Starting a magazine company requires plenty of start-up money and business acumen.
Being the owner and publisher of a magazine can be a very rewarding profession, and not just financially. You have the opportunity to inform, educate, entertain, or even inspire a mass audience of readers. The competition in the magazine business is extremely intense, however, and a magazine start-up venture requires careful planning and execution in order to succeed.
Instructions
1. Determine the theme of your magazine. Some magazines provide information about special interests such as mountain biking or pet care. Others are lifestyle publications designed to cover a wide range of topics for a certain demographic group, such as seniors. Your goal is to find a niche with a potentially large audience, but one that does not have too many competing publications.
2. Design the layout and content. The visual appeal of the magazine is extremely important to determining whether a consumer will pick it from the magazine rack and look at it. If you don't have experience with layout and design, hire a design firm that focuses on the magazine industry.
3. Select a printer. You need to find a printer whose work is of the highest quality but still reasonably priced. Managing printing costs is essential to your success.
4. Secure advertisers. Work on securing your first group of advertisers well in advance of your first publication date. Because yours is a start-up, you may have more difficulty convincing them to buy ad space. Consider giving them a deep discount from your desired ad rates.
5. Secure start-up capital. Create a business plan describing your magazine in detail, the audience you are trying to reach, and why you believe it will succeed.
6. Hire editorial staff. Talented editors with deep knowledge of the magazine's subject matter and a feel for what information today's consumers are interested in make all the difference in a magazine's success.
7. Build a network of freelancers. Magazines often rely on freelance contributions rather than having employees produce the content to be published. You will need to build relationships with these writers well in advance and get a feel for their capabilities and types of articles you could assign them.
8. Build distribution. Magazines that are on the retail shelves are delivered by distributors who work with a number of different publications. They need to see evidence of the popularity of your magazine before they order a significant number of copies. You could consider purchasing your own display racks and placing them in high traffic areas, giving the first issue away for free. Another start-up strategy is to purchase mailing lists of consumers who may be interested in your publication and offer them the first few months free.
