business plan for online magazine

Magazine Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Magazine Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their magazine companies. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a magazine business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Magazine Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your business plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Magazine Business

If you’re looking to start a new magazine business, or grow your existing magazine publishing company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the revenue growth of your business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Magazine Companies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a magazine business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financial projections are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

Personal savings is the other most common form of funding for a new magazine business. Venture capitalists will usually not fund a magazine business, but they might consider funding a one with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.  With that said, using a savings account and bank loans are the most common funding paths for magazine businesses.

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How to write an effective business plan for a magazine business.

If you want to start a magazine business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Each of the key components of a magazine publishing business plan are detailed below:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a digital magazine business that you would like to grow, or are you starting an online magazine business?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the magazine industry. Discuss the type of business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target audience. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of magazine businesses:

• Entertainment magazine : this type of magazine business focuses on topics such as arts, culture, fashion and leisure
• Academic and professional magazine: this type of magazine business focuses on subjects like finance, health, or science
• Home and living magazine: this type of magazine is devoted to cooking, home decorating, etc.
• Business magazine: this type of magazine typically focuses on business people, companies, emerging business or technology trends, etc.
• Digital magazine: this type of magazine is accessible via an electronic device, whether it be a smartphone, tablet, or computer. An internet connection is required to access or download the content, but once downloaded, it is available for viewing offline.
• Online magazine: this type of electronic magazine is similar to a digital magazine, but typically comes with fewer features. An internet connection is required to access the content.

In addition to explaining the type of magazine startup you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of customers served, number of positive reviews, number of annual subscriptions, etc.
• Your legal business structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the magazine industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the magazine industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the magazine industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your magazine business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: advertisers, consumers of varying ages and with varying interests, and authors.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of magazine business you operate. Clearly, business people would respond to different marketing promotions than teens, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most magazine businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other magazine businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes social media platforms, other reading material, or alternative leisure activities. You need to mention such competition as well.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other magazine businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be house flippers located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What interest or niche do they specialize in?
• What formats are their publications available in?
• How often is the magazine published?
• What is their pricing strategy (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide better articles, features, and/or photos?
• Will you provide more opportunities for guest authors?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a magazine business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of magazine company that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to printed magazines, will you offer a digital version?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your magazine company. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your magazine business located near a distribution center, or in an area known as a “hub” for the content you specialize in, etc. Discuss how your location might be ideal for attracting and retaining customers.

Promotions : The final part of your magazine marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your magazine business, including selling ad space, creating quality content, finding contributors, designing each issue, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to land your 10 th major magazine advertising account, or when you expect to have 5,000 subscribers, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your magazine distribution to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your magazine business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing magazine businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in publication or marketing or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you publish one issue per month or four? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your magazine business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a magazine business:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or the wireframe for your digital publication.  

Putting together a business plan for your magazine business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the magazine industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful magazine business.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Magazine business plan?

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.

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Magazine Business Plan

Running a magazine business enables you to share your thoughts with a larger audience that shares your interests in a particular topic. Also, it keeps you in the company of creative people.

Do you want everything perfect for your magazine business, then why not write a business plan first?

Need help writing a business plan for your magazine business? You’re at the right place. Our magazine business plan template will help you get started.

Free Business Plan Template

Download our free magazine business plan template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

• Fill in the blanks – Outline
• Financial Tables

How to Write A Magazine Business Plan?

Writing a magazine business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

• Market Opportunity: Summarize your market research, including market size, growth potential, and marketing trends. Highlight the opportunities in the market and how your business will fit in to fill the gap.
• Marketing & Sales Strategies: Outline your sales and marketing strategies—what marketing platforms you use, how you plan on acquiring customers, etc.
• Financial Highlights: Briefly summarize your financial projections for the initial years of business operations. Include any capital or investment requirements, associated startup costs, projected revenues, and profit forecasts.
• Call to Action: Summarize your executive summary section with a clear CTA, for example, inviting angel investors to discuss the potential business investment.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your company. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

• Online magazine business
• Print magazine business
• Lifestyle magazine business
• Fashion magazine business
• Business and Finance magazine
• Travel magazine business
• Sports magazine business
• Health and wellness magazine business
• Technology magazine business
• Describe the legal structure of your magazine business, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.
• Owners: List the names of your magazine business’s founders or owners. Describe what shares they own and their responsibilities for efficiently managing the business.
• Mission Statement: Summarize your business’ objective, core principles, and values in your mission statement. This statement needs to be memorable, clear, and brief.
• Future Goals: It’s crucial to convey your aspirations and vision. Mention your short-term and long-term goals; they can be specific targets for revenue, market share, or expanding your services.

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

For instance, individuals with hobbies or interests or professionals would be an ideal target audience for a magazine business.

• Competitive Analysis: Identify and analyze your direct and indirect competitors. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, and describe what differentiates your magazine from them. Point out how you have a competitive edge in the market.

For instance, digital transformation has a booming market; explain how you plan on dealing with this potential growth opportunity.

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your magazine business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

• Opinion pieces
• Other formats of content
• Any interactive features: Describe any multimedia components or interactive features your magazine includes, such as interactive infographics, quizzes, audio content, or videos. Describe how these aspects make reading more enjoyable and create an immersive & engaging experience.
• Frequency & distribution: Indicate the publication schedule (monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc.) and describe the distribution strategy for your magazine. Talk about the various print and digital distribution methods, such as websites, mobile apps, and subscriptions.
• Additional Services: Mention these as part of your product and service offerings if your magazine business offers extra services or products beyond the primary journal, such as events, online forums, webinars, or merchandise. Describe how your audience will benefit from these extra services.

In short, this section of your magazine plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

For example, exclusive content, high-quality visuals, or customization could be some of the great USPs for a professional magazine business.

• Marketing Strategies: Discuss your marketing strategies to market your services. You may include some of these marketing strategies in your business plan—social media marketing, Google ads, email marketing, content marketing, etc.
• Sales Strategies: Outline the strategies you’ll implement to maximize your sales. Your sales strategies may include direct sales calls, subscription offers and promotions, affiliate marketing, offering referral programs, etc.
• Customer Retention: Describe your customer retention strategies and how you plan to execute them. For instance, introducing renewal discounts, early subscriptions, personalized service, etc.

Overall, this section of your magazine publisher business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your magazine business, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

• Staffing & Training: Mention your business’s staffing requirements, including the number of employees or writers & editors needed. Include their qualifications, the training required, and the duties they will perform.
• Operational Process: Outline the processes and procedures you will use to run your magazine business. Your operational processes may include content creation, printing, distribution, marketing & promotion, etc.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively..

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your magazine business’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

• Founders/CEO: Mention the founders and CEO of your magazine business, and describe their roles and responsibilities in successfully running the business.
• Organizational structure: Explain the organizational structure of your management team. Include the reporting line and decision-making hierarchy.
• Compensation Plan: Describe your compensation plan for the management and staff. Include their salaries, incentives, and other benefits.

This section should describe the key personnel for your magazine business, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

• Profit & loss statement: Describe details such as projected revenue, operational costs, and service costs in your projected profit and loss statement . Make sure to include your business’s expected net profit or loss.
• Cash flow statement: The cash flow for the first few years of your operation should be estimated and described in this section. This may include billing invoices, payment receipts, loan payments, and any other cash flow statements.
• Balance Sheet: Create a projected balance sheet documenting your magazine business’s assets, liabilities, and equity.

This exercise will help you understand how much revenue you need to generate to sustain or be profitable.

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more. These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your magazine business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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This sample magazine business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful magazine plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our magazine business plan pdf .

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you need a magazine business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful magazine business. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your magazine business.

How to get funding for your magazine business?

There are several ways to get funding for your magazine business, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are:

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan

Crowdfunding, angel investors.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your magazine business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your magazine business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your magazine business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any magazine business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Magazine Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Magazine Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Magazine business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Magazine businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Magazine business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Happy Trails Magazine is a startup magazine company located in New York City, New York. The company is founded by Lawrence MacGuire, who has experience in traveling and offering podcasts from around the world. Now, with the expertise of knowledge and business acumen, he has determined he can confidently start and effectively grow a successful magazine company. He believes his experience of strategic planning, marketing skills, financial capabilities, and wide and deep knowledge of traveling practices will provide everything needed for long-term growth and profitability.

Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive array of articles of interest for a wide variety of travel-loving customers. The Happy Trails Magazine will be the premiere travel magazine, providing services and products to each customer, while supporting the strategic goals of the company. Happy Trails Magazine will be the ultimate choice in tourist travel for customers to ensure that every need and desire of all travelers is fully and completely met.

Product Offering

The following are the services and products that Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

• Unique and exclusive content creation
• Experienced writers who provide superior journalism and reporting
• Photography from around the world
• Art and illustrations that support the travel articles
• Special offers of travel and related products for publication subscribers
• Online magazine offered in addition to hard copy publication
• Fun quiz and explorer’s facts for readers
• On-time delivery every month

Customer Focus

Adults within the New York City region. Customers who love to travel. Global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

Management Team

Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company, including Derek Flanagan, as his Operations Manager, and Sherry Culver, as the Senior Administrative Manager.

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.

Tracey Newthorn is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer. She will be the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine.

Alex Hawkins, an experienced magazine editor, will be the Executive Manager & Senior Editor of the Happy Trails Magazine. His former position was as the Senior Manager of Horizons Over Hawaii Magazine for over 20 years. His experience with travel and journalism leads to the new position of executive management.

Success Factors

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of Happy Trails Magazine
• Comprehensive menu of accurate and complete travel-related stories, as well as multiple photographic demonstrations of places to visit and things to see.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Outstanding photography and illustrations that highlight the beauty of world travel
• Happy Trails Magazine offers the best pricing in town. Their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for Happy Trails Magazine.

Company Overview

Who is happy trails magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine is a newly established, full-service consumer magazine published in New York City, New York. Happy Trails Magazine will be the most beautiful, consumer-relatable, and cost-effective choice for a global reading and subscribing community. Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive menu of editorial articles, In-Style pictorials, Go-To suggestions for hotel/travel bargains and special discounts for any reader to enjoy. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive website with multiple gateways to information and related services.

  Happy Trails Magazine will be the premier travel magazine in the publications industry. Led by the team of experienced professionals, the magazine will entice travelers to explore the world, while advertisers and interested parties will enjoy purchasing ads, placing click through ads and offering specials throughout the hard copy and digital magazine. Happy Trails Magazine removes all headaches and issues of traveling globally and ensures all travel negatives are addressed and diminished, while delivering the best customer service.

Happy Trails Magazine History

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years. During his prior employment, he recognized that many of the world’s finest destinations have been passed over in favor of traditional, favored locations. After much research and industry information-gathering, he started the Happy Trails Magazine to appeal to youthful travelers and old alike as they traveled the world.

Since incorporation, Happy Trails Magazine has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered magazine, Happy Trails Magazine, LLC to transact business in the state of New York.
• Has a contract in place for a 10,000 square foot office at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include Happy Trails as a source for advertising.
• Began recruiting a staff of 3 and 2 office personnel to work at Happy Trails Magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine Services

The following will be the services and products the Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

Industry Analysis

The travel magazine industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $24684 billion. The growth will be driven by an exponential interest in travel exhibited during the recent pandemic years, as most consumers were sequestered with no ability to travel. The industry is also expected to grow now as people begin to explore once again, looking for places off the beaten path. While travel costs remain high due to shipping and supply line issues and the economy, consumers find delight in exploring travel magazines and the pleasure of escape they offer.

Costs will likely be reduced as the process of production and print continue to fall due to technology advancements. The software that drives the consumer-provider relationships will also change, as most redundant or fairly simple administrative tasks will be given software solutions rather than handed over to a live publication agent.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Customer Segmentation

Happy Trails Magazine will primarily target those young adults and adults who live within the New York City region. They will also target customers who love to travel, including global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release will be welcomed. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

• Young adults through seniors
• Those who love to travel
• Those who want to travel to exotic, almost unknown destinations
• Those who enjoy viewing beautiful photography
• Those who like to read magazine articles about travel
• Advertisers and interested parties who want to sell through or collaborate with Happy Trails Magazine

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Happy Trails Magazine will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Sunset Magazine

Sunset Magazine, started in 1953 by a married couple, Ernest and Columbine Trentom, who were experienced global travelers. They began the magazine in a home office and quickly built their subscriber base to over fifteen million at the height of popularity. In recent years, the popularity of Sunset Magazine has waned, due to the loss of advertisers and poor construction of the magazine during production. The subscriber base has moved to new, more trendy, travel accommodations and travel styles.

Sports Illuminated

Sports Illuminated was founded by Cissy Travers, an ardent sportswoman and enthusiast of global sports events. With distribution to over 10 million readers, Ms Travers maintains complete control of the magazine and related ventures, which include sporting goods sales, sports apparel sales and global sports items.

The magazine was founded in 2001, when Cissy Travers took a medium-grade local magazine in upstate New York, and began to manage the content within. During the following five years, she single handedly engaged sports writers of the highest caliber and photographers who traveled the world on behalf of the magazine to shoot pivotal sporting events. Since that time, the magazine has continued to grow as new sporting events are added globally every year.

Taft & Hanson

Taft & Hanson Magazine was established in 2003 by Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson, a couple who traveled throughout the United States in their luxury recreational vehicle. The magazine is dedicated to the ultra-expensive and luxurious recreational vehicles manufactured and on the roads of America, with each monthly edition highlighting both the features of the vehicles and the features of traveler’s retreats around the nation.

The magazine is published once each quarter and is available by subscription only. Each edition is priced at $125 per copy. Designed to entice readers to purchase new recreational vehicles as they are released from manufacturing, the magazine makes it’s return on investment by selling to manufacturers and consumers alike.

Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson travel extensively throughout the nation, each reporting and writing about various aspects of living the “luxurious recreational vehicle life,” and the accommodations in which they choose to stay, which is used by the magazine publishers as another form of revenue in advertising. The magazine has earned a five-star rating by the Travelers Trailers International and has a following of over 100,000 subscribers.

Competitive Advantage

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Happy Trails Magazine will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of skilled employees who are able to provide a comprehensive travel experience via the magazine and website.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Unbeatable pricing for customers; subscribers are offered the lowest pricing of any travel magazine on the market.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for magazine is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Happy Trails Magazine has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to hospitality and lodging clients. The contacts and clients will follow them to this new company and help spread the word of Happy Trails Magazine.

Professional Associations and Networking

Trade Associations for travel and travel accommodations will be joined and actively pursued by the Happy Trails Magazine staff. Professional Networking in the New York City region will also be conducted to increase visibility and engage additional subscribers and advertisers.

Print Advertising

Limited print advertising will be offered within travel magazines and news periodicals. The bulk of the advertising will be found on the internet within various social network channels.

Website/SEO Marketing

Happy Trails Magazine will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services and products that the magazine provides. The website will also list their contact information and list their top-rated travel spots and special discounts for subscribers. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “travel magazine” or “travel reading near me,” magazine will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of the magazine will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for the Happy Trails Magazine. Operation Functions:

• Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company.
• Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort travel magazine affiliated with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.
• Derek Flanagan will take on the position of Operations Manager, with a professional background of several years in management within the travel magazine world.
• Tracey Newthorn is the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine. She is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer.

Milestones:

Happy Trails Magazine will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the magazine
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for magazine advertisers
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into magazine office
• 7/1/202X – magazine opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Happy Trails Magazine are the fees they will charge to subscribers for their services, in addition to charges they solicit from advertisers who place ads in their publications. .

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff the magazine. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its travel magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Subscribers Per Month: 750
• Number of Advertising Accounts Per Month: 50
• Average Revenue per Month: $550,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Magazine Business Plan FAQs

What is a magazine business plan.

A magazine business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your magazine business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your Magazine business plan using our Magazine Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Magazine Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of magazine businesses, some examples include: Entertainment magazine, Home and living magazine, Business magazine, Digital magazine, and Online magazine.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Magazine Business Plan?

Magazine businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Magazine Business?

Starting a magazine business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A Magazine Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed magazine business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your magazine business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your magazine business is in compliance with local laws. 3. Register Your Magazine Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your magazine business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your magazine business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 7. Acquire Necessary Magazine Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your magazine business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your magazine business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful magazine business:

• How to Start a Magazine Company

How to Start an Online Magazine In 2024

An online magazine is nothing but your traditional print magazine digitized due to the internet. Today people need topics on the go, so the time to wait for a new magazine to knock on our doors isn’t the most appropriate option. 

Are Online Magazines Popular?

Keeping aside the fact that online magazine publishing saves paper cost and transportation cost (both help the environment get better), online publications are so popular because you can easily infuse more colour, more graphics and a better viewing experience on multiple devices.

Companies love digital magazines because it’s an easy way to reduce costs and serve their magazines on an ever-broader scale.

Are Online Magazines Profitable?

But whether online magazine publishing is profitable or not depends on your financial situation (costs).

8 Steps To Start A Popular Online Magazine

1. niche down to choose a topic.

So choose a niche topic that you like, your audience likes, make sure you have enough people interested in the topic, and figure out at least 3 ways to make money. 

2. Write down your Goals for this Magazine

3. hire writers and editors.

Ask them to showcase their portfolio, figure out their writing style and see if it does justice to your magazine’s look and feel.

They correct grammatical errors, check for spelling mistakes, and improve words by using synonyms (for example, good can be satisfactory or great or awesome or stunning). They also restructure sentences to beautify them so readers can be more engaged with the online magazine.

4. Prefer Websites to Host your Digital Magazine

Want a super-fast hosting plan (that includes LiteSpeed servers) for an affordable price? You probably want to grab my Hostinger Link . I use Hostinger to host my website and make sure it loads super fast!

You can create different laptop and mobile views for your subscribers, you can add email newsletters, lead generation pages, social media icons, and banners everything can be done easily with a CMS.

5. Create a Layout for your Digital Magazine

Figuring out all of this at the start is impossible because you need A/B testing and stats for that but by reading a handful of articles on this concept (increasing time on page, pageviews, reducing bounce rate, etc), you can create an awesome layout that your viewers will love to interact with.

Sage Tip: Your magazine layout must include ad spaces too, placing ads anywhere could ruin a good magazine format for your readers. 

6. Graphics & Photography are Key Elements of a Great Magazine

7. chalk out your revenue models, subscription fees.

The Wall Street Journal uses this very strategy to make money. They have plenty of articles but they’ll show you about 10% of those articles, if you want to read any further you must purchase their subscription. 

Advertisements

2. Contacting Individual Companies

1. If you’re not well known in the digital magazine space, get ready to give steep discounts, give discounts to advertisers who are willing to buy more than one ad or who are willing to increase the time frame to keep those ads on your website.

Sponsored Posts

Note: You must include that the article you’re writing is a sponsored post. Disclaimer is very important, don’t skip it. If possible, write this disclaimer right before you start discussing the  

Live Events/Webinars

People love these types of events and are ready to spend some cash on them. Make sure you infuse quality content during such events as people will expect it to be worth their cash, if you disappoint them once, they won’t attend any of your future events.

Affiliate Links

You promote a product/service that you trust and believe in, your readers make a purchase and you earn a small percentage of the money spent from the product/service company.

8. Promote Your Online Magazine on Digital Platforms

Show them how your team works, get your team to interact with them, go live, reply to comments, and tweet anything you feel like.

My Top Tips for Your Digital Magazine

1. start with a free magazine.

This strategy is simple: every time a new visitor lands on your page, you need to convince them to buy your digital magazine. If they aren’t convinced, show them a pop-up with a free magazine (ensure it’s the latest magazine).

2. Have a Unique Style of Delivering your Magazine

You’re the new business that joins this community. Do you think a person would pay you when they could probably get that information for free elsewhere?

3. Guest Posting

If you target specific websites that fall into your niche for guest posting, you’re slowly establishing your authority in that niche.

4. Document Everything Systematically

You are going to have many teams involved like the writing team, graphics team, etc. Each team is going to do numerous tasks each day. You need to know what they’re doing who’s doing it and when they’re doing it. This helps to rectify errors fast.

5. Have a Content Plan

Once you have this figured out you need to chalk out a systematic plan on how to approach each one of them. You also need to include who will be in charge of the task so things are simpler for everyone to understand.

6. Reach out to Hard-to-Reach People

Your digital magazine will benefit if you can bring a hard-to-reach person. While you may have a slim chance of pulling this off, doing so will be beneficial.

7. Bring Everything Together

That’s great, now you’ve got to take all these teams and turn them into one single team. For example, the writers need to coordinate with editors, the editors will coordinate with the social media team (to start promoting the article before publishing) and the graphics team (to create graphics for the article written).

Ready. Set. Magazine. – Are You Ready?

I’ve told you everything I know about starting and building your magazine. Now before you start hiring a content writing team, graphic designers, marketing teams, etc. I want to ask you, “Is starting an online magazine the right choice for you?”

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How to start a magazine online in 15 steps

In some ways, starting a magazine today is easier than ever. But in others, it can be more difficult. All of this is due to the internet. The web puts free information at everyone’s fingertips, instantly available through mobile devices, which has transformed the magazine industry. It also gives every person online the opportunity to create high quality content and express themselves to a wide audience.

Related: 5 ways to monetize your online magazine

In this beginner’s guide, we will discuss  how to start a magazine online.  The guide is broken into three stages, outlining the work that happens before, during and after production. The first stage is brainstorming, followed by creation and collaboration, and finally, distribution. There’s a lot to cover (no pun intended), so let’s dive in.

Ready to start producing your magazine? Dive in right here with Lucidpress’s  free online magazine maker .

Before production: Brainstorming

1. develop your business plan.

Before writing a single word for your magazine, sit down to develop a business plan. This includes your mission (the reason why your magazine should exist), your goals, and how to attain them.

Important questions to consider in your plan:

• What is the  concept  or focus of your magazine? This should be brief and concise, like an elevator pitch. For example, take a look at this copy from  TIME  magazine’s “About” page: 

• Which  topics  will you cover, and in what depth? Consider your  tone & voice —there is a big difference between  The New Yorker  and  OK! Magazine,  and you should be consistent.
• Who is the primary  audience?  Remember, your magazine should speak to others, not just yourself. It’s also important that your audience has a “continuing need” for your content, so they’ll want to subscribe and read more. Think about your audience’s lifestyle, and cater to the issues and ideas they care about.
• How will the first issue be  funded?  Many magazines earn profit by selling advertising, but it can be hard to attract advertisers at first. Some suggest using personal capital to fund the first issue—raised by saving money, seeking investments, or leveraging the power of crowdfunding.

2. Research the landscape

There are lots of magazines out there already, both digital and in print. Now is the time for you to spend some time at the newsstand (or in your reading app of choice) to evaluate the competition. This will give you a better idea of what’s already being covered and how you can differentiate your publication. It can also reveal gaps and opportunities that are currently not being met in the market, which you can use to your advantage as you develop your magazine concept.

3. Build your team

A magazine is a heady endeavor, one that you shouldn’t undertake alone. Build your team and divide your workload in order to prevent burnout and deliver faster, better results. Your magazine will be stronger for it. Here are a few staff roles you might want to consider.

• Writers  — Magazines are driven by great content, so of course you’ll need great writers to make it work. Maybe you keep it in-house with a few trusted authors, or maybe you reach out to freelancers to submit pitches. Either way, be clear with writers about your editorial expectations and whether you’re offering any compensation for their work.
• Editor  — At the end of the line, there should be one pair of eyes to give each piece of content the final yay or nay. The head editor ensures consistency and quality by reinforcing your editorial standards. This includes tone of voice, grammar, mechanics, and even the reach and scope of each article. When you have a strong editor at the helm, the finished magazine will be polished and cohesive.
• Sales manager  — If your magazine will feature advertisements, a sales manager is indispensable. This person will serve as the point-of-contact for advertisers who will pay for space in your magazine. Having one person available to address their questions and concerns will help you build a better relationship with them, which in turn will lead to higher, more sustainable profits.
• Marketing manager  — Your magazine needs advertising, too! A marketing manager will work to get attention for your magazine, making sure it’s present in all the right places. For example…If you’re launching a magazine in  print,  you’ll need distributors in bookstores, newsstands, and other public places. If you’re launching  online,  there are many channels for you to explore, from search engine ads to social media. Part of this person’s responsibilities will be deciding which distributors and channels are best for your magazine, and then creating materials (press kits, promotional content, etc.) to support them.
• Publication manager  — Here is someone who gets down to the nitty-gritty of publication. This person will help you choose a printing partner who meets your needs, both in terms of quality and budget. What will the paper cost? How do the colors look? Are there any errors in the finished product? A publication manager will focus on these seemingly minor details that, in reality, make a huge difference.
• Partnerships / groups  — These are helpful connections who aren’t necessarily part of your team, but can steer you in the right direction. Partnering with relevant brands can bring more exposure to your magazine, as they share their audience with you. Certain groups made up of local or indie magazines exist to share advice and opportunities with one another, harnessing power in numbers. Take a look around in your community and introduce yourself.

During production: Creation & collaboration

Now it’s time to start creating content and collaborating with your team. This can be a very hectic time, but it’s where the magic happens. If you’re inspired to publish your own magazine, you’re likely familiar with the following steps—but let’s review them anyway.

Finally, time to create articles for your magazine. Depending on its concept, this might mean a few different things: fiction or non-fiction, short stories, journalistic articles, how-to guides, reviews, or even a blend of all of the above. This step encompasses the writing process, from conception to pitch, and from researching to drafting.

It’s not uncommon for articles to undergo more than one round of revisions. Far more than just catching style and grammar mistakes, editing will help the writer focus and elevate their writing. Editors can help with fact-checking as well. Together, writers and editors cooperate to make an article the best it can be.

6. Proofreading

After an article has been written and edited, careful proofreading is required to ensure quality and accuracy. Any typos or errors that made their way through the writing process will be squashed here. Unlike editing, proofreading is not an evaluation of the article’s style, tone, organization or effectiveness. The focus is solely on finding and eliminating errors, so the finished product reads professionally. The person who proofreads might very well be the editor too, but these are still two separate stages of production.

7. Graphic design

The way we enjoy magazines is different from how we consume a book or a newspaper. Although each of these publications provides information, magazines in particular are known for being visual. From elegantly gorgeous to colorfully flashy, magazine design runs the gamut. Your graphic designer is just as responsible for your magazine’s tone and feel as your writers are—if not more so. It’s important for your graphics to match your words. Remember, magazines are less about the information and more about the lifestyle. Browse these  magazine design templates  for some inspiration.

8. Photography

Stock photos are okay here and there, but they’re no substitute for custom photography. Rather than searching for pictures to match your vision (and often, settling for less), a photographer can work with you to capture the pictures you really want. Color, lighting, subject, quality… All of these photo elements contribute to the reader’s perception of your brand. After all, that’s why they say a picture is worth a thousand words. (Or, at least, it’s why we say it.)

9. Make a prototype

Just like with any product, you can’t mass produce until you have a definitive, finalized version. All of the content, words and images are firmly locked into place with no errors or further changes. Holding your first finished prototype (whether in your hand or on a tablet) is a proud moment. Savor it! You’ve put in a lot of work to get here, and there’s still work to be done. You are now ready to start sharing your magazine with the world.

10. Digitize

You probably created your magazine using computer design software, but that doesn’t mean your file is ready to distribute. Different publishers and reading apps have their own standards in terms of file type, size, quality and so on. Make sure you’ve researched and complied with those standards in order to prevent delays.

After production: Distribution

11. find a printer.

Your printing partner is a critical ally on your way to distribution. If you’re only hosting your magazine online, well, you’re off the hook on this one. But if you intend to share hard copies of your magazine locally, regionally, or even nationally… you need a printer you can trust to deliver satisfactory results every time. Do your research, ask around, and interview printing partners until you feel confident that your pick is a good match.

12. Establish your online presence

Perhaps more than any other step, this is paramount to launching a successful online magazine. Your online presence can take many forms, from a website to a blog to social media channels, and maybe even all of the above. What’s important here is building a community of people hungry for your content. People who share the lifestyle and values of your magazine, so they’ll appreciate its message. Find out where those people are online, and make sure they can find you.

13. Decide whether to paywall

This is a tricky question in today’s publishing world. If you paywall all of your content, it might be hard to attract new readers. But, you can’t give it all away for free, either. Striking the right balance between paid and free content might look different for every publication, so experiment to see what works for you. A good place to start is sharing free content and article excerpts on your blog but charging a flat price or subscription for each magazine issue.

14. Build a community around content

Your readers can (and should be) be your best brand advocates. When you foster a strong community on your blog, forum, or social media pages, it gives readers a shared sense of belonging. Discussions are far more interesting when readers get involved, and they can provide you with inspiration and direction. Think about how you can use various types of content to delight your audience. Beyond the pages of your magazine, there are many opportunities. For example, you could start a branded YouTube channel to share vlogs and other video content.

15. Congratulations!

After months of work, you have started an online magazine, and you’re on the track to sustainable growth and success. Once you get to this point, there’s only one thing to do… Get started on the next issue.

Ready to begin?

Want to start your own magazine online?  Lucidpress  will streamline the design process for your whole team. With our intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can select from gorgeous templates and customize with fonts, colors, shapes, images and more. Invite others to collaborate in real time, and when you’re done, export in a variety of print-ready formats.

Inspired to create your own digital magazine? These free magazine templates are a great starting point.

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Written by Nathan Chan | November 5, 2020

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How do you create a digital magazine from scratch?

At Foundr Magazine, we get countless messages every day asking us how to start a digital magazine. When it comes to creating a digital magazine from scratch, it’s not as simple as people make it seem (and it sure wasn’t easy for us, we promise you that).

That’s why, for the first time ever, we’ve decided to completely unpack our own process for our readers, and share all of the behind-the-scenes secrets we’ve learned along our journey so far. Foundr is always about actionable advice, so we have an actionable, step-by-step, easy-to-digest article that lays it all out for you.

Let’s start at the first step: the beginning.

How We Started Our Own Digital Magazine

Foundr Magazine started like any company: small. On March 5th, 2013, Issue #1 of Foundr was published. It made $5.50 in profit with 79 downloads that day.

It’s a little different from what we publish today, isn’t it?

When it comes to launching your first digital magazine, chances are it won’t be perfect, but it’s a necessary step you need to take in creating that perfect version. The Foundr magazine you may be familiar with today wasn’t always that way, and issue 1 is proof of that.

Even today, we are still tweaking and improving our magazine. Our cover has been graced by some of the world’s biggest entrepreneurs, including Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, Marie Forleo, and Daymond John, but we never forget that it all begun with that first issue.

Launching a digital magazine takes a lot of work, but it’s super fun and can be an incredible platform for your business. We’ve broken down our process of creation into easy to follow steps, helping you to understand all the important stuff for planning a digital magazine.

READ MORE: How to Build a Profitable Marketing Strategy

So, You Want to Start a Digital Magazine?

A digital magazine is good for nearly any business, but there are a few questions you need to establish early on. Asking yourself these questions will give you a clearer idea of why you want to create a magazine, but more importantly, it will help guide your decisions further down the track.

Is a Digital Magazine Right for Your Business?

The first thing you need to do before launching your own digital magazine, is you need to make sure that it’s the right move for you and your business.

First off, check to see if there are successful digital magazines in your niche. If not, this may be a red flag that a digital magazine is not well-suited for your target audience. It may be that your target audience is older, and prefers print magazines. Or perhaps there isn’t enough varied content in your niche to create regular publications. You can only find out by doing research to prove your concept.

What’s Your Financial Situation?

Another consideration is money.

Startup costs required to create a quality digital magazine can be relatively high (as detailed below). To compound the problem, digital magazines do not have high price points—in some niches, you’ll find the prices hovering around only $0.99 an issue. In order to recoup your investment and start generating profit, you’ll have to amass a large audience, which may require some further investment.

A digital magazine may not be what gets you to a very high-income point in the short run. That’s not to say that magazines don’t make plenty of money. For example, Forbes magazine generates millions per year. But here at Foundr, we’ve found that a magazine is valuable beyond the profits it directly brings in. Those who will be winning in the future of media will no longer be companies that focus solely on publications.

The reason?

Generating revenue from ads, the primary model used by media historically, is no longer a viable option. You’ll be better off using your magazine as a tool to create diverse revenue streams rather than as the end destination.

Our suggestion? Use your magazine to create a mass of loyal followers, generate some recurring capital, and become positioned as an authority in your niche. Then, it’s all about developing a multi-platform strategy. You want a magazine, but you also want a podcast, a blog, digital products, social media presence, a newsletter, and more.

A magazine is the perfect multi-functional, front-end product for your business:

• Marketing: It’s a great way for people to learn about your company and offers huge value to interested customers.
• Building relationships: Magazines build trust between your business and your audience. Here at Foundr, we’ve also been able to use the magazine as a method to build trust and relationships with influencers as well.
• Recurring revenue: Magazines are born for subscriptions, and if you play your cards right, you can depend on them for consistent and recurring income.
• Influence: Nothing spells influence in your niche than having a quality magazine going out regularly. It’s more work than a blog, but the dividends in influence are proportional.

As great as this all sounds, keep in mind that magazines take as much work and time as any other business. Our CEO Nathan Chan worked on Foundr Magazine for a full year as a side-hustle before he was able to quit his job and grow his company.

But if you’re up for committing to the work, then read on.

The Tools You Need to Create A Digital Magazine

Digital magazines are easier than physical magazines for several reasons. There’s no need to worry about the logistics and expense of physically delivering the magazine, finding a good printing house, or worrying about misdeliveries.

Nonetheless, the technology landscape for setting up, distributing, and getting paid for your digital magazine issue is important. You need to have the right tools to build your magazine on a solid foundation. Lots of digital magazines will cut corners when it comes to tech, and as a result, they will freeze, break, and readers will bounce. Don’t let this be you!

Foundr Magazine only uses the best tools to support our digital distribution, and we vouch for all of the products that we use below. They’ve all been in use consistently at Foundr for more than two years, successfully distributing our magazine to our now 20,000+ readers per month.

READ MORE: How to Develop Powerful Business Core Values and Mission Statements

Using an App for Your Digital Magazine

When it comes to digital magazine technology, the core decision you’ll need to make is: app or no app?

You can certainly host your magazine on the web, and countless magazines do.

However, there’s something awesome about being able to flip through a magazine on your iPhone, anywhere, and anytime. Most importantly, you can get an app in front of a whole slew of new eyes through app distribution platforms.

This is why Foundr took the app route.

Our first issue of Foundr magazine was sold on the App Store and Google Play. We chose to get in front of a market that had buyers. Steve Jobs conditioned customers visiting the App Store to be prepared to pay for content. What’s more, these stores handle all of the billing, delivery technology, and might even help you with marketing (via “Featured” apps and other sections).

For these reasons, we’ve come to the conclusion that building an app to support your digital magazine is a much stronger play than a web-only magazine.

Digital Magazine Tools

MagCast is the technology that Foundr Magazine used to create our app, and from which we publish all of our issues. It allows you to upload your magazine’s PDF through the platform, and publish using the technology. MagCast takes care of the rest—they build your app and set it up in the App Store. They also make it easy to configure your magazine to look good in app form.

• Monthly: $ 297
• Quarterly: $ 787
• Annually: $ 2,997

Mag+ is another magazine app creation platform, which fulfills a similar function as MagCast. We don’t use it here at Foundr, but there it is for your consideration.

The pricing for Mag+ is variable, with flexible options depending on your needs. They have a “Pay As You Publish” option, as well as an “Unlimited Option”, but as this is your first digital magazine, these options may not be suitable for you.

• Monthly: Ranging from $499-$699
• Annually: Ranging from $5389- $7549

Issuu is a web-only magazine publisher. It’s of particular interest to those who are planning on using their magazines as ad revenue-generating machines. Issuu is great for beginners as it allows you to create for free.

• FREE, and up to $279 annually

FlipSnack is a handy little website that transforms your PDF into an interactive flipbook, which can then be presented on your website. This is the technology that we use to upload past and present copies of Foundr Magazine.

FlipSnack has a tonne of other useful tools for digital creators, including printing services and SEO management, so have a look through and see if it suits your magazine’s goals.

• FREE to $948 a year

Apple iTunes Store and Google Play

You need a place to distribute your magazine, and where else to go except the iTunes App Store and Google Play, where there are huge audiences waiting for your content. These stores already have the authority, audience, and infrastructure there for the taking. You’ll have to get registered with these platforms and follow their terms of agreement and pricing.

Apple iTunes Store:

• $99/year + 30% of the revenue from your sales

Google Play Store:

• $25 charge to register + $100/year + 30% of the revenue from your sales

When you start your magazine on a shoestring budget, it’s all about wearing many hats (publisher, editor, writer, interviewer, etc.), and it might stay that way. But if you decide to grow, you can start to flesh out your process and bring on a team. At this point, you may need to expand into productivity and management software. Otherwise, the technology for deploying a digital magazine isn’t too complex, and definitely within reach of the most tech-averse entrepreneur.

READ MORE: 10 Instagram Growth Hacks For More Engaged Followers (Without Running Ads)

Create Awe-Inspiring Designs

Today’s online business landscape is so incredibly competitive, no matter what product you’re selling. That means that you need to find new ways to impress your market and grab their attention.

One key way to do this is with a stellar, standout design.

How many digital magazines have the same serious covers, with predictable font choices, colors, and layouts? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the truth is, those things don’t stick out anymore.

You can’t stand out by fitting in, just look at these covers you’re competing with:

Great design is a minimum requirement.

When it comes to digital magazines especially, your potential buyers will not invest in a copy of your work unless it looks great. That’s just part of the experience they’re paying for. Great design also gets you to that trust threshold required for someone to hand their money over the internet. It’s legitimizing.

But the design that gets your digital magazine thousands of readers has to go far beyond this threshold. You can’t just be great—you need to be awesome.

Here at Foundr, everything we put out not only has great design, but we strive to make it unique, edgy, and even daring. We know that our magazine is read mostly by young people, who are full of energy and ready to make a change in this world through entrepreneurship. Our design has to convey that energy:

There are no shortcuts or formulas to good design. It really is just a question of hiring the right person for the job. Finding a quality designer isn’t easy, nor is it cheap. You shouldn’t expect to pay bottom dollar for top work.

There are plenty of websites that connect you to remote designers. These are great because they give you access to a global pool of talent:

These websites include:

• Behance: Search through the portfolios of thousands of designers and post a job to get applications.
• Dribbble: Search through portfolios of both individual designers and agencies. Pitch to them individually instead of posting a job and getting deluged by applications.

You might have to go through a few designers or agencies before finding the one that matches your vision and market. Here at Foundr, we went through two designers before landing one designer we work well with.

To find the right designer, always have a trial period or a test project. It could be as simple as having them create a short PDF based on a checklist.

The quality of the designer’s work is just as important as the speed with which they create it. Equally important is the relationship that you have with the designer. Do you jell with them? Do your working styles meld nicely?

In the end, you need to pick a designer you can trust. There is nothing that bothers creatives more than when clients micromanage their work. Many designers will drop clients that do not give them enough creative control.

Round-Up Top Content

You’ve got your magazine looking good, and you’ve got the right tech to put it out into the world. Now it’s time to focus on providing useful content for your readers.

Foundr Magazine is made up of three different “types” of content:

• General content related to entrepreneurship
• Feature articles based on top entrepreneurs we interview
• Virtual Mentor Q&A section

We round the magazine out with an editor’s note at the beginning and Actionable Takeaways at the end. The overarching goal of all of our content is to give great, actionable, fun-to-read content for our audience, who will then take this knowledge to apply it to their business-building efforts.

Overall, we keep the magazine relatively short compared to your standard print publication, at between 10,000-12,000 words an issue. Most articles are between 2,000-5,000 words, with our features and front features leaning on the longer side. We also tend to run shorter pieces at the beginning of each issue.

As a good general rule, we find our readers enjoy the content they can take away and do something with afterward. Whether it’s something that inspires them or gives them precise instructions, we recommend making sure that your content is helpful to your readers in some way.

We’ve also found that it’s best to also include some pieces that are lighter in tone and subject matter since most of what we cover is about the business world. We like to insert some lifestyle pieces that would still add value to a busy entrepreneur’s life, but also offer a bit of a break.

READ MORE: How to Start a Podcast on a Budget

How do we manage to get such amazing content?

The first step to creating meaningful and engaging content is finding excellent writers.

Spend some time searching for a good writer, and always ask to see examples of their work to gauge whether or not their writing style is what you need.

At Foundr, we firmly believe that you get what you pay for. While we do look to keep costs as low as possible, you cannot expect a life-changing magnum opus from a writer if you are offering them peanuts. Be fair with your budget, and consider whether the writer’s budget is doable for quality content.

The second step is getting a great copy editor.

A copy editor will take your magazine from good to high-quality.

They root out those grammar and spelling mistakes that you will miss during writing and editing. It depends on the editor, but ours also assesses the entire product and returns headline suggestions and stylistic feedback, such as the order of the articles, to produce the most polished and cohesive issue possible.

This person provides a fresh, outside set of eyes to go over what you’re creating, and offers insights you would likely miss.

When starting out, you may not be able to afford a professional copy editor right off the bat. Even if you are able to, it’s good to have an understanding of what these people do, and how it is important to creating a quality publication.

First and foremost, copy editors police your use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But they also help ensure a consistent writing style for your magazine.

This means making sure the way you spell certain words, punctuate quotations or present things like titles and headings is the same throughout your writing. It might seem inconsequential, but readers will notice when your publication has all kinds of crazy punctuation, or “startup” in one sentence and “start-up” in the next. This will give your readers the idea that the publication is unprofessional, sloppy, and not worth the money.

A great default tool for this is the Associated Press Stylebook. It’s the style bible for most of the professional media world. It can be old-fashioned at times but is the standard-bearer of all the media rules of the road.

As you grow and bring on more writers, you’ll find that having an internal “Style Guide” specific to your magazine will prove extremely helpful. A Style Guide is like a rule book that you set up, which outlines the conventions that your particular magazine follows—that is, the length of articles, how you handle things like headlines, first and last names, titles, the spelling of branded words, etc.

This can serve as a reminder to yourself, and a quick reference for any new editors or writers you are bringing onboard.

At Foundr, we have a style guide that we use with all our copy. Simple things like “US English only”, and “no curly quotation marks” are what helps to keep us consistent.

In the end, the style of your magazine will come down to what you feel will speak more to your audience.

If your publication is aimed towards more professional career people, it may not make sense to adopt a casual tone. If your publication is aimed towards a very tech-savvy audience, it may make more sense to throw in technical jargon or acronyms without much explanation.

Whatever the style of your magazine might be, it’s important to define it and stick to it.

READ MORE: Psychographics 101: Everything You Need to Know; How It’s Used in Marketing

Creating the Layout of Your Digital Magazine

Your magazine will need to have some kind of layout and will most likely have recurring sections.

For example, we have a recurring section called “Life Hacks” as well as our “Virtual Mentor” section, where an industry expert or entrepreneur answers questions sent to us via our Virtual Mentor email box.

In terms of layout, we place our content between the editor’s note from Nathan Chan, and our concluding section, “Actionable Takeaways,” where we list the best actionable ideas from the magazine issue.

How should you layout your magazine? There is no set way, but as with everything, get some inspiration from your own favorite magazines. Grab a few copies of your favorite digital magazine and study each one for:

• How it organizes its layout
• Which recurring sections it contains
• Use of visual points of entry
• If they have themed issues
• The length and tone of their articles (First-person? Long narrative stories?)

Historically, magazines are separated into some main sections:

• Front of the Book (F.O.B): This is the first third of the magazine. It contains elements such as contents, the masthead, letters to the editor, recurring features like Q&As or book reviews, regular columns, mini-stories, infographics, product reviews. The F.O.B. usually tends to be heavy on quick, visual pieces, not long pieces of text. It can sometimes extend to the first half of the entire magazine.
• The Well: Also known as the “Feature Well” is the heart of the issue. It holds the main stories, including the cover story. These articles take up big chunks of the magazine and are longer, with large pieces of text and illustrative photos mixed in. Sometimes a special issue will have closely themed features, but usually, the topics vary.
• Back of Book (B.O.B.): This is the last portion of the magazine. It’s usually pretty short, and usually contains one or two shorter pieces to round things out. Sometimes it includes additional resources for readers. Often magazines will have a one-page recurring feature on the last page of every issue.

Whatever you do, keep in mind that variety is a worthy goal for any magazine, new or old. Even in the Feature Well, keep your readers engaged by avoiding too many very long stories in a row.

Don’t be afraid to mix things up a little, keeping in mind that your consistent and recurring features create something that readers can look forward to, while variations provide pleasant surprises.

READ MORE: FREE TRAINING: Explode Your Instagram Account With Our IG Hacks Masterclass

Get Interviews with Hard-to-Reach People

Interviewing hard-to-reach people will likely be something many, if not all, digital magazines will be interested in doing. Whatever your niche, your magazine will benefit immensely from having a leader or influencer in your field appear in your magazine.

Nathan Chan was struggling to get people to accept interviews with his then small and unknown entrepreneur magazine. Everything changed when Richard Branson was interviewed and featured on the cover.

Nathan knew that he needed a big name to propel the magazine and raise its profile. He aimed right for the top with Richard Branson.

Branson has quite a few books out there, so Nathan thought to first contact the book publishers. From there, he found out who the head of PR was for Branson, which leads him to his main contact person at Virgin.

He then pitched to that assistant at Virgin.

Find your target’s gatekeeper, whether that’s an internal head of PR, their personal assistant, or an agency that represents them.

But the effort wasn’t over yet. Nathan had to call this PR person four or five times, leaving voice messages each time. When he finally caught her over the phone, Nathan made his case and emphasized that he really wanted Branson on the cover of his new publication

The PR person then agreed to an email interview, and the rest is history. The Branson issue was a major turning point for Foundr, with our interviews only getting better and better from there.

The Branson issue and the many other rockstar entrepreneur interviews we’ve done have had what is known as the “Oprah Effect” for Foundr Magazine. That’s when you’ve interviewed so many awesome and successful people, that people become interested in what YOU have to say.

That makes YOU the new influencer.

READ MORE: 3 Ways to Create a Facebook Sales Funnel That Will Convert Customers on Autopilot

Promoting and Marketing Your Digital Magazine

When starting Foundr Magazine, we were able to grow at a rapid pace by using many different marketing tactics and strategies. That initially meant throwing things against the wall and seeing what stuck. In the early days, Nathan had to work out and test many channels that were effective for growing Foundr. Below is what worked the best.

Social Media

Nathan was trying out loads of different marketing tactics over social media but was struggling to gain traction.

That was until he tried Instagram.

Once he broke the Instagram marketing code, he started seeing consistent growth in email sign-ups and magazine sales. Instagram has been the top channel for Foundr Magazine’s growth.

On Instagram, Foundr managed to generate 10k followers in two weeks, built an extremely powerful sales funnel, and landed some huge exposure for the brand.

When it comes to Social Media, there’s too much opportunity to put just in this article alone. We have a tonne of content, how-tos, and other hacking guides, so be sure to check out our other articles when you’ve finished with this one.

Keyword optimization for the App Store is not as complex as web SEO, although it is no less essential. You want your magazine to rank for key search terms in your niche.

If at all possible, you need to get your keyword into the title of your app. For us, “entrepreneur magazine” is a major keyword for our market, and is featured in our app title: “AA+ Foundr – A Young Entrepreneur Magazine.”

Using keywords can also get you in the top five apps pages, allowing you to piggyback off of the successful and well-known apps. For example, Foundr Magazine benefits from the fact that we show up along Entrepreneur Magazine in the top five apps under “entrepreneur.” We also show up when people search for “Forbes” or “Harvard Business Review.”

You can use tools like Sensortower to help you research your keywords, your competitors’ keywords, and more.

Don’t worry about the competitiveness of the keyword, get it into your title if at all possible. As always, perform A/B testing to refine the keyword that you include in your title.

READ MORE: We Went From 0 to $50,000 in Sponsorships in 4 Weeks & How You Can Too!

As mentioned earlier, the design and look of your magazine is of prime importance. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. They are browsing the store, looking for something cool to read. Your front cover is therefore a marketing tool. Spend time working the covers and headlines because they are the difference between a reader and someone who brushes you aside.

Free App and a Free Issue

Without question, your magazine app must be free to download. This will reduce the friction getting from the App Store to your actual magazine. Up the ante by offering a free magazine issue. Offering even a couple of free issues is very effective in creating long-term subscribers.

At Foundr we give one of our best interviews (Richard Branson) and our guide to 10,000 Instagram followers for free, using our free app. Our 20,000+ monthly readers speak to the effectiveness of this tactic.

The more (positive) reviews you have, the better you will rank in the app store. To get good reviews, you need to make sure that your magazine is of top quality. Furthermore, you need to make sure that your technology works perfectly—no crashing, no unnecessary slowness, no annoying technical glitches. That’s why we recommend you go with a dependable publishing technology company, like MagCast, which will take care of that whole aspect for you.

Otherwise, you can collect positive ratings by prompting users to review you in the digital stores, preferably a few times over the course of the user’s interaction with the app.

Influencers

Foundr Magazine does double duty when it comes to influencers. Not only do we get to offer incredible value to our readers by interviewing the top entrepreneurs from around the world, but these Influencers also promote their features to their own audiences, serving as a valuable source of marketing.

Even if you aren’t looking to do interviews for your magazine, you can still network with influencers in your field and ask them to promote your work (for a fair exchange, of course).

READ MORE: 30 Expert Tips on How to Get 10k More Followers on Instagram

Making Money: Pricing the Digital Magazine

The production costs of your magazine will be much lower than a traditional magazine, and as such, you may be tempted to have this reflected in your price.

Don’t guess at your magazine price. Do a methodical competitive analysis. That is, go into the channel through which you will be distributing your magazine—whether that is the App Store, Google Play, or the web—and check out your competitors in the space.

Collect the prices, calculate the median and average. See how these magazines structure discounts for longer-term subscriptions and back issues.

For example, here’s how Foundr has structured its pricing (all pricing in USD):

• Individual issues cost $4.99
• 1 Month Subscription costs $2.99 (savings of 40%)
• 1 Year Subscription costs 21.99 (savings of 63%)

As we’ve done, incentivize your audience with savings for longer-term subscriptions, which offers them a deal, and provides you with higher per-customer revenue.

READ MORE: Building the Perfect Sales Funnel for Your Shopify Store

Ready to Start Your Online Magazine?

When it comes to launching your own digital magazine, the most important takeaway from this post is to explore different revenue models for your magazine. As mentioned above, traditional media based on ad revenue is on its way out, and we are seeing an emergence of new and exciting models.

Magazines are now hosting conferences, creating courses, selling coaching, and even creating physical products. It’s an exciting time to be a creative entrepreneur in media. At this turning point, the most daring and creative among media entrepreneurs will define the winning business models and become leaders in the field.

But what do you think? Do you think this new model will succeed? Are you thinking of starting a digital magazine? Comment with your thoughts below.

About Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan holds a Master of Business from Victoria University and is widely respected as one of the brightest minds of his generation. An expert at entrepreneurship, he started Foundr -- a global media and education company that reaches out to millions of people across the world. In the last seven years, Nathan has interviewed some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time such as Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Mark Cuban, and Tim Ferriss. He currently leads the team at Foundr as their Chief Executive Officer.

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How to start your own online magazine.

Thanks to the relative ease and low costs of digital publishing, in the past few years there’s been a boom in high-quality online magazines.

The days where you needed a multi-million dollar The Devil Wears Prada -style office and a giant team of writers and graphic designers are long gone. With the right tools, and team in place, you can look after everything from the comfort of your own home.

That doesn’t make it easy—starting your own digital magazine is a lot of work. But if you’re willing to dedicate the time and effort it’s a surefire way to build new revenue streams and position your business as a leader in your industry.

Pumped to get going? Let’s get to it.

What is an online magazine?

We promise this headline isn’t just here for SEO purposes. That would be cheap. Believe it or not, there’s actually a bit of confusion about what constitutes an online magazine.

On the web, it’s not uncommon to see everything from blogs that self-style as digital magazines to Substack newsletters that are fully functional online publications with teams of writers, editors, and artists.

What we mean by “online magazine” is a digital version of a print magazine that you can read in your web browser, on a tablet, or on your smartphone. While they share some characteristics with newspapers and blogs, they’re their own unique platform.

Digital magazines do their best to replicate the print experience (minus killing trees and spending thousands on printing costs). There’s a suave front cover, a blend of images, feature articles and interviews, and even the ability to flip pages if you so desire.

Is an online magazine the right choice for you?

Before you hire a content team, cold-email Elon Musk for an interview, reach out to potential advertisers, and spend hours on Canva mocking up a cover, you need to ask yourself one question:

Is creating your own online magazine the right move? Or are you just drawn to the idea like a moth to a candle, with no forethought as to whether you should actually do it?

Try to figure out three things:

• What’s our niche?
• Are there other successful digital magazines in that space?
• Who is my target audience?

Nailing your niche

Every magazine—print or digital—has a niche. GQ is about men’s lifestyle, Foundr is aimed at young entrepreneurs, National Geographic explores science and geography, and People is committed to bizarre celebrity gossip.

You need to decide what yours will be. Ideally, it should be linked to your expertise and whatever your business specialises in. There should be synergy with the rest of your company’s services and content.

For example, it would make no sense for Paperform to start a digital magazine about fast food. Sure, we think it’s delicious, but we don’t know a thing about it.

We would want to create engaging content about a topic we know—startups, remote work, and design—all of which we could talk about with authority . You should have the same goal.

Once you have identified a niche, the next step is to see if anyone else is doing it. If there is, don’t retreat into the corner with a box of Kleenex just yet. Take a look at their product and see if you can identify things you could do better.

A few things to look out for:

• Are they producing quality content?
• Do they have a large audience?
• What kind of pricing model do they use?

Think you can compete? Go for it. Of course, you can skip this step if there’s no one producing a digital magazine within your niche. But if that’s the case, keep in mind there may be no one doing it because it doesn’t have a large (or interested) enough audience to justify the trouble.

Make sure you’ve done the research and have a business plan in place, so you’re not about to create a digital magazine only your mum reads.

Show me the money

A conversation about money is like Thanos: inevitable. While the startup costs of digital magazines are relatively small, there’s still plenty to shell out for. Plus, you won't be raking in the cash any time soon thanks to the fact:

• Price points for digital magazines are fairly low
• You need a sizeable audience to start bringing in cash

That’s not to say you can’t. Vogue , Wired , and The New Yorker are all swimming in cash. Feel free to chase your publishing tycoon dreams. But if making money is your primary goal, it takes a huge investment of time, as well as a fair bit of luck.

If you’re purely wanting to maximize profits and generate money, creating a digital magazine isn’t the right move. You would be better off doubling down on marketing and social media strategies .

Instead, we recommend you think of an online magazine as part of a multi-platform strategy alongside your other content offerings, whether that’s a blog, social media, a podcast, or all three.

Why? Because digital magazines aren’t just about writing cool content and living out your Andy Warhol fantasies. They are complex tools that appear simple at first, but actually kick a number of your business goals, including:

• Creating brand authority
• Improving marketing
• Creating  community
• Building relationships
• Generating recurring revenue

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? It has the potential to be. Just remember that getting up and running is pretty much a full-time job, and you’ll only reap the benefits if you’re willing to put in the hard yards (and cash.)

How to start an online magazine

1. develop a business plan.

Before you put pen to digital paper, you’re going to want to develop a business plan. This forces you to think through your ideas, define your mission and come up with a set of goals (and how you will achieve them).

Coming up with a business plan is like plotting a road trip in the days of physical maps and street directories. It shapes your journey and helps you figure out how you'll get where you need to go.

Most importantly, it forces you to shape random thoughts and ideas into a coherent structure. By doing this you can make sure your new digital magazine will deliver on its purpose, whatever that may be.

Here are a few questions to consider:

• Concept . Having a niche is one thing, but what will you focus on? Think of this as the ten-second sales pitch of what your magazine is about.
• Topics. Pretty straightforward. What kind of things will you write about? This can also be influenced by the kind of audience you want to cater to.
• ** Resources. ** Graphic design , writing, editing, photography, sourcing content. A digital magazine is a huge job. Will you hire a dedicated team, look after it all yourself, or add to the workload of existing employees?
• ** Audience. ** You need to target a specific audience that, ideally, easily links back to your business. Figure out who your ideal readership is and investigate how you can meet their needs.
• * *Funding.* * How are you going to pay for this bad boy? The old ad model is a bit outdated, so you might decide to add it to the marketing costs, or try to get it off the ground with crowdfunding.

This process is also where you can do the fun stuff, like come up with a name for your new online magazine. Just on that—once you’ve got one, snatch up social media handles and a domain name to make your life easier.

Also, consider price. As part of your competitor analysis, look at what other magazine publishers charge. Check out an array of examples, calculate the average, and think about how you could structure your pricing .

2. Gather your content dream team

Your mag needs to do two things above all else: look spectacular, and be filled with great content. Even if you think you’re a jack-of-all-trades, trying to do this yourself is a recipe for disaster.

Creative work is time-consuming and difficult. In just about every circumstance, it’s best to put together the right team and leave it to the pros. Your digital magazine will thank you for it—and so will your brain.

Magazines are driven by quality written content. In its heyday, even Playboy , a print publication full of pictures of beautiful naked women, was full of memorable articles, interviews, short stories and long-form journalism.

If you’re lucky you might already have an in-house writer you trust, otherwise you’ll need to reach out to freelance writers or hire new staff. Whatever you pick, this isn’t the time to try to save a few bucks.

When it comes to written content, we’re of the belief you get what you pay for. You can’t expect to hire cheap freelancers and get anything worth publishing. By offering fair payment you’ll draw skilled professionals and be rewarded with quality content.

freelance job application form

Editors are like cookie dough chunks in ice cream—they take something that’s good and make it great. They find mistakes, fix grammar, hand out stylistic feedback, and give articles an all-around polish.

Most importantly, they help maintain a consistent style for your new magazine. This includes how you spell words, heading and title copy, creating a style guide, and making sure each article hits a certain level of quality.

Don’t skimp on your editor. Readers have razor-sharp senses and it only takes a few errors and inconsistencies to start losing authority (and subscribers.)

We’ve all heard the saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover”. Well, surprise! Folks do. All the time. And the reality is, if your digital magazine doesn’t look great, people just won’t buy it.

Beautiful design is part of what subscribers are paying for. A pro can help you come up with a unique design that fits your brand, gives an aesthetically-pleasing reading experience, and draws the eye of potential readers to digital newsstands.

Behance and Dribbble are two great online platforms to find remote designers. You can look through portfolios to get an idea of their work, and then contact them to set up a meeting.

design request form

Photography.

It’s just not cost-effective to have unique photos on each page. We suggest that you hire a photographer for tent pole content like large features, covers, and interviews. That way you can make sure you capture the shots you need.

The rest of the time you can use platforms like Unsplash to source photography. You can also team up with indie artists to promote their work, use a content creator from around the office, or ask brands you’re collaborating with to share their press shots.

photography order form

3. choose your magazine creation tools.

When it comes to setting up your magazine tech stack, your main choice is whether to go web-only or follow the app route. A web-only magazine is readable online, whereas an app-based magazine is published on iOS and Android marketplaces.

There’s no “right” answer. Mostly it comes down to personal preference and the kind of experience you want to deliver. However, there are a few key benefits that come with going the app route.

Foremost is you get your own app on the App Store or Google Play. Folks can get the app, subscribe to your magazine and flip through each issue, whether they are on the couch at home or on the train to work.

Even better than your own app? Apple and Android platforms look after the billing, subscriptions, and digital delivery, plus a lot of the marketing by displaying your mag in the relevant sections of their online marketplace.

Just keep in mind that the Apple iTunes store and Google Play take a slice of your revenue. The cost is:

• Google Play Store : $25 USD to register + $100 USD/year + 30% of revenue
• Apple iTunes Store: $99 USD/year + 30% of revenue

You’ll have to crunch the numbers and decide if giving our resident tech giants a cut is worth the benefits they bring. But even with these costs, we tend to veer on the side of creating your own app.

They simplify your job and free up time for you to concentrate on creating. On top of that, having your digital magazine as an app is a bit more official than one hosted on your own website .

We put together some of the most popular digital magazine creation tools below:

1. flipsnack

• Free Basic Plan
• Prices start at $14/month when charged annually for the Starter plan.

With FlipSnack you can transform a PDF into an interactive magazine that you can upload to a website. It comes with a bunch of tools for everything from design and data analysis to helping define your personal brand.

• Free to get started
• Prices start at $25/month when charged annually for the Starter plan.

Like FlipSnack, Issuu is a web-only magazine publication tool. Their magazines look fantastic, integrate well with tools like Indesign, Dropbox and Google Docs, and have built-in tools for marketing and distribution.

• Prices start at $297/month.

MagCast empowers you to create your own full-featured digital magazine app. Build and import your magazine, then publish it straight from the dashboard. Let MagCast take care of the rest.

• Prices are done by “per issue” or “monthly” licenses and start at a single charge of $2099.

Mag+ makes it easy to build, distribute and monetise your magazine with your own app. Their tools cover every part of the app-publishing process, from design through to distribution, and it's used by  names like Harvard Business School and Tag Heuer.

5. Paperform

• Essentials Plan starts at $20 when paid annually.

Paperform isn’t a platform to create a magazine, but it can help you distribute it and manage your subscriptions. Just set up your own landing page and send subscribers a PDF straight to their inbox.

You can take payments, set tiered pricing and automate the whole process—from signing up to receive the magazine to getting the first PDF download in your email.

Keep in mind that you’ll need a few different tools. Depending on how large your team and subscriber list is you may require things like product management software , a CRM platform, a task manager and, of course, a collaboration tool like Google Docs.

magazine purchase form

4. settle on your design.

Now it’s time to figure out how your digital magazine will look. This means on an aesthetic level, as well as what types of content you’ll publish and what recurring sections you’ll have in each issue.

We’ve already touched on the importance of design, but the work isn’t done once you have an eye-catching cover—it has to look great throughout. You’ll need to blend your fantastic articles with gorgeous visuals, and give readers an experience that’s both a) beautiful and b) readable.

You’ll also need to define what types of content you’re going to fill those pages with, as well as where it will be placed within each issue. For example, it’s common to have a letter from the editor and correspondence before getting into the main content.

Traditionally, magazines are split into four sections:

• Cover pages : the cover (obviously) and the first few pages (which are often advertisements)
• Front of book : the table of contents and masthead. Editors note or short opinion pieces may also live here.
• Feature well : the main part of the magazine that includes the bulk of your articles
• Back of book : the last section of the magazine, usually a couple short pieces and a prompt or CTA for readers to follow

To get ideas, look at notable publications from any industry. Take a read through and look at how they organize their content. How long are their articles? What’s the tone and point of view of the articles? Is there a theme?

There’s always room for innovation. If you think there’s a better way to do things, go for it. You can always make changes in the next issue if things don’t quite work.

5. Source awesome content

Great team? Check. Beautiful design? Check. Layout? Settled. It’s time to fill those digital pages, so get together with your editor and brainstorm what types of content you want to produce.

Take a look at Fortune for example. Their goal is to inform readers about events in the business world, and help set them up for success.

They provide:

• Original content related to business
• Well-researched stories about successful businesses/people
• Interviews with CEOs and influencers
• In-depth guides

We recommend that your content is helpful and actionable in some way. People want to feel like they’ve learnt something they can apply to their own life. It’s about giving value to your subscribers.

The golden rule of digital magazine publishing is variation. Your small business blog might do fine with one type of content, but that won’t cut it in the mag biz. Add a mix of short and long-form features, Q&As, opinion pieces and interviews.

6. Get promoting

If a magazine is published and there’s no one around to read it, is it even published? You’ve done all the hard work and now comes the hardest part of all—getting people to read it.

Maybe you've got a huge online business and an active audience salivating at the idea of a magazine published by you. But the chances are that’s not the case. So how do you build a readership and start generating revenue?

The usual marketing strategies apply. Spread the word on social media, target your email list, share it with your existing community, ask early adopters to leave reviews and get influencers you feature to promote it within their networks.

A common growth approach many digital magazines adopt is:

• Making their app free to download and;
• Offering at least one free issue

By making your app free to download you get people in the door. Then you can offer one or two free issues to get them hooked on your outstanding content, and convert them into dedicated subscribers.

(If you go the web-only route you can echo this by offering an issue outside the paywall .)

Over to you

Thanks to the decay of old ad-based revenue models, and an unprecedented demand for high-quality content, digital publishing is bigger than ever. And it's only going to grow in popularity.

Now’s your chance. The stage is set for savvy folks like yourself to take advantage of this new and exciting media landscape. As the old saying goes, “fortune favours the bold”— so get out there and get started today.

Don’t want to spend money on a dedicated magazine platform? Set up a stunning one-page website with Paperform and start collecting sign-ups in minutes. With our comprehensive digital suite of tools, you'll be able to automate the lead management, subscription, and distribution processes, all from one platform.

Take it for a spin today with our 14-day free trial —no credit card required.

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• Digital Publishing
• Sales & Marketing
• Internal Communications

How to Plan, Create and Publish an Online Magazine

Updated: September 16, 2024 Published: September 21, 2022

As digital transformation sweeps across entire industries, the advent of an online magazine opens up unprecedented opportunities for businesses looking to innovate in marketing, advertising, and audience engagement. Whether you're a startup eager to carve out your niche or an established enterprise aiming to expand your reach, launching an online magazine could be the game-changer you've been searching for.

Why opt for an online magazine? The reasons are manifold. From crafting a global presence that knows no bounds to tailoring content that resonates with your target demographics, online magazines offer a dynamic platform to showcase your brand's ethos, innovations, and insights. Beyond mere promotion, they serve as a conduit for fostering community, sharing thought leadership, and, importantly, understanding your audience through tangible engagement metrics.

Here's everything you need to know about creating an online magazine for your business.

• Why Online Magazine?
• Planning Your Digital Magazine

Creation: Bringing Your Vision to Life

• The Publishing Phase
• Distribution and Management

Why Should You Create an Online Magazine?

An online magazine can expand your marketing and sales strategies and do much more for your business. It doesn't matter what industry you're in; an online magazine can help you stand out.

A major reason to create an online magazine is to provide prospects and customers with information about your products, services, and company. Like social media, an online magazine can promote your business and products.

An online magazine creates a global footprint. You can reach more of your target audience by publishing an online magazine. More people can learn about your products and offer them if you reach a wider audience. Furthermore, it can help you promote ideas and thoughts within your field.

An online magazine makes it easy to track reader activity. It delivers insight into your readers' actions and how to optimize the magazine’s content and performance.

An online magazine is cost-efficient, allowing you to reduce printing and postage expenses significantly.

Ready to begin? Let’s break down each stage of the digital publishing process.

The Planning Stage: Mapping Out Your Vision

Before creating an online magazine or publication, map out your goals and strategy. Planning will revolve around the magazine’s editorial focus and target audience, so start by generating ideas.

What kind of content will be published? Is there a specific topic the magazine will cover? These ideas can help sell your product or help your business gain better visibility.

The next part is establishing a target audience. What demographics are being targeted? Consider age, gender, geographical locations, interests, and hobbies. Understanding your target audience helps to deliver content that makes an impact.

After identifying the target audience, outline the content style for the online magazine. The style can be changed later if something's not working after the planning stage. Some styles to consider are opinion pieces, surveys or quizzes, how-to articles, informational pieces, and profiles. The editorial mix can change as the magazine evolves.

With a clear idea of the magazine’s content, you can focus on the different ways to present it. For example, digital magazines deliver more engaging and interactive content than print. It includes videos, photos, audio, slideshows, gifs, feedback forms, and surveys.

The more detailed your planning, the easier the next stage will be, although staying flexible is important.. Be prepared to experiment with your content until you find a formula that works.

The next stage in creating a digital magazine is developing the content. It is when you write and edit the articles for the first issue. Again, you’ll need to take your time.

The higher the quality of the content, the more readers it will consistently attract. If you're worried about writing and editing a large number of articles, start with a few. It can establish the editorial framework. Then, you can build on the content in later issues.

Curating articles for the first issue is only half the battle. The next step is to determine the layout of the issue. Placement and design can contribute to a magazine's reader-friendliness and professional appearance.

The layout should reflect the magazine’s style and tone. Choose photos, fonts, and colors carefully while paying attention to the layout's details.

Be sure to keep your color palette and designs simple. Too many colors or different fonts can be distracting and make it difficult for the reader to enjoy the magazine.

Publishing: Going Live

After developing the content, it’s time to focus on publishing. There are a few things to consider:

How and where would you like to publish the magazine? What is the most effective way to put your magazine in front of as many people as possible?

The best option may be to work with a third-party platform that hosts online magazines. These platforms make it easy to create and publish content.

At Joomag, we offer templates and robust features that can help customize your content, including static PDFs.

Additionally, we offer engaging and interactive elements that digitally bring your magazine to life. We’re talking about videos, slideshows, audio, photos, and interactive plugins.

Just as important, Joomag offers in-depth analytics to measure and optimize your content for maximum ROI.

Utilizing a third-party content creation platform is beneficial when creating, publishing, distributing, and managing content.

You can learn more about digital publishing here .

Distribution and Management: Maximizing Reach and Engagement

Now that you understand the basics of creating a digital magazine, let’s focus on distribution and management.

Publishing online isn't enough if you want to reach your target audience effectively. Your magazine must be distributed in different places and by various means.

For example, a newsletter or reminder email can be sent to subscribers when a new issue is published. You could also get your readers to opt-in to text or push notifications. An online magazine can be embedded on a website or delivered via a mobile app.

Posting on social media may be the most effective distribution channel. The magazine can be marketed using your company's social media profiles, personal social media profiles, or both.

To maintain and expand readership, you must manage the magazine’s analytics to track reader engagement with the content.

One of the best things about Joomag is that we do it for you!

We can help you track how readers engage with content on an individual, page-by-page, or publication basis and offer sophisticated tools to filter and segment audiences.

Understanding what readers like and dislike about your magazine is crucial. Therefore, management is a key element in creating your online magazine.

Without it, you could struggle to reach your readers effectively or gain a consistent readership.

Create an online magazine today!

Now that you know how to make an online magazine let’s take the leap and begin creating your own.

Book a discovery call to learn how Joomag can help you launch a digital magazine in minutes.

Enhance Every Aspect of Your Publishing Process with Joomag

Joomag is revolutionizing the way businesses approach online magazine creation, offering an all-encompassing platform that caters to every facet of digital publishing. From transforming initial concepts into interactive digital experiences to transcending the boundaries of traditional formats, Joomag simplifies and elevates the publishing process. Our platform doesn't just stop at delivering in-depth analytics and advanced retention and conversion tools; it ensures your publications captivate through aesthetically appealing, mobile-optimized, and reader-friendly formats.

With Joomag, crafting your online magazine becomes an effortless endeavor. Our tools guarantee that your publication flawlessly adjusts to any screen size, providing a seamless and engaging experience for your readers. Features such as scrollable text, zoomable high-definition images, playable videos, and listenable audio clips breathe life into your content, transforming passive readers into active participants in your brand's narrative.

Q: Why is an online magazine beneficial for my business?

A: An online magazine expands your marketing and sales strategies, provides valuable insights into reader behavior, increases your global reach, and is cost-efficient compared to traditional print magazines.

Q: What should be my first step in creating an online magazine?

A: Begin with planning. Determine your magazine's goals, target audience, content style, and how you'll present this content digitally to engage your readers effectively.

Q: How can I ensure my online magazine's content is engaging?

A: Focus on developing high-quality, relevant content that resonates with your target audience. Use Joomag's interactive features, like videos and slideshows, to make your content more engaging.

Q: What platform can I use to publish my online magazine?

A: Joomag offers robust features for creating, publishing, and managing your online magazine, including templates, interactive elements, and in-depth analytics.

Q: How can I effectively distribute my online magazine?

A: Utilize multiple channels for distribution, including email newsletters, social media, embedding on your website, or through a mobile app. Joomag can assist in optimizing your distribution strategy.

Q: How can I track and improve reader engagement with my online magazine?

A: Joomag provides sophisticated analytics tools to track reader engagement on a detailed level, allowing you to understand preferences and improve your content strategy accordingly.

Topics: digital publishing

Understanding the Publication Experience Index (PEI) at Joomag

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10 Tips to Make Your Lifestyle Magazine Perform Better

How to Enhance Your Tech and Gaming Magazine: 10 Expert Tips

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How to Start an Online Magazine

Magazine publishers whose work is solely available online create and publish editorial content that might be supported by paid circulation or advertising revenue, or by a combination of both. Online magazines, also known as e-zines or digital magazines, feature articles, photography, typography and graphic layout design that can resemble print magazines. Some blogs are also published like e-zines, with guest post writers and advertising support.

You may also be interested in additional online business ideas .

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee. Northwest ($29 + State Fees) DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start an online magazine by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your Online Magazine
• Form your Online Magazine into a Legal Entity
• Register your Online Magazine for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your Online Magazine
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Online Magazine
• Get Online Magazine Insurance
• Define your Online Magazine Brand
• Create your Online Magazine Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your online magazine. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Online Magazine Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Find a Domain Now

Powered by godaddy.com, what are the costs involved in opening an online magazine.

You could literally start your online magazine without spending a penny. That doesn’t mean that you should—but you can. It’s possible to build a website for little or no money, or publish on WordPress or Blogger platforms at no cost. You can promote your magazine for free via such social media venues as Facebook and Twitter. You could write all of the content yourself or get others to write for no cost except links to their own zines or blogs. Also, you could shoot your own photos and lay out your magazine with free graphic design tools.

Since your skills are probably sharper in some of these fields than in others, your magazine might not look or read as professionally as it would if you hired expert writers, graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, web developers, and marketing experts.

All of these subject experts can be hired on a freelance or project basis, for rates that might not exceed a few hundred dollars per issue. As your business grows, there might be a point when you decide that the time is right to hire full-time employees to handle some of these responsibilities.

What are the ongoing expenses for an online magazine?

Most of your expenditures will go to the creatives you hire, most likely on a freelance basis, to regularly supply your magazine with content. The cost for this can be as little as an exchange of links and a promo plug to several hundred dollars per article, or more. Naturally, you can expect a higher quality of content (and less time spent editing) if you pay a higher amount for professional writing talent. As with anything, you get what you pay for.

You might also get to the point where you’re able to explore online advertising opportunities or to hire marketing communications professionals to promote your magazine. This cost will vary by the talent you hire and the scope of work.

Who is the target market?

You’ll know your customer profile as soon as you’ve identified your magazine editorial slant. Many publishers start with their own lifestyle interests, hobbies or career fields, because these are topics they know well.

Furthermore, your customers will likely be readers and very involved in the digital world. (Although magazines with a greater mix of visuals and video content can be geared toward non-readers.)

How does an online magazine make money?

Most e-zine income is from advertising. You can either chase down the ads yourself or rely on an advertising app like Google AdSense. Google will figure out the ads that fit the theme of your digital magazine and place them as viewer links. In this pay-per-click model, every time a reader follows the link to the advertiser’s content you’re paid a fixed amount. The larger your traffic volume, the more clicks you are likely to generate, thus increasing your ad revenue.

You can also contact advertisers yourself, but this approach would likely succeed only if you have a niche theme that can cater to companies selling related products. For example, a long-distance running e-zine based in Ohio could run ads for different running shoes stores in Cleveland and the surrounding area.

The more you narrowly you define your subject matter and audience, the easier it can be to appeal to advertisers.

Most online magazines provide free content. Revenue is generated through advertising. Ad programs like Google AdSense will pay you on a per-click basis for ads that you allow to be hosted on your digital real estate. Check out this thorough explanation of how Google AdSense works.

On the other hand, once your e-zine has achieved wide acceptance in your area, you can explore the possibilities of a subscriber-based revenue stream. For example, noted tech guru Marco Arment got subscribers to pay $1.99 for each biweekly issue of The Magazine, his general interest e-zine, and turn a significant profit even while paying his writes $800 per feature.

How much profit can an online magazine make?

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, who bills herself as The Adventurous Writer at TheAdventurousWriter.com, has this to say about the earning potential of her online publication. “Currently, I’m earning almost $300 per day from Google and about $70 per day from Amazon.” Pawlik-Kienlen’s earnings are all through Google and Amazon’s ad programs, giving a sense of what kind of revenue is possible for a successful e-magazine.

Marco Arment, publisher of The Magazine, says that his 25,000 subscribers yields a profit of about $35,000 per month after he pays writers, editors, copy editors, illustrators, photographer and others.

How can you make your business more profitable?

The e-newsletter you publish to promote your magazine can be a separate profit center if you offer links to advertisers with products or services that complement the theme of your magazine. Also, consider putting premium content behind a payroll for subscribers only. If this proves popular, you might choose to, at some point in the future, make your e-zine available only to paying subscribers.

Another profitable venture might be to host seminars, workshops or other events, thus creating networking opportunities for your readership that reflect your editorial focus.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your online magazine is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they're a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business's debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business's liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your online magazine were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We've negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

Form Your LLC Now

Note: If you're interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate an online magazine business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits .

Copyright Licensing

In most states, it is necessary to obtain a copyright license for a magazine. This article includes information on how to register your magazine with the U.S. Copyright Office .

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Online Magazine needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Online Magazine.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market an online magazine

Use social media to increase awareness and generate excitement for your publication. Also consider advertising in e-zines, blog posts and websites that draw similar demographics.

How to keep customers coming back

Draw both readers and advertisers from the online communities that are relevant to your publication. Send out e-newsletters to alert subscribers to new content and to encourage sign-ups. Also, encourage subject experts who have their own audiences to write for your e-zine, since they’ll promote their work to their own audiences.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

The successful online magazine publisher has a skill set that includes the talents of a writer, editor, web developer, webmaster, advertising salesperson and business person. Your goal is to develop a niche audience and content to regularly fit your theme.

You should be highly motivated and driven to continually provide fresh, rich content that will make readers come back for more and also recommend it to their friends.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at an online magazine?

Your online publishing business will involve the following responsibilities.

• Write or commission content that fits the theme of your e-zine
• Find or commission photography and artwork that complements the look of the magazine and the featured content
• Edit submissions for punctuation, spelling, tone and clarity
• Implement a social media strategy to tease reader interest in current or archived articles and pull them to your site
• Strategize new ways of monetizing your publication, either through ad programs such as Google AdSense, paid circulation or your own space sales efforts

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful online magazine?

Since content is king on an e-zine you must either be a good writer or at least someone who recognizes good writing ability in others. You should understand search engine optimization and SEO keyword placement. It’s also important to be able to collaborate comfortably with writers, photographers and other creatives and to be fairly well versed in digital publishing.

What is the growth potential for an online magazine?

Your income rises with traffic to your site. As your e-zines grows in traffic, it becomes of greater interest to ad programs such as Google AdSense. And at some point you might consider putting a paywall in front of at least some of your content.

Not sure if an online magazine is right for you? Try our free Business Idea Generator and find your perfect idea.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

How and when to build a team

There are many different types of jobs associated with employment at an e-zine. Initially, you’ll probably wear every hat, but as revenue and your job responsibilities both increase, you will eventually need support.

Your first outside hire should be to cover responsibilities which are either beyond your comfort zone or a time drain. For instance, if you’re more of a tech expert than a content strategist or writer, you might want to keep the web development and webmaster duties to yourself and hire an editor to write and edit SEO-rich content, and also to recruit freelance writers and photographers.

Useful Links

Industry opportunities.

• Learn about more Online Business Ideas

Real World Examples

• Successful digital magazine based on ‘E Commerce’ mechanism
• Online magazine focused on finance
• Online magazine with health & wellness focus

Further Reading

• Starting an digital magazine
• How to monetize an digital magazine
• Running a profitable digital magazine
• Tips for starting an digital magazine

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

contact us   schedule a demo

How to Create an Online Magazine in 10 Steps

Written by Matt Berringer

January 1, 2022

Digital publishing represents a massive opportunity for traditional publishers and marketers alike. We’ve been in the information age for some time now, and the digital world is still evolving at warp speed. High-value curated content has never been in higher demand, considering roughly 45.3% of U.S. consumers have read a digital magazine in the last 30 days, according to 2018 data.

Online magazines let print publishers find their share of the massive audience of digital natives waiting to discover their content. Small and mid-sized business marketers can incorporate online magazines into their content marketing mix. This high-quality, in-depth format can extend brand awareness and drive more customers into the sales pipeline.

If you’re ready to start an online magazine for your company, this guide is for you. Learn more about this format and the steps to take to get your own publications ready for launch, or see pricing for Interactive Magazine Platform .

Jump to a topic or speak with an expert:

• Identify Your Goals
• Determine Your Unique Value
• Establish a Budget
• Identify a Publishing Platform
• Create a Content Plan
• Decide on the Structure
• Create a Brand Strategy
• Identify a Revenue Model
• Develop a Marketing Strategy
• Talk to an Industry Expert

Common Uses for Online Magazines

Many marketers and publishers use online magazines to:

• Access reader analytics:  If you send out paper collateral or printed publications, you have no way of knowing what happens once they’re in your readers’ hands. With an online magazine on the right publishing platform, you can get detailed analytics. See how long readers engage with your articles and what pages they spend their time reading. These metrics give you immediate feedback so you can create more impactful content with every issue.
• Establish additional revenue sources:  An online magazine can help all types of publishers gain new sources of revenue. Print publishers can attract new subscribers who prefer digital media. They can also earn income through well-placed digital ads.
• Promote products or services:  Marketers often use online magazines as a form of in-depth content marketing. They may provide entertainment or helpful information to their target customers and pepper in promotions for their products and services along the way.

Industries That Benefit From Online Publications

Businesses across many industries use online publications as part of their content marketing strategy. Some of those companies include:

• Traditional publishers:  Publishers who have long been creating print magazines their readers love can reach new audiences in the digital landscape. An online edition can be an excellent freebie for print subscribers or available as a stand-alone subscription for digital natives.
• Higher education institutions: Schools can use digital magazines for alumni news or general marketing purposes. Published regularly, these assets can deliver campus news to alumni , students, professors, donors and other stakeholders.
• Sports leagues:  Those in the sports industry can update their fans on important team news with a monthly newsletter or produce exclusive content for their season ticket holders with a digital magazine.
• Travel and leisure companies: Hotels, resorts and state and local tourism commissions can use digital magazines to cover popular events and local attractions and generally encourage readers to visit.
• Associations:  Industry and trade associations like to keep their members updated on industry news, upcoming conferences and other initiatives the organization embarks on. An online magazine is an excellent way to engage members.

Learn More about Publishing Platforms

10 Steps to Creating an Online Magazine

Think digital magazines are right for you? Let’s talk about how to launch one for your own business.

1. Identify the Goals of Your Digital Magazine

First things first — what are you trying to accomplish?

Clearly defining your goals is the first step in any project. Like any publication, an online magazine requires you to make decisions regarding what type of audience you’re hoping to reach. This includes how you would like readers to engage with your content. For example, a digital magazine looking to gain subscribers will function differently than an online piece designed to sell a product.

Regardless of your primary goal, another vital part of starting an online magazine is to define your voice and overall brand style. You can often do this by creating style sheets or brand standards.

Decide early on the overall tone of your online presence and stick to it. When you become successful, you can curate a trustworthy team to help carry the workload while remaining true to your brand.

Learn more about content KPIs & Metrics:

• Developing KPIs
• How to Monitor Performance
• Modernizing Old Metrics
• What Causes Early Bounce

2. Determine What Makes You Unique

How can you develop a plan for sustained success through valuable differentiation? There are some key elements required for a sustainable online magazine business. Most importantly, though, you need to find how you will stick out in a crowded digital media landscape.

Will your content or your creative elements be unique? Will your marketing tactics be differentiated? And will those elements be valuable to your audience? We all need to ask these questions. The content we create must come off as striking and useful to readers so it’s most likely to attract return visits and subscriptions.

Once you’ve uncovered your value proposition and tested it as valuable to a segment of your target audience, it’s crucial to find an intuitive, engaging platform to host your content.

3. Establish a Budget and Estimate Your ROI

Depending on your purposes for creating a digital magazine, your budget can look quite different. If you’re a traditional publisher who already produces content for a printed periodical, digitizing it will require a publishing platform, some related technology and technical skills. If you’re starting a digital magazine from the ground up, you’ll need to budget for an editor-in-chief, writers, designers and other employees to manage content creation.

Once you have your content in hand, the main cost differentiator is in the platform you choose. On a shoestring budget, you can publish your magazine for free as a PDF. However, you’ll still need to find a way to host it online, so even this method is not a true no-cost option. Other low-cost publishing platforms may retain the rights to your work or display their own ads within your publication.

For the best returns on investment (ROI), we recommend starting at the mid-range level. Offering a better user experience and accessing reader analytics will help you grow your digital audience over time. Flipbook magazine publishing tools provide an excellent solution for a mid-range price , while high-end responsive design publishing tools will boost your ROI with a highly engaging user experience.

4. Identify the Best Platform

Every publishing option presents its own benefits and limitations. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what makes the most sense for your brand. While affordability is important, it is also necessary to strive for an impactful experience that will keep bringing your readers back for more.

Common Types of Digital Magazines

When choosing a platform for your magazine, start by considering what’s out there. There are many digital publishing solutions , and they each offer different advantages and disadvantages. Your options to create digital magazines online include:

• Flash magazines:  At one point, flash magazines were a popular way to deliver rich, engaging digital viewing experiences. They offered simulated page flipping alongside multimedia content. Since  Adobe announced Flash would meet its end  in 2020, flash magazines are now a thing of the past.
• PDF magazines:  The practically free way to go digital is to publish your magazine as a PDF. This option might be as simple as clicking “publish as PDF” on your document design software. However, this method comes with some drawbacks. PDFs are not mobile-first and add friction to the user experience. Because they have a fixed layout, mobile viewers often have to master a “pinch, zoom and slide” finger dance to view it. They also offer little analytics beyond how many downloads the document receives.
• Native app magazines:  Publishers with a loyal readership willing to download a separate app to view content can create a stunning mobile-first experience with their digital magazines. While they take a lot of effort to develop, the payoff is high. Publishers can control the digital experience, include multimedia content, use targeted advertising, and engage their readers with notifications.
• Flipbook magazines:  Also called the digital replica, a flipbook mimics the traditional print experience. Documents appear as they would in print and offer the satisfying experience of flipping pages. They’re a middle-of-the-road cost solution that elevates the experience above a traditional PDF. They also provide publishers with enhanced reader analytics.
• HTML5 magazines:  These publications use the same coding as a website, allowing for a responsive design. Text and graphics will reflow to any screen size for an awesome user experience from anywhere. They can be hosted online and require no downloading whatsoever. Plus, they offer detailed analytics and incredible design flexibility.

Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the options at your disposal.

See Examples of Great Content Experiences

What Are the Differences Between a PDF and a Flipbook?

The PDF is a widely-used platform for sharing digital content. It is inexpensive and easy to customize, but it lacks an overall impact. A standard PDF leaves much to be desired in terms of interactivity and can cause serious frustration when reading on a mobile device. We all know the pain of pinching to zoom on our phone screen.

Additionally, once downloaded, a PDF can no longer be tracked as the experience moves offline. In a time when data about your readers is so important, PDFs can leave you feeling out in the cold.

Flipbooks offer a more functional solution where you can actually recreate the feel of a print magazine in digital format. This is great for the desktop environment and functions well on tablets. Still, like the PDF, it becomes a bit of a challenge on a mobile device, as pinching to zoom is often a necessity.

In this way, PDFs and typical flipbooks offer lower-priced options that allow you to control the published content. They may fall short in impact and ease of use.

Here you’ll find an example of a Norwegian Cruise Lines flipbook in our nxtbook4 platform. It’s important to note we go beyond the standard flipbook interface by giving options for a scrolling text version of the content. This allows the reader to see the content without pinching to zoom.

See more examples.

When and How Should You Use Apps for Your Digital Magazine?

If phone compatibility is your priority, apps are a great add-on for sharing your online magazine. They also help you understand user engagement, as you’ll be able to track your most effective content.

Going with a native app has numerous advantages and disadvantages. First, it allows you to be an active part of the design process. Compatible with smartphones and tablets, apps are easy to use and will provide a seamless experience. The downside is that they can be challenging to create and often costly — especially if you don’t have a team dedicated to making sure the app runs smoothly.

If a native app is your preferred platform, read more about how Nxtbook Media can make this easier for you.

A subscription app is another option for those without a team of app developers. In this scenario, your online magazine exists on an app alongside various other publications. You may get more viewers due to the popularity of these platforms and the marketing done on your behalf by the app owner.

Unfortunately, this does limit your ability to control the design and functionality of the publication. The platform’s rules may limit what and how you share your content. Also, the subscription app developer will take a hefty cut of the subscription to your online magazine. In some cases, you give over the rights to your content when you place it on a subscription app. Be sure to read the fine print!

What Is a Responsive Online Magazine Solution?

Responsive digital magazines are adaptable to any device. In essence, no matter what device you are on, the content will reflow. This means no more pinching to zoom! Using this technology, your readers can fully participate in remaking the design on desktop, resizing it to an experience that fits best in their current content consumption. These platforms can even include video and audio. They’re ready for any and all content you could produce. By supporting rich media and mobile viewing, they can effectively increase magazine engagement.

Just as flipbooks and apps do, these responsive magazines provide data that gives you feedback for improving your publication. Using this data, you can track your readers’ behavior and cater your content accordingly.

Interested in how a responsive online magazine looks? Check out our work with Disney and the adaptability of our very own responsive platform , PageRaft.

See the costs of a content experience platform.

5. Create a Content Plan

Some brands planning to enter the digital publishing landscape are already creating content worthy of an online magazine. If you’re stuck or need support before creating your publication, there are great sources that can help.

You can find content writers easily online, and there are sites to  connect you with great writers who are eager to contribute. Stock photos and videos are also excellent ways to increase the appeal of your site or magazine. Images from  Unsplash , Pexels  and Pixabay are some of our favorites.

Before you know it, you’ll master the art of content creation, and you may even need to expand your team of editors and designers to help you maintain your growing online magazine. We believe you can do it!

Learn more about creating content experiences

• Building a Content Calendar
• Content Experiences at Scale
• How to Create Responsive Digital Content
• How to Find Content

6. Decide on a Structure for Your Magazine

Having a predetermined structure for your magazine will make it easier to manage. You’ll always know how many articles and pages of content you need to fill each issue. You’ll also have some regular topics that you know you need to cover. Break your table of contents into sections that are relevant to your reader — such as “Current Events,” “Arts and Culture” and “Sports,” or whatever makes sense for your niche. Decide how many articles or pages will fit into each section.

It’s also a good idea to map out every issue. If you’re planning on creating a flipbook-style magazine, consider how the left and right-hand pages on each spread will speak to each other. Set page limits or word counts to help you better manage articles that span multiple pages and how they’ll appear in the final layout. You may have predetermined slots for splash images or full-page ads.

If you’re planning on creating an interactive magazine with a responsive design , your finished product won’t look quite like a typical print edition. Users will navigate by scrolling or swiping left to right. Each article will fit onto one page, which the reader can scroll down on infinitely. Therefore, you don’t need to hit a specific page limit or word count with each article. They can be as short or as long as necessary to cover the story in depth, and pictures can appear wherever you like.

With a responsive magazine, your main concern will be structuring the publication to have enough articles. Since each piece will take up just one “page,” no matter how long, you’ll need a wide variety of individual articles to flesh out the publication. You’ll also want to pay attention to ad placement and how it breaks up the flow of your articles. Ads can take up an entire page or appear as thin columns between two articles.

Learn More from the Nxtbook Team

7. Choose Design Elements and Create a Brand Strategy

Some of the most famous print magazines actually obscure part of their own logos with the headshots that appear on their covers. That’s because these publishers have mastered branding so well that onlookers don’t even need to read the title to recognize it instantly. While your publication may not need to stand out on the rack the way a print edition does, digital magazine design is just as critical. A consistent visual style will help readers connect with and remember your brand.

Your visual identity will communicate what you stand for and who your content appeals to. Focus on sending the right message every time by developing a brand strategy , complete with a brand book of rules for all your designers, writers and editors to follow.

Consider the fonts, colors, photography style and graphic elements you want to associate with your brand.

Besides the design elements, your branding strategy should also include directives for language use, such as tone of voice and word choice. Even the most multimedia-rich magazine will be driven by well-written, consistent content. Ensure it all sends the right message and feels like it’s written by one person, even if your team is hundreds strong.

8. Consider Some Common Magazine Revenue Models

You’re likely creating an online magazine because it’s a potential money-maker . If you’re a marketing manager at a small business, a high-quality digital periodical can be a cornerstone of your content marketing strategy. By drawing in an audience, you’re also expanding your customer base. If you’re publishing articles as your main business, you have several potential avenues to monetize your content. Some of your options include:

Subscription Model

Just as with print magazines, you can charge your audience a monthly or annual subscription fee in exchange for access. The most successful publishers offer a range of subscription tiers and options. An all-access plan at the highest tier may allow readers to access digital publications, exclusive videos and extra content. Some subscription plans may combine print with digital, letting readers access both versions. Other options may allow readers to access the digital version only.

Advertising Model

Another way to make money on your content is advertising. Free magazines often have a wider readership because there’s no friction involved in accessing them. Some people think of the internet as a means to free information and may not be willing to pay a subscription for something they usually get for free. Publishers who don’t require subscriptions use advertising as their primary source of revenue. Periodical publishers generated $9.68 billion in revenue in 2019 through ad sales alone.

The right brands will pay well to get in front of the right audience. By developing a niche, loyal audience, publishers cultivate fertile ground for advertisers. They can embed ads directly or create sponsored articles that blend quality content with brand or product mentions.

If a reader must have a subscription to view your magazine, they’ll likely meet a paywall when they first try to access your content. A paywall is a barrier that allows your publications to rank in search engines without letting readers see it before paying. They may pay for access to the individual article or pay a subscription for unlimited access.

You can also customize your paywall to appear part-way through your magazine. This gives readers a taste of your content before asking them to pay to continue. Additionally, you can customize the paywall to kick in after they’ve viewed a certain number of issues or articles.

Magazines as Lead Generation

Content marketers may not be in the business of selling or monetizing their publications. Instead, they’re using helpful articles to convince customers to buy their products or services. A digital magazine may be premium content within that strategy. While prospects can still access it without paying, they offer up their email or contact information in exchange. This strategy plays the long game. The content itself can help push them further along in the buyer’s journey, and the marketing team now has contact information they can use to send more marketing materials their way.

Learn more about monetizing your content:

• How Digital Platforms Save on Costs
• How to Get ROI From Content

9. Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

Once you’ve created your magazine, you must consider distribution. How will your audience find it? How will you carve out a loyal audience? A solid marketing strategy for your publication should encompass five steps:

• Prepare for launch:  First, set a goal for how many downloads you want to receive in your first month. Consider the people most likely to read your publication and announce your launch where they’re likely to see it. If you already have a following on your website and social media channels, tease your launch there. Look for press opportunities where you can build anticipation for your new magazine.
• Create buzz: As soon as your magazine goes live, keep the momentum going by gathering reviews. Email blogs and reviewers in your niche and ask them to review you. If you’ve created a stand-alone app, ask your downloaders to leave reviews and ratings on the app store.
• Promote on all channels:  Add buttons to your email newsletter that take users directly to your new publication. Post snippets of your articles on social media and encourage your followers to read more.
• Let your readers preview:  While your current customers or followers may be your first subscribers, your magazine should also help you grow your audience. Find some way to let new visitors sneak a peak to increase the likelihood they will subscribe.
• Use reader analytics: Get better with each issue you publish with the help of detailed data. Look at how long your readers engage with your content and what articles are most popular. With this data, you can create the magazine your readers most enjoy interacting with. By satisfying your audience’s needs, you’ll increase loyalty and continue to find new readers.

Learn more about marketing strategies:

• How to Market Your Digital Content
• Develop an Effective Content Marketing Plan
• Developing a Digital Brand Strategy

10. Talk to an Industry Expert

Internet content is rapidly growing, and hence, so is competition for the eyes of readers. Now is the time to look beyond a PDF and embrace an interactive online magazine experience that truly garners your audience’s attention.

Nxtbook Media offers two excellent digital publishing solutions you can use for your online magazine. Our nxtbook4 software provides one of the best flipbook publishers for user experience. We also offer the fully responsive PageRaft platform for content creators curating a digital-first experience. We’d love to chat with you more about your digital publishing needs and show you what our software can do. Feel free to schedule a no-obligation demo  so you can see just how awesome your digital magazine can be.

For more on how to make your digital content shine with Nxtbook Media, read all the latest from our blog  and stay in touch through social media.

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Online Magazine Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Media Sector

Are you about starting a magazine publishing company ? If YES, here is a complete sample online magazine business plan template & feasibility study you can use for FREE .

There are several niches and loads of well – known magazines that are sold all over the world. Magazines are generally published on a regular schedule; it can be weekly or monthly or even quarterly and they usually contain a variety of content based on the market the magazine is designed for.

When it comes to generating incomes, magazine companies exploit the sale of their magazines in newsstands, from advertisement from stakeholders and of course from those who sign – on to prepaid subscriptions and when it comes to distributing magazines, most magazines publisher make use of the mailing system, bookshops, strategic news – stands, through registered vendors and selected pick – up locations et al.

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There is no restriction to the numbers of publications house that can engage in magazines publications, sales and distribution. As a matter of fact, students can start their own magazines publications right from their campuses and distribute it within the campus community.

A Sample Online Magazine Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

In the united states of America, a total number of 152 magazines closed shop In 2011 and also a total number of 82 magazines ceased operations in 2012 due to inability to make profits and of course generate enough money to continue publications.

In 2013, statistics has it that subscription levels for 22 out of the top 25 magazines in the United States of America dropped from 2012 to 2013. As a matter of fact, the only few magazines that experienced increase within the said period are Time magazine, Glamour magazine and ESPN magazine.

The United States’ magazine industry generates combined revenue of over 27.29 Billion U.S. dollars with magazine advertising alone generating over 15.2 Billion U.S. dollars.

History has it that a U.K. publication; The Gentleman’s Magazine which was first published in 1731, in London was the first ever general interest magazine to be published. It is on record that the oldest consumer magazine which was first published in 1739; The Scots Magazine is still in print till this days.

The print industry is currently experiencing some challenges; investment in magazines is experiencing decline. It is on record that there is a steady decline in total numbers of magazines that are sold in the United States daily. Statistics has it that in 1985, there were about 1,676 dailies in the United States but in 2011, the number dropped to 1,382 and of course it is still dropping.

It has been projected by market experts that the magazine industry will generate combined revenue of 16.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, which is over 4 billion U.S. dollars less than the combined revenue generated in 2011. It is also projected that corporate organizations who advertise in magazines will also cut their magazine advertising spending much less than their newspaper advertising spending.

The magazine industry is truly struggling to survive in the United States of America and in other countries of the world. A survey that was conducted revealed that in 2012, only about 3 percent of Americans stated that they regularly read magazines; and 9 percent stated that they read magazines sometimes.

It is good enough that the magazine industry is extremely well-organized in its data collection and presentation; which is why new publication firms who are interested in coming into the industry choose niche groups that attracts a wide range of readership.

Despite the fact that the magazine industry appears to be saturated in the United States, there is still a positive outlook for the industry especially when it comes to leveraging on the internet. People are encouraged to go into magazine publications because it is now easier to gain wider readership with the aid of the internet and couple with the fact that it will cost little or nothing to launch an online magazine publication.

2. Executive Summary

Boston Weekly®, Inc. is a new but standard magazine publishing and distribution company that will be based in Boston – Massachusetts, USA. Our niche as a magazine publishing company covers News, Entertainment, Business and Sport.

Our state of the art in – house printing press is located in a standard corner piece facility that is centrally located in the heart of Boston and few minutes drive to Harvard University Community.

We have put plans and robust distribution network in place to enable us effectively distribute our weekly magazine to key cities throughout the United States of America and also to the rest part of the world via our online platform and mobile apps.

Boston Weekly®, Inc. is established by the Massachusetts awarding winning journalist – Dr. Campbell Washington and other like mind investors. Dr. Washington has B.A. in English Language, Advance Diploma in Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School.

He has robust experience in print journalism having worked for over 15 years with some of the leading magazine publishing companies in the United States of America prior to starting his own business. We are in the Magazine Publication and Distribution Industry to favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry such as Time Magazine, ESPN Magazine and New York Times et al.

Our corporate business goal is to be among the top 10 magazine publishing and distribution brand in the United States of America. As a company, we are willing to go the extra mile to invest in some of the finest professionals we can find and also we have set plans in place to setup a standard and start of the art printing press and distribution network.

Boston Weekly®, Inc. will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our customers’ needs precisely and completely whenever they patronize our magazine either hardcopies or subscribing on our online portal. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our customers.

Our plan is to position Boston Weekly®, Inc. to become the leading brand in the magazine publishing and distribution industry in the whole of Massachusetts, and also to be amongst the top 10 magazine brand in the United States of America within the first 10 years of starting our business.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Boston – Massachusetts is the right place to launch this type of business before spreading to other cities all across The United States of America.

3. Our Products and Services

At Boston Weekly®, Inc. we will ensure that we maximize all the services and products that are associated with a magazine publishing and distribution business. As part our strategy to create multiple sources of income in line with our core business concept, we will encourage our clients to subscribe to our magazines as against buying from the newsstands.

This is so because we are aware that it is easier to get huge discount from post office services as against transporting your magazines to newsstands that are scattered all around the United States. Another key factor that we will leverage on is to create a strong online presence and also to push our electronic magazine far and wide within the online community.

If we can successful gain appreciable numbers of online subscription and adverts, then we are likely not going to struggle to manage and finance your magazine publication company. Here are some of our products and services;

• Distribution of Hardcopies Magazines Nationwide
• Availability of online subscription for our e – Magazine
• Create Large Platforms for Publicity and Advertising for both individual and corporate clients
• Operate a standard printing press open to the general public
• Run a consultancy and Advisory services as it relates to magazine publications and journalism.

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• To be amongst the top 10leading magazine publishing and distribution companies in the United States of America before our 10 th anniversary.
• Our mission is to build a world – class magazine publishing and distribution business whose magazines can be find in all nooks and crannies of the United States of America; a magazine company with a very strong online presence with active subscribers from all over the world.

Our Business Structure

As part of our plan to build a standard Magazine Publishing and Distribution Company in Boston – Massachusetts, we have perfected plans to get it right from the beginning which is why we are going the extra mile to ensure that we have competent and hardworking employees to occupy all the available positions in our company.

The picture of the kind of Magazine Publishing and Distribution Company we intend building and the business goals we want to achieve is what informed the amount we are ready to pay for the best hands available in the Magazine Publishing and Distribution industry as long as they are willing and ready to work with us to achieve our business goals and objectives.

Below is the business structure that we will build Boston Weekly®, Inc.;

• Chief Executive Officer / Editor in Chief

Human Resources and Admin Manager

• Journalist / Content Creators / Photo Journalist

Graphic Artist

• Sales and Marketing Officer
• Accountants / Cashiers
• Printing Press Workers (Printing Machine Operators)
• Dispatch Riders and Van Drivers
• Customer Service Executives

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer / Editor in Chief:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the magazine production and distribution process
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carrying out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily office and shop activities.

Journalist / Content Creator / PhotoJournalist

• Conduct research, determine the number of pages, screen the content, stories, photographs, features, Ads, the style of the magazine in the magazine and the design and layout of Magazine et al.
• Responsible for creating contents for our magazine
• Assist the editorial team in editing contents
• Responsible for conducting interviews.
• Liaising with management to determine their requirement and budget
• Responsible for developing concepts, graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and websites
• Responsible for managing the magazine production process from typesetting through to design, print and production
• Responsible for reviewing final layout and suggesting improvement if necessary
• Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and font style and size
• Responsible for liaising with external printers on a regular basis to ensure deadlines are met and material is printed to the highest quality
• Responsible for preparing drafts or material based on an agreement brief.
• Research and advice the organization on style, genre and other trendy info as it relates to graphic design.

Sales and Marketing Manager

• Manage external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develop, execute and evaluate new plans for expanding increase sales and distribution network
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represent the company in strategic meetings
• Help increase sales and growth for the company

Print Press Workers (Printing Machine Operators)

• Operate the printing machines
• Responsible for carrying out all casual or unskilled jobs in the printing press
• Responsible for packaging magazines meant for delivery
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the line manager / supervisor

Accountant / Cashier

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the organization
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Distribution Van Drivers/ Dispatch Riders:

• Responsible for distributing magazines across our distribution network and news stands
• Delivers customer’s orders promptly (customers on subscription plans)
• Runs errand for the organization
• Any other duty as assigned by the sales and marketing executive

Client Service Executive

• Responsible for taking orders from clients when the call or email the organization
• Ensures that all contacts with customer (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the shop manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on Papilloma House of Pizzas products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to customers when they make enquiries
• Responsible for cleaning the entire printing press facility at all times
• Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Any other duty as assigned by the Human Resource and Admin manager.

6. SWOT Analysis

Due to our desire and drive for excellence when it comes to running a magazine publication and distribution company, we were able to engage some of the finest business consultants in Boston – Massachusetts to look through our business concept and together we were able to critically examine the prospect of the business to be sure we have what it takes to run a standard magazine publication and distribution company that can compete favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry such.

In view of that, we were able to take stock of our strengths, our weakness, the opportunities available to us and also the threats that we are likely going to be exposed to if we launch our magazine publication and distribution business in Boston – Massachusetts and even in the United States of America as a whole.

Here is a of what we got from the critically conducted SWOT Analysis for Boston Weekly®, Inc.;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team of creative and highly proficient, editors, journalist, and graphic designers; a team with excellent qualifications and experience various niche areas in the magazine and printing press industry.

Aside from the synergy that exist in our carefully selected team; the contents in our magazine and the quality of the magazine will be guided by best practices in the industry.

As a new magazine publishing and distribution company in Boston – Massachusetts, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance in the already saturated and highly competitive magazine publishing and distribution industry; that is perhaps our major weakness. Another weakness is that we may not have the required cash to promote our business the way we would want to.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities available to us are unlimited. Loads of people consume buys, subscribe and read magazine on a daily basis and all what we are going to do all we can to push our magazine to our target market. So also, there are loads of organizations and individual who would want to place paid adverts in magazines to promote their brands.

The possible threat and challenges that we are likely going to face when we start our own magazine publication business are the ability to consistently attract adverts from corporate organizations.

The truth is that there are several options when it comes to choosing advertising platforms hence most corporate organizations would rather go with trusted and tested platforms as against trying out new magazine that they aren’t sure can break into the market and gain prominence.

Another threat and challenges that we are likely going to be confronted with when we start our magazine publication business is to be able to effectively find a cheaper distribution options. Most magazine publications companies spend more when it comes to transporting their magazines to different newsstands scattered within the locations they intend selling their magazines.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

In setting up a magazine publication company, you have two options; you either run a full magazine publication company with a printing press or you can contract the printing of your magazines to a standard and reliable printing press.

If you choose to choose to run the whole publication process within the same facility, it means that you would have to set – up a printing press with standard printing machines, binders, cutting machines et al. If you are considering starting a magazine publication company, then your concern should not be limited to the cost of setting up the business and gaining readership but also on your distribution network.

The truth is that most magazines companies run into loss simply because they spend more in distributing their magazines to various newsstands across the country. It will pay you if you encourage your clients to subscribe to your magazines as against buying from the newsstands.

It is easier to get huge discount from post office services as against transporting your magazines to newsstands that are scattered all around the United States. Another key factor that you can leverage on is to create a strong online presence and also to push your electronic magazine far and wide within the online community.

As a magazine publisher, if you can successfully gain appreciable numbers of online subscription and adverts, then you are likely not going to struggle to manage and finance your magazine publication company and that is exactly what we plan to do.

8. Our Target Market

When it comes to news, entertainment and sports magazine, there is indeed a wide range of available customers (readership). In essence, our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who love to get the latest updates on news, entertainment and sports et al.

In view of that, we have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. These are the groups of people we intend marketing our magazines to;

• Corporate Executives
• Government Officials
• Business People
• Celebrities
• Military Men and Women
• Sports Men and Women
• Everyone who resides in our target locations.

Our Competitive Advantage

Beyond every reasonable doubt, the competition in the magazine industry is high but one thing is certain, if you are able to set a standard in the industry, you are sure going to get committed and faithful readers who would not mind paying annual subscription fee upfront.

Although you can experience less competitions if you choose to carve a niche for yourself and also exploit the internet and perhaps a book / reader’s club.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the magazine publishing and distribution industry means that you are not only expected to be able to deliver consistent and robust contents at all time, but you must be able to meet set targets.

No one would want to continue to subscribe to your magazine if they are not sure they are likely going to get the magazines deliver to them as at when due.

Our competitive advantage lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team of creative and highly proficient, editors, journalist, and graphic designers; a team with excellent qualifications and experience various niche areas in the magazine and printing press industry.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups magazine publishing and distribution businesses in the United States) in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Boston Weekly®, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the magazine publishing and distribution industry in the United States of America and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to achieve our corporate goal of generating enough income to run the business and pay our staff members as at when due.

Boston Weekly®, Inc. will generate income by offering the following products and services;

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Year-: $250,000
• Second Year-: $450,000
• Third Year-: $800,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and the arrival of a competitor in same location as ours within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiffer competition in the magazine publishing and distribution industry; hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the magazine publishing and distribution industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall business goal of Boston Weekly®, Inc.

Our goal is to grow Boston Weekly®, Inc. to become one of the top 10 magazine publishing and distribution company in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the United States of America but also in other parts of the world (online magazine).

Boston Weekly®, Inc. is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our magazine publishing and distribution company by sending introductory letters alongside copy of our magazine to corporate organizations, advertising agencies and key stake holders.
• Promptness in bidding for advert contracts from the government and other cooperate organizations
• Advertise our business cum magazine in relevant business TV stations, and radio station.
• List our business cum magazine on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different subscription packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still supply them with copies of our magazine
• Leverage on the internet to promote the sale and distribution of our magazine
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our in house brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate clients and individual clients in the whole of the United States and beyond which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our magazine publishing and distribution company. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Boston Weekly®, Inc.;

• Place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around key cities in the United States of America
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of Boston Weekly®, Inc. and how they can subscribe
• List our magazine publishing and distribution company in local directories / yellow pages
• Advertise our magazine publishing and distribution company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles and bikes are well branded with our company logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

When it comes to pricing for products such as magazine, there are no hard and fast rules; the price depends on the size and packaging. Generally, the prices for magazine and similar products like pamphlets, newspapers and journals et al are affordable hence there is no need to employ any detailed strategies when it comes to pricing.

In view of that, our prices will conform to what is obtainable in the industry but will ensure that within the first 6 to 12 months our magazine are sold a little bit below the average prices of various magazine brands in the United States of America.

We have put in place business strategies that will help us run on low profit margin for a period of 6 months; it is a way of encouraging people to buy into our brands.

• Payment Options

At Boston Weekly®, Inc., our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

• Payment by cash
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
• Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

When it comes to starting a standard magazine publishing and distribution business, one is expected to spend the bulk of the start – up capital on building a standard and well – equipped printing press. Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for purchasing distribution vans, paying of your employees and utility bills.

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Boston – Massachusetts – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
• Cost for hiring Business Consultant – $2,500.
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• The cost of printing the first set of your magazines – $50,000
• The cost for distributing the magazines – $10,000
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
• Cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• Cost of purchase of distribution vans – $50,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
• The cost of Launching a Website – $600
• The cost for our opening party – $10,000
• Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $500,000 to successfully set up our magazine publishing and distribution company in Boston – Massachusetts. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of the entire staff member for the first month of operation.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Boston Weekly®, Inc.

Boston Weekly®, Inc. is a business that is owned and financed by Dr. Campbell Washington and other like mind investors. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner, which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sell of stocks
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $80,000 and soft loan from family members $20,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $400,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Boston Weekly®, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to sell our magazine a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Boston Weekly®, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and construction of standard Bakery: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from business partners: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants (papers, and inks et al): In Progress
• Purchase of delivery vans and bikes: Completed

Online Magazine Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

If you’re looking to create an online magazine business plan, you’ve come to the right place!

Over the past 25 years, the PlanPros team has helped over 1 million entrepreneurs and business owners write business plans….and many of them have started and grown successful online magazine businesses. Our online magazine business plan example below is sure to help you!

Online Magazine Business Plan Example

Below is our online magazine business plan template and sample plan created using what we consider the best ai business plan generator :  

I. Executive Summary

Company overview.

Timeless Wisdom Digest is an up-and-coming online magazine based in White Plains, NY, focused on curating and sharing wisdom across various life aspects, including personal development, philosophy, history, and culture. Our mission is to provide readers with insightful, thought-provoking content that encourages reflection and growth. We aim to become a leading source of profound knowledge and inspiration by leveraging high-quality, well-researched articles and multimedia content. Our location in White Plains offers us the advantage of tapping into a diverse talent pool and establishing partnerships with local institutions and businesses, enhancing our content and reach.

Success Factors

Our success hinges on several key factors and accomplishments. Firstly, securing experienced writers, editors, and content creators who align with our vision is crucial for producing high-quality, engaging content. Developing and launching an appealing, user-friendly website is another vital step, serving as our primary platform for content distribution and reader engagement. Implementing a robust digital marketing strategy will help us build brand awareness and attract a dedicated reader base. Achieving a steady monthly revenue of $15,000 through subscriptions and advertising is a critical milestone that will prove our business model’s viability and support further growth. Additionally, expanding our content offerings based on reader feedback and market trends will ensure we remain relevant and engaging to our audience.

Industry Analysis

The digital magazine industry is rapidly evolving, driven by shifts in consumer preferences towards online media consumption and a growing interest in niche, high-quality content. The rise of mobile devices and social media platforms has transformed how readers access and engage with content, creating opportunities for digital magazines like Timeless Wisdom Digest to reach and captivate audiences worldwide. However, the industry is also marked by intense competition and the challenge of monetizing digital content amidst abundant free resources. Success in this landscape requires a clear differentiation strategy, compelling content, and effective use of digital marketing techniques to build and retain a loyal readership.

Customer Analysis

Our target customers are intellectually curious individuals seeking deeper understanding and insights into personal development, philosophy, history, and culture. They value high-quality, well-researched content that challenges their thinking and offers new perspectives. This audience primarily consists of educated, middle to upper-income adults who are frequent online readers and active on social media platforms, enabling them to easily engage with and share our content. By focusing on this demographic, we aim to foster a community of readers who are not just passive consumers but active participants in discussions and contributors to our magazine’s growth.

Competitive Analysis

Top Competitors: – Wisdom Quarterly: A digital publication focusing on philosophical and historical insights. – Insight Magazine: Offers articles and multimedia content on personal development and culture. Competitive Advantages: Timeless Wisdom Digest sets itself apart through a unique blend of curated wisdom and multimedia content, focusing on depth and quality rather than breadth. Our strategic location in White Plains, NY, also allows for unique local partnerships and access to a diverse talent pool, enhancing our content and community engagement.

Marketing Plan

Our marketing strategy emphasizes the uniqueness and quality of our content, with a focus on products, services, and competitive pricing to attract and retain subscribers. We offer a range of content, including articles, interviews, and multimedia presentations, accessible through various subscription models designed to cater to different reader preferences and budgets. Our promotions plan leverages SEO, social media, email marketing, and paid advertising to build brand awareness and drive traffic to our website. By engaging with our audience through these channels, we aim to establish a strong online presence and foster a community around our brand.

Operations Plan

Key operational processes include content creation, website development, and implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. In the coming months, our milestones focus on securing key content creators and editorial staff, launching our online magazine, and establishing partnerships to expand our reach. Implementing revenue-generating strategies such as subscription models and sponsored content will be crucial for achieving our financial goals. Regular evaluation and optimization of our operations, based on reader feedback and data analytics, will ensure continuous improvement and long-term success.

Management Team

The management team comprises seasoned professionals with extensive experience in digital publishing, marketing, and content creation. Our collective expertise and passion for delivering high-quality, insightful content are the driving forces behind Timeless Wisdom Digest. The team’s diverse skill set ensures effective strategy implementation, from content curation to audience engagement and business management, positioning us for success in the competitive digital magazine landscape.

Financial Plan

To reach our growth goals, Timeless Wisdom Digest requires significant funding. This investment will be allocated towards content creation, website development, marketing efforts, and operational costs. Achieving our key milestones, including a steady monthly revenue of $15,000 and expanding our content offerings, is dependent on securing this funding. Our financial plan is designed to ensure the sustainability and profitability of our magazine, paving the way for long-term success in the digital publishing industry.

Below is an overview of our expected financial performance over the next five years:

II. Company Overview

Introducing Timeless Wisdom Digest, a pioneering Online Magazine dedicated to serving the vibrant community of White Plains, NY. As a local online magazine, we’ve identified a unique niche within our community, addressing the noticeable lack of high-quality local online magazines in the area. Our mission is to fill this gap by providing engaging, insightful, and valuable content tailored to the interests and needs of our local audience.

At Timeless Wisdom Digest, we offer a range of products and services designed to cater to the diverse interests of our readers. Our offerings include digital subscriptions, providing instant access to our content anytime and anywhere. For those who prefer a tangible reading experience, we also offer print subscriptions. Our merchandise range allows our readers to own a piece of Timeless Wisdom Digest beyond the page, while our e-books or special reports provide in-depth insights into specific topics of interest. Additionally, we host events or workshops, creating a space for our community to come together, learn, and grow.

Based in White Plains, NY, Timeless Wisdom Digest is deeply rooted in the local community. Our commitment to serving the residents of White Plains drives everything we do, from the stories we tell to the events we host. We’re not just a magazine; we’re a platform for community engagement and a source of local pride.

Timeless Wisdom Digest is uniquely qualified to succeed for several reasons. Our founder brings invaluable experience from previously running a successful online magazine, ensuring we understand the landscape and know what it takes to stand out. Furthermore, our commitment to quality and diversity in our magazine offerings sets us apart from the competition. We’re not just another online magazine; we’re a destination for timeless wisdom, shared experiences, and community connection.

Founded on January 6, 2024, Timeless Wisdom Digest operates as a S Corporation. We’ve achieved significant milestones in a short period, including the development of our unique logo, the creation of our company name, and the selection of a prime location for our operations. These accomplishments mark just the beginning of our journey, and we’re excited about the potential to grow and serve our community in White Plains, NY.

III. Industry Analysis

The online magazine industry in the United States is currently thriving, with a market size estimated at over $3 billion. This figure represents the revenue generated by online magazines through subscriptions, advertising, and other sources. With the increasing popularity of digital content consumption, the online magazine industry is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

One of the key trends in the online magazine industry is the shift towards mobile-first content delivery. As more consumers access content on their smartphones and tablets, online magazines are optimizing their platforms for mobile devices. This trend bodes well for Timeless Wisdom Digest, as it positions the magazine to reach a wider audience in White Plains, NY and beyond. By embracing mobile-friendly design and responsive layouts, Timeless Wisdom Digest can capitalize on the growing demand for on-the-go content.

Another trend in the online magazine industry is the rise of niche publications catering to specific interests and demographics. This presents an opportunity for Timeless Wisdom Digest to carve out a unique space in the market by offering curated content tailored to the preferences of readers in White Plains, NY. By focusing on quality over quantity and delivering valuable insights to their audience, Timeless Wisdom Digest can differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace and attract a loyal following.

IV. Customer Analysis

Below is a description of our target customers and their core needs.

Target Customers

Timeless Wisdom Digest will target local residents of White Plains, NY, as its primary audience. This segment comprises individuals who are interested in a blend of contemporary issues and historical insights, reflecting the unique demographics of the area. We expect that our content will resonate with those who value a deeper understanding of cultural, social, and educational topics.

We will also cater to professionals and students who are seeking enriching content that promotes personal growth and intellectual exploration. This audience segment is constantly looking for material that challenges their perspectives and offers insights into various fields of knowledge. Our magazine will tailor its articles and features to meet the needs of these curious minds, providing them with thought-provoking content.

Additionally, Timeless Wisdom Digest will serve those interested in lifestyle and wellness topics, with a focus on timeless wisdom that transcends current trends. This audience is looking for content that helps them navigate life’s challenges with grace and wisdom. We will offer articles that cover everything from philosophical musings to practical advice on living a balanced life, ensuring our content is both valuable and relevant to our readers’ lives.

Customer Needs

Timeless Wisdom Digest caters to the intellectual and discerning residents of White Plains, NY, who seek more than just everyday news and entertainment. These customers expect to engage with high-quality merchandise, including e-books and special reports, that enrich their understanding and appreciation of various subjects. This online magazine becomes a gateway to a curated selection of content that satisfies their desire for in-depth knowledge and timeless wisdom.

Aside from providing valuable and enriching content, Timeless Wisdom Digest understands the importance of accessibility and convenience for its readers. Customers can effortlessly access a wide range of articles, analysis, and commentary from the comfort of their homes or while on the go. This ease of access meets the modern consumer’s need for information that fits into their busy schedules, making it possible to stay informed and enlightened without compromising their lifestyle.

Moreover, Timeless Wisdom Digest recognizes the growing demand for personalized content. It offers a platform where readers can find content that resonates with their individual interests and aspirations. Whether it’s self-improvement, historical insights, or the latest in technology and arts, the magazine ensures that there is something valuable for every reader. This personal touch not only enhances the reading experience but also fosters a stronger connection between the magazine and its audience, fulfilling a crucial need for content that feels tailor-made and relevant.

V. Competitive Analysis

Direct competitors.

Timeless Wisdom Digest’s competitors include the following companies:

ProPublica  is recognized for its focus on investigative journalism, primarily covering topics such as politics, the environment, and finance. ProPublica offers its investigative reports and articles online for free, relying on donations and grants for revenue. This model allows them to provide high-quality, in-depth journalism without a direct cost to the reader. ProPublica operates out of New York but serves a global audience with its investigative pieces. The customer segments for ProPublica are those interested in detailed, investigative journalism, including readers worldwide, other journalists, and policy-makers. Key strengths of ProPublica include its commitment to public interest journalism, the depth and quality of its investigations, and its ability to impact policy and public opinion. However, its reliance on grants and donations could be seen as a weakness, potentially impacting its sustainability and independence.

Radix Media  is unique in its approach as it combines traditional publishing with radical themes, focusing on producing printed works such as books, zines, and posters. They offer products at a range of price points, catering to various customer segments interested in independent and politically progressive literature. Radix Media operates out of Brooklyn, NY, and targets customers both locally and internationally through its online store. The company’s strengths lie in its focus on high-quality, sustainable printing and its dedication to showcasing underrepresented voices. However, Radix Media faces challenges in a digital-focused world, where print media’s relevance and reach can be limited compared to online platforms.

Horizon Media , known as the largest privately held media services agency, provides a wide range of services including media planning and buying, digital marketing, and data analytics. They cater to a diverse clientele, from small businesses to large corporations, offering tailored media solutions that meet various marketing and advertising needs. Horizon Media operates primarily in the United States, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and other major cities. The company’s key strengths include its comprehensive range of services, extensive industry experience, and a strong focus on data-driven strategies. However, Horizon Media’s weaknesses could stem from the highly competitive nature of the media services industry, where innovation and adaptation are constant, and the struggle to maintain a personalized approach with a growing client base.

Competitive Advantages

At Timeless Wisdom Digest, our commitment to excellence shines through the quality of our online magazines, setting us apart from the competition. We believe in delivering content that not only engages but also enriches our readers, making us a preferred choice for those seeking thoughtful and insightful reading material. Our dedication to producing superior online magazines is evident in the meticulous attention to detail in our editorial process, our choice of contributors, and the innovative topics we cover. This commitment ensures that each publication not only meets but exceeds the expectations of our discerning audience, providing them with a reading experience that is both enriching and enjoyable.

Furthermore, our diverse range of online magazine varieties stands as a testament to our desire to cater to a wide spectrum of interests and tastes. From cutting-edge technology and timeless literature to contemporary lifestyle trends and groundbreaking scientific discoveries, we ensure that our content portfolio is both varied and vibrant. This diversity not only attracts a broad readership but also fosters a community of engaged and loyal readers who appreciate the depth and breadth of our offerings. Our ability to consistently provide a wide array of high-quality content is a key competitive advantage, enabling us to appeal to a diverse audience and keeping us at the forefront of the online magazine industry.

VI. Marketing Plan

Our marketing plan, included below, details our products/services, pricing and promotions plan.

Products, Services & Pricing

Timeless Wisdom Digest offers a variety of products and services designed to cater to the intellectual and cultural interests of its audience. Each offering is carefully curated to ensure quality and relevance, providing a unique value proposition to its customers.

The cornerstone of Timeless Wisdom Digest’s offerings is its digital subscriptions. Customers can enjoy unlimited access to a wide range of articles, essays, and multimedia content tailored to their interests. The average selling price for a digital subscription is around $5 per month, providing an affordable option for continuous access to high-quality content.

In addition to digital content, Timeless Wisdom Digest also offers print subscriptions for enthusiasts who prefer a tangible reading experience. This option allows subscribers to receive monthly issues delivered directly to their doorstep. The print subscription is priced at an average of $8 per month, reflecting the additional costs associated with printing and shipping.

For readers looking to express their affinity for the brand, Timeless Wisdom Digest presents a line of merchandise. This range includes branded apparel, accessories, and home decor items. Prices for merchandise can vary widely depending on the item, with an average price point of $20, offering something for every budget.

Another valuable resource available through Timeless Wisdom Digest is its collection of e-books and special reports. These publications provide in-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of topics, from historical events to contemporary issues. E-books and special reports are typically priced at $10 each, making them an accessible option for those seeking to deepen their understanding of specific subjects.

Finally, Timeless Wisdom Digest hosts events and workshops that provide subscribers with opportunities to engage with content creators, experts, and fellow readers in a live setting. These events range from intimate workshops to larger speaking engagements, with ticket prices averaging $50. These gatherings not only enrich the community’s knowledge but also strengthen the bond among members of the Timeless Wisdom Digest audience.

Overall, Timeless Wisdom Digest offers a comprehensive suite of products and services designed to meet the diverse needs of its subscribers. Whether through digital or print subscriptions, merchandise, in-depth e-books, or engaging events, customers can expect to find a product that enriches their lives and broadens their perspectives.

Promotions Plan

At Timeless Wisdom Digest, we understand the importance of effective promotional methods to attract and engage our audience. As an online magazine catering to diverse readers in White Plains, NY, we will employ a variety of strategies to ensure our content reaches and resonates with our target customers.

One key promotional method we will utilize is online marketing. This broad category encompasses several tactics, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, and content marketing. By optimizing our website and content for search engines, we will increase our visibility and attract more organic traffic. PPC campaigns will allow us to target specific demographics with ads that lead them directly to our magazine. Social media platforms provide a dynamic space for us to engage with our readers, share our latest articles, and build a community around our brand. Email marketing campaigns will keep our subscribers informed about new issues and exclusive content, fostering loyalty and repeat visits. Lastly, our content marketing strategy will focus on creating high-quality, valuable articles that not only attract readers but also encourage them to share our content with others.

In addition to online marketing, we will explore partnerships with local businesses and organizations in White Plains, NY. By collaborating on events or content, we will introduce our magazine to new audiences and add value to our existing readership. Engaging in community events, whether virtual or in-person, will further elevate our presence within the local area and help us to establish Timeless Wisdom Digest as a reputable source of insightful content.

Influencer marketing will also play a role in our promotional efforts. Collaborating with influencers who align with our brand values and appeal to our target audience will enable us to reach potential readers through trusted voices. These partnerships will not only increase our visibility but also lend credibility to our magazine.

Finally, we will prioritize customer feedback and engagement. By actively listening to our readers’ suggestions and concerns, we will continuously improve our content and services. This approach not only enhances reader satisfaction but also encourages word-of-mouth promotion, arguably the most valuable and cost-effective marketing strategy.

In summary, Timeless Wisdom Digest will embrace a multifaceted promotional strategy that includes online marketing, local partnerships, influencer collaborations, and active customer engagement. Through these efforts, we expect to attract a loyal readership and establish ourselves as a go-to online magazine for timeless wisdom and insights.

VII. Operations Plan

Our Operations Plan details:

• The key day-to-day processes that our business performs to serve our customers
• The key business milestones that our company expects to accomplish as we grow

Key Operational Processes

To ensure the success of Timeless Wisdom Digest, there are several key day-to-day operational processes that we will perform.

• Content Creation and Curation:  Our team continuously identifies topics of interest, researches, writes, and edits articles to ensure a steady stream of high-quality content for our readers.
• Website Management:  We regularly update our website to ensure it is user-friendly, secure, and capable of handling our subscriber base effectively, including managing hosting and technical support issues.
• Customer Service:  We maintain a responsive customer service system to address subscriber inquiries, feedback, and any issues they may encounter with accessing or utilizing our content.
• Marketing and Promotion:  Daily efforts are made to promote our magazine through various channels such as social media, email newsletters, and partnerships with local businesses and institutions in White Plains, NY.
• Subscription Management:  We actively manage subscriptions, including new sign-ups, renewals, and cancellations, ensuring a smooth process for our customers.
• Data Analysis:  Our team analyzes website and subscription data to understand reader preferences, engagement levels, and overall trends to inform our content strategy and business decisions.
• Financial Management:  We closely monitor and manage our finances, including operational costs, revenue from subscriptions and advertisements, and investments in marketing and content creation.
• Team Coordination:  We hold regular meetings to ensure that all team members are aligned on our goals, upcoming content, and any operational updates or changes.
• Legal Compliance:  We ensure that all our operations are in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, including copyright laws and privacy policies pertinent to our online magazine’s operations.
• Feedback Implementation:  We take reader feedback seriously and regularly review comments and suggestions to improve our magazine’s content and usability.

Timeless Wisdom Digest expects to complete the following milestones in the coming months in order to ensure its success:

• Secure Key Content Creators and Editorial Staff:  Identify and contract experienced writers, editors, and content creators who align with our magazine’s vision and values. This will ensure a steady flow of high-quality content that resonates with our target audience.
• Develop and Launch Website:  Design, develop, and launch a user-friendly, visually appealing website. This platform will serve as the primary medium for disseminating content and engaging with our audience.
• Implement a Robust Digital Marketing Strategy:  Develop and execute a comprehensive digital marketing plan encompassing SEO, social media, email marketing, and paid advertising to build brand awareness and attract readers to our online magazine.
• Launch Our Online Magazine:  Officially release the first issue of Timeless Wisdom Digest online, marking our entry into the market. This milestone includes having a solid lineup of articles, interviews, and other content ready for publication.
• Establish Partnerships and Collaborations:  Forge strategic partnerships with other media outlets, influencers, and organizations within and outside White Plains, NY. These collaborations can help extend our reach and bring in new readers.
• Monetize Content:  Implement revenue-generating strategies such as subscription models, sponsored content, and advertising. Carefully balance monetization with user experience to ensure subscriber growth and satisfaction.
• Get to $15,000/Month in Revenue:  Achieve a steady monthly revenue of $15,000 through subscriptions, advertisements, and other income streams. This milestone is crucial for proving the business model’s viability and supporting further growth.
• Expand Content Offerings:  Based on reader feedback and market trends, broaden the range of topics covered by our magazine. This could include introducing new columns, multimedia content, and interactive features to engage our audience more deeply.
• Establish a Loyal Reader Base:  Through quality content and community engagement, develop a dedicated group of readers who not only consume content but also actively participate in discussions, share our articles, and contribute to the magazine’s growth.
• Evaluate and Optimize Operations:  Regularly review and refine our content creation, marketing, and monetization strategies. Use data analytics to understand reader preferences and behavior, allowing for agile adjustments to our business model as necessary. Achieving these milestones will not only mitigate risks but also lay a strong foundation for the long-term success of Timeless Wisdom Digest.

VIII. Management Team

Our management team has the experience and expertise to successfully execute on our business plan.

Management Team Members

Timeless Wisdom Digest management team, which includes the following members, has the experience and expertise to successfully execute on our business plan:

Leilani Richardson, CEO

Leilani Richardson, CEO , brings a wealth of experience and a track record of success to Timeless Wisdom Digest. With her previous venture of running an online magazine, Leilani has demonstrated her capability in steering digital publishing platforms towards growth and profitability. Her leadership skills, combined with her understanding of the digital landscape, position her perfectly to guide Timeless Wisdom Digest in achieving its objectives. Leilani’s vision for the company is not only to continue its tradition of offering profound insights through its publications but also to innovate in ways that expand its reach and impact in the digital era.

IX. Financial Plan

Funding requirements/use of funds.

To accomplish our growth goals, Timeless Wisdom Digest needs $151,000 in funding. Key uses of this funding will be as follows:

Financial Projections

5 Year Annual Income Statement

5 Year Annual Balance Sheet

5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement

What Is an Online Magazine BusinessPlan?

An online magazine business plan is a document that outlines the strategies you have developed to start and/or grow your online magazine. Among other things, it details information about your industry, customers and competitors to help ensure your company is positioned properly to succeed. Your online magazine business plan also assesses how much funding you will need to grow your business and proves, via your financial forecasts, why the business is viable.  

Why You Need a Business Plan for your Online Magazine Business

A business plan is required if you are seeking funding for your online magazine. Investors and lenders will review your plan to ensure it meets their criteria before providing you with capital. In addition, an online magazine business plan helps you and your team stay focused. It documents the strategies you must follow and gives you financial projections you should strive to achieve and against which you can judge your performance.  

Online Magazine BusinessPlan Template PDF

Download our Online Magazine Business Plan PDF to help guide you as you create your business plan for your own online magazine.  

Start an Online Magazine

Harnessing the Digital World: Your Unlimited Gossip Fest

ONLINE MAGAZINE

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How to Start Your Own Online Magazine in 2024

Everything you need to know to create your own online magazine from scratch.

• 1. Digital magazines versus online magazines

2. Types of digital magazines

3. choosing what type of magazine is right for you, 4. what’s the goal of your digital magazine, 5. how to structure your online magazine, 6. online magazine revenue models, 7. choosing the right online magazine template, 8. conclusion, introduction.

So you're thinking of creating a digital magazine . You probably have many questions about digital publishing. We'll cover where to start with your digital magazine, what design software to use, how to distribute it , and more.

Maybe you have a print magazine, and you want to increase your reach, save on production costs and introduce interactive features to your readers. Whatever your situation, this guide will help you achieve those goals.

After reading this, you'll be prepared to take the next step in content marketing toward becoming a digital publisher and creating digital magazines online

1. Digital magazines vs. online magazines

First of all, in content marketing, plenty of terms fly around (digital magazine, online magazine, ezine, webzine, digital edition, digital publication, magazine apps, etc.). It can be tricky at first to get past all the lingo, so let’s start by clearing it up.

1.1 What is a digital magazine?

Simply put, a digital magazine has many of the same characteristics as a print magazine but uses digital publishing technology so it can be used in an online format.

There are plenty of advantages to using a digital magazine . Massive savings on printing costs and eco-friendliness are the most obvious and not to mention the extended reach of online communities. Depending on the technology used, digital magazines can also have aesthetic and functional benefits. For example, they may contain animations , hyperlinks, videos, and other dynamic content.

You might be surprised to learn that the first digital magazines were produced in the 1980s! Diskzines (or diskmags) were magazines distributed on floppy disks via post and read on a computer. PCLife was one of the first to create digital magazines in this format. The digital magazine was an executable program that included music, animation , and various forms of multimedia.

By the mid-1990s, floppy discs were mostly replaced by CD-ROMs that could hold far more data. And by the 2000s, most print magazines moved online.

1.2 What is an online magazine?

Online magazines (or ezines, e-zines, eMagazines, webzines) are digital magazines that are hosted, distributed, and read online. While they share some characteristics with online newspapers and blogs, the editorial approach for digital magazines remains more like traditional print magazines.

Online magazine example from Wageningen University

Due to their low cost compared to print, online magazines can be seen as a disruptive technology . Many digital publishers have created online editions of their magazines (referred to as digital editions), or switched exclusively to digital magazine formats.

The relative ease of producing digital online magazines allows virtually anyone to create, publish, and distribute their online magazines and achieve a wide readership.

• Digital magazines: Any magazine that can be read on an electronic device.
• Online magazines: Digital magazines that are hosted, distributed, and read online.
• Digital edition: An online version of an existing print magazine.

For the remainder of this article, we'll be using the terms "online magazine" and "digital magazine" interchangeably, as virtually all digital magazines are now online.

Today, online magazines can be found in many different formats. They can be standalone publications on the web like this one from Nestle , they can be native apps for iOS or Android like this one from the Economist , or they can be part of a magazine subscription service like Zinio or Kindle Newsstand. Additionally, many online magazines offer newsletters to keep readers updated on the latest content and news.

Below, we’ll talk about different types of digital magazines and rate them based on the effort each takes to create and the impact they’re likely to make.

2.1 Flash magazines

Flash was a technology initially created by Macromedia and later bought by Adobe. It was a popular format for many online magazines in the early 2000s as it could facilitate rich multimedia and simulate the turning of pages, just like in a printed magazine.

However, Flash as a technology has declined significantly , and many major devices (like the iPad) no longer support it. If you plan to create an online magazine, you’ll probably want to avoid Flash due to the minimal support.

Effort: High

Impact: Low

2.2 PDF magazines

Other online magazines use PDFs . This is an easy and cheap solution, especially if you already have a printed magazine. With PDF, you can create an exact replica of your printed edition, and virtually all design software can easily export to PDF .

However, there are some big drawbacks to using PDF for digital magazines .

Notably, PDFs are fixed-layout documents intended for printing, meaning that magazines which may look okay on a desktop, will be:

• Difficult to read on a mobile device
• Usually require zooming in and panning around

In the mobile-first age, most people don’t want the hassle of looking at something that doesn’t fit their screens.

Reading a PDF magazine on a mobile phone

Furthermore, digital magazines in a PDF format require readers to download them before viewing them. This is already a barrier for desktop users, but for mobile users, downloading files — and then finding them in your phone’s local storage — remains an almost alien task.

Check out these 9 reasons why you should avoid using PDFs. Check it out

Finally, generating leads , subscribers or revenue with PDF-based digital magazines is difficult because you cannot control their distribution or measure their impact. Once downloaded, readers can freely distribute them to their friends, and you can’t collect data on how readers interact with them, making measuring the ROI of your content marketing near impossible. 

Related: How to track your white papers properly.

Effort: Low

2.3 Flipbook magazines

As online magazines evolved, a new take on PDFs emerged called flippable (or browsable). These PDF-based digital magazines are typically embedded on websites and can simulate the flipping of pages, just like a printed edition. Essentially, they act as a digital replica .

Here is an example of a flipbook magazine .

The same advantages apply to flipbooks as to simple PDF magazines — it’s extremely easy to take an existing printed magazine and digitize it. And as an additional benefit, the online magazine doesn’t need to be downloaded before being read.

However, the same disadvantages apply as well. Try opening the above example on a mobile phone. Because of the fixed layout, flipbooks are extremely difficult to read on mobile without zooming in and out.

Effort: Medium

Find out more about the alternatives to PDF flipbooks. Learn more

2.4 Native app magazines

Some publishers decide to create their own native app for their magazines. A native app simply refers to an app you can buy in the Apple or Google Play store for your iOS or Android device. These cannot be used on a traditional desktop or laptop computer.

Some native app magazines

Native app-based digital magazines probably offer the best reading experience on mobile devices, as developers have almost complete control over the look and feel of the online magazine. They can take advantage of digital text reflow — meaning that the text size and layout respond to the size of the screen, offering an optimal reading experience on any device.

In addition, native apps can contain all kinds of extra functionality. They can pull in dynamic, personalized ads. They can download editions for offline reading. They can include rich multimedia.

They can also track and measure reader behavior so that the publisher knows what types of content are popular among various segments. And the list goes on.

However, native apps have their downside as well. Most obviously, they are very time-consuming and usually very expensive to develop. In addition, you are dependent on Apple or Google to approve your app (which can take time), and they will take a cut of any revenue you earn . Also, apps need to be downloaded, which is an extra step for your readers — especially in an age where people are becoming more discerning with what they install on their phones.

If you can’t afford to hire your developers, numerous services offer to create simple digital magazine apps for you. However, most of these simply convert PDF files, and you end up with many of the same display issues as with flipbooks.

Impact: High

2.5 Magazine subscription apps

Google Play Newsstand and Apple Newsstand have been discontinued and replaced with Google News and Apple News, respectively — simple news aggregators like Flipboard that pull in blog posts and articles from various sources.

However, some major players in the magazine subscription service space still exist, including Amazon’s Kindle Newsstand, Zinio, Texture, Magzter, Readly, and more.

Some popular magazine subscription apps

Each of these is a native app that requires users to create an account, add payment details, and then allow them to subscribe to thousands of magazines published specifically for the platform with in-app purchases.

Many publishers decide to produce online digital magazines for one or more of these platforms rather than developing their apps from scratch because these services already have a large user base.

Creating online magazines for these platforms is more restrictive than developing your app because you must adhere to the platform’s (often confusing) guidelines. And while the process is somewhat simpler than developing an app from scratch, you will still need developers and designers to help you.

If you opt for this route, keep in mind that you'll be competing with thousands of other publishers featured on these platforms to get your magazine found. Also, most of these platforms charge a significant membership fee to become a publisher, and a percentage of your sales.

Impact: Medium

2.6 HTML5 magazines

Last but not least are HTML5-based magazines . These are digital magazines that use the same technology websites depend on — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They’re designed to work in any modern web browser and are thus appropriate for desktops and mobile devices.

Unlike fixed-layout PDFs or flipbooks, HTML5 magazines use responsive design principles to adapt layout and typography according to the reader's screen size. When read on a computer, they feel much like using a modern website — except with a linear flow. When used on a mobile device, they feel like interacting with a native app.

HTML5 magazines work great on any device

The big advantage over native apps is that — because they use simple web technology — they require only a fraction of the resources to develop, and you don’t need to create more than one version for Android and iOS.

Additionally, HTML5 digital magazines can be hosted anywhere you choose, so you’re not dependent on Google, Apple, or other services for distribution. T his makes it a cost-effective and flexible option for those looking to start their own online magazine using the latest tech .

Other benefits include the ability to track and measure reader behavior, update digital magazines even after they’ve been distributed, and control what gets indexed by search engines so that the content of your magazine shows up the way you want in search results.

There are quite a few platforms for developing HTML5 digital magazines, and they all vary in price and options. Foleon offers a powerful drag and drop editor for creating and publishing your own multimedia-rich, interactive , HTML5-based digital magazines and comes with a free trial.

Now that you're familiar with different types of digital magazines, you must decide which one is right for you. This largely depends on your goal, your budget, the available time, and whether you already have a printed edition.

3.1 Low cost options

If budget is your biggest concern, creating a PDF is the cheapest solution. All you need is good content and a proficient graphic designer in InDesign.

If you already have a printed edition and want to go for something slightly fancier without spending much, a flipbook (or digital replica) might be best for you. 

Just keep in mind the drawbacks we discussed in the previous chapter: PDFs and flipbooks don’t do well on mobile devices , so you risk alienating a large segment of your potential audience. Also, controlling distribution is difficult as your audience can freely share your magazine.

Discover : PDF Flipbooks - Should you create them?

3.2 High impact options

3.2.1 when to choose a magazine subscription app.

If you already have a printed edition and want to replicate its style and format as much as possible — and if you want to earn money through subscriptions — you might consider a magazine subscription app like Kindle Newsstand or Zinio.

If you choose this route, you will need to go through a vetting process before your magazine gets listed, pay a membership fee, and likely hire a developer to create XML exports of your magazine. Even then, there is no guarantee that you’ll build an audience because you’ll be competing with the thousands of other magazines featured on their platforms. You can also expect to pay a percentage of the subscriptions you sell.

Example XML code for a digital subscription app magazine

3.2.2 When to develop a native app

If budget is not a concern, and you’re willing to invest in serious development, you might consider creating a native app. This gives you lots of flexibility over the user experience and provides more than one way to generate revenue — through app sales, in-app purchases, or through advertising. Just keep in mind, you will only reach mobile readers, not desktop users.

You’ll need to create a separate version for each mobile platform you want to be on (iOS apps and Android apps are written in different programming languages). You’ll also be subject to Google and/or Apple quality control, terms and conditions, and you’ll have to share a cut of your profits. And again, the app store is crowded, so unless you already have a strong brand, there is no guarantee readers will ever find you.

You can learn more about submitting a magazine app to the Apple app store here .

3.2.3 When to choose an HTML5 magazine

If maximum impact is your goal and you can’t afford a team of developers, an HTML5 magazine is probably the way to go. They allow you to reach computer and mobile users with an equally immersive reading experience, and you won’t be subject to anyone else’s terms and conditions.

An HTML5 magazine lives on its own domain (e.g., yourmagazine.com), and users can read it with any modern browser, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. And just like with native apps, you have tremendous design freedom. You can embed rich media like background videos and create fluid animations as users turn pages.

An HTML5 Architecture Magazine from Trilux

Because they use the same technology as websites, you can put anything in an HTML5 magazine that you could on a regular website, including forms, overlays, frames and embeds — even 3rd party tracking scripts and remarketing pixels.

Watch out, though; many platforms that claim to produce HTML5 magazines just create flippable PDFs that suffer from the same poor mobile experiences we discussed earlier. These can be spotted quite easily as they typically offer to "convert" your PDFs.

For a high quality HTML5 magazine platform, check out Foleon’s no-code, drag & drop, true HTML5 magazine builder .

At the outset of any big project, it's important to start with the goal in mind. Creating an online magazine is no different. Online magazines can have many different objectives, from monetization via user subscription or selling ad space to supporting your content marketing strategy. Identifying your target audience and the goal of your online magazine will affect the platform you choose, the layout and design options you decide upon, your editorial formula, and more.

4.1 Selling subscriptions and ads

When most people think of a magazine, they think of good old-fashioned subscription-based magazines. The goal is simply to generate revenue through subscriptions and/or advertising. Of course, for this to be a feasible goal, you need high-quality content that people are willing to pay for and a good digital marketing strategy .

More and more publishers offer " freemium " models — that is, they offer some of their content for free but then require a subscription for unlimited access to all of their content. National Geographic, for example, offers plenty of free articles on their website and in their native app, but if you want the full experience or access to past editions, you must subscribe.

Many online magazines, such as The Economist and FastCo, offer their digital edition for free if you are also subscribed to their print edition. Others, like Extra Crunch from TechCrunch offer only an online edition.

If you have an existing printed magazine with a big subscriber base, you'll need to decide if your upcoming digital edition will be a standalone product that you sell separately, an online replica that print subscribers get for free, or even a supplement that offers exclusive content not included in the print edition.

If you're just starting, on the other hand, you may want to consider a free or freemium model, at least until your magazine gains enough traction to begin charging a fee. Most new magazines choose this route, relying on advertising revenue to turn a profit.

4.2 Engaging readers

Not all magazine producers are publishers per se. Companies in any number of industries may create magazines to keep their customers up-to-date , inspire them with interesting new content, and keep them engaged with the brand. In this sense, digital magazines can be a powerful tool in your digital marketing strategy by increasing brand awareness and entertaining your readers with content that appeals to your target audience.  

Some great examples are Red Bulletin by RedBull and Airbnb magazine . Neither of these companies are primarily publishers, but both produce great magazines to keep their target audience engaged and enthusiastic about their brands and the lifestyles associated with their products and services.

While the above-mentioned examples charge subscription fees, other companies simply produce digital magazines for free.

In this case, the goal is not to sell subscriptions or earn revenue directly — the benefits in reader engagement offset the production costs. Organizations that have other primary revenue-generating activities create magazines to use as valuable communication assets.

Whole Foods Magazine , for example, is a completely free nutritional magazine produced by the supermarket chain, Whole Foods, in both print and online versions. It contains news and editorial content, original research, and more.

It is not a place where Whole Foods advertises its products. Rather, it contains all kinds of content to inspire people interested in nutrition and healthy eating. By engaging and inspiring their audience in this way, Whole Foods indirectly encourages more shopping.

It's worth noting that, even though Whole Foods Magazine is free for readers, they also include advertisements to help finance it.

Another example where engagement is the main goal are staff magazines . Many large companies produce magazines for internal distribution among their employees. Again, the objective here is reader engagement — to keep their workforce informed, happy, and more productive .

4.3 Selling products or services

A third goal you might have in mind is not to sell the magazine itself , but to use it to sell your products and services. In this case, your magazine would resemble something of a product catalog or brochure .

The most obvious example of this type of magazine would be the duty-free shopping magazines you find on airplanes. These are magazines full of nothing but ads, and while they may be in a magazine format, their main purpose is to get readers to buy something.

But some brands also make digital magazines to sell their own products and services — not only those of their advertisers. This rather stunning HTML5 magazine from Forbo Flooring is a good example.

The 2017/2018 edition of My Volvo Magazine is another exceptional example of an online magazine that is designed to move product. Rather than creating simple ads, Volvo devoted an entire magazine, full of long-form content and stunning imagery to market a selection of their products to their target audience.

When we talk about structuring a magazine, we're speaking primarily of the sections you should include and the order you put them in — your editorial formula . Of course, the decision you make here depends largely on what type of online magazine you intend to create, the goal of your magazine, and your target audience. The good news is that with a digital magazine, you have even more freedom and flexibility than with a printed edition.

Let's first cover the most common sections that almost always appear in traditional magazines.

5.1 Cover pages

Traditional print magazines have four "cover" pages: the front and back covers and the insides of the covers, usually reserved for the most expensive ads.

However, because we're dealing with digital formats, the "inside" covers are not distinct from any other page. The same goes for the back cover — you can't exactly hold a digital magazine and turn it over, so the back cover isn't necessarily relevant.

So that leaves the front cover. This is the part everyone will see and it plays a big part in whether potential readers choose to open your magazine. You should give a lot of thought as to how you design it and what it should feature.

What should go on your front cover?

A good rule of thumb is that, if you want to stand out among your competition, your cover needs to be striking . Your choice of colors, visuals, and typography should be well chosen and compelling. Besides this, there are a few pretty standard things to include on a magazine cover:

• Your brand logo or title of your magazine
• A featured image or illustration
• The publication date (optional)
• The issue or edition number (optional)
• A subtitle or name of the edition (optional)
• Some highlights about what's inside (Not everyone will visit all your pages, so showing your most important articles on the cover may increase the likelihood they’ll read them)

One of the advantages of a digital magazine (depending on the technology you're using) is that you can use a fullscreen background video for the cover instead of a static image. This is a great way to stand out and attract attention. It's even possible to include a button to encourage people to "keep reading" or "open the magazine."

Online magazine with a background video for a cover

5.2 Front of the book

"Front of the book" is magazine terminology for several pages usually in the beginning of the magazine, including the table of contents, impressum, the editor's letter, and comments or letters from readers.

Of course, depending on your goal and target audience, you can choose which of these are relevant for your magazine. Let's quickly go through each of these with a short explanation.

5.2.1 Table of contents

This is almost always the first page of a magazine, although, in digital publishing, some magazines combine this with their cover page. At the very least, it should list all of the featured articles in the magazine, if not everything.

A big advantage of digital magazines is that you can turn the items in your table of contents into hyperlinks so that readers can easily jump to the section that interests them.

5.2.2 The impressum or masthead

Usually in the beginning of the magazine, but sometimes placed at the back, the masthead is a page or section that lists all of the people involved in the production of the magazine, including the editorial staff, the marketers and content producers, designers, and other key people.

Depending on the type of magazine you're creating, this section may or may not be necessary. If you're creating a magazine that will serve as a product catalog , for example, you might leave it out entirely.

Remember that today's readers have short attention spans, and you want to get them to the important stuff right away. With this in mind, you might consider putting it at the back.

5.2.3 Letter from the editor

Again, this will vary depending on the style of your magazine. Usually, the letter from the editor is a welcoming message that briefly covers the contents of the magazine, gives some important information, or touches on recent news.

A staff magazine often replaces this with a letter from the CEO or head of human resources. In either case, it serves to give your magazine more of a human touch and make it feel less like comes from a faceless brand.

5.2.4 Letters from readers

This section is optional and obviously depends on whether you receive such letters. Magazines with a large reader base may have the luxury of hundreds of letters from which to choose the most interesting. Smaller publications probably don't receive enough reader feedback to create a dedication section, but this also depends on the frequency of your magazine.

If you have the material, however, including letters from readers is a great way to show other readers that they're not the only ones reading. It helps to create a community feeling around your magazine, which can be valuable.

5.3 The feature well

This is the main part of your magazine where your featured articles go. Size-wise, this should be the most substantial section.

It's always good to add variety here. Use a combination of longer and shorter articles. Mix that up with interviews, reviews, opinion pieces — or whatever is relevant to your subject matter. Staff magazines , for example, might feature an interview with an employee of the month and then a short piece about next month's targets.

Add variety in the types of featured articles you include

It's important to keep your features visually distinct so that readers know when they've moved from one article to the next. Your layout and color choices should make this distinction clear while also serving to make for a pleasant reading experience.

In a digital magazine you can include more than just text and images. Videos are a great way to add more engaging content. Interactive, animated charts and graphs are popular.

Overlays and popups that readers can open to see more content are also fun to play with. HTML5 magazines even allow you to add forms and collect feedback from your readers right on the page.

5.4 Back of the book

The back of the book is where everything else goes. But that isn't to say it shouldn't be interesting. In many magazines , you'll find classified ads, horoscopes, and smaller columns. But this greatly depends on the type of magazine.

Generally speaking, advertising in this part of the magazine is cheaper than in the front of the book or in the feature, as it tends to get less attention.

Some magazines put the impresario in the back of the book rather than the front. There's even more reason to do this for a digital magazine: you want new readers to get to your best content as quickly as possible.

The last pages can be a great place to add contact forms or even calls-to-action (CTAs) if you're using your magazine for sales or marketing purposes . If you're running a traditional subscription-based magazine, don't forget to provide a way for potential advertisers to get in touch.

Most people intend to earn a reasonable ROI with their magazines, whether directly through selling subscriptions or indirectly, for example by providing customers with relevant, inspiring material that encourages them to stay engaged with their brand.

Before we go further, it's important to mention that much of the publishing industry , in general, has endured difficult times recently as social media and free content has grown in popularity and people spend less time reading traditional magazines.

The good news, however, is that you have a huge advantage with a digital publishing platform for magazines . 

This section will discuss various revenue models you can implement for your digital magazine. The model(s) you choose will largely depend on your goal, the style of your magazine, and the technology you choose.

6.1 Subscriptions and single copy sales

The most obvious way that magazines earn money is through sales, either via an intermediary or as a subscription service. Let's look at how traditional print magazines do it and compare that with online magazines.

6.1.2 Single copy sales

If you go to the local newspaper store and purchase a magazine, only a portion of what you pay ends up as profit for the magazine's publisher.

Single-copy sales are usually the least profitable ways for magazines to earn revenue. When you consider the printing and distribution costs, the margin is not very large. On top of that, the magazine typically pays for space on the newsstand's shelves.

Profit = revenue - production costs - printing costs - distribution costs - shelf costs

6.1.3 Subscription sales

Subscriptions are far more profitable because publishers can eliminate one of the middlemen. The publisher ships magazines directly to readers and doesn't have to pay for shelf space. Also, income tends to be more predictable because subscribers typically pay in advance.

Profit = revenue - production costs - printing costs - distribution costs

Still, for a printed magazine that sells subscriptions, the revenue will always be offset by how much it costs to print and ship. Printing and distribution costs are typically the largest expense for any magazine.

The huge advantage of online magazines is that they entirely eliminate printing and shipping costs.

6.1.3 Decreasing marginal costs

Another thing to consider is that, with physical magazines, a unit must be printed and shipped for every copy sold. Thus, your total costs increase as you sell more. You also run the risk of printing too many upfront.

Profit = (sale price x units sold) - (cost per unit x units printed)

On the other hand, a digital magazine only needs to be created once. Because it's virtual and not physical, it can be sold unlimited times without incurring additional costs.

Profit = (sale price x units sold) - 1-time production cost

With a digital magazine, your cost per unit is simply your 1-time cost divided by the number of sales (i.e., it shrinks as you sell more).

6.1.4 Selling digital magazine subscriptions

While eliminating printing and shipping costs makes creating and selling digital online magazines much cheaper and accessible for more people, there will be other costs involved.

For example, if you decide to sell subscriptions via Zinio or Kindle, you will pay a membership fee and most likely a percentage of all your sales. This is comparable to the shelf fee a print publication pays to newsstands. These magazine services provide various options for you to promote your magazine to existing users of the platform.

Similarly, if you create native apps for your magazines, both Apple and Google retain approximately 30% of the revenue you generate from selling your app or providing in-app purchases, in addition to the initial registration fee. Your ability to sell subscriptions will depend on your app's performance in the app store.

With an HTML5 magazine, you have more control over your digital marketing without having to rely on Apple's, Google's, or Zinio's existing audiences. You will pay for using most HTML5 magazine software platforms to create content, but they don't typically take a cut of your sales. Your magazines will exist on any URL you choose, making it easy to share on social posts or promote through email marketing.

6.2 Selling ads

The other most common way for magazines to earn revenue is through advertising. It's extremely rare to find a magazine that doesn't contain ads. Most magazines use a combination of subscriptions and advertising to generate multiple streams of revenue.

6.2.1 Classified ads

Just like in a newspaper or printed magazine, digital magazines can contain classified ads where just about anyone can pay for space. Classified ads are typically small, include just a few lines of text, maybe an image, and some contact information. They usually appear in the back of the book.

What makes classified ads more interesting in digital format is that they can contain hyperlinks with UTMs that the advertiser can use to track the source of the traffic they generate. This gives advertisers a far better understanding of the performance of their ads than they would obtain from a printed version.

Your ability to generate revenue from classified ads depends on the circulation and popularity of your magazine. The more people read your magazine, the more advertisers will be willing to pay for space.

6.2.2 Display ads

Display ads are the most common and easily recognizable ads in a magazine. They are often distributed throughout an entire publication and clearly display some product or service. Display ads are far more expensive than classified ads (often costing thousands of dollars) because of their location in the magazine and the amount of space allowing for a great deal of exclusivity.

Again, a brand's willingness to pay for advertising space will depend on the reach of your magazine. If you're just starting out it will be difficult to attract advertisers. But as your readership grows, this can become a major income source.

A benefit of digital magazines is that you can include dynamic display ads — the most common being Google Adwords. With these kinds of ads, you provide the space for the ad, but Google determines what content will show up in that space based on the reader's previous browsing behavior. One advantage here is that you don't need to negotiate with individual advertisers; Google pays you for the number of times your ad is clicked.

6.2.3 Advertorials and sponsored content

Advertorials (sometimes referred to as native ads) are a form of advertisement that usually takes the form of a story. Reader's may often confuse them with editorial content. However, most publications include a note that the article is "sponsored content" paid for by an advertiser, or simply add a label that marks the article as an advertorial.

Native ads are less disruptive to the reading experience than display ads. They are not intended to fool readers into thinking they are editorial pieces — readers can readily tell when they're reading sponsored content — but they make ads more interesting and relevant as they fit the flow and design of the magazine.

Rather than focusing directly on selling a product or service, native ads tell an interesting story, or highlight some fun facts that are both relevant to the publication they're in and the company that sponsors the piece.

How much should you charge for native ads? That can be a tough question. HubSpot gives some ideas on pricing for sponsored content, but you should also consider factors like whether the pieces are beneficial for your readers and add to your overall magazines experience, and whether you may want to build a long-term partnership with the advertiser.

Oh, and if you intend to attract advertisers, don't forget to include contact information in your magazine for them to get in touch!

6.3 Content paywalls

Today's content consumers are used to getting things for free. Many magazines and newspapers now use "freemium" models where they offer a number of articles free of charge, but pay for access to additional content.

The New York Times, for example, allows you to read 3 articles per month before requiring you to subscribe. Other magazines don't limit the number of articles, but place their "high quality" pieces behind a payment wall.

Still other magazines allow you to read the first several pages before you run into a screen which requires you to sign up.

Offering content for free is a great way to get more exposure and generate more brand awareness around your magazine, especially in the beginning. People like to "try before they buy," and offering a taste of what they'll get increases their confidence when deciding to purchase a subscription.

Your ability to generate revenue with this model depends on the quality of your magazine's content. Is it engaging and interesting enough for people to want to pay to get more?

HTML5 magazines like those created with Foleon, allow you to gate your magazine at any point throughout the publication, requiring readers to log in or sign up before continuing.

6.4 Generating leads

As we discussed in Chapter 4, magazines can have different goals. Not everyone who produces a magazine is a publisher. Many organizations create magazines for marketing purposes to engage their audience rather than to generate revenue directly.

Still, for these types of magazines to be worthwhile, some kind of return should be expected, whether it's increased engagement with your brand (as Airbnb magazine does) or more ideas for shopping (as Wholefoods magazine does), or something else.

One of the most popular ways to use digital magazine as a marketing asset is to collect reader information and generate leads . Online marketers often create "content offers" such as eBooks , white papers , and guides that site visitors can download after filling in their personal information.

In most cases, the sales or marketing department will use the gathered information to follow up with visitors, offering them some kind of promotion and nudging them towards becoming a customer.

Online HTML5 magazines are a great format for lead-generating content offers that help to fill your sales funnel. In a world where most marketers still put their eBooks and whitepapers in PDF format, responsive, interactive digital magazines can be a big differentiator.

In a market where the volume of digital marketing published content increases rapidly every day, visual presentation has never been more important to maintain your audience's attention.  For online magazines, the template you choose to showcase your content can make or break the success of your publication. The template you choose is more than just an aesthetic choice. It's a strategic decision that impacts user experience, engagement, and even the perception of your brand. 

Here are some considerations you should take into account when selecting your online magazine template.

7.1 Target audience and content

The two biggest influences that will determine the selection of your online magazine template are your target audience and the types of content you are publishing. 

For example, if you are creating a catalog that explores trends in interior design or popular travel hot spots you'll want to choose a template with visually appealing galleries perfect for high-resolution imagery or videos. Text-oriented templates are better suited for research-heavy interactive white papers or annual reports . Think about your target audience's preferences and how the template can improve the engagement of your content. 

7.2 Design flexibility with drag and drop interface

To get the most out of your online magazine make sure that the content creation platform you are using features professionally designed magazine templates that are easy to use and completely customizable. This will allow everyone in your team to create content quickly without requiring coding experience. 

Customizable templates give you a starting foundation to build your online magazine any way you like by easily changing colors, fonts and layouts with the ability to add or remove sections according to your brand guidelines. 

7.3 Mobile experience and device responsiveness

With over 55% of website traffic coming from people using mobile devices, it is essential that your online magazine is fully responsive. Most content creation platforms have built-in software that will automatically resize your content to various screens but it is always worth testing across several devices before publishing any new magazine content. 

Furthermore, website speed is one of the most important factors in user experience and can dramatically affect organic rankings. According to seciton.io 32.3% of visitors bounce when the page load exceeds 7 seconds. Taking website performance into account when building your online magazine is a critical factor in expanding your readership.   

No matter which route you take, creating an online magazine from scratch is a big job. From creating and curating content to working with advertisers and media partners, there is a lot to consider. Hopefully, this article provides you with enough information to start making important decisions like what platform you'll use and how you'll finance your magazine.

A final piece of advice we'll leave you with is that content is king . In the end, the success of your magazine will depend mostly on how good your content is. If you provide consistently superior content that engages and inspires, readers will keep coming back for more, and you'll achieve your goals, whether it's charming readers, educating your employees, selling your products, or turning a profit.

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How to Start a Magazine in 14 Steps (In-Depth Guide)

Updated:   February 22, 2024

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The magazine industry in the U.S. brought in $163.70 billion in 2024. With over 22 million magazine readers in the United States each year, there is room in the market for new publications. Choosing the right niche with a targeted readership and defining your editorial mission are key first steps to attracting subscribers.

With careful planning and solid financial backing, launching a new paper or online magazine can be a fulfilling creative endeavor as well as a potentially lucrative business venture. Distinguishing your voice and speaking to an underserved audience are principles guided by successful publishers.

This guide will walk you through how to start a magazine. Topics include market research, competitive analysis, customer focus, marketing, obtaining business insurance, registering your EIN, and more. Here’s everything you need to start your own magazine.

1. Conduct Magazine Market Research

Market research is important for starting any business. At just the beginning of your magazine venture, you’ll want to get to know the industry, major players, major trends, and your target audience. All these details help you develop your business plan.

• Magazines focusing on special interests such as sports, fashion, news, home improvement, and women’s lifestyle make up the majority of sales.
• Ad sales are a great source of secondary income on top of magazine sales.
• Niche publications can more effectively reach and monetize targeted audiences while facing less competition from mass-market titles.
• Developing integrated business models with events, online communities, subscriptions, e-commerce, and branded products creates multiple revenue streams.
• Despite declining print readership, almost 90 million Americans still read print magazines on topics aligned with their interests and lifestyles.
• Food, family life, health, celebrities, home, fashion, and special interests resonate most strongly with print subscribers who value high-quality curated content not always found online.
• Loyal readers are often willing to pay higher subscription fees that generate substantial circulation revenue.
• Print production and distribution costs can pose barriers to launching new print magazines.
• Partnering with major publishers to leverage existing infrastructure or beginning with an online-only model can reduce overhead.
• Assessing comparable niche publications provides benchmarks to forecast realistic revenue and subscriptions needed to sustain operations.
• With targeted audiences eager to engage with content related to their passions, the magazine industry still offers opportunities for emerging independent publishers.
• Combining print, events, e-commerce, and online outlets focused on an underserved niche creates a diversified platform poised to monetize readership.

Please let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any area of this magazine market analysis or provide additional data sources. I aimed to keep paragraphs concise per your instructions and link to relevant statistics throughout.

2. Analyze the Competition

When launching a new print or digital magazine, extensive competitive analysis is essential to carve out your niche, set pricing, and attract readers and advertisers. First, identify 3-5 established publications with a significant readership covering similar content to your focus area.

For print magazines, monitor industry data from MRI-Simmons to track circulation, subscription prices, advertising rates, and reader demographics. Subscribe to the publications and critically assess editorial voice, design, topics covered, and ad placement. Visit newsstand distribution points to observe placement prominence and sell-through rates.

Evaluate the online presence for competitor publications reviewing traffic metrics from SimilarWeb and Alexa.com . Analyze engagement for their website, newsletters, social media channels, and multimedia content. This data combined with print circulation benchmarks total reach.

Conduct online surveys and focus groups with readers of niche publications to identify unmet needs and gauge pricing sensitivity. Talk to past writers and advertising sales reps to uncover pain points working with established titles.

Using these inputs, you can pinpoint whitespace opportunities to launch offerings distinguishing your publication from current players while apprising production costs, reasonable advertising rates, optimal subscription pricing, and projections for readership and revenue.

Revisit competitive dynamics every quarter, running surveys to accurately position your messaging and rates as the market landscape evolves.

3. Costs to Start a Magazine Business

When starting a print magazine, major start-up costs include research/planning, establishing a legal business entity, securing licenses and permits, obtaining equipment, developing your first issue, and covering initial operating expenses until revenue begins.

Start-up Costs

• Market research, competitive analysis, branding, and product positioning require substantial time or consultant fees of around $5,000-$10,000.
• Structuring your magazine as an LLC or corporation involves state registration/filing fees ($100-$800) and completing the requisite paperwork.
• You may incur legal fees of up to $1,000 to engage a lawyer to review contracts and formalize company agreements.
• Trademarking your magazine’s brand name costs $275-$500 through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Essential equipment like computers and editing software averages $3,000 upfront.
• Additional budgets for website development ($5,000 basic WordPress site), branding/logo design ($500-$1,500), and photography/graphics ($1,000 per issue) should be allocated as well.
• Renting small office space including utilities will be at least $1,000 per month.
• Hiring writers ($150+ per article), editors ($55 per hour), designers ($65 per hour), and administrative staff ($35,000-$55,000 salary). You may also need a publication manager or managing editor to publish a magazine online or in print.
• Printing 10,000 copies of a 100-page premiere issue costs around $16,000 through a digital magazine printer given current paper and ink pricing.
• Distribution via mail/subscription boxes requires one-time fees per issue totaling upwards of $5,000. Purchase small quantities of branded merchandise for promotional events for $1,000.
• All said, expect to secure $75,000-$125,000 to fully fund your magazine’s launch and operate for the first 6 months as you build an audience and advertising partnerships.

Ongoing Costs

• Recurring fixed monthly expenses like rent ($1,000), shipping/postage ($2,500 per issue) equipment leases ($500), and software/technology subscriptions ($300).
• Variable costs per issue average $25,000 covering writing, editing, photography, illustration, graphic design, printing , magazine management software, and distribution logistics.
• With quarterly or monthly publication cycles, factor 4-12 issues annually costing upwards of $300,000.
• Promotional events like trade shows and conferences cost $3,000-$10,000 to exhibit. Investing in advertising and PR around $4,000 per month diversifies acquisition channels.
• Payroll expenses for 5-10 employees tally $250,000-$500,000 per year.
• Reinvest net income into growing your team and content quality rather than taking profit in the first few years.
• Pursue angel investment or small business loans to ensure adequate capitalization for the first 18-24 months.

4. Form a Legal Business Entity

When starting a magazine, selecting the appropriate legal entity impacts liability protection, taxes, and ease of formation. Weighing the pros and cons of each helps entrepreneurs pick the best fit. Popular options include:

Sole Proprietor

A sole proprietorship is simplest requiring no formal registration. However, the owner assumes unlimited personal liability for debts and legal actions against the magazine. Income and losses flow through to the owner’s tax return. While easy to establish, the risks outweigh the benefits as magazines grow.

Partnership

A general partnership shares profits and losses among partner owners. The structure provides no liability protection as partners bear responsibility for each other’s actions. Partners report shares of income/losses on personal tax returns. This framework faces the same issues as a sole proprietorship on a larger scale.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Establishing a magazine as a limited liability company (LLC) offers personal asset protection while allowing pass-through tax status. LLCs limit personal liability to owner’s investments capping exposure if sued for debts, disasters, or publishing issues. Profits/losses pass to members’ returns avoiding corporate taxes.

Corporation

A C corporation set up better suits large national publishers. The structure shields owners from corporate liabilities but profits face double taxation at the corporate rate and on dividends. Complex annual meeting/reporting rules also apply. Incorporation costs range from $100-$800 but require extensive record-keeping.

5. Register Your Business For Taxes

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) serves as a magazine company’s social security number for tax purposes. The unique ID tracks your business income, payroll taxes, and other tax transactions.

All LLCs and corporations must obtain an EIN by applying online via the IRS . Sole proprietors can use their SSN but should still get an EIN. Signing up takes less than 15 minutes if you have personal identification details and your LLC certificate ready.

Follow these simple steps to get your magazine EIN:

• Verify eligibility: LLC structures qualify for an EIN
• Gather personal identification information
• Have your LLC certification materials available
• Visit the IRS EIN Assistant and click “Apply Online Now”
• Answer questions about your business structure and details
• Provide responsible party information
• Get your EIN assignment immediately

There is no cost to obtain this essential tax ID number. Once assigned, your EIN stays with your business entity permanently.

You should also formally register with your state to collect/remit sales tax and comply with local business statutes. Filing for sales tax permits costs $5 to $100 depending on the state.

Handling both federal EIN and state/local requirements upfront ensures you have the proper licenses before hiring employees or selling taxable goods and services. Paying penalties for lapsed permissions cuts into narrow magazine margins. Consult an accounting professional to establish compliant tax processes.

6. Setup Your Accounting

With tight margins and heavy upfront investments, meticulous financial tracking is imperative for magazine publishers. Whether hiring staff writers, contracting printers, hiring a marketing manager, or buying supplies, transactions must be properly recorded.

Accounting Software

Using small business accounting software like QuickBooks simplifies categorizing earnings and expenses, managing cash flows, tracking accounts receivable/payable, processing payroll, and reconciling statements. The platform can directly integrate with bank accounts and credit cards to automatically download transaction data.

Hire an Accountant

While the software does the heavy lifting in organizing finances, working with an accountant takes optimization further with value-added services like:

• Bookkeeping – Recording transactions
• Payroll – Handling monthly pay runs
• Compliance – Filing quarterly taxes
• Audits – Ensuring accurate reporting
• Planning – Forecasting cash flow

Accountants charge around $200 per month for basic small business bookkeeping and reporting. Come tax season, expect fees from $800 to $2,500+ to maximize write-offs and properly document income depending on your entity structure. An accountant can save money long-term by avoiding IRS issues down the road.

Open a Business Bank Account

Maintaining separate business accounts prevents co-mingling finances which raises red flags. Declining advertising revenue or steep printing costs directly hit the bottom line of magazine operations. With everything compartmentalized into isolated accounts, your funds remain protected.

Apply for a Business Credit Card

A small business credit card also segments expenditures for simplified tracking tied to clear purposes. Payment terms tend to be more flexible for corporations than individuals as credit decisions focus on company financials.

7. Obtain Licenses and Permits

Launching paper or digital magazines involves extensive pre-planning before officially opening for business. Find federal license information through the U.S. Small Business Administration . The SBA also offers a local search tool for state and city requirements.

Common permits include:

A DBA filing formally declares your magazine’s brand beyond the registered legal name. Registering a “doing business as” name costs $10 to $50 depending on location making your title official.

Seeking copyright for your publication protects creative content from unauthorized use. Register claims for $45 per issue covering articles, images, and branding like logo design. Without official copyright, your pieces can be reprinted without permission or payment which erodes potential licensing opportunities.

Your state may require specific business licenses for publishing companies charging sales tax or conducting e-commerce. Common categories like retail or wholesale seller permits apply to newsstand distribution and branded merchandise. States levy penalties for non-compliance even if your oversight was innocent. Verify requirements.

Magazines selling alcohol or tobacco advertising must obtain ATF approvals. Issues with age-restricted products can prompt restrictions or disciplinary actions if advertisers lack proper permitting themselves. Don’t risk violations.

Seeking guidance from legal professionals or the SBA helps publishers identify permits involving their state. Verifying if municipal licenses are needed within cities adds another layer. Staying atop changing local ordinances provides necessary wiggle room as operations scale.

8. Get Business Insurance

Business insurance shields magazine enterprises from unexpected liabilities that could devastate thinly margined operations. Policies cover expenses related to property damage, employee injuries, copyright infringement allegations, and other scenarios. Without adequate coverage, minor incidents translate to major bills or lawsuits draining financial reserves.

Consider if a disgruntled writer’s plagiarism accusations prompt lengthy copyright litigation or if storm flooding destroys your rented office space and equipment. Or imagine a workplace injury leaves an editor unable to work for months.

Lacking insurance, legal fees, rebuilding costs, and lost business income from those nightmares must be self-funded. But comprehensive policies transfer risk so you focus on recovery, not bankruptcy.

Securing coverage involves:

• Research policy options – general liability, property damage, business interruption, errors and omissions, etc. through business insurance marketplaces like CoverWallet
• Inventory assets and quantify risks calculating ideal coverage levels
• Get multiple quotes tailoring bundled plans from highly rated providers
• Select a provider offering the right balance of premiums costs to coverage limits
• Complete the insurer’s small business underwriting process
• Make recurring premium payments annually or monthly

Expect costs between $500 to $5,000+ per year depending on revenue size and policy scopes like geographic radius, legal limits, specialty add-ons, and deductible levels.

Working with an independent insurance broker streamlines getting quotes tuned to your business model and risk factors. Overpaying for unused benefits or minimal policy gaps herald catastrophe. An hour of preventative planning stewards success.

9. Create an Office Space

An office provides magazine teams with a centralized hub to handle editing, design, advertising coordination, and subscriber management. Writers can collaborate in person versus email tagging documents back and forth for seamless content workflows. Face-to-face strategy meetings yield better decisions than virtual calls. A space also conveys legitimacy to advertisers touring operations.

Coworking Office

Coworking spaces like WeWork supply everything from private offices to common desks on flexible terms for $300 to $800 monthly. The communal environment enables networking opportunities to attract talent or source partners. Most coworking locations offer meeting rooms, events, office supplies, equipment rental, and admin support.

Commercial Office

Seeking traditional office leases provides enduring roots and full control of customizing layouts. Expect commercial rates from $20-$40 per square foot in most cities including operating expenses and taxes. Five-year commitments help secure ideal spaces in popular business centers that impress clients.

10. Source Your Equipment

Launching a magazine requires a technology infrastructure for content creation, design, advertising, subscriber management, and distribution coordination. While printing physical issues necessitates heavy investments, online-only models have lower barriers to entry. Review Must-have gear across operational categories.

Computer workstations constitute the core writing and editing tools. New iMacs, PC towers, or laptops with ample processing power, storage, and memory cost $800 from retailers like Best Buy . Publishers can slash 50% off list pricing on eBay and Facebook Marketplace sourcing gently used equipment for around $300 per machine.

Digital subscriptions and advertising sales require minimal physical infrastructure. Print magazines need far more equipment for production and distribution. Industrial printers using tons of paper and pallets of ink run over $100,000. Most publishers outsource printing tasks via vendors able to produce issues for $16,000. Consider contracting design too rather than buying typesetting machines outright.

For computers, printers, office equipment, and more, you can seek second-hand equipment through online markets. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are a great place to start. Local garage sales and auctions are also great places to snag deals.

11. Establish Your Brand Assets

Crafting a distinctive brand identity makes an emerging publication memorable amid crowded marketplace noise. Beyond a creative logo and tagline, publishers must assemble critical marketing collateral speeding audience acquisition and revenue growth.

Get a Business Phone Number

Acquiring a personalized business phone line conveys professionalism to prospective advertisers and subscribers versus using personal cell numbers. Web-based services like RingCentral provide call routing, voicemail transcriptions, multiple extensions, and more for $30 per month. Securing a memorable vanity line with a custom greeting sets the tone for every caller interaction.

Design a Logo

A thoughtfully designed logo synthesizes visual and emotional connections to your magazine. Playful or elegant fonts, symbolic colors and graphical elements like illustrations work together cementing first impressions. Online logo makers like Looka build options from $20 fitting defined aesthetic briefs. Locking in logo use rights prevents replication.

Print Business Cards

Business cards serve as versatile advertisements when meeting potential partners, building relationships at conferences, or corresponding with sources. Cards typically cost under $20 for 500 premium cards from printers like Vistaprint . Share them freely to expand visibility.

Buy a Domain Name

Claiming your magazine’s name directly as a dot com domain improves findability and breeds authority with readers. Domain registrars like Namecheap provide email services, hosting, and SSL certificates to power sites for less than $50 annually. Secure available domains even those lacking immediate plans to develop a full web presence. The investment retains future flexibility.

Design a Website

Once equipped with a domain, publishers can choose to build sites themselves via user-friendly drag-and-drop platforms like Wix for free removing code barriers, or hire a graphic designer or web developer from marketplaces like Fiverr for bespoke designs around $500. You can also hire freelancers to write articles for the website or the magazine.

12. Join Associations and Groups

Beyond perfecting the editorial voice, design aesthetic, and operational cadence of your new magazine, networking with fellow industry insiders unlocks invaluable advice for navigating common pitfalls. Local groups build supportive communities sharing hard-earned lessons while national associations provide critical resources.

Local Associations

Every state has an official American Society of Magazine Editors chapter focused on regional issues. Join the nonprofit swaying legislators on policy matters like sales tax laws impacting publications. Attend quarterly events putting faces to industry allies nearby.

Local Meetups

Search sites like Meetup to discover informal local networks for publishers, writers, and designers collaborating across titles. Casual monthly happy hours promote organic relationship-building in lower-pressure social settings. Having hometown contacts helps fill unexpected talent needs faster through trust already established.

Specialty groups like the Association of Women in Publishing offer tailored programming and job boards relevant to marginalized communities. Feel welcomed while benefiting from niche support channels.

Facebook Groups

Facebook is a great untapped and free resource for graphic designers, freelance writers, and magazine startups. Join groups like Self Publishers Publishers Advertising Club and Books & Publishers to get started. Discover how other niche publications creatively monetize readers. Access crowdsourced solutions for printer dilemmas.

13. How to Market a Magazine Business

Implementing multifaceted campaigns expands subscriber reach and retains loyal readers. Leveraging both digital and traditional channels suits diverse demographics sustaining competitive relevance.

Referral Marketing

Readers and advertisers won’t automatically discover new titles through serendipity. Publishers must actively listen to target audience needs and then connect magazine benefits clearly to imprint stickiness.

Satisfied subscribers organically endorse brands sharing content and gift subscriptions. Encourage sharing via referral promotions awarding free issues for every new signup. Insert referral cards into print editions making participation easier.

Digital Marketing

Digital options abound for finding and engaging modern audiences:

• Run Google/Facebook paid ads micro-targeting niche readership demographics with special offer landing pages
• Post video trailers on YouTube previewing upcoming issues to generate intrigue
• Write contributor roundup articles showcasing diverse writer perspectives
• Promote giveaways and surveys across all social media accounts
• Publish weekly blogs highlighting featured pieces sending traffic to the latest issue
• Email promotional excerpts driving conversions for online purchases
• List events and subscription deals on community calendars

Traditional Marketing

Traditional channels also help cement local notoriety:

• Distribute first-edition copies for free via local retailers like bookstores and cafes
• Place radio/podcast sponsor messages right before airing aligned podcast episodes
• Print flyers with QR signup codes posted across college campuses
• Hand out postcards at industry trade shows, concerts, and cultural events
• Run sponsorship announcements at nonprofit gala events attended by target donors

A blended outreach approach allows testing resonating mediums and messages for the highest returning readership and conversions. Analyze campaign reporting insights to double down on what moves the revenue needle.

14. Focus on the Customer

Delivering exceptional subscriber experiences cements reader loyalty over years not just single issues. Though producing brilliant content seems the main competitive edge, customer service missteps erode hard-won audiences.

Attentive publishers personally respond to questions about print delivery problems or digital login issues within 24 hours. They offer courteous refunds for damaged issues through no fault of readers. Proactively surveying subscribers identifies areas for fulfillment improvements rather than waiting for complaints.

Readers feel respected when publishers care about optimizing their enjoyment. They reciprocate by spreading positive word-of-mouth and writing online reviews. Referrals from pleased subscribers become the best marketing source for magazines enabling sustainable growth.

focus groups provide candid qualitative feedback about cover designs, section priorities, or themes to double down on. Implementing reader suggestions into future issues shows customers their input matters. They become invested in the magazine’s continued success.

Major publishing houses with a spectrum of titles cannot provide such tailored support to each niche readership. However independent publishers targeting specific demographics build bonds through meaningful interactions and transparency around plans.

While monetizing through advertising and branded collaborations makes sense, without an audience to expose such partnerships to, the magazine becomes irrelevant. Satisfying the informational or entertainment needs of target readers must take priority to earn repeat business.

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April 9, 2024

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Cover to Cover: How to Start a Magazine in 2024

i. Choose a Niche

Ii. create a business plan, iii. hire your staff, iv. make use of all platforms, i. rounding up content and creating a mock-up, ii. tools to create your issue, iii. post-launch, i. create a brand, ii. diversify, iii. develop quality content, iv. use your channels — all of them, 1. planning a magazine.

We’ve come quite a long way since the very first American publication in 1741. Who knows if Ben Franklin and his chronicling competitors had any idea that their budding industry would blossom into something that has a global market size of $79.8.3 billion this year ?

Thanks to both their centuries-long resilience and progressive nature to adapt, magazines continue to be a worthwhile project to embark on. 

If you’re looking to start a magazine or pivot to digital editions, read on. We’re outlining the basic steps of how to start a magazine in 2024. 

The first step to starting your magazine is, of course, to choose a concept. Before you venture down the path on how to make a magazine, you need to know what you want to write about in your publication.

Will it handle a general topic, such as business or politics?

Do you want to get down to the nitty gritty of gardening or interior design? 

Be sure to choose a concept that you will be able to generate ideas around. 

Magazines have been around for centuries, so chances are that there’s already a plethora of publications on your chosen topic. How would you tackle the topic differently? Or present it in a unique, fresh way? 

It’s not as simple as just choosing a topic, however; you should also consider who your primary audience would be. 

What type of readers are you targeting? 

What’s the demographic profile? Think in terms of age, interests, education level, family dynamics, and so on.

Pro Tip : “It’s … important that your audience has a ‘continuing need’ for your content, so they’ll want to subscribe and read more. Think about your audience’s lifestyle and cater to the issues and ideas they care about.”

Knowing your audience will help to keep you established and focused in the niche you’re pursuing. Because just as Michael Keaton’s Ray Kroc learned in The Founder — when the McDonald’s businessman learned he wasn’t, in fact, in the hamburger business, but rather the real-estate business — it’s essential to remain true to the business  of The Niche even as people can’t keep their hands off the publication.

Beyond your concept, other factors to consider are:

• The title. Your audience’s first impression of your publication comes from its title. Make sure it’s concise, catchy, relevant, and distinguishable. Your magazine should stand out from others in your topic.
• The tone and message. Though all writers and editors bring something different to the table, the overall tone of the magazine should be consistent and relevant to your topic. For example, an upbeat tone is fine for an entertainment magazine; pulling off that tone for a political publication would take considerably more skill and effort.
• The stylistic elements. Generally, you want the font type, size, and color to be uniform across all of your editions. Like branding in marketing, you have to develop a style for your magazine. 

The initial stages of developing your concept will involve lots of research. However, it ensures that you’re organized and have a clear vision as you develop your publication.

Think of your up-and-coming magazine as a company. It’s not just a publication. It’s a brand, a business. As with any venture, you need to devise a solid plan. 

Using your concept research, build a business plan that addresses the logistics of starting a magazine. Priority considerations include:

• How will you fund your first issue? Some aspiring publishers have money saved up while others look to crowdfund or use investors. (As you grow, you may be able to rely on advertisements to finance issues. Until then, it’ll likely be difficult to get advertisers until your publication is more established.)
• How will you distribute your magazine? If it’s a print publication, how will you print it? If it’s digital, where would it be available to read or to download?
• Would you rent or buy office space, or would staff work from home? Think about the added costs of office supplies, insurance, energy and Internet bills, and more.
• Where will your magazine be distributed, regionally or nationally? Magazine start-up costs range from $100,000 to $1 million, depending on geographic circulation. 
• Speaking of, will your magazine be a free or paid circulation? If it’s free, who’s the most relevant audience to distribute to? If it’s paid, how much will you charge subscribers? (Most publications make revenue from subscriptions, advertisements, or a combination of the two.)
• What type of advertisements would you plan to include? If you choose to have ads, ensure they’re relevant to your audience. 

Pro Tip : If you will be relying on ads for revenue, you will want ads to cover at least 50% of your publication, and closer to 60-65% if you’re relying solely on ad revenue. 

• Do you intend to make a profit from your magazine? Is this venture not-for-profit? Pro Tip : If you’re trying to increase revenue, keep printing and distribution costs below 50% of your total budget.
• What are your basic editorial topics? Most first-time publications plan a content calendar at least a year in advance. In addition to providing solid footing for the editors, this also allows publishers to give advertisers a better sense of the magazine’s scope and direction.

In every film involving magazines (and newspapers), it’s all about the staff. Your team members take ideas and mold them into stories. They give a voice and visual to each individual page and to the larger brand. 

Because they’re so important, don’t skimp out on hiring a dream team of editorial all-stars to get your magazine off the ground. Though you may not yet have the budget to hire a full staff, you’ll at least want these essential members in your corner, laying the foundation:

• Editor-in-Chief: To oversee all aspects of the editorial process. 
• Managing Editor: To assign stories and edit text
• Copy Editor: To fact-check and edit for grammar
• Staff Writer: To write articles, website content, etc.
• Production Manager: To keep track of ads and handle bookkeeping
• Salesperson : To sell advertisement space in your magazine 
• Creative Director: To design the publication style and more prominent features
• Graphic Artist / Designer: To design department layouts and graphics
• Photographer: To take high-quality pictures
• Digital Content Editor: To create complementary editorial content for website and across all online channels

Other positions to consider down the line (or on a freelance basis): 

• Proofreader : for reviewing the text in each issue
• Photo Editor: for scouring stock-image sites and other photo research
• Associate Editors: for assigning and editing text in specific departments
• Advertiser Account Managers: for handling accounts as they come in
• Editorial Assistants: for helping with assorted editorial logistics

An editor’s salary can run between $50,000 and $125,000 per year, depending on factors such as experience, location, etc. When hiring a top-notch editor, focus on finding a candidate with impeccable writing skills, an eye for detail, and a knack for deadlines and organization. Have them include writing samples or a sample assignment to ensure their skills are near perfect. Tone can be taught, but basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation are necessary from the get-go. 

As for a salesperson, costs fall between $30,000 to $40,000 annually for a base salary, plus at least 10% commission. Hiring a dependable salesperson is a little trickier than an editor. As with an editor, you want someone with basic skills. Great salespeople hone “soft” skills like communication, customer service, and interpersonality. 

Ideally you want someone who also has experience selling similar products. However, product knowledge can be taught, so lower that priority. As a general business rule of thumb, hire a salesperson that you can genuinely sit down and have a conversation with. If they’re personable, chances are they’ll do great in the field. 

A production manager’s annual salary can range from $30,000 to $60,000, depending on their experience level. If you’re financially savvy and the rest of your staff is willing to take on whatever tasks are thrown their way those first few months, you may be able to get by without a production manager initially. As revenue and ad sales grow, however, you should definitely look into hiring one.

If you’re looking to save money, outsource your writing, design, and photography needs by hiring freelancers.

Costs for freelancers differ based on industry and experience: 

• Freelance writers might accept as little as $0.50 per word if they can appreciate the topic or the potential of the magazine itself. Whether you assign per-word or per-project, be sure to communicate word-count expectations clearly.
• Graphic designers vary from $25 to $300 per hour. This is worth a little extra, because a great eye for color and layout is hard to come by. They can even help first-time publishers develop a new brand. 
• Photographers range from $25 to $250 per image. Equally as important as copy, photography is a necessary expense for magazines. 

Luckily, it’s the 21st century, and freelancers are everywhere. Any decent editor will have a stable of reliable writers at the ready, but you can fit your needs and budget with this quick list of resources available for your editorial needs: 

• Upwork ( www.upwork.com ): One of the most popular freelancing sites, Upwork provides opportunities in over 70 different job categories. Millions of freelancers offer over 5,000 skills for 4 million businesses, making this site a great option for publications looking to hire for multiple positions from one platform.
• Behance ( www.behance.net ): Behance is a platform by Adobe specifically intended for designers to showcase their work. It allows publications to explore candidates around the world. The best part is that the platform is entirely free, which is ideal for those looking to cut costs.
• PeoplePerHour ( www.peopleperhour.com ): Smaller freelancing platform PeoplePerHour requires users to send a proposal to companies. This is beneficial for first-time publishers who don’t have the time to sift through resumes of prospective employees. 
• YunoJuno : YunoJuno is a great platform, especially if you’re searching exclusively for designers. They seek to attract top-tier graphic artists, so if magazine design is one of your priorities, look into this amazing freelance space.
• Freelancer : Freelancer is the largest freelancing website out there. Their matching process consists of a bidding system and allows employers to view past projects and portfolios before hiring someone.

Other websites to hire specialty team members include Fiverr , WriterAccess , and Guru (which also includes translation services if you’re producing a multilingual magazine). 

Pro Tip : Though not directly part of your editorial team, you also need to find a reliable printer during the hiring stage. Ultimately, a Creative Director or Production Manager will manage the issue-to-issue operations.

If you’re distributing your publications, look for a printer who also distributes. This will save you the time and money of hiring two separate companies. 

When your magazine is more established, you should look into hiring a digital marketer. They’ll promote your publication and manage your social media channels. 

One of the most important considerations for starting a magazine in 2024 is making use of all possible platforms, particularly in the interest of marketing. This means taking advantage of all channels to post and promote your magazine and engage with your readers.

• One way to promote is to send out an email newsletter to your subscribers . Give them industry updates, the latest editions, sneak peaks of articles, and more. By providing digital content for them to read , you keep them engaged with your magazine.
• Posting digital content has the potential to become an additional stream of revenue — if you require online subscribers to pay a fee. However, this gates your content and prevents readers from sharing it, which hurts engagement and readership. Initially, it’s recommended that you provide online content at no charge and leverage advertisements to generate revenue. Some digital magazines ask for subscriptions in exchange for articles. See this example from The Guardian :

• Use social media to further enrich your brand. You can do this by providing food for thought for your readers, asking questions to get them engaged, or creating videos to support your written content.
• Podcasts have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Creating a podcast for your magazine in which you explore related, relevant topics could engage your audience and even help you reach new readers. Including ads in your podcasts is another potential source of revenue, and you can also reuse podcast clips as social media content.
• The most traditional method of promoting your publication is to distribute it strategically . Even in today’s digital world, this remains essential. In addition to your subscribed readers, be sure to send a sample of your publication to potential and existing advertisers. If your publication is free, send your magazine to relevant readers in the industry. For example, if you run a business magazine, it might be a good idea to send it to prominent professional figures, local businesses, networking events, and more.

Businesses with waiting rooms, like doctors’ offices, and colleges and universities are also great places to distribute your publication. 

• You can build your circulation and subscriber lists through more traditional methods, such as cold calling, street team promotion, or direct mail. 

All of these tactics will bring awareness — and thus, subscribers — to your new magazine. 

2. Launching Your First Issue

So, you’ve ironed out most of the initial kinks and are ready to create content for your magazine. You want your first issue to be palatable, welcoming enough to draw in a readership … but with all of the magazines that exist, your launch must also stand out. 

Creating content is not a linear process, so reading a step-by-step guide will not be helpful. It may even distort your creative process. But the basics are hard to argue with.

Stay up to date not just with other publications that cover your topic, but with specific keywords and conversations being had across all social media. And participate and be active in those niche sectors so you can get a better sense of where people’s interests are currently and where they might be headed. Along with active listening on your topic, make sure to get feedback on your efforts as well.

Here are some additional suggestions to keep in mind: 

• Your topic should be specific enough to pique interest, but broad enough to generate article ideas around. 
• Consider topics that are generating conversation among your audience, and position your issue as part of that conversation. 
• Make sure your topic is relevant to both your audience and the overall concept of your publication. 

As mentioned earlier, it is recommended that you plan out your editorial content at least one year in advance. You can always adjust editions to reflect relevant events and trends, but planning out your content all at once will save you lots of time down the road.

Once you’ve chosen your topic, you’ll need to create a mock-up of your issue. 

While your content doesn’t have to be finalized in this stage, it is important to have a general idea of what your issue will contain. 

Plan to include a variety of content. Aim for a good mix of articles, interviews, and opinion pieces. Above all, make sure your content is helpful to readers by providing actionable information. 

Article, design, and photography assignments should be given well before the mock-up is finished. This will ensure that you will receive all of your content in time for your launch. 

Though you may want to keep your costs as low as possible, do not cut corners on content acquisition. High-quality content is well worth the investment. 

If you outsource your content, it would be a good idea to create a style guide. This will ensure that your content is consistent, even if your creators are not. 

Pro Tip: “ A copy editor will take your magazine from good to high-quality … This person provides a fresh, outside set of eyes to go over what you’re creating, and offers insights you would likely miss … Copy editors police your use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation [and] ensure a consistent writing style for your magazine.”

The tasks of writing the articles and curating the images would likely be left to your staff. However, as the founder, you should work hand-in-hand with your designer(s) to create a mock-up that fits your vision. From title treatment and cover concept to the layout of articles and ads, this mock-up will serve as the blueprint for your issue. As you receive finalized content, your graphic designer will stylize it and replace the fillers. 

Mock-ups should also be included in your media kit, a package of information and content with which you pitch your magazine to advertisers. A well designed mock-up will make your pitch that much easier to sell. 

Pro Tip: To visualize your issue without finalized content, use Lorem ipsum text (aka greeking) to fill in empty text boxes and images from the internet as placeholders.

Of course you can’t create your issue, or even the mock-up, without the right tools. Luckily, there are tons to choose from. Here are a few suggestions:

InDesign is an offering from Adobe’s Creative Cloud ( www.adobe.com/creativecloud ) that allows graphic designers to create posters, brochures, magazines, and even interactive eBooks. 

• Highly intuitive, user-friendly software
• Media is easily exported in a variety of formats 
• Access to Photoshop tools and effects for images
• Does not lend itself well to more detailed de signs
• Text spacing requires manipulation, as it is known to look uneven at times
• One of the pricier options on this list

Price: Adobe offers a 7-day free trial of InDesign. Otherwise, it is available as part of a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. It will cost either $22.99 for the single app or $59.99 for the entire design suite.

DigitalStudio

DigitalStudio is a flat-planning and pagination software by Mirabel Technologies ( www.mirabeltechnologies.com ), created specifically for magazine publishers. 

• Allows users to accommodate ad units and paginate as live inventory changes
• Interactive software designed for team collaboration
• Includes free publishing to Mirabel’s Magazine Central , a digital magazine stand
• Designed exclusively for magazines
• Included only as part of a Magazine Manager ( www.magazinemanager.com ) subscription to its magazine publishing CRM software

Price: A subscription to the magazine management software costs $65/month/user with an additional $250 initial setup fee, and includes DigitalStudio, access to a powerful publishing CRM (with full publishing ERP software capabilities), electronic invoicing to bill advertisers, and top-tier support services. 

Considering the large scope, it’s the software magazine designers, production staffers, and sales teams alike can utilize together.

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Publisher is a design program that comes exclusively with a Microsoft 365 ( www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365 ) subscription. If you use Microsoft, as most businesses do, this might be a great option for you.

• User-friendly interface, drag-and-drop capabilities
• Tons of templates to choose from
• Guidelines to ensure that your content is perfectly aligned
• Only available through Microsoft subscription
• Only available for PC
• Not compatible with other programs, such as Adobe

Price: Microsoft offers a 1 month free trial of Publisher, through its trial of Microsoft 365. 

The annual subscription for Microsoft 365 Business Premium is $22/user/month, and includes all of the Microsoft 365 products, along with their secure cloud services.

The next step is, of course, distributing your publication. In addition to the distribution suggestions earlier, you can build your circulation and subscriber lists through traditional methods, such as cold calling, street team promotion, or direct mail. 

Eventually, consider a magazine subscription software, such as Mirabel Technologies’ ChargeBrite platform, to help manage magazine subscription data and recurring revenue.

Obviously, your work is not finished after you distribute your publication. After distribution, you should follow up with your readership. You can do this by sending a postcard or email asking for feedback. 

One of your primary objectives is to satisfy your readers, so their feedback is essential as you move forward with your publication. 

Following up is especially important after your first issue.

Keep track of the things your subscribers enjoyed. Those elements should remain consistent across your editions. If they enjoyed a specific promotion, consider repeating it in a later edition.

On the same note, keep track of the things that your readers were critical of. These will be the things you should focus on fine-tuning as your publication progresses. 

3. Marketing a Magazine

You need a consistent, effective marketing strategy to draw in new readers and keep existing subscribers engaged. When marketing a new magazine — or product of any kind — it’s important to create a brand. 

Let’s circle back to the beginning, and the very first steps we discussed in starting your publication: specifically, establishing a niche or concept that it centers around. It considers a market with a continuous interest in or need for your content, as well as:

• Stylistic elements

As Small Business Chron put it:

 “ Don’t just sell your content. Sell the benefits of reading your magazine. The more you create a niche for your magazine, or develop a specialized image or brand, the more likely you can generate an affinity for your publication with specific consumers.”

It’s not enough to generate great copy and design striking visuals. A brand is the element that keeps readers coming in and coming back.

Another key strategy to get readers interested in your publication is to diversify your content. Consider adding a product or service to complement your publication.

This could be as simple as creating long-form content, such as books, guides, or whitepapers, on topics that might interest your audience.

It can be as complex as organizing community events or workshops that relate to your niche. 

For instance, the popular lifestyle magazine Kinfolk ( www.kinfolk.com ) would host “ global gatherings held in over 25 locations worldwide ” to celebrate their magazine launches. At these events, they focused on forming genuine connections with their readers.

This is just one example of the way that a magazine can diversify by hosting events. 

A restaurant/food and drink magazine might consider organizing a cooking or bartending class that their readers can attend for a small fee. 

A fitness magazine may hold a marathon and donate the proceeds to an athletic-minded charity. This diversifies th eir brand and positions the magazine positively in front of their audience.

Content diversification can be adapted to a digital format, as well. A podcast that touches on topics relevant to your magazine is another way to supplement its content. It could potentially create an additional revenue stream, too, if you decide to include ads.

Diversification can also mean giving readers a variety of subscription types to choose from. 

“ The digital era is all about options ,” according to Mag+. “Why not give your readers a range of subscription choices from a single issue to multi-year subscriptions?”

No matter how you choose to provide additional value to your subscribers, it makes all the difference in marketing a magazine.

Without quality content, the readers you attract will not be retained.

You need to ensure that you’re strategizing and developing high-quality content in every issue.

With thousands of publications in the U.S. alone, it’s likely that many of them touch on the same or similar topics as yours.

In order to differentiate yourself, or carve out a space amongst similar big-name publications, your content must set the new standard.

Take it from What’s New in Publishing: 

“ The content should be more than thinly disguised advertising . It offers compelling, valuable content focused on the brand’s customers, not purely — or overly — aimed at selling.”

You want your content to organically generate new subscribers. It’s a slow long-term strategy, but it’s worthwhile because the quality of subscribers is better.

So, what does quality content look like?

Quality content offers readers more than words on a screen or a piece of paper. It connects with readers and gives them content that’s actionable or, at the very least, thought-provoking.

This is no easy feat.

It can be hard to find content that people will read, much less connect with. 

To figure out which content is best for your readers, a great strategy is to analyze successful existing content. Which pieces are they engaging with most? Where are they sharing it online?

The State of Digital Publishing makes a case:

“ Data analyzing is the key to increasing promoting efforts. The better you know your audience, the easier it will be to keep them and reach new ones. Investigate what content your users read most often, what is most often shared, and what social networks your readers are most active on.”

Another good strategy is to ask your readers what content they’re interested in seeing from you. Put a pop-up on your website, send a reader’s poll through email, or reach out with a survey.

Don’t limit the ways that your subscribers can enjoy your content. 

Use all possible mediums to your advantage:

• Print magazines
• Digital editions
• Video (interviews, behind-the-scenes, sneak peeks)
• Social media polls and links to articles
• Podcast interviews 
• Relevant events and/or awards 

The importance of diversifying your content and platforms go hand in hand. For example, a podcast is one way you may choose to use audio content to your advantage. 

If your magazine is primarily a print publication, consider providing a digital edition to reach a wider audience or vice versa. 

Pro Tip: If you decide to host digital content, strategize whether this content will be freely available or reserved for subscribers. A mixture of both is ideal, because a variety of options ensures that you’re reaching as many people as possible.

Try to provide content that’s accessible to the general public, and reserve exclusive content for subscribers. Using this technique, new visitors/potential subscribers get a few sample articles before committing to a paid subscription. Many digital magazines ask users to provide an email address to view all your digital content. This is a great way to build an email list, which can also be used to engage with subscribers. 

Beyond digital and print versions of your publication, it’s a good idea to supplement your content through social media . Content on social media is easily shareable, making it an ideal place to reach new readers.

There’s a variety of content to post on social media, including:

• “ Fragments of the best content which hasn’t been published yet and which will spark the discussions under a social media post,
• Videos or photos from behind the scenes of an interview, unpublished or additional material
• A discount offer for social media users (in exchange for sharing the content/a post) or newsletter readers (in exchange for signing in).”

You can also use your social media to promote upcoming issues. Per the State of Digital Publishing ( www.stateofdigitalpublishing.com ): 

“ Before film producers release a new project , they present a movie trailer. The goal is clear – encourage people to go to the cinemas, buy tickets, and watch the film. My tip for you is to be like a movie producer.”

Social media may also be a place to further promote your brand itself. Twitter and Instagram , for example, are great places to showcase the personality behind your publication.

Similarly, LinkedIn ( www.linkedin.com ) is a great platform to showcase your brand professionally. LinkedIn “ drives 46% of social traffic to B2B sites and is considered the most credible source of content.”

When sharing content to LinkedIn, keep in mind that it’s more likely to be clicked if it includes an image. Also, consider posting video content, as it’s the most commonly shared on the platform. 

As we mentioned above, you may choose to require users’ to provide an email address in order to view your digital content. 

This is because an email newsletter is another great way to keep subscribers engaged. Use it to share updates, as well as new or relevant content based on a user’s past interactions with your articles. 

You can send them more of your free content, and perhaps include an exclusive article or two to entice them to subscribe. Ultimately, marketing CRM software can help not only create this engaging content, but automate how it gets to your audience effectively as well.

It may take time to garner a large audience, but it’s a numbers game. The more variety you afford readers to view your content, the better your chances are. 

It takes the strength of multiple tactics to effectively create and market a magazine. These tips are really just the beginning. 

However, by incorporating these elements into a strategy that suits your vision, you’ll be well on your way to a loyal readership and a publication to be proud of.

If you’d like to learn more about Magazine Manager, Mirabel’s Marketing Manager, and/or Mirabel’s DigitalStudio,  request a free demo .

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Magazine Publishing Business Plan Sample

Published May.08, 2018

Updated Sep.14, 2024

By: Jakub Babkins

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 3

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Table of Content

Do you want to start magazine publishing business?

Do you want to start a magazine publishing business? Although this business requires a lot of initial capital, the rate of return which it yields on investment is extremely high. Magazine companies generate incomes from various sources such as from the advertisements which are featured in them, from the people who sign in online, and of course, from their sales in newsstands. But starting a magazine isn’t an easy job and you will have to effectively plan everything. In the United States, 9 out of 10 magazine businesses fail due to poor planning. That’s why before you consider how to start your own magazine , you will have to prepare a comprehensive business plan. If you are wondering how to write one, here we are providing you the business plan of a magazine publishing business startup named ‘The Reader Monthly’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

The Reader Monthly will be a lifestyle magazine owned by Martha Martin, a passionate writer. The company’s main office will be located in Dallas.

2.2 Management

The success of a startup heavily depends on its staff and management that’s why Martha planned it before considering how to start a magazine business on your own . The main management of the company will comprise of sales executives, graphic artists, and journalists. The staff will be hired one month before the launch of startup and will be trained by Martha.

2.3 Customers

We will target the young adults, adults and senior citizens of the United States. Our readers can read our magazine either in printed form or in digital form on any device.

2.4 Business Target

Our business targets, as outlined by our publishing company business plan , are as follows:

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

The Reader Monthly will be owned by Martha Martin, a passionate writer. Martha has been associated with some of the biggest international magazines including TIME and PEOPLE for more than 13 years.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

The business is being started due to two reasons. The first one is to make profits in this industry. The second one is Martha’s passion for writing and her desire to add something better to the society. Martha herself described the reason for starting her venture in the book launch ceremony of her latest book The Dying Angel as, “ starting my own magazine is something I am born for.”

3.3 How the Business will be started

The company will be started in an abandoned press office in Dallas which ceased to function a few months before. The company will initially procure following things for the startup.

• Office furniture including filing cabinets, work desks, roundtables, couches and chairs for the meeting area
• Computers with color printers and scanners
• Press machines
• Graphic designing software including Illustrator, Freehand, and Photoshop
• A strong internet connection and office telecom systems
• Assorted office stationary and brochures

The financial experts have forecasted following costs for the startup:

The detailed startup requirements are given below:

Services for customers

Before you start a publishing business or even think about how to start a publishing business , you must decide what type of magazine will you be publishing and which niches will it cover. You must also plan what other services for business will you offer, for instance, sending magazines to subscribers by mail. The Reader Monthly will be a lifestyle magazine but it will also contain a few sections featuring health, entertainment, and technology. We will offer following services to our customers/readers:

• Magazine Retail Sales: Our readers can get our latest magazines from any newsstand or bookshops located across the United States. Retail sales will be the biggest generator of our revenue in our annual sales from the magazine readers.
• Magazine Subscription: Our readers can also subscribe us to get the latest magazine delivered to their doorstep in printed form.
• Magazine Online Subscription: Our readers can also subscribe us to get a copy of the electronic magazine which can be read on any electronic device.
• Advertisements: We will offer advertisement services to the various companies and businesses located across the United States. Advertisements will be our biggest source of revenue.

Marketing Analysis of magazine publishing business

The most important component of successful magazines business plan is its accurate marketing analysis that’s why Martha acquired the services of marketing experts to help her through this phase. It is only after this stage that a good magazine business plan could have been developed. If you are starting a magazine on a smaller scale, say an online magazine, you can just take help from this magazine business plan sample or the other magazine business plans available online. Marketing analysis is an extremely important component of all publishing business plans , therefore, it must be considered before starting a magazine business plan .

5.1 Market Trends

The American magazine industry contributes $28 billion in revenue every year and the magazine advertising are alone responsible for generating more than $15.2 billion. There are more than 21,000 publishing businesses in the United States that employ more than 117,000 people across the country. However, the magazine industry declined rapidly with the increasing popularity of the internet and the smartphones which completely eliminated the need for printed magazines. The industry nowadays is truly struggling for surviving in America as well as in other countries. A 2012 survey revealed that only 3 percent of Americans read magazines on a regular basis. Statistics has it that in 1985, there were more than 1,676 dailies in America but in 2011, the number dropped to below 1,400 and is still dropping. While the popularity of printed magazines keeps falling, people are paying more attention to electronic magazines which can be read on any device like laptops, mobile phones, kindles. You also need to create a magazine in a mobile application that will allow users to quickly learn about the release of new materials, but for this, you will have to write a business plan for mobile applications . After identifying these trends, it is clearly evident that it is not easy for a startup to survive in the magazine industry unless it is properly planned and adds value to its readers.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

It is very important to analyze the market segmentation of the readers which will be buying your magazine because a successful and efficient magazine marketing plan can only be developed after we completely know our potential customers. Our experts have identified the following type of audience which we will be targeting:

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Young Adults:

Our first target group will be the young adults in the United States who are between 18 to 25 years of age. This group mostly comprises of college or university students who like to read magazines in their free time. According to a recent survey by Statista, young adults read more magazines than any other age group in the United States that’s why this group will have the biggest contribution in our revenue from the magazine’s sales.

5.2.2 Adults:

Our second target group comprises of adults from 25 to 60 years of age. These people lead a busy life due to their employment and other engagements that’s why they don’t read as many magazines as the young adults or the senior citizens.

5.2.3 Senior Citizens:

Our third group comprises of senior citizens aged above 60. These people are usually retired and have a lot of spare time that’s why they also read magazines. The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

5.3 Business Target

We aim to see ourselves among the top ten lifestyle magazines of the United States within next six years of our launch. Our main business targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, $15k per month by the end of the second year, and $25k per month by the end of the third year
• To balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year
• To have around 99,000 subscribers through direct sampling and marketing by the end of the first year

5.4 Product Pricing

Our pricing strategy is as follows:

• Single issue: $0.65 per issue
• Yearly print subscription: $7.0 per 12 issues
• Yearly e-magazine subscription: $1.49 per 12 e-issues

We have strategically priced our e-magazines in extremely cheaper range due to two reasons. Most of the people prefer electronic magazines to print magazines, and it is costlier to send print magazines to the readers as compared to providing them the digital ones.

Sales strategy is also an important component of an effective magazine business plan so make sure to plan it before you consider how to start a magazine business .

6.1 Competitive Analysis

We have a really tough competition because we will be competing with magazines some of which have been around for decades. Our biggest competitors are US Weekly, The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Harper’s BAZAAR and GQ. Our competitive advantage will be our lower prices combined with quality content which will be no less than that of the top magazines.

6.2 Sales Strategy

After carrying out a detailed analysis, our experts came up with the following brilliant ideas to advertise and sell ourselves.

• Google search ranking is one of the most important factors in deciding the success of online magazines, that’s why we will put special emphasis on it. We would do our best to get higher rankings in Google search results.
• We will give away 3 free magazines copies to our readers upon subscription.
• We will carry out a large-scale social media campaign and will interact with our readers to promote their interest.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Our forecasted sales on a yearly basis are summarized in the following column charts:

The detailed information about sales forecast is given in the following table:

Personnel plan

Personnel plan, like all other plans, is an important component of an effective business plan so it must be planned before you think about how to start my own magazine .

7.1 Company Staff

Martha will act as the Chief Editor of the magazine and will initially hire following people:

• 1 Accountant for maintaining financial and other records
• 2 Sales Executives responsible for marketing and discovering new ventures
• 6 Graphic Artists for designing the magazines
• 10 Journalists for creating the content for the magazines
• 4 Technical Assistants for handling the company’s web and social media pages
• 20 Print Press Workers for publishing the magazine
• 10 Distributors for distributing the magazines to various outlets across the United States

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial Plan

As the last step for preparing a magazine publishing business plan , you have to prepare a detailed financial plan. The financial plan should craft a detailed map of all the expenses needed for the startup and how these expenses will be met by the earned profits. It is recommended that you hire a financial expert for guiding you through all financial aspects needed for starting a magazine business .

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 Business Ratios

Download Magazine Publishing Business Plan Sample in pdf

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