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New mag publisher needs WF brains to help with promo

by billpub09
9 replies
Hello to the WF braintrust. I hope you can help me.

I'm launching a women's magazine in the next few months. It will be for my local town, not a Web-wide project. Actually, we get a lot of military who come and go, so there could be some interest from folks who've lived here at one time or another, but that's a secondary market.

It will be both ink/paper and online. I also want to include a community and am looking at Ning to accomplish that. My issue is how to get people to go to the community ASAP and sign up, and then how to give them some kind of perk for doing so or getting their friends to do so.

I've heard of jazzed up tell-a-friend scripts that allow people to unload their addressbooks, and people get points or something like that for each person who signs up. Tell-a-friend with an affiliate deal inside, I suppose.

The most signups gets first prize, and there are other prizes for top producers. I know there's a spammy feel to this, but I've also heard it's pretty effective. My goal is to get 5,000 users of the community in the first 90 days but I don't have a ton of money to offer huge incentives, or do a lot of advertising.

So, I've heard that if you have an online marketing issue or need to solve a problem, this is THE place to come. I thank you for reading this far and hope you can offer some ideas to get people to the community.

Bill
#brains #mag #promo #publisher
  • Profile picture of the author Sam Smith
    Hi Bill!


    I really respect you for this endeavour. I love to see Warriors stepping outside the narrow boxes everyone seems to be stuck in!

    Those are some steep targets. Not saying change them, just saying be aware of the challenge.



    With a paper & web magazine you need to focus on the paper side. You need to contact wherever it will be on sale more than once. Is it one of those free mags or is it news-stand?

    Either way, take a semi-product-launch approach to getting it into outlets. ie. Contact them a couple of times over the lead-up.



    A magazine has a status which any purely online media just *does not* have. Make sure you leverage this. There are forums of photographers and of models, and you will be able to find some in your area. Loads of people trying to break it in these areas will give you A) free content and B) tell 40 friends that they're in the magazine!

    I think the ONLY way you could possibly hit your targets is by having well-defined *series* of content. You get somebody's interest with an interesting content area, and they register for the website to finish up reading the sequels to the article.



    Why not print each article in a series, but have the website be 1 or 2 articles (or an exclusive bonus article) ahead? Remember, while it's in print you have no connection to them - once they register you can use the community aspects and get their info on a list.

    Might be an idea to actually hold off on the full-on mini social-network until you have some list people to tell. This way you can build up anticipation and get a lot of users at once -- do it slow and the inactivity will stop new members and it's a cycle -- think these things need a kick!



    Viral elements: your tell a friend stuff really is important. Could you give away ink subscriptions in return for spreading it to all the female people on their social networks and email contacts? There's scripts out there for this kind of thing.

    How could you turn users into contributors? That's what a forum and all web 2.0 does -- and it works because people want their stuff to be seen.
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    Can you afford me? KILLER videos (from script to tech), $thousands+...

    PM me if you need help with *big money* launches/pitches.
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  • Profile picture of the author billpub09
    Good ideas, Sam!

    I could give away ink subs, no problem. A 12-month sub would cost, postage included, about $25.00.

    On the tell-a-friend scripts, are there any out there that have that affiliate or contest thing built in -- so we can offer something to the people who really want to get involved in a big way and get others involved? I'm sure WF vets know what I mean, but I'm not even sure what the right terms would be to search for it.

    Anyway, thanks. I hope others follow your excellent lead and offer some other ideas.

    Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author billpub09
    Hi there,

    Any additional help on this is appreciated.

    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author ayolov
    There are several things you must consider for your project:

    The main revenue of magazines are advertisers, if you are able to get good deals then you are off to a good start. Some may even pay you if you write an article about a certain topic they are interested in promoting. For example a spa would very gladly sponsor an article on the damages of stress in modern life and how relaxations can help people out.

    Talk to your sponsors, if you have a good relationship with them thew will pitch in with the contest you are organizing.

    The constant problem with paper magazines is that they need to produce a lot of issues to convince the sponsors to put their adds in, and on the other end, the more issues you produce the higher your costs.

    ...on the website part I would recommend you start out small; most people don't understand the complexity of a tailor-made website. Use software that is already in use and do minor adjustments, even it it's not exactly what you wanted or needed, this is the best place to start, or you could end up in development hell!

    If you manage to have them working together (offline and online) it can be a very solid niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author billpub09
    Thanks, Ayolov. I appreciate your information. Gives me more to think about.

    Bill
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Bill, here's an observation for you...

      Most of the 'big boys', from Woman's Day to WWE, rely on a certain amount of content in their offline offering along with additional bonus material only available on the website. They cross-promote, telling online visitors to check out some feature in the print mag and telling print readers to check out specific features on the website. Each needs to have some degree of exclusive content.

      With a print publication, you're pretty much limited to words and pictures. Online, you can supplement that with audio, video, interactive features, etc.

      Podcasts, regular video features (like mini TV series) and such get people in the habit of returning regularly.

      People also love to vote on things. Give them plenty of polls, hot-or-not type contests, and so on...
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      • Profile picture of the author JP Wilson
        Let's just talk about the viral element for a second. It might seem narrow-minded but THIS is the only "style" of tell-a-friend that I have used and probably ever will use unless/until something better comes along... although it's hard to conceive of if/when that will happen! It's the same style of software that all the rest of the social networks are using. Somewhat expensive compared to others, but totally worth it.

        (non-affiliate link) Tell-a-Friend Script Viral Inviter - Norman Freeman's Web 2.0 Refer-A-Friend Script

        If you want to go the free route, there is another plugin that I use (mainly on my blog) that is along similar lines, only it's not as streamline, and lacks many of the advanced features that viral inviter has. It's still, however, a very decent script, to say the least.

        (non-affiliate link) Tell-a-Friend: Word of Mouth Marketing made simple

        With both of solutions, you will be able to allow your clients to login to their email accounts directly from your site, and invite their entire address book to your community with the click of a button. The great thing about this is that you can set the systems up so that your members can receive special prizes and gifts for doing so. If I were you, I would go with the first option, but if you happen to be on a limited budget, the second one is a good contingency solution.

        Best of luck to you Bill.

        Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author billpub09
    Thanks John and JP!

    I was able to learn that Viral Inviter does have an affiliate component, so it seems like that would accomplish what I had hoped for -- to reward those signing up and telling friends. I also appreciate your other ideas.

    I'm so glad I came here to WF. What a great community!

    Best,

    Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author Craig Fenton
    Hi Bill:

    Best of luck with the new project!

    As you and the other investors crunch numbers please find out from others in the know about the pitfalls you will face and the best way to promote, economize, and win!

    Let us know how you do.
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