With the internet opening all sorts of doors to all sorts of people with all sorts of ideas, there has never been a better time to run with something you love. It could be that you have a specific talent or an interest that you can’t shake, and it could be that you turn this into an online magazine.
Everyone is blogging nowadays, so much so it can be hard to gain traction or stand out from the mass of white noise. But an online magazine – a publication that starts from nothing but passion and humble origins and maybe grows into a household name – like How Stuff Works, The Magazine, Sabotage Times, Style Bistro or Wired – now that is an idea worth pursuing.
Yes, the idea, the concept, the process and the reality may be daunting, but creating an online magazine is by no means impossible. In fact, it isn’t even as hard to do as you may have convinced yourself it is. Of course, like starting any new business, there are sleepless night and frustrated weeks, especially when you are rattling around in the planning stage.
It is a lot of work, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Remember, you are coming from humble beginnings, so don’t let the hiccups along the way be anything more than hiccups. Stay calm, stay relaxed, stay focused and follow the plan of attack we have laid out below, as loose as that plan is.
Go With your Passion & Know Your Niche
This isn’t a necessity by any means, but it does help. However, this can be split into two categories in itself. If you are not interested in making this idea into a revenue, then you need to be passionate about what the publication is. If you only following this idea because you want to make money, then it is worth checking out this article about how to find and choose a profitable area in which to get yourself started.
Know How You Will Make Your Money
It may be that you are only in this for the passion of it, the hell of it, and the fact you want to do it, but that doesn’t mean this will always be the case. You may one day want to earn a little bit out of it, so don’t rule it out completely. You’ll end up putting a lot of work – a lot of work – into this, and the urge to seek some form of reward will come your way, it is just a matter of time. If not, then stop now and start blogging. One of the most effective ways to make money when you are first starting out is to offer the publication for free – yup – and then make your money by selling ad space and products and services and the app version and your services as a public speaker and that kind of thing. Lure them in with the free thing, then pounce.
Having The Right Team
As a golden rule, the larger the magazine the more you will need to get yourself help. As such, always start small – a size where you can manage it almost by yourself – and build up from there. Once it has gained a little bit of traction, funding additional staff or bringing on experienced agencies like Two Digital will be a lot easier because you’ll be able to have better luck with investors and advertisers. The main areas you will want to have expansion plans in place is the content and your marketing strategies, so start there.
Who Will Write The Content
The thing that is going to make your magazine popular, followed, addictive, well-loved and successful is the content. It is going to be your unique voice in that niche. If you can call writing a skill, then you are already ahead of the pack. If you can’t, then make sure you bring on people who will be able to act as ambassadors of that voice. It is also worth considering guest posts, or perhaps regular contributors, although make sure you trust them and their credibility. The challenge will be getting great writers – and experts – to write content for free without having something to give them in exchange.
Once all this is in place, though, and you are thrilled to bits with the first publication, well, it’s time you got that domain and went live. And remember, everything you do needs to boost your traffic. You may not be in it for the money just yet, but just having people read and interact will make all that effort you put in that much easier to swallow. Enjoy.