New business - advice please

[scotmum]

I am just starting out and am in the planning stages of creating a local women's lifestyle magazine that is funded by advertisments.

I do not (and cannot envisage having in the near future) have any employees and will do the writing and editing of all of the copy, designing the layout, sourcing printers, and selling the space.

So far I have planned the articles for the year, received printing quotes for the job, designed the layout, researched the market for the target audience, & researched my competitors. I do not have any selling experience and fear this will be my main failing.

Is there anyone with any experience in this field or anyone who could offer me some general business advice to make me aware of the pitfalls of a business such as this?

 

[Rightlanguage]

Hi Scotmum,
I'm new to this forum. This is my first post!
You mention that the magazine is to be funded by advertisements, I assume then that it is free-distribution? If that is the case, my advice is to really concentrate on how you are going to get advertisers into the mag.
Best Wishes

 

[scotmum]

Yes - the magazine will be free. I plan to print 5000 initially to a local area and then, if this is successful, I will branch out to other areas. I seem to only have 1 real competitor in my area which caters for a high-end reader with plenty of money, so am confident that while it is the same idea, the target audience is sufficiently different for advertisers to take out ads in my mag and the other one (well, here's hoping!)

The thing that is keeping me awake at night is how I am going to distribute this magazine! When I launch the first few editions I will be part time in my 'real' job (I am full time at the moment). This is to give me an income at the start. My worry is that I may not be devoting enough time into this venture at 2 days a week, but need to keep my job going 'just in case'. Is this stupid?

 

[Rightlanguage]

Hi again,
Might be worth looking then at who already advertises in the other magazine to give you an idea of the type of companies that might like to advertise with you.
Not sure about distribution since I don't know the size of the area where you live. What about local shops and businesses to start with?

I think many people start out their businesses in a sort of half and half way. Perhaps out of fear.... I think it is normal..

Good luck with it!

 

[The Dreaded Lurgy]

Hi, I dont mean to be critical but I noted you said you would be doing all the writing. This could bring the danger of people getting bored too quickly as the writing style, opinions and intrests expressed will always be the same - yours. most mags, papers and tv progs present a variety all with different personal slants that compliment each other, otherwise think of top gear with only Richard Hammond for a whole hour YAWN.

What you could do is contact local businesses in the area that work within the scope of your publication and get them to write an article with a little plug for themselves for free.

That way you get more material and if their plug brings trade you stanfd a good chance of selling them some ad space. Plus it would be good networking and help you biuld up contacts quickly.

 

[deniser]

hello and welcome

In my town there are many of these magazines - probably 7 or 8.

There is one that stands out from the rest and which I will pick up and read and that's because it contains features on local people's houses - with 4-5 pages of photographs and narrrative in the same style as Homes & Gardens devoted to each house - possibly funded by an estate agent trying to sell that house. It also contains a fantastic recipe section with the recipes provided by local chefs to plug their restaurants with glossy professional food photography. I love these 2 sections and they make it more like a magazine rather than something very obviously funded by adverts.

Good luck with it.

Be careful about relying on independent shops for advertising - I know all shops in my parade (chic lifestyle house type shops) have suspended their advertising for lack of response during the CC.

 

[CarCare Direct]

the nice part of Dreaded lurgy 's comment is that you can start to weave this into one value pitch
Introductory advertising rates plus FOC advertorial plus opportunity for additional content plus the opportunity to become an 2official " distributor. If you target the advertisors they will have a network of customers to whom they might distribute too particularly if they are a shop for example.
I'd also think about the local women orientaed organisations such as the WI.
Best of luck
Cool bananas

 

[scotmum]

Thanks for this - I had not thought of this. The last thing I want is a magazine that is propaganda for my views! The only reason I would be writing them is that I cannot afford to pay freelance writers yet. The advertorial slant is a good suggestion. I had orginally thought that I would offer an advertorial to local businesses if they took out an ad with me. However, on reflection, that is stupid - I should charge for the advertorial and they should write it! Thanks for this - it has been useful to bounce some ideas around about this to save me making some costly mistakes.

 

[scotmum]

Be careful about relying on independent shops for advertising - I know all shops in my parade (chic lifestyle house type shops) have suspended their advertising for lack of response during the CC.[/quote]


Oh No! That's really knocked me down - many of the businesses I would be relying on for ad revenue are just that!! Argh!! How do you go about drumming up ads from national companies? Think I'll need to adjust my business plan to accommodate the current economic climate

 

[Coppock]

Hi,

if its any help we provide a design service for a free monthly equestrian mag - so if you need any help with ad designs we can provide it for you at very low prices. We also have a copywriter who could proof-read all articles for you (again at very low prices) - www.vitatia.com

Enough of the plug -
What sort of articles are you going to be looking at putting in? Are there any key businesses/markets you are planning to get to advertise in there?

Distribution ideas would be best kept to "how can you reach your target audience" - which would help from your article list. For example - if you have a hair and beauty article - drop a few off at the local hairdressers, sun-tan centres etc. If its on weightloss provide them to your local slimming world representative etc.

if you can assure the advertisers that they're going to get decent exposure to their target markets and without spending the time on marketing themselves they are likely to do the sums. Although the CC may put a lot of businesses off marketing - my view is that the businesses who either receive enough work to ride the CC through without marketing, or the ones who frequenly review their marketing plans and current success (or lack of) and keep on top of marketing expenditure that are likely to "survive". This could make a good selling point of your mag to advertisers - if you're determined to do well you need to get the mag out to the target market so the advertisers see results. You can offer advertisers all the discounts in the world - if they don't see an increase of sales or interest/awareness they won't invest their money in you mag a second time.

If you stay strong, keep your target audience in mind, think up as many ideas for distribution points as possible (even in the local pubs ladies room - open at a fascinating article by the sink to capture someones interest!) . . . try to focus on the problems but only to come up with solutions rather than letting the problem win.

I hope this helps,
good luck!
Jen

 

[homeexec]

Just playing devils advocate here.

Your main worry is distribution...and you are worried because if it doesn't take off the advertisers will not see a return and stop advertising...without advertising you are making a magazine that no-one reads for free?

Sorry, that is just a useful exercise to see where the holes are. May I ask why it is free...yet you are already worried about distribution? Surely the easiest magazine to distribute...is a free one!? All local stores in your catchment area will gladly give something away for free. It's good for business.

The question I actually have, is why leave it free? Why not charge a small fee, like 99p to at least help fund your magazine while it becomes established. Private shops will be even more happy to promote something they make money from.

I would say charging a fee for advertising on a run of 5000 would not do you any favors. Offer the advertising service for free instead of the magazine. Get the hook in with the real income...the advertisers...then when you have a populated publication make the magazine free to all and start charging the advertisers. The boost in sales will see advertising interest flood in.

Best of luck!
_____________

 

[Mr.81]

This is very interesting to read...I for a while now have thought about releasing a basketball magazine (as I love basketball ) and this is all good information...let us know how it goes, scotmum.

 

[scotmum]

I had never considered this as a strategy - I will need to do some more market research to figure out whether people would pay for a magazine when my competitor is free.

 

[Nick Green]

I would say you need to have a think about some kind of insurance cover too.

Publishers face a huge array of risks. At the very least you should be looking at professional indemnity - this will help protect you and your business against claims relating to defamation, breach of rights and intellectual property (particularly copyright, trademarks, image rights etc), misuse of information as well as the costs involved in reprinting the magazine if you've made a mistake relating to info from one of your advertisers (a wrong phone number, for example).

A good broker should be able to help point you in the right direction. Let me know if you need any further help...

Cheers,
Nick

 

[scotmum]

Thanks for that - great advice that I had thought about but understand now how important this is.

 

[Hillyer]

"Thanks for this - I had not thought of this. The last thing I want is a magazine that is propaganda for my views! The only reason I would be writing them is that I cannot afford to pay freelance writers yet." -- scotmum

Hi scotmum,

I am new to marketing, yet I am here because I am always looking for ways to help unleash the potential in businesses.

One thing that has caught my attention is that with several magazines in my area, the owner/editor has let students write articles for the magazine, and whilst this releases a new writing style, it gives the student practice and confidence. As the students gain sufficient experience from it, it can help you keep costs low, and may be an ideal way for you to pick up possible employees/permanent writers in the future.

*By students, I mean students at college and university.

Sorry if this is irrelevant to you - but I gave it a shot! ;]

 

[Mr.81]

Does anyone know of any good printers/costs for printing a small magazine?

 

Previously i worked as a sales exec for a radio station selling advertising. It was a very interesting job and i learned a lot, i also came accross so many flyers, booklets, magazines etc.

In order to sell you space you need to research the costs of other advertising in your area. Make sure your price is competitive. You said that you have researched the market so i am sure you know who is going to read the magazine, how many copies will be distributed etc - they will ask. When selling to them you need to go on the angle of what they will get from it, taylor your spiel to them - research the company if you have to. I know its time consuming. Don't be too pushy and remember that they will have everyone and their dog comig in and selling them advertising.

It is a very difficult time at the moment to sell to businesses. A lot of companies are cutting back and although i personally believe its wrong - advertising budget is the first thing to go!

One further comment is i would target companies who already advertise - they obviously know the importance of marketing their company but can be difficult to get them to switch you to if what they do already works and their budget is tight.

Sorry for going on!

Remember though - sales is a numbers game and of course you will get so many no's before you get yes's. Keep your chin up and don't give in!

Good luck - i'd be interested to know how you get on xxx

 

[scotmum]

Could anyone tell me what they think of following places as good to distribute a free female lifestyle magazine:

Playgroups
Nurseries
Doctor's surgeries
Dentists
Hairdressers
Antenatal groups
Retail outlets
Supermarkets (how I do this I am unsure as yet)
Shopping centres
Restaurants/cafes
Libraries
After school clubs
Primary schools (I would stand outside different local schools handing out a free copy to mums outside the school)

The magazine targets mothers of children aged 0-11 in a locality. Can anyone think of anywhere else I should be distributing to? I have decided against mail dropping these magazines as I do not feel that is direct enough marketing and I want my advertisers to feel that I am targeting exactly the right people so they are willing to pay me for ad space.

 

[Hillyer]

Supermarkets (how I do this I am unsure as yet)

Often with supermarkets you will not be allowed to hand out magazines/flyers or anything. However, in some supermarkets you may be able to talk to any managers inside or often the store managers as they are sometimes about. As long as you have not got anything that they are selling and you are not bothering people they shouldn't have a problem with you standing at the entrance/exit handing out magazines.

They is a Waitrose in my village, and you often see people handing out magazines just outside the premises (but still within the hustle and bustle of the crowds). These individuals are rude and are just interested in getting rid of the crap they are handing out. I know that the local cubs/scouts have spoken to the store manager and they have been allowed to sell raffle tickets and hand out letters on the premises.

It's just about your etiquette .. and the area you are in I suppose. If you treat their customers right and you are not causing trouble then I don't see why they will have a problem with it.

Best of luck scotmum.

 

[Skidoodle]

Hi Scotmum - good luck in your new venture! have you thought about using sales people on commission only to sell the advertising space? just give them a cut of the advertising price?

 

[Kazzy]

I don't suppose there will be a short stories section in your magazine, will there? *looks hopeful*

 

[Mr.81]

Hi Scotmum - good luck in your new venture! have you thought about using sales people on commission only to sell the advertising space? just give them a cut of the advertising price?

I've been thinking of that idea for my business...but where would I find such people?

Thanks.

 

[Skidoodle]

I was told sales-agent dot com - or ask around

 

[thejoshm]

Hello,

We work with quite a few similar businesses and one of the guys who works for me has been in the short run (sub 100,000qty) magazine printing business for the best part of 20 years.

As already described there are many ways you can do it, I don't think the free magazine/paid advertising route is a bad one. A targeted 5,000 circulation would be reasonably attractive (targeted is the key word there though!)

You'll need to decide on the format (a4/a5) and the number of pages and you can then try to calculate a per page ad rate.

e.g if you had a 40 page mag which was 50/50 content/ads you've got 20 pages of ads. This isn't going to be exact but aiming to sell each page at £100 should easily cover your print/distribute costs. Remember that pages are split into 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and that an 1/8 sells for more than £12.50. You'll also need to allow for negotiating on the costs.

You've then got other things like leaflet inserts etc.

On distribution you could pay a door drop service something like £100 per 1000 to distribute to a certain area, this obviously adds up though if you do your entire distribution this way. You're probably best looking at doing a split between door drop and placement in public places such as you've mentioned.

The other option is postal delivery, although for a localised mag this probably isn't necessary, the main benefit would be that you can capture the readers information, address, age etc, which is attractive to advertisers.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of info, apologies if any of it is stating the obvious!

Ta,
Josh

 

[Mr.81]

I was told sales-agent dot com - or ask around

The domain doesn't work .

Hello,

We work with quite a few similar businesses and one of the guys who works for me has been in the short run (sub 100,000qty) magazine printing business for the best part of 20 years.

As already described there are many ways you can do it, I don't think the free magazine/paid advertising route is a bad one. A targeted 5,000 circulation would be reasonably attractive (targeted is the key word there though!)

You'll need to decide on the format (a4/a5) and the number of pages and you can then try to calculate a per page ad rate.

e.g if you had a 40 page mag which was 50/50 content/ads you've got 20 pages of ads. This isn't going to be exact but aiming to sell each page at £100 should easily cover your print/distribute costs. Remember that pages are split into 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and that an 1/8 sells for more than £12.50. You'll also need to allow for negotiating on the costs.

You've then got other things like leaflet inserts etc.

On distribution you could pay a door drop service something like £100 per 1000 to distribute to a certain area, this obviously adds up though if you do your entire distribution this way. You're probably best looking at doing a split between door drop and placement in public places such as you've mentioned.

The other option is postal delivery, although for a localised mag this probably isn't necessary, the main benefit would be that you can capture the readers information, address, age etc, which is attractive to advertisers.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of info, apologies if any of it is stating the obvious!

Ta,
Josh

I see you do printing; what prices do you generally charge for magazine production?

 

[thejoshm]

I see you do printing; what prices do you generally charge for magazine production?

How long's a piece of string!

Depends on run length, number of pages, paper quality, binding method and then we can also provide distribution services such as personalised address sheets, polywrapping with insertion ready for RM collection.

Pop us over a PM and I'll try to get a quote back to you on Monday

 

[scotmum]

This is where I am up to in terms of planning for print:

A5/6
32 pages
Full colour

I would like it to be perfect bound to make it look professional and I would preferably like it to have a higher quality paper on the front and back covers so that 'feel wise' it feels like a quality mag.

I have made a mock up of the mag and created ad space in the format in a visually appealing way. I had not planned to price up the pages as worth £100 each as this is not a competitive price. My closest competitor charges £695 for a half page ad in its A6 publication. If I turn up charging £50 for the same they will think my mag is low rent. My competitor does have a 20,000 strong distribution of its mag, whereas mine will be just 5,000. I had planned to charge £174 for a half page ad, which in effect is 1/4 of the price as I have 1/4 of my competitor's distribution. Is this mad?:|

 

[thejoshm]

If you think you can sell an entire mag at those prices then it's not mad at all, you obviously want to make as much as possible!

However I would have thought that you're going to need to discount quite a bit on the first few editions just to get people to give it a go.

 

[scotmum]

I was thinking of discounting for repeated ads. I would aim to lock businesses into 3 month's of advertising as a starting point. No point just putting one ad in once as this will not create a massive response:

3 insertions: 10% discount
4 insertions: 15% discount
6 insertions: 20% discount

I was also planning promoting loose leaflets at a cost (not sure yet). Would I need to stuff the magazine with those leaflets or would the (kind) printer do that for me?

 

[Mr.81]

I was thinking of discounting for repeated ads. I would aim to lock businesses into 3 month's of advertising as a starting point. No point just putting one ad in once as this will not create a massive response:

3 insertions: 10% discount
4 insertions: 15% discount
6 insertions: 20% discount

I was also planning promoting loose leaflets at a cost (not sure yet). Would I need to stuff the magazine with those leaflets or would the (kind) printer do that for me?

Can I just ask - have you approached any businesses yet/how are you going to approach them?

 

[aiminghigh]

We get a bi-monthly local magazine which is all funded by advertising but which is done through a franchise I think.

Its all local businesses plus the odd article plus crossword and sudoku!!!!

Its taken him a while to get it off the ground but is an invaluable reference for all local businesses now.
Ours is called the S........ directory - there are lots of these in other towns- maybe it would be easier to follow a tried and tested format than reinvent the wheel.

chris

 

[ipswich24]

Firstly are you seriously planning an A6 publication??????

Please check this... and I really do not think Anyone is selling A6 pages at several hundred pounds.!!!!

I'm firstly going to be a little blunt but honest.....looking at the gaping holes in the various comments I would suggest you do not give up your day job as you need to learn so much before you go any further!!!! Please please please do not fall into the trap that a magazine is a get rich quick project.



ok.... are you still here? Do you still want to do it?

You started your post by saying you'd sorted everything but didn't know anything about selling... then you proceeded to prove that you didn't know anything about distribution, paper sizes, costings etc.

I really am not trying to rain on your parade but to be brutally helpful.

If you do want to do this

(1) Get on a Business Link course.. they do some excellent courses on business and selling

(2) While your idea of keeping a job going is good.... please note that you need to devote more than a couple of days to this. (Two of us spend more than 40 hours a week working on our magazine).

(3) Get some money behind you first

(4) Distribution... your locations are good, if you want to know about supermarkets contact me and I can give you some contacts

(5) Just because you have one main competitor in a similar product does not mean they are your only competitor! What about local radio? Newspapers (local and regional press will undercut you as they are fighting to survive themselves and do not take to people coming in on their patch!) Also theres direct mail companies, bus advertising, yellow pages etc etc. (Clients only have so much to spend!!)

(6) DO NOT launch a paid for... even paid fors are slowly going free.... Paid press is loosing sales all the time and they still rely on advertising for revenue.

(7) Have a great website too

(8) Be totally devoted to this.... don't play at it, it's seriously hard work. If you cannot be contacted during the working day you will loose credibility, also while having a mobile number is ok also make sure you have a 9-5 landline number (it doesn't look dodgy then!).

(9) Have you got a background in graphic design??? If not your inexperience will show and reflect on the quality of your product. People advertising want their business to be represented professionally and if the quality of your product is poor they will not use you.

(10) Its all about REVENUE! Therefore the satisfaction of your customer is the most important thing.


I could go on as there's loads more but hopefully this will help... I've been doing this for 35 years and I'm still learning.

 

[scotmum]

Thanks for your brutal advice Ipswich24. I have seen your magazine on line and was very impressed.

What size would you recommend publishing?

I have decided to spend 18 months planning this venture and this is the time in which I need to test the water. Gaining advice and insight into this market on this forum is part of my 'thinking' and planning process. I then plan to phase out of my 9-5 job. I am totally committed to this project as a viable business and would not be playing at it. I need to generate an income for my family and am desperate to work for myself. I have looked at franchise opportunities but feel that I would be too restricted.

I do think that I have some plus points even at this early stage:
* I am part of the reader market that I want to target
* I live in the local area that I want to promote the magazine in
* I am creative and have had work published before.

I know that I have a long way to go and am grateful for all the good advice gained from you all as it is helping me formulate my business plan

 

[scotmum]

I have not approached businesses yet but would plan to send a sales letter first then arrange an appointment with the person with the purse strings. Any thoughts on this approach?

 

[ipswich24]

I really hope you succeed at this... but don't use words like desperate... get your mind set more in the way of "passionate to work for myself"

If you need any further information please feel free to contact me

A4 or A5 is best although we found most advertisers preferred our A4 format

 

[scotmum]

Yes I mean "passionate to work for myself" but after the day I've had (teaching first year all day followed by a 4 hour parents' evening) I am justified in saying "desperate"!

 

[phillip@ysatisfy]

Hi
Sounds like an interesting project.

If your not careful, you could end up spreading yourself very thinly in getting this magazine up and running. To help prevent this I would recommend the following:

1. Customer focus (your readership): Its worth taking time to understand who precisely the type of readers you are pitching at, their needs, and why they are valuable to you. This is really valuable information as it will help you focus your writting to hit the audience you most care about and also give you a better story to attract advertisers. e.g its better to present to an advertiser, that you have a readership of Xnumber of women age x-y who have an interest in interior design etc...

2 Client focus (your advertisers): once you know the types of readers you are planning to target, you will now need to map relevant advertisers to them. Look for the type of companies in your area, you know your target audience is likely to be interested in. Use this as a method to rank your potential advertisers in order of who you plan to talk to first. The advantage of this approach is that you create a magazine with advertising more relevant to your customers, so more appealing to read and you'll have a list of potential advertisers who you can target with a good sales pitch (I have this audience I know is interested in you).

Finally, when your up and running its worth devising a method to capture feedback from your readership and advertisers to better focus your business on delighting the customers you care about. This can be done informally by talking to your readers and advertisers, or more formally using customer satisfaction surveys.

If you want to learn more, search for my business ysatisfy on google (can't post urls yet I am affraid). On my site your find articles on how to measure satisfaction and how to build your business around your customers. Feel free to mail me from my site if you have any questions, happy to answer them free of charge.

cheers

Phillip hunt Ysatisfy customer satisfaction consultancy

 

[TheWayWeLive]

In my area there is a free womans magazine aimed at mothers. It is full of articles and adverts. Been running for at least 7 years now and I only discovered it once I became a mother. It is distributed where parents gather around the city. Most parent I know read it and is a good source of information. It reaches its market very well and being free means that many mothers read it. The nationals don't really hit the spot where this free local mag does what the mothers really want to know about which is local stuff for their growing family.

 

[scotmum]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have now drawn up a clearly focused advertiser prospect list. I have about 250 potential advertisers on the list, but my husband who is salesman says that I will need that many on the list to achieve 30 paying clients.

Would anyone advise writing a sales letter first and then calling to make an appointment?

I think I'll have to buy some flat shoes so that I can pound the streets getting business!