3 Crucial Steps That Magazine Publishers Must Complete Before They Publish Their First Issue

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3 Crucial Steps That Magazine Publishers Must Complete Before They Publish Their First Issue

By Katie Conroy

If you have a passion for meeting people in your community and sharing their stories, magazine publishing may be the right career for you. Research indicates magazine readership is on the rise. Starting up a magazine isn’t quite as easy as it may appear at first glance, though. Securing a revenue stream is essential, as is finding good writers, photographers, and sales representatives. Your to-do list can get pretty long, but here are three tasks you definitely don’t want to neglect, courtesy of Belladonna’s Books.

1. Use an Organized Payroll System

Payroll is an essential function of any business that has employees. The workers you pay in your publishing company may have different statuses: freelance, part-time, full-time, hourly, and exempt. To stay on top of it all, along with tax information and reports, you can benefit from a payroll system.

If your company works with only a few employees, a payroll template may be the right fit. This makes keeping track of pay dates, calculating wages and deductions, reporting, and more a lot easier. Most templates are easy to use and can be customized. In addition, a payroll template can work in tandem with other tools you use, such as time trackers, employee scheduling, and invoicing software.

2. Listen to Your Audience

It’s one thing to plan a magazine based on what you and your writers want to write about. It is another — and a better business decision — to build a magazine based on what readers want to read about. Put your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your target market:

• What issues are important to the people living and working there?
• What do they need to know about?
• What information will they need on a continuing basis?

Consider the same questions for the advertisers in your target area. What content will complement the ads businesses place in your magazine? What should your publication provide to keep advertisers renewing their contracts?

If you launch a magazine in a rural area, for instance, agriculture may be a topic important to your readers. You may also find a lot of ag-related businesses willing to advertise. Consider a publication focusing on rural life. You can offer content about issues that affect local farmers and consumers, such as market trends and weather concerns. Feature articles can include gardening tips and the best places to buy fishing equipment.

3. Establish Local Connections

Magazines need readers – which is why marketing is absolutely essential. You can do yourself a big favor by using a go to market strategy template to make sure you don’t miss anything. Also, the associations you establish can provide story material, advertising, and a deeper understanding of the area you cover. Ask your readers for feedback. Stay connected with them through your social media channels, email, and networking events. Offer incentives and giveaways to encourage participation.

Joining your local chamber of commerce is an excellent way to build connections in your market. You can find out what’s on the minds of area business owners, talk about your challenges and opportunities with civic leaders, meet experts in your industry and find potential advertisers and article ideas. In addition, you can impact the community by learning about the issues important to business owners and residents and share their views in your publication.

Magazine publishing can provide a rewarding career. Your publication creates a picture of the community, woven together by anecdotes of what’s important in the lives of the residents. Doing the work it takes before your first issue hits the stands can put you on solid ground for a successful magazine.

Belladonna’s Books is your go-to place for contemporary book reviews covering a wide variety of genres. Contact us at belladonna@belladonnasbooks.com

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