With the advent of online mediums gaining traction for advertisers. Community magazines are attracting all local trades and seekers of audiences to specific areas or hobbies as advertisers. These small/medium businesses generally do not understand how to advertise online, they have tried once or twice and had little results. So your community magazine is a perfect medium for them to speak directly to their target audience.
Look at the bigger picture, the internet is the fountain of knowledge for most given subjects with added content to all subjects daily. But the tangible product that comes through a letterbox full of objective views about subjects that readers are interested in is invaluable. Most free magazines get viewed by 3 or more people but not read cover to cover. The impact of Chinese water torture for all magazine advertisers to get a response is greater in a small area.
The big change in community magazines is the quality of the publishing and content. They are replacing the local newspapers by taking more of the advertising buck through better advertisement responses. Long have the national newspaper publishers had it their way but I’m sure you will notice a trend to their push their online offerings as it’s more scalable for them. But this leaves a gap for you to establish your community magazine before they try to copy your model again…
I would recommend looking at advertising revenues online. Do you have your articles on the internet for all to read? The traffic and brand recognition will only enhance your presence and give you licence to control who is in your magazine. You could also benefit from selling advertorials, review space and vouchers not to mention square spaces on your web pages as an online magazine.
So the futures bright for you and your community magazine. Just make sure you keep your brand strong and consistent. Chase your debts and always look at ways of growing.
If you need any help or advice we are here. No other magazine printer offers such a comprehensive support and help. So either pick up the phone today and say hi, talk to your peers on our magazine forum or fill in one of our enquiry forms.