How to Create an Entertainment Magazine
Creating any publication from the ground up is a challenge, but creating an entertainment magazine is even more so. Thank fierce competition among print publications, constant updates on Internet entertainment sites and the advent of paparazzi photographs for the reason why many start-up entertainment magazines don't make it. However, the task is not an impossible one. With the right combination of a print and online presence and a little journalism know-how, you can create an entertainment magazine that is successful as well as a fun, enjoyable and profitable business venture. Here are some tips to get you started.
Things You'll Need
- Business plan
- Distribution plan and schedule
- Start-up capital
- Staff
- Production plan
- Printer (if applicable)
Instructions
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Draft a business plan. Although you are putting together a publication, it still needs to be run like a business and chances are, you will still need some form of capital or financing to get off the ground. To get a loan or investors, you will need a sound business plan to show people what you plan to do to generate income from your magazine. Moreover, you need to show your staff members how they will be paid. All of this should be outlined in your business plan.
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Come up with ideas for start-up capital. Everything takes money, including creating an entertainment magazine. You need money to pay writers, print your magazine, distribute it, and pay for various other business costs. Much of this will be generated through advertising once you've launched the magazine; however, until then, you need some form of start-up money to get you going. Options include a loan (with the lowest interest rate you can possibly attain), investments from family and friends and tapping into your savings, though this is definitely a less desirable option. Whatever route you take, you definitely need money to get you going.
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Assemble a staff and define an editorial direction. There are a number of positions that are necessary to make an entertainment magazine operate efficiently. You'll need writers, editors, copy editors, graphic designers and a smattering of additional administrative positions to fill your magazine with content and make it look good. The best recipe for success is to develop both an online and print version. Online will serve as a portal for breaking entertainment news and print is best for longer, in-depth features and lots of photos. Although this is an entertainment magazine, you still need a specific editorial direction. Will you cover celebrities? Will you cover music, movies, theater or everything? Defining your mission around your editorial direction will help you identify the entertainment niche in which your publication will fit.
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Assign roles. Once you've assembled a staff, go ahead and assign people to the roles in which you feel they would be the best fit. Focus on people's strengths and don't put them into positions in which they are completely unfamiliar. You are a start-up magazine and you don't have a lot of time to focus on training people. You need staff members who know what they are doing from the get-go; you can work with novices once you've become more established and successful. You can find freelance writers, editors and graphic designers on a variety of sites (see Resources below). Make sure they sign freelance agreements that give you first rights to their work for a set amount of time; this protects you from paying writers to do stories for you and then turn around and sell them elsewhere before you even get to run them in your magazine.
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Find a printer and define a production schedule. If yours is a print magazine, you need a company to print it. Compare pricing, turnaround time, quality and customer service---all of which are important areas in which a printing company should excel. Ask for samples so you can see their work and make the most informed decision possible. Once you've chosen a printer, work with them on a production schedule that works for you. Once you set a specific date and announce it to the public, you need to stick with it. So allot enough time to produce your magazine, without stressing out and forsaking quality, because of a too-tight deadline.
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Figure out your distribution plans. Where will your magazine be found? This is important because high readership is what drives advertising, which is the bread and butter of your operation. Print entertainment magazines should be located in as many places as possible, with places like bookstores and grocery stores high on the list. Entertainment magazines are usually considered an impulse purchase, so getting on a grocery store rack is a big coup; but one that is usually reserved for well-established publications. You may also offer subscription options, which also brings in additional revenue.
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Launch your magazine. It's time to let people know who you are. Promote your entertainment magazine wherever and whenever you can---from hosting celebrity-filled shindigs to buying tables at various events and more. The more people see your name, the better brand recognition you receive. Hold a fabulous launch party and make it a point to invite the celebs featured in your magazine for the launch issue. Make it glitzy, with a red carpet and lots of photographers. The glitzier the launch, the more instant readers you are likely to receive.
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