What topics and type of content will your magazine focus on? How large of a staff will your magazine have? Will you hire copywriters or freelance writers, or will you serve as the magazine’s editor and review submitted work?
Look around online—through Google and Facebook—to find similar magazines and contact them. Ask specific questions, such as: “How many staff members do you employ?” “How did you market your magazine to attract new readers/subscribers?” “How long did it take you to start the magazine?” “What are some common mistakes that I can avoid when starting my online magazine?”
Keep in mind that many online magazines can be started and initially maintained for free, even if they subsequently need a small budget. When forecasting your magazine, consider your rate of return, note the current economy, and allocate money for advertising. Eventually, you may need to establish a magazine-dedicated savings account for any unforeseeable events. In determining your staff budgetary needs, consider freelance writers, interns, and volunteers. However, it is unlikely that you will have all (or any) of these positions filled upon the launch of your magazine.
For example, the magazine’s mission, the type of content and how you plan to get and keep subscribers. In developing your marketing strategy, note your target audience, how often the magazine will be published, and research the competition. Once the magazine is up and running, use social network sites to promote your online magazine and specific articles.
Ask business in your area if they have advertised in the past, which parts of the experience were successful, and which parts failed. Explain how advertising on your magazine’s webpage will benefit the business (more customers, etc. ), and invite them to buy advertising space. Also reach out to online-only businesses, as these depend on website-based advertising.
Brainstorm a list of potential magazine names—then check online and make sure none of them have already been taken.
If the name is available, register the name. This will prevent other magazines from using the name.
Hire a professional if you’re not comfortable designing or coding the website yourself. You should retain full creative control over the design of your online magazine. For ideas and inspiration, look at the print magazines in a large bookstore, or browse the layouts of online magazines you enjoy reading.
As with the layout and logo design, if you are not experienced coder, consider hiring someone with the expertise to deliver a professional result. There are also a number of sites that allow you to build a website with minimal coding knowledge, such as www. wordpress. com.
To generate your audience, look for an already existing online community that has an interest in same topic your magazine covers. Send work to that community (e. g. , through a forum post) and consider their input on your content. Make business cards and pass them out in person. Prominently feature your magazine’s URL, and pass these cards out to everyone you know. Use social media—reach out to friends and friends of friends on Facebook. Create a subscription link on the web page. This will allow your readers to receive updates and information about your magazine. Although online magazines are usually website-based, consider providing some of the magazine content via email subscription. Readers with busy schedules may find your magazine more accessible if its contents (or at least links to online content) are delivered directly to their inbox.
Don’t make yourself a nuisance, but an email or two asking friends and family to subscribe to your magazine could dramatically increase your readers.
Develop a table of contents for the first issue; this will let your readers know what the magazine issue entails. Keep articles short, communicative and to the point. [6] X Research source Write headlines using keywords so that readers can find your magazine. Tailor your content to your audience. Once you’ve started publishing regularly, take a look and see which content has been viewed the most. Use that information to create new content that is similar to your most popular published work, and to move away from less-popular topics. This strategy will increase both the size and loyalty of your audience.
Write your own content. If your magazine will not have a staff to begin with (which is pretty common), you may need to write every article yourself. [8] X Research source Hire a staff to write your magazine content. If you have a budget that can accommodate paying staff members, start by bringing on board one or two writers who share your passion for the topic of your magazine. [9] X Research source Gather content from online submitters. If you plan on serving as the editor for your magazine (e. g. , for a literary journal), you will need to start gathering content from writers online. For example, www. submittable. com is a common choice, which allows users to send submissions to your magazine.
The coding for this should be relatively simple; in many online platforms, you can essentially copy and paste a video or audio file. Always make sure that the content you are hosting has no previous copyright. This won’t be an issue if you’ve created it yourself, but if you’re receiving work from contributors, confirm that they created it themselves and have not “borrowed” the work from another source. If content is already copyrighted but you would still like to post it on your website, contact the copyright holder and ask permission to reproduce their copyrighted work.
