At least 69% of Americans are still reading, which means that a print or digital magazine will have a significant number of readers.
While print media has remained a popular format, more people are embracing digital platforms. People find magazines intriguing, which makes this venture quite lucrative.
If you want to start a magazine, go for it. Magazines are still thriving as readers find them visually appealing and unique. Besides, magazines can delve deeper into a specific topic.
Keep reading to know how to start a magazine and why you need to start one.
Market Research
When you decide to start a magazine, market research is indispensable.
Knowing your target market will guide you on what you offer. Without adequate market research, your magazine might never penetrate the market.
Whichever niche you’re considering, the chances are there’s an existing magazine focusing on the same theme. It would help to examine the distribution of similar magazines. Know the type of content and the charges.
Understanding your competitor’s product will enable you to position your magazine uniquely.
While you don’t want to limit yourself based on the competitors, your prices should be within the range you’ve identified. The differentiation strategy should be mostly on the content and the magazine’s design.
Develop a Business Plan
A business plan is a road map that will guide you every step into the venture.
Your business plan ought to explain all the details of your magazine. You should outline the content you wish to work on, the number of pages, cost, audience, frequency of distribution, and advertising.
When creating a business plan, several questions should guide you. They include:
- Which topics do you intend to cover?
- What is the focus or concept of your magazine?
- Who is your primary audience?
- How will you fund the first issue?
Research More on Funding Options
When you start a magazine, you need to have different funding options in line.
Don’t assume that advertisers will be your primary source of funds. In fact, you might not get an advertisement contract until your third or fourth issue.
You need to pay commercial printers, writers, editors, and the entire team behind a magazine’s publication. As such, having a source of the fund as early as your first issue isn’t debatable.
If you don’t have enough savings, you can look for investors to help, especially in the production of the first issue.
Your magazine should also promote your business. Use it to inform and direct readers to your product. The more sales you make, the more cash you’ll have to release more issues.
Build Your Team
When it comes to creating a magazine, you can’t be a jack-of-all-trades.
A magazine requires significant input that one might fail to accomplish alone. Building a team helps you divide the workload for faster and better delivery of results.
You need to hire competent writers so that you can produce great content. Don’t limit yourself to in-house authors; you can hire freelancers to work on a contractual basis.
You’ll also have to hire an editor to ensure that you release quality content consistently.
For your magazine to reach the right audience, advertising is imperative.
A marketing manager with the right set of skills and experience will give your product the limelight it requires. A sales manager will also be a necessity if you need high and sustainable profits.
Whether you are launching an online or print magazine, you’ll need a team.
Writing, editing, marketing, and selling your copies can be a daunting task. If your budget can’t accommodate many permanent workers, outsource as necessary.
Produce Your Content
Content creation is the icing of the whole process.
Whether you’re writing fiction, non-fiction, reviews, journalistic articles, or short stories, mastery of the topic is essential. You’re writing from scratch, and the content can determine if a reader will engage further.
Editing is a valuable step that will highlight the mistakes in a written text. Constant editing improves your writing prowess. Proofreading an article after it has been written ensures accuracy and quality.
About 65% of American adults are visual learners.
When including images in your magazine, your audience should be the primary guide. Ensure that your choice of images communicates the message you intend to convey.
Develop a Soft Copy of the Magazine
Once you’re done creating the content for your magazine, it’s time to develop a softcopy.
Transferring your magazine into a digital copy allows you to use various computer programs to customize the content. Computer programs such as Adobe InDesign or PageMaker offer multiple options, which you can use to design your magazine in a way that suits your preferences.
Magazines are designed to elicit interest. As such, you may need to include graphical elements to complement the texts on the subsequent pages.
Using pictorial techniques is a critical tool for attracting the attention of potential readers. Factoring in graphics and photos that complement your content is a sure way of selling your magazine.
Now that you have the design for your magazine in place, you need to develop a cover page.
The cover page is the first thing your readers will see. You may need to ensure that the choice of your cover photo and design compliments the theme of the magazine.
Market and Sell Your Copies
Your niche should determine how you market your magazine.
If you decide to start a magazine about food, start with the local restaurants and proceed to digital places that resonate with your content. Have a subscription option where your audience can get issues as soon as you release them.
You need to print high-quality copies. Depending on the number of subscribers, you can use private shipping or USPS to distribute the magazines. Giving free copies to professional offices expands your audience.
You Can Start a Magazine as Part of Boosting Your Business
If you decide to start a magazine, you need to follow some steps to see it succeed.
Just like any business, you could do with a plan. Your content and overall design should be impressive enough for your magazine to go beyond the first issue.
Please explore our site further for more business-related content.
Leave a Reply