You have decided to start up a magazine, but how do you get started, find subscribers and more importantly obtain paying advertisers so that you stay profitable?

Getting started

1. Decide what the subject of your magazine will be – make it as popular as possible, but also choose a niche. This way you pique interest and combat competition.

2. Find out where your target market is going to be. For example if you want a community magazine – try and tailor it to a market such as parents of school children etc.

3. Make sure you have enough information for several editions.

4. Set up your printing and delivery activities.

Getting subscribers and generating leads for your magazine

1. Use your web site to obtain sign ups, preferably using a sign-up box. Offer an incentive to sign up and assurance of use of their email address for legitimate reasons.

2. If you want to concentrate on off line customers, then send out a sample magazine to all of your target area, use a coupon with an incentive to sign on to receive your magazine.

3. Submit details of your newsletter to all on line directories you can find.

4. Include details of your magazine on all of your correspondence. Place an advert on your car, on tee shirts – anything you can think of.

5. Make good use of community areas to advertise your magazine – such as cafes, sports centers, shopping centers etc.

Obtaining advertisers in your magazine

You may have to run your magazine for a short while, whilst you build up your subscribers.

1. Swap ads with other magazines that have a similar target area – either geographic or lifestyle. This will ensure that you look more successful at the beginning. Few people will want to pay to be the first advertiser.

2. Make up a marketing pack consisting of a sample magazine (with adverts), details of your target area, the number of subscribers you reach etc.

3. Offer key advertising ads, such as back page, to your larger advertisers.

4. Send out your marketing pack to potential advertisers. Offer free advertising for one or more issues – or 5 ads for cost of 3 etc. This is to allow your advertisers to test out your magazines.

5. Offer free adverts for a short while to businesses that will also circulate your magazine for you.

Expanding

Everything is running smoothly so now you want to expand.

1. Look around for other markets or how to get more people in the same market.

2. Take on other writers so that you can expand your output.

3. Ask for feedback from your existing subscribers.

4. Examine how you can make things more efficient and cost effective.

5. Add to your content and your advertisers.

6. Add extra features to your magazine such as a Question and Answer section or a “Product of the Month” section.

Lastly – enjoy yourself

Lee Lister

Lee Lister is Management Consultant and Program Manager with more than 25 year's management and consultancy experience and more than 20 year's program and project management experience in projects for Banking, Finance, Insurance, Leisure and Government bodies. She also have more than 10 years bid management experience ranging from bids for medium companies to large international and infrastructure bids.

British born, Lee received her BA(Hons) Financial Economics from the University of Essex. She went on to work in or for a considerable number of countries within Asia and Europe as well as Australia and the United States. While building a name for herself through helping company restructure, change management and project management consultancy, Lee became a well-known figure for her skills in analyzing, problem solving and trouble-shooting. She has consulted for many major industries, including banking, telecommunications, insurance, transportation, leisure and governments from many different countries. Some of the companies who have benefited from Lee’s expertise are Hewlett Packard, Siemans Nixdorf, Electrolux and the Philippines government.

Whilst working in the Far East she became a recognized expert on preparing and evaluating large World Bank Proposals (infrastructure projects within developing countries). These accomplishments called upon the skills of bid and project management, risk assessment, contract negotiation and supplier management and required dedicated work to very tight time scales. This expertise was acknowledged by an invitation to be the principle speaker at an International Business Development Conference in Washington, USA. She has also consulted at very senior level in several countries.

She owns and manages two companies, Biz Guru LLC in the USA and Biz Guru Services Ltd in the UK as well a considerable number of profitable web sites. She works almost entirely via the internet, visiting clients on site during major consultancies and training. Her Internet skills span from when major companies first started to consider obtaining their own web sites. During these years, she has kept up to date with the rapid changes on the internet, including the dot com boom and the resulting bust – which her own web based companies survived.

She regularly consults, writes and lectures on business, bid management and marketing and has published numerous courses and books.