A classified magazine is a magazine that publishes small ads and announcements, known as

classifieds Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements use ...

, for free or at relatively low cost. Typically these include items for sale and wanted, and services offered; they may also include

personal ad A personal advertisement, sometimes called a contact ad, is a form of classified advertising in which a person seeks to find another person for friendship, romance, marriage, or sexual activity. In British English, it is commonly known as an adve ...

s. Some classified magazines specialise in particular areas, for example the sale of

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

. Their frequency is typically monthly or weekly.

Advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

are sometimes accompanied by small pictures of items for sale, or in the case of personal advertisements pictures of the advertisers, but mostly the content is textual. There may be a small amount of

display advertising Digital display advertising is online graphic advertising through banners, text, images, video, and audio. The main purpose of digital display advertising is to post company ads on third-party websites. A display ad is usually interactive (i.e. ...

and/or

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

. Such magazines may be national or local; distribution is via kiosks, newsstands, or dump bins, and less often via free home delivery or paid-for subscription through the mail. Many also publish their advertisements on the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

. The business models of their publishers vary. Some issue the magazine for free, while chargin
advertisers
in some, advertisements are free but readers pay for their copies; in some, only advertisements offering goods under a certain value are free, and others are charged for; and some publishers charge both the advertiser and the reader. The decision as to which business model to pursue rests largely on the perceived value of the advertisements to the readers, and the perceived value to the advertisers of receiving responses to their ads. In the case of personal advertisements, particularly, the publisher may also generate further income from the provision of a

voicemail A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to ind ...

service, which allows people responding to an advertisement to call a

premium rate Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers that charge callers higher price rates for select services, including information and entertainment. A portion of the call fees is paid to the service provider, allowing premium calls to be an ...

telephone number and leave a message for the advertiser, but does not reveal the advertiser's identity. Although termed magazines, many classified magazines are in fact printed on newsprint.

Contact magazines

A contact magazine is a type of classified magazine that is largely or wholly dedicated to

s. As well as publishing the personal ads, the publishers of contact magazines often run an anonymous

mail forwarding Post offices and other mail service providers typically offer a mail forwarding service, commonly known as hybrid mail or virtual post office box services, to redirect mail addressed to one location to another address – usually for a given pe ...

service that allows advertisers to identify themselves only with box numbers. Most contact magazines used to be swinger or sex-contact magazines aimed at a readership of people looking for or offering

casual sex Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night ...

. With the advent of swinger social network and other adult swinger websites, these magazines are now an anachronism. Specialized magazines also existed for those with specific sexual preferences, such as those seeking

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in ...

encounters, or the services of professional dominants or

submissive Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

References

External links

* J Ellard, J Richters and C Newman
Non-gay sexual subcultures: A content analysis of Sydney sex contact publications
National Centre in HIV Social Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales (2004) (pdf format), available vi

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