ACPR Blog » community magazine

Finding content for your magazine

admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:14:26 +0000

I have written a few articles in this blog recently about the ins and outs of running a community magazine. It is a subject that fascinates me. I have worked with several women who have done this and, as long as you don’t mind selling adverts, it is a great was to earn a good income from home. Mums returning from maternity leave are more and more looking at magazine franchises as a real home income opportunity. And of course, one of the things that most magazine owners enjoy is creating the content for their magazine.

Depending on your set up you may have free rein over the entire content, or have most or all of it supplied by the franchisor. If you have some input, or are setting up a magazine by yourself, you may wonder how best to fill your pages with gripping content that has readers retaining your magazine and passing it on to friends. Here are some tips to get you inspired:

Start by asking people in your target audience about the type of articles that interest them.

Look at other local publications and see what you can provide that is unique and different.

Make the most of local angles, and interview local ‘celebs’, and owners of interesting businesses.

Finally, if you are short on content, there are hundreds on websites that will provide you with free articles in return for an author credit. Just Google ‘article’, or check out the list at PRBasics.

Once your publication is up and running you will find local business owners and advertisers will be very keen to supply you with an article in return for a little extra space in your pages. Have fun finding articles for your community magazine.

Choosing a magazine franchise

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:56:43 +0000

If you want to run your own community magazine, you might be bewildered by the choice of franchises now available. If you do want to buy a franchise, I have made a useful list on Family Friendly Working, alongside hundreds of other resources for people who want a flexible job or to become self employed.

The most important thing to find out about the franchise is the sales training that they offer. Ad sales will determine your magazine’s success or failure. Ask about the traning, as well as the practical side of magazine production.

Buying a Magazine Franchise

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:28:30 +0000

If you’re thinking of buying a magazine franchise, the kind folk at the Family Grapevine have done a comparison chart. Of course, they offer their own magazine franchise but it is useful info!

Creating a media pack when starting your own magazine

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:12:49 +0000

More and more people are starting a local magazine. It can be a great way to earn a good income, with flexible hours. You may also be attracted to the idea of creating editorial content for a magazine. However, the most important skill for anyone thinking of setting up a magazine business is to be able to sell advertising. This will determine whether you can create a successful profit making business or not. One of the tools which will help you inform advertisers about the benefits and costs of advertising in your magazine is a Media Pack. Read on for a quick guide to what a media pack should contain.

Benefits: The most important section. Tell potential advertisers why they should advertise in your magazine, and how it can help them to reach potential customers, particularly those that they can not reach in any other way.
About the magazine: a little background and factual information for those who are unfamiliar with the publication.
Distribution. Tell the advertiser about your print run and readership figures, where and how the magazine is distributed, and the socioeconomic demgraphics of the readers.
Editorial Content. Explain about the articles and news that will ensure readers value the magazine.
A quote from existing happy advertiser(s), once you have them.
Page rates, rates for advertorial features, classifieds, advert design and website advertising, as appropriate.
Publication dates and copy deadlines for a year ahead.
Technical requirements for the advertisements: you will need to clear these with your designer.

You will want to illustrate the media pack with some attractive cover images, and possibly examples of the layout of insides pages. In total, a media pack should be in the region of 350 to 500 words. If you need help creating a media pack, get in touch and I can let you know about the benefits of a professionally written pack.