Have you often dreamed of creating your own magazine? You may want to create a magazine about your favorite activity (skateboarding? shopping? following celebrity events?) or you may want to inform the public about an issue you are interested in. Whatever the reason, this article will help you navigate the process of creating and managing a magazine successfully.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Establishing a Publisher
Step 1. Think of a concept for your magazine
Before you start building your publishing empire, you need to create something. If you haven't already, sit down with a friend you trust and start throwing ideas at each other and see what comes up. Ask questions like::
- What topics will be covered in your magazine? Focus on the things you enjoy and know well, such as sports, fashion, computers, or social networks. Creating a magazine based on your interests will be more interesting, relevant, and useful to readers than topics that have nothing to do with you.
- Who is the target reader? This determination will help you focus on the possibilities. For example, if your magazine's topic is fashion, then your demographics will have a big impact on the style and substance of the magazine as well as potential advertising revenue. If your target market is teenage girls/boys, then the approach to writing, magazine content, even logos and color schemes will be much different from if you are targeting readers over 40 years old, or general readers in their 20s. Determine the age, gender, income level, geographic location and educational level of your target audience.
- What kind of quality do you want your magazine to achieve? This may be an unusual question, but you will have to decide whether your magazine will specialize in a particular theme (such as culinary or fashion) or have a light and relaxed concept (consider magazines like Ok! or Us).
Step 2. Determine the content of the magazine
So that people are interested in reading your magazine, it takes time, effort, and a lot of money. Make sure you get the hang of it when they start reading your magazine by attracting the attention of people who have a persistent need.
For example, imagine a house purchase. There are three groups of people a magazine can reach: buyers, sellers, and real estate agents. However, of the three groups, only one has the potential to become a regular customer, namely a real estate agent. Unless you are targeting investment buyers and sellers, which are very different markets, then the most appropriate target audience for doing business on an ongoing basis is real estate agents
Step 3. Approach people who can help you
For this business to be successful, you need to interact with people from all walks of life, people who will help make your magazine run well. Influential people in your market are very important to identify and engage with.
- For example, if you create a magazine for rock climbers, then you will meet climbers, magazine article writers, and people who are competent in that field. Maybe they do nothing but tell their friends something like “Hey, there's a really good new magazine coming out in a few months”. Maybe they'll say, "Hey, there's a really good new magazine coming out in a few months and I'm going to tell the others on your trip to Smith Rocks." So, in other words, you are already a winner.
- Talk to people who have experience starting and funding businesses as well as people in the printing industry. Talk to bankers, lawyers, printing entrepreneurs, website builders, just about anyone with extensive knowledge and experience that touches your business is something useful.
Step 4. Get to know your competitors
Do your homework and look for other magazines that are already in the field you want to promote. What made these magazines successful? What do you think could make your magazine better than theirs? Find something in your concept that can make your magazine stand out.
Step 5. Create a business plan
A business plan will help you determine what to do and help plan for the future. You have to determine accurate revenue, understand the competition, and structure needs so you'll always know what you're doing, even when you're not.
- You will also need a business plan when approaching the people who fund your business. They will invest in your business when they see you invest time and effort into this business.
- Consult a consultant or business planner who can help you create a solid, cost-effective plan. This method costs money, but will save you money in the long run.
Part 2 of 4: Team Building
Step 1. Team building
When you have done the process of determining the concept of the magazine and who is the target audience, you will form a small team that can realize that vision. It's even better if you start this project with a partner. You may be tempted to think, “I can do everything myself.” Don't fall into this trap. Invite people who have the same interests as you to join this effort.
Writing articles for magazines takes a lot of time. It also takes more time to take pictures, find image sources, and edit images. It still takes a lot of time to create page layouts, sell ads, manage printing, sales, distribution, and customer service. Each of these aspects requires a different level of expertise. It's a very wise move to hire staff in this situation, unless you plan to publish only one magazine every six months
Step 2. Hire a management team
This step is probably your main task, although no doubt, you will participate in other tasks as well. You will oversee everything, do the bookkeeping, raise funds, look for printing, and so on. Most importantly, however, you will also be hiring several managers to lead parts of the publishing process. This includes:
- Publishing manager. There must be someone in charge of finding a printing press, seeking information on paper prices, conducting surprise checks, and being a spokesperson for various important issues related to publishing.
- Sales manager. All ads must come from anywhere, because that's where the various revenues will come from. Especially in the early days, when you will often introduce magazines. Having staff manage the daily revenue stream will make a huge difference to the company's net profit.
- Marketing Manager. If you make a magazine, readers won't come unless they know about it. A marketing manager will inform the public, place your magazine in magazine stands, bookstores, magazine agents, and so on. The marketing manager will also know what competition is going on such as what promotional materials other magazines have, what promotions are running, and how they did it to be successful, and then your manager will do even better.
Step 3. Hire magazine content writers and layout experts
At first, you might consider hiring freelance writers, editors, and photographers. Freelancers will save costs because they are not full time staff but (mostly) can still produce high quality work. In terms of graphic design, you might consider collaborating with a design consulting firm that has experience working with magazines that are just starting out.
- Writing and editing. All good and smart words, articles, even page numbers, and table of contents should be written and edited. Emphasize the editing aspect.
- Graphic designer. What does the magazine look like? Again, different markets require different design approaches and thus people will respond to them. Consider the differences between for example Wired magazine and The New Yorker. Wired makes its mark with bright, sharp colors, modern page layouts, and bold use of white space (parts of a page that are left blank). Now take a look at The New Yorker which has quirky pastel images, witty cartoons, and insightful articles. Everything is packed with traditional fonts and page layouts.
Step 4. Find a printer
You will need a printer after creating the first edition (see Part Three). Before deciding to work with a printer who will be responsible for printing the first issue of the magazine, you should look for several printers. Find out how much it costs for a magazine like yours, what experience they have with magazine printing, and so on.
You should also know if the printer provides an assessment of your magazine. If there is an assessment such as “All pages are diagonal and are charged!” then it's better to run away
Part 3 of 4: Creating the First Edition
Step 1. Plan the first issue of the magazine
Create stories that you want to bring up, it could be a written article or a collection of photos. Determine how many pages of the magazine contain only photographs (if any). Even if you don't have the contents of the magazine yet, you can still plan each page. Make an example of a magazine layout. Use lorem ipsum text (Latin text that many publishing companies use as filler text before the actual article is finished) to fill in the blanks, insert pictures from the internet as filler in magazines, basically, whatever you can. visualized and created for the planning of the first issue of the magazine.
Armed with sample magazine layouts, writers, and designers, you'll know what to make, marketing and sales people will know what to sell, and publishing staff will be able to set prices and make offers
Step 2. Plan future editions
While your staff is creating the content for the first issue, plan an outline for the next 6 months. Getting started is easy, but deadlines in the publishing industry are fast. If you're really ready, then the second issue of your magazine will be finished as soon as the first issue comes out. Always try to stay at least one month ahead of schedule.
Step 3. Create a catalog of articles and stories that you can use for future editions
Sometimes, you have to trim the story because of issues related to page, content, relevance, and so on. However, that doesn't mean they can't be used for future editions.
Maybe a freelance writer makes up a story about a spruce plantation that is unexpectedly visited by a herd of wild reindeer every Christmas Eve. However, you are currently publishing the July issue. Don't worry, put the story in your “to use” article notes and plan to publish it in the December issue
Step 4. Launch a website
When you're just launching a magazine, create a site. The site doesn't have to be detailed, at least not in the first issue, but it will be a place for people to preview the magazine before they buy it. The site is also a place where you can have an active community forum to get valuable reader feedback and feedback if you want your magazine to be successful.
Create a site where some articles can be opened in a common browser, but other articles require a magazine subscription to be opened
Step 5. Develop your magazine
Now you have the right team, clear design and content writers ready to work. Make the first edition. You're bound to have unique ideas to come up with, but the only way to find out is to do it. This will be a process you will never forget, but in the end you will have your own magazine!
Part 4 of 4: After Launching the Magazine
Step 1. Pay attention to feedback (and be open to constructive criticism)
The first issue of your magazine will be a great learning experience and a tough one. However, that was only the beginning. When people start reading it and advertisers see the ad in print, you're sure to get feedback. Pay attention to that.
- Do they like the content but not the layout? Find out why they don't like it. That layout may be perfect for a different demographic, but not for your magazine. Before changing anything, analyze the advantages and disadvantages.
- Are your magazines properly priced? People often complain about the price of the things they buy, but the key here is “did they buy it?” If you get a lot of feedback that says, “The magazine is great, but it's too expensive, so I don't buy it”, you may have to adjust the magazine's price accordingly. This may just adjust your expectations or it may mean selling more advertising than raising the price of the magazine.
Step 2. Pay attention to the things you have done right
If the promotion is successful, keep it. If a magazine column gets rave reviews, do it again in that style. How about a light ad that contains a witty commentary about something? Do readers like it? Highlight it! The key is to pay attention and respond, whether it fails or succeeds.
Step 3. Continue to make good changes
Always pay attention to what works and what doesn't. Your market will change, times will change, and whatever your topic is, it will depend on the good times and the bad times. Try to make progress from this business by knowing your chosen field well and you will do well. Good luck!
Tips
- Be prepared and be proactive. Taking into account possible obstacles in advance will help you should they occur. You will be able to face everything with a plan and not be reactionary.
- Be realistic, but don't be pessimistic. After all, setting up a magazine is a simple mix of business strategy and creativity. If done correctly, you will earn money. If done wrong, you will gain a lot of experience.
- Understand that "surviving" doesn't mean magazines can make money to buy fancy cars and houses. “To endure” means to really “endure”. Of the hundreds of magazines published, only one magazine actually survived within two years. Making a lot of money is another. However, the good news is, some of the newly launched magazines can make a lot of money, so you still have a chance to put in the effort.
