Sturgeon's Law

I read the masthead. I want to know something about the editors. Yeah, I know I am supposed to go to the "What we're looking for" page, but I like reading the bio's for poets and editors. I also like to look at the submission guidelines. If the guidelines are up-tight, I usually opt out of submitting to them. I don't mind the whole precision thing, but uptight is a real downer.
 

I look at stuff they've published. If I like it, I consider a submission. If I don't, it's never worth the bother.
 

1) Online content - gotta know if it's a fit for my work.

2) Simulsubs?

3) Submission period (year round?)

4) Any formatting requirements?

5) How much to send? (3-5 poems?)

6) Masthead info.

7) Response time.
 

I read the masthead as well. I also google the editor(s) (at least the editor and the poetry editor) to see what sort of poetry or writing they have published.
 

Context and content, in that order. Are there themes, relationships between the poets and the poetry (not to mention between other contributions like essays, fiction, artwork)? Do I like the poetry? Is mine "similar," i.e., to be liked (I judge) by the editors?

I tend to prefer, though not explicitely submit to, journals (on- or offline) with an environmental slant, with a solid context, such as Isotope, The Sun, Orion, Terrain.org (disclaimer: that one I edit), etc.
 

I look at the table of contents first (assuming there is one). Very often I can decide just from that, though if I'm still undecided, I might skim through the poems, read random words and lines here and there. (Strong poems have strong words and strong lines.)

I rule out the majority of magazines after checking who they've published and (sometimes) skimming the poems.

If I like the poems enough that I want to take a chance, then I check the masthead, the submission guidelines, whether the magazine is published by a university English department or is outside of the university world, etc. (I tend to favor magazines published outside universities, because the poems are a little more likely to pass through the hands of the actual editor rather than dying in the cradle at the hands of a submission reading committee.)

None of the above is a hard and fast rule, but it's what I tend to do. Offhand, I'd say I rule out probably 70% of the magazines I look at just based on the table of contents.

When I (occasionally) come across a poetry magazine that really grabs me, that screams at me to submit poems, it's usually one I've found out about through poet friends who have tastes and leanings similar to mine in the kind of poetry we like.
 

Among several other things, I like to see if it has made Jeff Bahr's list, and if so, what number he gave it.

http://www.jefferybahr.com/
Publications/PubRankings.asp