While the individual would never be able to take on the professionals in the glossy magazine market unless having substantial funding available and access to editorial staff and printing facilities, there is the possibility to start a magazine with minimal outlay. This article gives information about the planning procedures which are needed to start your own magazine. It is easier than most imagine and is achieveable.
*Choosing your theme and target readership.
*Profit or non profit making magazines.
*ISSN and other registration.
*Planning your initial lay-out.
*Seeking printing quotations.
*Estimating costs of production.
*Seeking sponsorship to keep the magazine viable.
Theme and target readership.
Before spending money or investment in the idea of a magazine, the purpose of the magazine should be established. If you have found a niche where you think you have an original idea for a magazine of interest to a certain sector, establishing its viability is essential. Perhaps a community magazine would be a great start, or one based on specialist interests. Once you have decided the type of magazine you want to produce and the target area of customers, you have begun the process of setting up the magazine itself. There are so many possibilities, and reaching as wide an audience as possible really does help the success of the project.
Profit versus Non Profit.
Decide whether the magazine will be a profit making venture or is one for non profit. This will matter since costs will determine the viability of the project. Often with a profit making publication, the price of production can be covered by the prices attached to advertising within the magazine. For a non profit making magazine, the magazine would have to show in its records that there was no gain, and that the outgoings equaled income.
Registrations.
Local registration may be involved depending upon where you live, though your magazine can be registered with an ISSN number which will be displayed on the back cover of the magazine itself when it appears on the shop shelves, and it is this which will have a bar code attached to it. These can be applied for at this website. Www.issn.org. The registration process is quite simple and the full concept of registration explained clearly.
Planning your initial layout.
Planning is the fun part. The initial launch will need to be tempting to readers. Contacting different possible sponsors at this stage may be difficult, since people are loathe to advertise in a magazine without seeing the format the magazine will take. The front cover, format, index of contents, and regular features all form part of that first print run, which can be done on a PC these days. This is just for demonstrating to possible sponsors and advertisers the manner in which your magazine will be laid out. Many programs for the computer provide a wonderful array of photographs and illustrations which are copyright free which can be used for your first demonstration layout.
The trade-name of the magazine needs to be set out in a manner which is memorable on the front page and this should be illustrated and can feature some of this month's special items. The back cover should also be seriously considered, as the cover of any magazine is what will attract readers. An index at the beginning of the magazine helps readers to find pages that will interest them, and sections for regular contributions can be explored, and layouts played with until coming up with a satisfactory format.
Page labeling and numbers helps people locate the different sections, and blocks should be permitted for the inclusion of large advertisements, and a couple of pages for private advertisements as these all help to make the magazine viable. Add a private advertisement example, and an example of a business advert in different formats, so this can be used to show potential advertisers.
Printing quotations.
It is wise to shop around, and to take your dummy magazine to different printers to see what kind of deal they can give you for quantity prints of your magazine. They have the equipment to produce quality work, although do ask for samples and keen to get your contract, they may even offer you a preview service on your dummy magazine, just to show the quality of print. If they do, jump at it, as this will give you a good idea.
When talking to a print company, ask how they can fit to deadlines, as if your magazine is to hit the shelves in the shops at regular intervals, people won't want to be kept waiting. Ask for discounts, and liaise with printing companies to establish which is the easiest for you to work with and the most viable in terms of price structure and chosen materials for the publication. Talk over paper weights and presentation.
Estimating costs of production.
Having already gained quotes from a printing company, calculate what it costs to produce your magazine, and what you will need to gain from advertisers in order to cover your costs or to exceed them. Here, this will help you decide the pricing structure not only of the magazine but of the different sizes of advertisements offered.
Costs of production should also include the costs of phone calls and all of those expenses that will be incurred on a regular basis in order to keep the magazine in business.
Seeking sponsorship.
Here, doing your homework pays dividends. Talk to shops. Ask if they would be prepared to market your magazine. Show them copies of your magazine in print, even though this copy may only show spaces for adverts. The dummy adverts that you put into the first copy will give them an idea about space, and by now, you will have decided what costs to associate with which size of advertisement.
Marketing your magazine.
Once you have found sufficient advertisers and have the feedback from people who have seen that magazine layout, you can perfect your launch edition and work out where this is going to sell. Add to your market by advertising on-line as well as talking to local stores, or places who would be interested in a magazine which covers the interests you have chosen.
Work out numbers and start small. It is better to have small numbers so that you can gain reaction before the next edition is published. Reaction helps you grow and to establish exactly what readers are looking for.
Staff and improvements and expansion to your magazine ideas.
It is easy to see that successful magazines have staff who all do their own jobs, and who are paid to produce illustration, editorial and to work with you on the magazine. However, in the initial stages, this needs to be limited as costs will escalate out of proportion if you take on too many staff. Try and get volunteers at first to work with you in creating the magazine, and it is surprising how many people will volunteer since many will have had similar ideas but not the get up and go to make those dreams into reality.
As the magazine grows and profits become good, then you can think of hiring writers or photographers, though in the initial stages there is a very viable way of getting input which costs little and which involves your readers in the growth of the magazine. Printing readers letters, magazine style articles and encouraging them to competition all help with the popularity of a magazine, and you can get more people involved on a professional basis once the magazine itself is established.
All good things start in small packages just as acorns produce oak trees, and little by little the dream evolves. With the right thought and planning, layout and presentation, subject matter and information, your magazine may yet become a glossy, though for now be content that you started something you thought you could only dream about, and become the Magazine editor of your own magazine.