Difference between revisions of "Start Your Own Magazine"
m (importing article from wikihow) |
m (Update ref tag) |
||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
#*Who is your target audience? This will help you focus on your possibilities. For example, if your topic is fashion, your demographic will have a huge impact on the style and substance of your magazine, as well as potential ad revenue. If your target market is teenage girls/boys, for example, you'll approach the writing, content, even the logo and color scheme much differently than you would if you were targeting men over 40, or gender-neutral 20-somethings. Determine the age, gender, income level, geographic location, and education level of your target audience. | #*Who is your target audience? This will help you focus on your possibilities. For example, if your topic is fashion, your demographic will have a huge impact on the style and substance of your magazine, as well as potential ad revenue. If your target market is teenage girls/boys, for example, you'll approach the writing, content, even the logo and color scheme much differently than you would if you were targeting men over 40, or gender-neutral 20-somethings. Determine the age, gender, income level, geographic location, and education level of your target audience. | ||
#*What caliber will your magazine be? As odd of a question as this may be, you will have to decide if you want your magazine to be an authority on a subject (like cooking or fashion) or if you want your magazine to be light, gossipy publication (think Ok! or Us.) | #*What caliber will your magazine be? As odd of a question as this may be, you will have to decide if you want your magazine to be an authority on a subject (like cooking or fashion) or if you want your magazine to be light, gossipy publication (think Ok! or Us.) | ||
| − | #Define your content. It will take time, effort, and money to get people interested in reading your magazine. Make sure you can keep them once they've started reading by reaching people who have a continuing need.<ref>http://www.strangehorizons.com/2001/20010101/start_a_magazine.shtml</ref> | + | #Define your content. It will take time, effort, and money to get people interested in reading your magazine. Make sure you can keep them once they've started reading by reaching people who have a continuing need.<ref name="rf1">http://www.strangehorizons.com/2001/20010101/start_a_magazine.shtml</ref> |
#*For example, consider buying a home. There are three groups of people who could be reached with a magazine: the buyer, the seller, and the real estate agent. However, of those three groups, only one has the potential of being a repeat customer, and that's the real estate agent. Unless you target investment buyers and sellers—which is really a completely different market—your best target audience for repeat business will be the real estate agent. | #*For example, consider buying a home. There are three groups of people who could be reached with a magazine: the buyer, the seller, and the real estate agent. However, of those three groups, only one has the potential of being a repeat customer, and that's the real estate agent. Unless you target investment buyers and sellers—which is really a completely different market—your best target audience for repeat business will be the real estate agent. | ||
| − | #Reach out to people who can help. To make any business venture a success, you need to interact with a broad range of people—people who will help make your magazine successful. Influential people in your market are very important to know and engage with.<ref>http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/02/21/172588471/how-to-start-a-magazine-and-make-a-profit</ref> | + | #Reach out to people who can help. To make any business venture a success, you need to interact with a broad range of people—people who will help make your magazine successful. Influential people in your market are very important to know and engage with.<ref name="rf2">http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/02/21/172588471/how-to-start-a-magazine-and-make-a-profit</ref> |
#*For example, if you're creating a magazine for rock climbers, you will want to meet the top climbers, content creators, and other stars in that firmament. It may be that they do nothing more than tell their friends, "Hey, there's a rad new mag coming out in a couple months", or they may say, "Hey, there's a rad new mag coming out in a couple months, and I'd love to do a spread on your trip to Smith Rocks." Either way, you're a winner. | #*For example, if you're creating a magazine for rock climbers, you will want to meet the top climbers, content creators, and other stars in that firmament. It may be that they do nothing more than tell their friends, "Hey, there's a rad new mag coming out in a couple months", or they may say, "Hey, there's a rad new mag coming out in a couple months, and I'd love to do a spread on your trip to Smith Rocks." Either way, you're a winner. | ||
#*Talk to people with experience starting and financing business ventures, and people in the printing industry. Talk to your banker, your attorney, printers, website creators--anybody who might have a wealth of knowledge and experience that touches your venture is good to know. | #*Talk to people with experience starting and financing business ventures, and people in the printing industry. Talk to your banker, your attorney, printers, website creators--anybody who might have a wealth of knowledge and experience that touches your venture is good to know. | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
=== Building Your Team === | === Building Your Team === | ||
| − | #Build a team. Once you've gone through the process of defining your magazine and what group of people it will serve, you will want to put together a small team of people who can create that vision. If you began this project with a partner, even better. You might be tempted to think, "I can do it all, myself." Don't fall into this trap. Ask people who are as passionate about your subject as you are to join you on this adventure.<ref>http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/160238</ref> | + | #Build a team. Once you've gone through the process of defining your magazine and what group of people it will serve, you will want to put together a small team of people who can create that vision. If you began this project with a partner, even better. You might be tempted to think, "I can do it all, myself." Don't fall into this trap. Ask people who are as passionate about your subject as you are to join you on this adventure.<ref name="rf3">http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/160238</ref> |
#*It takes a lot of time to write articles. It takes more time to photograph or source and edit images. It takes still more time to do the page layout, ad sales, manage the printing process, sales, distribution, and customer support. Each of those disciplines require their own levels of expertise. Unless you plan on publishing one copy every 6 months, it would be wise to build a staff at this point. | #*It takes a lot of time to write articles. It takes more time to photograph or source and edit images. It takes still more time to do the page layout, ad sales, manage the printing process, sales, distribution, and customer support. Each of those disciplines require their own levels of expertise. Unless you plan on publishing one copy every 6 months, it would be wise to build a staff at this point. | ||
#Hire a management team.This is most likely your primary role, though you will undoubtedly be participating in the other roles as well. You'll oversee everything, do the books, look for funding, find printers, and more. However, on top of the stuff you do, you will also want to pick up managers to head the different parts of the publication process. These include: | #Hire a management team.This is most likely your primary role, though you will undoubtedly be participating in the other roles as well. You'll oversee everything, do the books, look for funding, find printers, and more. However, on top of the stuff you do, you will also want to pick up managers to head the different parts of the publication process. These include: | ||
| Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
#*You should also see if you can find reviews for the publisher. If you find reviews like “All of the pages were diagonal and they still charged us!” run away as fast as you can. | #*You should also see if you can find reviews for the publisher. If you find reviews like “All of the pages were diagonal and they still charged us!” run away as fast as you can. | ||
=== Creating Your First Issue === | === Creating Your First Issue === | ||
| − | #Plan your first issue. Come up with stories you want to cover--be they written or photo stories. Decide how many photo-only sections of the magazine you want to have (if any.) Even if you don’t have the content yet, you can still map out each page. Do mock-ups of the layout--use "lorem ipsum" text to fill in the empty spots (latin text that many publications use as placeholders for articles before the actual article is finished,) drop in pictures from the internet as picture placeholders—anything that lets you visualize and plan your first issue.<ref | + | #Plan your first issue. Come up with stories you want to cover--be they written or photo stories. Decide how many photo-only sections of the magazine you want to have (if any.) Even if you don’t have the content yet, you can still map out each page. Do mock-ups of the layout--use "lorem ipsum" text to fill in the empty spots (latin text that many publications use as placeholders for articles before the actual article is finished,) drop in pictures from the internet as picture placeholders—anything that lets you visualize and plan your first issue.<ref name="rf3" /> |
#*Armed with your mock-up, your writers and designers will know what to create, your marketing and sales people will know what to sell, and your publishing people will be able to start pricing things out and getting bids. | #*Armed with your mock-up, your writers and designers will know what to create, your marketing and sales people will know what to sell, and your publishing people will be able to start pricing things out and getting bids. | ||
#Plan for future issues. While your staff is creating the content for the first issue, rough-plan the next 6 publications. It's easy to get started, but deadlines in the publishing industry come fast. If you're ''really'' prepared, you will have the second magazine ready to finish as soon as the first one is out the door. Always try to stay at least one month ahead of schedule. | #Plan for future issues. While your staff is creating the content for the first issue, rough-plan the next 6 publications. It's easy to get started, but deadlines in the publishing industry come fast. If you're ''really'' prepared, you will have the second magazine ready to finish as soon as the first one is out the door. Always try to stay at least one month ahead of schedule. | ||
#Create a catalog for articles and stories you can use in the future. Sometimes, you will have to cut stories because of space issues, content issues, relevance issues...the list goes on. That doesn’t mean those stories won’t be able to be used in the future. | #Create a catalog for articles and stories you can use in the future. Sometimes, you will have to cut stories because of space issues, content issues, relevance issues...the list goes on. That doesn’t mean those stories won’t be able to be used in the future. | ||
#*Maybe a freelance writer came across a story about a Christmas tree farm that inexplicably gets visited by a herd of wild reindeer every Christmas eve. But you are currently publishing your July issue. No worries--stick it in your ‘To Be Used’ article log and plan on running it in the December issue. | #*Maybe a freelance writer came across a story about a Christmas tree farm that inexplicably gets visited by a herd of wild reindeer every Christmas eve. But you are currently publishing your July issue. No worries--stick it in your ‘To Be Used’ article log and plan on running it in the December issue. | ||
| − | #[[Make-a-Website|Launch a website]]. As you're about to launch your magazine, put up a website. It doesn't have to be elaborate, at least not at first, but it will give people a place to see teasers to your publication and the content before they buy it. It'll also be a place where you can have an active community forum for feedback and commentary—invaluable if you want to grow into a successful publication.<ref | + | #[[Make-a-Website|Launch a website]]. As you're about to launch your magazine, put up a website. It doesn't have to be elaborate, at least not at first, but it will give people a place to see teasers to your publication and the content before they buy it. It'll also be a place where you can have an active community forum for feedback and commentary—invaluable if you want to grow into a successful publication.<ref name="rf1" /> |
#*Set your website up so that some of the articles are open to public browsers, but others require a subscription to your magazine to be viewed. | #*Set your website up so that some of the articles are open to public browsers, but others require a subscription to your magazine to be viewed. | ||
#Build your magazine. Now that you have your team in place, the design firmed up, and content creators ready to create, make your first issue. You'll inevitably have kinks to work out, but the only way to know that is to do it. It'll be a process you'll never forget, but at the end, you'll have a magazine! | #Build your magazine. Now that you have your team in place, the design firmed up, and content creators ready to create, make your first issue. You'll inevitably have kinks to work out, but the only way to know that is to do it. It'll be a process you'll never forget, but at the end, you'll have a magazine! | ||
