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STEPS TOÂ plannING YOUR OWN CUSTOM MAGAZINE
MAGAZINES CREATED FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND THOUGHTLEADERS
1. IDENTIFY YOUR MAGAZINE TOPIC Who is your reader? What does your ideal client want to be seen wanting? Why are they reading it?
2. MAGAZINE TITLE Length of Title (consider 1 – 3 words or 1-4 syllables.) Magazine Tagline (a great way to reinforce who your tribe is ie: "a journey to wellness", "thriving through motherhood", "creating a movement with your message" Consider a name that is variation of your current programs or business names. This will position your custom magazine as a legitimate editorial publication and not just another sales tool. (Even though it is!)
3. NUMBER OF PAGES When planning your magazine, think in 4 page increments. The number of pages should be divisible by 4 to best accommodate printing industry standards. Use a FlatPlan to storyboard the content. Be sure to plan for all your introductory pages such as a Table of Contents, Mast Head, special copyright or legal notifications and a Welcome Letter from the publisher (you!). Consider what you'd like the final magazine to feel like. Looking for something a little more substantial, weighty, and beautifully perfect bound. (That's the square edge rather than staples.) You will probably want to consider a minimum of 36 pages.
4. CONTENT MIX Offer a mix of article lengths to keep your magazine interesting to your readers. For an uncluttered, minimal look with big photos, plan 500-800 word count for a 2 page layout. Feature articles or interview articles tend toward 1000 -1400 word, plus some captions or side bars. Plan for an estimated 4 – 6 page article length. Your own custom magazine gives you the opportunity to control the content - and that means no ugly or competing advertising! Many clients of branded magazines chose a ‘no sales hype’ approach by creating advertorial pages with calls to action for free program gifts, special events, book downloads, podcasts, and actions that drive your audience to your website.
5. CONTENT DELIVERY Will your magazine be annual, quarterly, monthly? Unless you are planning a highfrequency magazine, consider “evergreen” content so that your magazine does not get out-of-date quickly. If you are providing your own content, articles should be provided fully edited, proof-read, fact-checked, ready to be published and submitted in Word document, or similar format. Include byline (author) for each article, if you choose to, or specifics on how the article and photography should be credited. Create a custom style-guide and formatting sheet – identify any special words, abbreviations, acronyms and preferred spellings used by your organization and how they should be written and styled throughout the magazine. For instance, if you reference your own organization in the text of an article – how would you like it to appear in all caps, italics, bold, etc. For questions of grammar, punctuation and citations format, choose a formatting standard such at Chicago or APA Style Guides (available online) and inform all contributors and editors. Consider hiring copywriters to give you an outsider voice to some of your articles and interviews. Reach out to clients to submit their success stories. If you make it a "contest" for a chance at a feature story, you are likely to get a favorable response.
6. PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS Use stock image sources like iStock or Unsplash to support your articles and add interest. Use author-supplied photos only if they are professional, high resolution (300 dpi) photos to ensure excellent reproduction quality. Illustrations and infographics, charts, etc. add to readers’ comprehension of articles Always respect copyright considerations and provide photo permissions and credits when required.
7. PRINTING CONSIDERATIONS Quantities and quality of paper and finish will dictate whether the magazine will be printed off-set or digitally. Today’s on-demand printing technology offers opportunities for affordable, low print runs. Page count and paper stock will determine bindery options – such as saddle-stitched (stapled) or perfect binding (square edge). Have you considered a special finish for your magazine to reduce scratching and cracking and fingerprints? UV soft-touch coating offers a luxurious velvet touch.
8. FULFILLMENT AND SHIPPING Have you planned shipping costs and delivery into your budget and schedule? Will you require envelopes for the mailing? Would you like to include a letter from the publisher or other material in the shipping envelope? Have you budgeted postage?
9. DISTRIBUTION Get creative with distribution ideas. Will you be attending a conference? Small conferences may welcome your contribution to their welcome goody bag, most conferences have them. Some conferences sell their good bag space as a sponsorship - still a worthwhile consideration, if your magazine would be in the hands of the right audience. Take your magazine along to speaking engagements, meet-up and retreats. Put your clients in your magazine and ask them to help distribute them.
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MAGAZINES CREATED FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND THOUGHTLEADERS 845.323.3595 . peroozme.com . gina@ginadaschbach.com
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ABOUT GINA LAURIA DASCHBACH I've been getting lost in magazines since I was a little girl. Strangely enough, I never sought out an opportunity to work directly for a big publishing company. That never stopped me. I pitched stories and mocked up magazine cover ideas. At one point, when I felt that the company that I worked for was not getting the great editorial coverage or the best ad placement - I had our creative team create our own magazine and used our ad budget to have our publications ride along with the industry trade magazine where we had committed to advertise. Our magazine, our way - no competitng ads or distracting stories. It was a success! It took me a while to circle back to that idea and to create PEROOZ The Magazine Creator. We take your amazing branded content and create gorgeous magazines about your thought leadership and the massive results your clients get from your programs and services. I love taking a seemingly outdated marketing concept like magazines and presenting it in a bold and surprising, new way. PEROOZ won't be for everyone. But, I am excited to work with the prestigious brands that will understand the value of presenting their audience with an immersive engagement experience that only comes with the elegance and professionalism of a PEROOZ printed magazine. Are you ready to Perooz? Gina
Lauria
Daschbach
MAGAZINES CREATED FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND THOUGHTLEADERS 845.323.3595 . peroozme.com . gina@ginadaschbach.com