Marketing Expertise needed for startup magazine

[smit_saini]

Me and 2 other Co-workers are starting our own retail magazine. I understand that most magazines do not make it past their first year, which is why we are taking our time and making sure we do it right the first time. At the moment I have contacted several local plazas and they have agreed to let us distribute our magazine there. It will be a free magazine, so of course all our income will be through selling advertising. The magazine will have mainly show retail hotspots and restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. It can be a clothing boutique, fancy gadget store, or a long run family restaurant, there are so many unique stores in the GTA that many people do not know about. My main goal is to have it all in major malls in the city, which is very difficult. Also since the magazine depends on advertising I was hoping I can get some ideas on how to sell advertising to this specific segment. Any ideas would be great I have a few in mind but I don’t think it’s enough. Any other comments would be great as well. Thanks guys !!

[smit_saini]

thanks for your advice, i was considering a creating a sample magazine so i would have something to show them, i hope that along with mock number will be enough

[JaffyDesigns]

Hi smit_saini

Firstly, good on you for starting up your own gig! =)

Based on what you've outlined in your post, the most valuable thing you'll be able to offer advertisers is access to potential customers (i.e. your readers). Therefore, to attract that advertising revenue, you'll need to focus on growing your readership/circulation.

Although I'm not an expert in the magazine field, here are some thoughts:
- Content will be key - make sure that the content you're offering is compelling to your audience, and differentiated, so you can carve out a unique position among the competition.

- Use that content online as well as off - It'll be easier (and probably cheaper) for you to distribute your content, and attract readers by placing your content (or just related articles) online, and encouraging people to share on facebook/twitter/etc. Consider attracting people by interacting on and offline in a unique way. For example, interview someone who is of interest to your target audience, then post an excerpt of it online, and tell people to pick up a copy of the mag for the full interview (or vice-versa), along with a map to locate where they can pick up their free printed copy of the mag.

- Offer advertisers unique opportunities, beyond some blank space towards the back of the publication - if you can partner with your printer to provide unique ad units, you'll have a better chance of getting a seat at the table

I'd be happy to talk with you more about this, if you want - just check out my profile.

Jason

[Southern_Lenders]

Why not start this as a blog instead? Do you realize how much money your going to spend on paper, ink, distribution etc...? Why not just eliminate ALL of that, and post all this stuff online...be global from the start. If i was going to advertise for something like this, it would be to someone that has a global reach, not someone that was very restricted to a certain geographic area. Thats just me though. If you thought about doing this as a blog, and decided not too, Id like to know why. Print media is going out of style. Just ask the sea of news papers that have gone, and are going out of business. With the technology these days, anyone can access the internet on their smart phones, and wifi that many cities are now installing.

[louiecorp]

I suggest having a site as well compared to just the magazines so advertisers can have better mileage.

You're gonna have the content anyway so might as well post it online and use adsense for instant ad revenues.

NicheSuccessAcademy.com