Be a part of our team...

We would be honored to have you join our team and become a more integral part of the Smith Lake community by advertising in our magazine and through our extensive social media and other digital avenues.  We want to be a part of your supportive marketing plan.  We're also partnering with local media company to help you build your brand better locally.

​Why us?  Check out the YELLOW box below.  We are here to serve.  We seek to place participating local businesses in front of the lake community.  We don't stop at a printed AD, we continue to advertise businesses by utilizing our reach on several social media platforms and other digital methods.  We're always open to ideas to fit your plan.  Go ahead and start with a FREE listing today - just fill out the green form below.  If you already know you want to upgrade your listing type - purchase on our SHOP page.

Frequent Questions - see the bottom of this page.

Check us out:
​Website:  thelakesidelife.com
Facebook:  @thelakesidelife, the "Smith Lake Community" Group, and "Smith Lake Small Businesses" Group
Instagram: @thelakesidelife_smithlake or @smithlakebiz
...and other social media platforms like Pinterest and Houzz where we are beginning to branch out more.  

?? Why us ??

• We're locals - We are a small family living right in the middle of the lake area on Rock Creek.  We have been on Smith Lake for over 25 years.  Our company is family-owned & operated from the heart of Smith Lake.  This means that a large percent of your AD dollars is not going to pay a magazine franchise headquartered out of state (that's right, franchises cause your AD costs to be exorbitant), but instead your money actually stays right in the community.
• Competitive - We pride ourselves on being very competitive with other advertising avenues in the area.  No other entity has pricing and a luxury product comparable to ours - ZERO.
• Affordable - We are the most affordable advertising option in the area while still offering the very highest level product and services - comparable to none.
• Options - We offer many other print and digital packages outside of our regular Media Kit, and we pride ourselves on working with every budget in any way we can to make sure any business can afford to be a part of our team in some way.  We recommend starting with a FREE or affordable linked listing on the website, or an AD on our large Facebook group header:  Smith Lake Community, plus many more options - just ask or fill out the form in green below to discuss your needs.​
• The most ​comprehensive website - We are the most comprehensive website for the Lewis Smith Lake Alabama area with over 1.4 million hits on a single page of the site:  thelakesidelife.com
• ​​Wide reach - We have a wide reach on social media with active accounts, and a fast growing Facebook group, Smith Lake Community, where certain print advertiser levels are allowed to post or we can post for them.
• ​Social Media - We execute complimentary social media posts and reposts for our yearly contract print advertising businesses as part of their yearly committed package, and in order to benefit from this feature, our customers need only TAG us (this means to use the "@" mention tag option) on Facebook or Instagram (in the caption, comments, tagged on photos), or PM/DM/send us posts that need to be reposted or highlighted.

• Marketing - Need additional help building your brand and marketing it?  Need a logo, business cards, flyers, ADs, etc.?  Our Team can help you with everything you need.  From all the above to additional help setting up your social media accounts and a simply website, to maintaining them for you.  We highly recommend local company and team member Smirks Media for a strong in-depth marketing plan offering everything you need to build your brand.  
• Unique - We seek to remain unique in our approach.  We  are not a cookie-cutter franchised publication built primarily out of state.  We work hard to find interesting subject matter and present it beautifully in a luxury coffee-table-worthy print magazine, more like a book with a heavy feel and a true binding.  The magazine is not a typical thin discardable resort area style booklet, but a true luxury magazine with engaging articles.  We purposefully choose to work with highest level creatives, writers, photographers and graphic designers; as well as with elite printers who offer premium paper and ink options.  We strive to be enjoyable to our public and produce a magazine that is proudly displayed in stores and homes.  Input from readers and advertisers is very valuable in this process, and their contribution is desired and considered at all times.  
• Distribution - Unlike many local publications that distribute only to one city/county area, we distribute our publication not only in the tri-county area around Smith Lake, but also into Alabama areas of Birmingham, Huntsville, and Decatur, as well as Nashville, TN.  Our magazine is NOT bulk-mailed to areas you are not targeting as your market and to people who might actually have no interest in your products and services.  We have a specific target market - the lake community of visitors (from many states), inhabitants and businesses.
• Subscription base - our readership is large, reaching into over 36 states and growing.  No need to send out magazines to random purchased addresses in bulk for attention - littering mailboxes then trash cans.  We are proud to have buying customers who are willing to pay the cost for direct mail of our heavy and content-rich product to their primary and vacation homes to keep and place on their coffee tables long term.  We have many readers who keep a library of every magazine we've ever produced!  And, our digital online magazines are enjoyed by readers anytime 24/7 from all over the world. 

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Media Kit

Call/text us directly any time at 205-470-8250 or 256-708-7679 to obtain a Media Kit, discuss an affordable package, or schedule a meeting with us, and you may also email us at thelakesidelife@gmail.com, or fill out the form above.

NOTE:  Any time that our print AD list is full for a given quarter, we highly recommend that you be placed on our WAITING LIST for notification of open slots in a subsequent quarter.  The waiting list is on a first-come/first-served basis so that we can meet demand fairly.  Also, those who are on the waiting list are still eligible for other benefits and can participate in other marketing options with us.  Feel free to contact us at any time regarding the waiting list.  

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Print AD Sizing Specifications

At this time we only offer the following print AD sizes:  (feel free to clarify depending on if your AD is print or digital, etc.).

New AD sizes:
Quarter Page - 3.875" W x 4.75" H
Half Page - 8 W" x 4.75" H
Full Page - 8" W x 9.75" H

Old or WEB Floating AD sizes:
Quarter Page - 4.125" W x 5.0" H
Half Page - 8.5 W" x 5.125" H
Full Page - 8.5" W x 10.375" H

NOTES:

• Art work may be delivered in PDF, EPS, or AI files
• Packaged AI files must have all links and fonts outlined.
• The Lakeside Life is not responsible for typos and errors in supplied art.
• Files must be CMYK
• Files must not exceed 10 MB
• ​The Lakeside Life is not responsible for color correcting on ads delivered as RGB files.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

Where do I get a media kit?  
EMAIL or CALL, or fill out the GREEN form on this page.  Set up a phone or in-person meeting with us anytime.  Request back issues when you need them.

How do I get my business reposted on your social media?
If you are an advertiser with us, all reposts are FREE.  And, we also repost for most businesses about once monthly, even if they are not an advertiser.  All they have to do is utilize the "@" mention feature to notify us what to post - we do wish we could be mind-readers and have psychic knowledge to "guess" what you need posted, but alas we don't - so just tell us.  SO EASY & takes seconds to simply "@" tag.  If we miss something - send us the post directly.  Why pay another entity to do this for you when we do it for free? 

Also, our print advertisers have the perk of being able to post business posts (within reasonable quantity and frequency) on our large Facebook group "Smith Lake Community," and they can post as often as they like on the Facebook group "Smith Lake Small Businesses."  Both are great for helping to keep the business community aligned with the those they wish to serve in the area.

Will you do an article on us if we are not an advertiser?
We reserve the right to complete articles on our advertisers first and foremost, but as space becomes available, you may purchase space for an article if you are not an annual advertiser.  This is on a first come first-served basis, so get in touch with us to get on the list which is full up to a year in advance.  If we cannot fit you in for your preferred timeframe, then we can do a blog that provides you with a link to use as often as you like much more quickly.  Just contact us.

How do I submit an article or pictures for the magazine?  
Simply EMAIL us to start the easy process.  If you have an idea for an article, even if it is not business-related or only slightly business related, we're happy to help (i.e. your wife is an artist, daughter is a star student or athlete with something interesting to share, son has a new business, neighbor used your company to buy flooring for their new home you think we should feature, etc.).  

Can you help new small business, nonprofits, etc.?  
Absolutely, and we do it often.  The are special plans for these entities and we enjoy working with artists, start-ups, pop-ups, and non-profits often helping these entities free of charge to incubate them as they get a footing in the community.  Our only request is mutual support and for the entity to pay-it-back in the community.