In my travels around our country, I have seen a variety of community publications over the years. These publications range from daily newspapers to bi-monthly newsletters to everything in between. A common question often posed to me by friends and acquaintances has been: “Should I publish my own community magazine?” This is a complicated question to answer, and the answer depends on several crucial factors. In this article, I will address some of the things you should consider if you are thinking about publishing a community magazine.
The publishing world has changed dramatically with the advent of the Internet and online publications. There has been a steady and dramatic decline in daily and weekly newspapers around the United States over the last 10 years. Much of this decline results from readers opting to get their information from online sites on a near real-time basis rather than cumbersome print newspapers. Further, newspapers around the country have become complacent over the years, believing that readers will read whatever they choose to print. Unfortunately for them, this has not been the case, and as result, newspapers are shutting down across the country.
Magazines, on the other hand have continued to grow during this period, particularly niche magazines that specialize in a particular topic or industry, such as specific sports, cooking, automotive, and so on. Another niche that has enjoyed much success is local community magazines. The publications that have been the most successful are those that have chosen to focus on a specific hyper-local community, such as an area of a larger city with common interests, a small town, a master planned community, etc. The information contained in these types of magazines is relevant primarily to only those who live and/or work in these communities, and therefore, generally has a very loyal local readership. In most situations, these magazines are provided free of charge to its readership and must sustain itself through advertiser support. Some publications are direct mailed, while others are distributed in racks and others combine these methods.
A successful community magazine should be filled with interesting, relevant and entertaining information about neighborhoods, schools, businesses and all other aspects of its community. The goal should be to provide local residents, newcomers and business owners with relevant community information. These publications should become a vital source of news for people who live and work in the area. Because of the hyper-local focus, a well published community magazine can become adopted by its community members as their publication of choice.
An effective community magazine should publish content that is community-driven, giving people news and information that impact their lives on a day-to-day basis, those they cannot get from any other source. It also should provide valuable insight into local business developments, giving local business people a competitive advantage within their own communities. Luxury world travel The content also should include relevant columns written by local writers who are competent and knowledgeable in their areas of expertise, such as health and wellness, kids’ sports, local governments, schools, places of worship and so on. Finally, the magazines should be professionally designed to make them an easy and compelling read.
In most cases, the cost of producing and distributing publications is paid by the advertisers as most local community magazines are free publications. An effective community magazine can become an invaluable marketing tool for local businesses because it can allow them to directly target their most likely potential customers, people who live and work nearby. Study after study has shown that people are most likely to patronize stores, restaurants and services within a five-mile drive of their location. However, many publications make the mistake of catering to an area that is too large and therefore counter to this premise. By properly targeting a particular community, a well conceived community magazine can become a very attractive advertising media choice for local businesses.
An ideal hyper-local community magazine should have a three-prong distribution approach, allowing it to get into the hands of everyone who lives and works within a particular community.
1. Mail the magazine to substantially every home and business within the designated market.
2. Select high volume advertisers to distribute the magazines at their places of business.
3. Distribute copies in racks at key, high traffic locations throughout the community.
The combination of these distribution methods should enable you to get your magazines into the hands of the people who both live and work within the community, making the magazines even more valuable to advertisers.
Owning and operating a community magazine can be a very rewarding experience.
