Services > Publication Startups

How to start a magazine on a budget

How can we start a new magazine or newsletter without hiring staff, renting space, buying a phone system, hiring the wrong printers, and investing in subscription management and accounting software that nobody knows how to use?

The simple answer is that The Business Word will put experts to work on your publication-people you cannot afford to have on your staff full-time. We have the infrastructure, the software and the people who use it every day.

You need a professional publisher to develop your business plan, prepare your budget, negotiate with your printer, manage your sales people, hire a strong staff and keep you informed. When your publisher is doubling as editor, sales person or circulation manager, that person is doing only one of those jobs well. He or she may be spread too thin to do anything well.

The secret to starting a small magazine or a newsletter is to test the market by pre-selling ads or subscriptions before you mortgage your house or risk your fortune. If your idea is a good one and sells easily, take the next step. Hire us to send professional, experienced ad sales people into the marketplace to determine whether your idea will fly. If it does, we'll help you make your publication a success. If a test mailing to the best mailing list you or we can find pays for itself, move ahead with your publishing idea. We'll orchestrate the test for you.

You need an editorial pro to develop your editorial strategy, plan issues and supervise the production of each issue. Lower level editors and desktop publishers should produce the magazine. Your circulation manager can cost-effectively work on several publications. And you may share a sales person or staff with other publications. We can help you figure out the best approach.

We have systems in place to help people become more successful. The Business Word is continuously improving its publishing techniques and systems that we've been perfecting for years. We provide all of our employees with Macs and the software they need for desktop publishing, ad sales, circulation management and accounting. We give them in-depth training, continuing feedback, encouragement and the resources they need to do their jobs well. Most important, our people are given a lot of autonomy and the authority to solve your problems. They become very involved in your industry and dedicated to the success of your publication.

Successful magazines are strong editorial products serving well-defined audiences. They feature competitive ad rates, and employ creative ad sales people and publishers who cut costs without cutting corners. Whatever your budget, we can find a way to bring these advantages to your magazine.

The Business Word will help you make the most of your magazine's franchise. Under our management, your magazine will:

• Boost sales.
• Reduce costs.
• Improve quality.
• Meet deadlines.
• Impress subscribers.

Think of The Business Word as your personal publisher and editor. You retain the authority and control that you have with your own staff, without the costs, the overhead and the headaches. The difference is that we bring decades of publishing expertise to the table along with the ability to help you develop your business strategy and implement it.

For a free assessment of your magazine's-or newsletter's-potential, call our owners, Donald E.L. Johnson at 303-967-0129 or Susan Alt at 303-967-0128.