&F site, since knowing them might influence your decision making here.
While editorial submissions for that issue are due a scant nine days from now according to the TB&F Editorial Calendar, advertising space for that issue can be reserved as late as June 22 with all ad materials due by June 28, as Kellie mentioned in her initial post, above.
Posts: 3,177Shelli Wrote: Well, I'm going to leave it to Kellie to comment further as I'm only guessing and don't want to pursue argument on this as I'm not that invested in making a case one way or the other. My way of thinking was simply that
(1.) TB&F probably already figured the "bulk discount" into the offer that was posted here, presuming that more than one person would opt in; and
(2.) A business can only cut costs so much before it operates at a loss, and I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that since TB&F has been doing this for some time, they've more or less thought of this aspect prior to making this offer, which is already substantially below the usual single-run rate.
I don't dispute any of that Shelli but it works both ways.
If advertising is so great for US the bear artists and we have to pay for it then why don't the magazines have to do it too? They don't want to make a loss and neither do we. They get the kudos of running a mag that can deliver a bumper issue featuring loads of possibly, new artists - we should get a fair deal on this i reckon.
There are a lot of ladies here who have to make money, they run their bear business as a primary source of income - spending money on advertising has to reap benefits - how many bears would some us have to produce to cover the cost of advertising?
I understand your point. Especially since I'm one of those who HAS to make money with my bearmaking. Bearmaking IS my primary source of income.
It's my personal belief that advertising DOES reap benefits, since it keeps one in the limelight, so to speak, drawing attention and potential customers. That attention is what I'm paying for when I spend my advertising dollar. As I see it, anyway.
I'm also of the belief that, just because it's a financial stretch for me to pay for advertising, that doesn't mean the magazines should cut their costs to accommodate me. They have their own operating costs to cover. Their pricing schema is not for me to decide.
My decision process involves one thing, and one thing only: to run an ad, or not to run an ad. Period.
I'll say again that I'm not trying to "win" a particular point here. Rather, I'm stating MY personal opinion. I'm just saying that, as I see it anyway, a $60 discount IS a "fair deal," relative to the usual $260 single-run ad cost. And that, more generically, when one GETS more, one should expect to PAY more. If we're talking about the overall cost of running 100 ads vs. just 10, I just don't think it's fair to expect the costs to each advertiser to be substantially lowered. Yes, we bring the magazine more business. But we also ask them for more output, more product, more work.
Such is capitalism.
Just one girl's opinion.
Canna Bear PaintInteresting, I wasn't expecting to see a debate on this thread when I checked back in on it
A couple of thoughts. As Shelli mentioned, the offer extended here really is a discount off their normal rates. It is completely in line with the best buys on any co-op advertising offers I have seen. In fact, I've never seen a lower offer from this magazine or its competitors (I'm sure advertising was cheaper 5 or 10 years ago when I wasn't looking, but wasn't everything cheaper then?).
Additionally, as far as I know, co-op ads are usually only offered to participants in some of the major shows (TBAI, the Linda Mullins' San Diego show, Schaumburg, etc.). In this case, the co-op ad offer is open to everyone as long as they're on this board, which is FREE to be a member of as opposed to show vendors who also have to pay to be a part of the show. That is a bargain in itself. For any co-op offer I've ever been aware of, the rates are flat regardless of how many people sign up. Sometimes it's only a couple of people. Sometimes it's more. They can't predict participation, especially when they're offering something new like this Teddy Talk ad offer; it only makes sense to have a flat discounted rate that doesn't skew from one issue to the next. It is also important to note that these magazines DO have competitors, and that there are standards for pricing across the industry.
Advertising isn't for everyone. Neither is doing something like attending a bear show. Everyone needs to determine for themselves what outlay they can put into any one venture, the vast majority of bear artists have limits to their bear-spending funds. If you're worried about covering the cost of the ad with bear sales, make sure to put a bear that's for sale in the ad! I've heard it recommended to use bears that are part of editions or series in the ad, so you can advertise (and hopefully sell) more than one bear with just the one ad. Perhaps someone with advertising experience can chip in here, do you find ads generally worth the expense?
Best wishes,
Kelly
Back Road BearsShelli and Kelly have made great points.
Kelly is right... advertising isn't for everyone! Teaching bear making workshops isn't for everyone. Having a website isn't for everyone.
Personally, in my limited advertising experience with TB&F.... the two ads I ran paid for themselves and then some. I have 4 new customers because of those two ads. I haven't advertised in any other industry magazine. I have advertised in my local newspaper around Christmas time in their gift section one Sunday.... it was very inexpensive for a post card sized ad..... not ONE sale! This is a very widely circulated city paper. I was a bit surprised.
Anyway... that's my advertising experience.
My advice.... take TB&F up on the discounted price if you can afford it and want to... if you don't.... don't!
Advertising isn't for everyone!!! (Where have I heard that before!?!?)
My other bit of advice... to dear PenPen...email Kellie! It's 11:30pm at the moment but she's very good at responding. I'm sure you'll hear from her tomorrow!
BEAR ME SHOOTKAKellie, do you take only American artists? Or I can participate too?
I would love too! :hug:
Hugs, Julia :hug:
Baird'sBears This sounds like a really good deal to me, considering that the TB&F market is worldwide and closely targeted to the right buyers.
I think there's also a big advantage to the grouping of TTers, both newbies and veteran Artists. The reader will get to see who's upcoming alongside who's already there.
Great advice from Kelly (thanks, Kelly :hug:) --
If you're worried about covering the cost of the ad with bear sales, make sure to put a bear that's for sale in the ad! I've heard it recommended to use bears that are part of editions or series in the ad, so you can advertise (and hopefully sell) more than one bear with just the one ad.
Eileen
Posts: 3,177Daphne wrote: My other bit of advice... to dear PenPen...email Kellie! It's 11:30pm at the moment but she's very good at responding. I'm sure you'll hear from her tomorrow!
I'm sure she is a regular visitor here Daff so she will see this anyway.
Penny
Good morning everyone! I just got through reading all your messages and I am working on a response to address all your concerns.
