Starting a Magazine Business

Q. My partner and I are in the early stages of starting a magazine. We would like to know where we can get information regarding magazine businesses: success rate, marketing techniques, distribution, financing through advertisement, investors, business plan, start-up costs for initial production, minimum and maximum run suggestions. Ours is unique in that there is no magazine in this specific category yet the research we have conducted shows the great potential and the target group interest. We both have backgrounds in education with advanced degrees and are over 40. We are very serious and need to just be pointed in the right direction. We would appreciate any advice. -- Marilyn

A. A very good source of information on the business of magazine publication is the book entitled "Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine" written by Cheryl Woodard. The author was a co-founder of great selling magazines such as PC World, PC Magazine, Mac World and others. She really knows this business. If you want to know how to publish magazines, this is the only book that you'll ever need. The book covers areas such as building the reader relationship, developing your circulation strategy, subscription budgeting and profitability, using ancillary products to grow your company, raising money and working with investors, among others.

Other books you may wish to check out are:

• Launch Your Own Magazine : A Guide for Succeeding by Samir A. Husni, Samir A. Husni
• The Magazine from Cover to Cover : Inside a Dynamic Industry by Sammye Johnson, Patricia Prijatel
• The Handbook of Magazine Publishing