Advertorial is an advertisement written in the form of editorial and designed to look like an independent and legitimate news story.

Agency discount is a discount offered to ad agencies that place order for the ads. (normally equal to 15 %)

Asset or Digital Asset is a term used to designate and advertisement or an edited page that has been completed by the graphics department and is ready to be used in Digital Studio pagination process.

Audit is a check performed by an independent organization, such as the ABC or BPA, of copy sales or website traffic.

The title of a periodical, which appears on the cover of the magazine and on the first page of the newsletter. It contains the name of the publication and serial information -- date, volume, number, etc.

Barter, with respect to magazine publishing is when an advertiser provides goods or services in lieu of cash to have an advertisement placed in the magazine.

Belly Band is a paper outsert with your message on it that is wrapped around the magazine. Readers will see your piece as it will have to be removed before they can read their issue.  Belly Bands can also be placed on digital issues as well.

In the magazine business, bind-in cards are the thin cardboard subscription cards or other advertisements that are bound in with the rest of the magazine, and usually perforated for easy removal.

Binding is a method of attaching pages together into a magazine. Some options are stitching (stapling) or perfect binding.

Trimming machines are not as precise as printing presses. When the magazine is cut down (trimmed) to its final size, it is almost impossible to cut along the page edge exactly. Having art go well off the page (bleed off) will ensure no possibility of a white hairline around the edge of page.

Most magazines are printed using only 4 ink colors; Cyan (blueish), Magenta (pinkish), Yellow & Black.  Also called 4 color.

Acronym for cost per thousand, often used in relation to list-rental prices. The ad cost divided by the circulation minus the last three zeroes.

Acronym for cost per order. The sum of all production and media costs (creative, printing, lettershop, postage, etc.) divided by the total number of orders received.

Circulation is the number of magazines printed on average for an issue. For example a magazine has a circulation of 100,000 copies.

Coated paper is paper that has a shiny surface (has an enamel coating). When printing on coated paper the ink sits on top of the paper and doesn't soak in much. This produces a cleaner, sharper image, however the coating process makes paper more expensive to make and might make it unrecyclable.

A payment to a subscription sales agency, usually a percentage or dollar amount per sub sold. The agency collects from the subscriber, deducts the commission and remits the balance to the publisher.

Complementary Subscription is a free subscription to the magazine normally for a period of one year. Also called a comp subscription.

This document usually is a proposal that is then signed by an advertising client thus becoming a binding contract.  The client may make changes to the proposal prior to signing it to make it a contract.

This is the model used by publications distributed for free to qualifying readers determined by some qualifying factor(s) such as  salary , home value ,or social status or specialized interest.

Creative refers to a magazine page, edit story or advertisement that has been approved for publication.

A magazine delivered on the web or by email in a format that looks exactly like a print magazine. It may be a facsimile of a published title or a digital-only product.

A customer may instruct his or her bank to authorize an organization (such as a publisher) to collect regular or occasional payments from that customer's bank account as long as the customer has been provided with advance notice of the collection amounts and dates.

Distribution is how a magazine’s circulation (copies) are distributed:  how many mailed, how many on newsstands, bookstores or other vendors, etc.

E-Commerce refers to conducting business on the Internet, including selling and purchasing products online.

Editions are sub-versions within a given magazine issue's print run and distribution. For example, a magazine may have separate editions for subscriber versus newsstand copies, or by region or certain types of audience demographics.

(1) material commissioned by editors from writers, photographers, etc  (2) an article expressing the views of the editor or publication policy

As a verb, what happens when a subscription reaches the end of the period paid for without renewing.  As a noun, a subscription or group of subscriptions that run out on a certain date (the January expires).  Expires may also refer to a list of expired subscribers. Because expires are prime prospects for new offers, expire lists (also called hold lists) are valuable commodities.

Flat Plan provides the details of what is going to be on every page of the magazine.  It will denote whether an entire page or section(s) of a page are designated for edit or advertising.  A flat plan is usually laid out using paper or something like power point that have a standard set of page templates to use.  The Flat Plan will let the Sales team know what space is available to sell advertising into.

Folios is an older publishing term normally refereeing to a section of a magazine of 16 pages.

Form is a term typically used to refer to 16 page sections of a magazine.

The number of times per year that a magazine is published.

An all-inclusive term referring to the numerous tasks involved in creating, updating and maintaining an active subscriber list and producing the mailing labels and necessary statistics and reports for auditing and marketing purposes. Fulfillment is accomplished either through an outside supplier a fulfillment bureau (also called a fulfillment house or fulfillment service) or internally, with purchased or self-developed software packages, hardware and an in-house staff. Each in-house and outside system or bureau has its own capabilities and specialties.

Full-Cover Display is the most desirable position within a mainline display at retail, in which the entire cover of the magazine is visible.

Gatefold  is a type of fold used for a magazine cover or inside section. The gatefold is the same size as the page it covers, but allows the reader to open up the gatefold to view what is inside.  Also called a French door or barn door.

Group Subscriptions are the subscriptions sold in quantity to companies or organizations.

Gutter is the center, folded area of a magazine.

(HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE) An acronym for code that tells a Web browser how to display an electronic page or message (for example, code that makes a word on an electronic page or message appear in bold face). HTML-coded pages or messages incorporate color, special font treatments and a variety of graphics that may be static or moving. The text or graphics within the page or message can be made live (clickable) to link directly to a URL (Web page address).

Information line at the top of a page.

Hotlink is an active link called a “hyperlink” to an Internet site of media file without using that sites HTML code.

House Ads are advertisements placed in a magazine, promoting the benefits of advertising in the magazine.

Installment Billing refers to allowing a subscriber to pay in installments. Usually offered by magazines whose annual price tends to be perceived as high (weeklies, for instance) and frequently offered in direct mail agency subscription promotions. Payments are not spread over the life of the subscription, but are collected in full during the first three to four months. Not to be confused with paid during service.

Inventory provides a fulfillment report that is a computer print-out of all of a magazine's subscriptions, usually tabulated by expire issue, price, term or source, without individual names and addresses. Used for source analysis and budgeting. Not to be confused with inventories of promotional materials, which should be referred to as stock.

Issues refers to all copies of a magazine of the date given on the cover. This is not necessarily the on-sale date.

In the conventional publishing process the job (edit or advertising) will change many hands as it moves through the steps in the production process.  All the job requirements and details as well as what was accomplished at each step in the production process would be contained in a folder called a job jacket.

Web page someone is taken to when they click on a link (in an advert). Term often used in advertising for the selling page to which someone is taken once they click on a banner advert.

The name of a publication in a specific type face used on the cover and for the masthead.

Magazine is a periodical that is published frequently.

Map is another name for a Flat Plan. See Flat Plan.

The masthead is the lineup of editors that is usually published in a narrow column near the front of the magazine.  They are arranged in a hierarchy with the publisher usually listed first, then senior-level editors (deputy editor, executive editor, editor-in-chief, etc.), followed by assistant editors and interns.

Media refers to methods of communication used for information and entertainment, such as print, television, radio and the internet.

With few exceptions, circulation defined as net paid by the audit bureaus consists of subscriptions bought and paid for by the recipient.

Portable Document Format – a standard file format that allows web publishers to post documents viewable by any user who installs a copy of the free Acrobat Reader.

Pagination is the process of dividing into discrete pages, either printed pages of a magazine or electronic pages in the case of a digital magazine version.

In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee or monthly price is paid and issues are sent by mail to readers.

A person who agrees to a contract to purchase a magazine's issues that satisfies the established rules for paid circulation.

Plate is the part of the printing press that transfers the ink onto the paper.

Polly Bagging is a clear, sealed plastic bag that the magazine is placed into. This protects the magazine in the mail and allows other items, such as catalogs or CDs, to be included with the mailing.

The page where an advertiser would like his copy to appear (though is not guaranteed).

Page in a magazine for which a higher advertising rate is charged.

Processes involved in the manufacture of a magazine, from making of film through to printing and binding.

Each page and advertisement of a magazine must be reviewed for accuracy and errors.  This is the proofing process.  Proofing today is typically done online-vice looking at hard copy proofs from the printer.

Proposal is a term used to denote an advertising offer usually created by a Sales person to show a potential magazine advertiser.  The proposal will provide details on the size of the advertisement , frequency of publication and advertising pricing.

1. The person responsible for the profitability of a publication by setting the direction editorially and visually, determines target markets, manages staffing and production, and controls resource and budgets.  2. A publishing company.

Publishing schedule details what the frequency is that a magazine will be printed or published digitally.  Typically a magazine is monthly or quarterly.

Rate Cards are brochures showing costs, positions, mechanical data and deadlines for advertisers.

Renewal Series is a scheduled series of marketing efforts (such as direct mail, telemarketing, and email) made to renew a group of subscribers. Usually starts well before expiration date and generally continues a few months past expiration date.

Renewals are rates at which subscribers renew their subscriptions.

Rich Media refers to media such as digital video or audio files that can be embedded onto a digital magazine page.

Sales Rep or Sales Account Executive is a person that conducts inside or outside sales for magazine advertising.  Typically works on some type of commission arrangement on advertising dollars sold.

Sales Runsheet is a report that displays for a magazine Issue or by a date range each advertisement that ran in the issue or across the date range and provides for each  advertisement the advertisers name, ad size, dollar amount that ad was sold for.  The sales runsheet typically shows total ad pages and total dollars sold for the issue or date range.

Signature is a grouping of 16 pages. Most of our presses' paper comes from the mills in a size that allows all 16 pages to be printed on a large, single sheet of paper. Any more or less, paper is wasted and costs increase. This is why we ask that magazines be built in these 16 page increments.

Spread is the term for two facing pages in a magazine.

Subscription is an agreement where  a person has agreed to pay for a certain number of magazines issues.  The person called the “subscriber” will then receive the magazine issues by mail.

Tablet Edition is a digital edition that can be downloaded and displayed on a tablet reader. Such as an iPad.

Tear Sheets in advertising, a tear sheet is a page cut or torn from a publication to prove to the client that the advertisement was published.

Template in page design is a file with an associated style sheet and all standing and serial elements in place on a master or base page, used for publication following the same design.

Tip In is the process of inserting something into a magazine (such as a subscription card, booklet, CD, decal, etc.) by gluing, stapling or blowing-in (not attached).

Web reader, typically is a PDF Flip book version of a printed magazine available online for viewing.