Whether you’re a membership association, a nonprofit or an employer in the education or healthcare space, you have important messages to communicate — and stakeholders who need to hear that message.
What better way to keep potential members, donors or alumni engaged with your mission and vision than with a magazine that highlights your needs and accomplishments?
For one, the consistent publication schedule of a magazine means your stakeholders are reminded of both your existence and your value on a regular basis, whether it’s monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly.
Also remember that a beautiful magazine can be a keepsake, lending your message the kind of staying power that’s difficult to achieve in the digital age.
1 | Consider Print vs. Digital
Your magazine could be a print magazine, but it doesn’t have to be! The biggest advantage of a digital magazine is that you’ll save on printing and mailing costs. However, depending on your audience, your publication may miss stakeholders who aren’t as online-savvy. If you’re not completely sure what will work for you, you could start out as digital only, then add a print edition later, once your magazine has gotten off the ground and established an audience.
2 | Steal from the Best
To be clear, we’re not encouraging plagiarism here. But as you try to nail down the concept for your magazine, it’s important to look at other magazines and see what they’re doing well — whether it’s the writing style, the kind of content they publish or the appealing design. Use those elements you like to craft an approach that works for your organization!
3 | Think About Revenue
How are you going to support the production of your magazine? Charging for subscriptions is one way to do it, but the most reliable revenue generator for a new publication is advertising. As you get your publication off the ground, consider a mix of display ads and advertorial generated by your stakeholders, to get them invested in the publication’s success.
4 | Plan Your Content
Before you launch your magazine, you should have a decent idea of what you want your content to be. Are there any “departments” (that is, regular articles around a specific topic, such as recent community projects or alumni news) that you want to include in every issue? What are your features going to be about — e.g. exceptional member businesses or new campaigns you’ve undertaken? It’s a good idea to plan at least six months ahead on your content, but make sure you stay flexible. If a better idea comes along on short notice, go with it!
5 | Get Help
So, you want to launch your magazine, but you don’t know how to go about writing content, creating an appealing design, selling ads or finding a printer? TMCC can help you do all of the above. Just tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll be there to help you succeed every step of the way. Start the conversation today by emailing newbusiness@todaymediacustom.com.
