The Unchanging Principles Of A Good Launch

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, April 1, 2004 by James Kobak

Byline: James Kobak

As the author of How To Start A Magazine and an industry consultant for 57 years, I've been asked to share my thoughts about how launching a magazine has changed. Actually, the basics have changed little: Despite technological advances, we still print magazines en masse and get most of them to readers via the mail. And most mags still depend on advertisers who target certain readers.

The key factor in a successful launch is certainly the same. A magazine exists because people have an interest. If that interest is strong enough - and a magazine satisfies it - the magazine will be profitable. If you can't see that a magazine will be highly profitable, you shouldn't be in the business.

Wishful thinking about what interests people remains the biggest cause of failure in new magazines. This can be eliminated by careful research and testing of the concept.

A FEW WARNINGS MAY HELP:

Test carefully before committing. (1) Conduct focus groups and in-depth research with potential readers to determine interest; (2) Conduct real-time testing of the sale of subscriptions or single copies; (3) Test whether advertising can be sold.

Develop realistic projections - and don't forget to do some downside forecasts as well as the optimistic ones you want to believe.

Make sure that you understand how the business works. That doesn't just mean an understanding of each component - edit, advertising, circulation, and production - but involves the ability to put them all together intelligently.

Don't reinvent the business. Go through the steps and processes that have worked for years, or you will be sorry.

Don't launch if you know you're undercapitalized. As with any small businesses, the No. 1 killer is insufficient capital to see the enterprise through its first years, when cash flow may not cover expenses.

It's harder to turn a profit on general interest magazines than those for special interests. It's the niche, stupid.

Launching a magazine in a large publishing company is very difficult. Big companies need to shoot for much higher targets than smaller or independent publishers.

While changing times haven't altered the fundamentals of launching, they influence new categories. Societal and technological changes have led to a lot of new ideas. Since 2000, the number of consumer magazines listed in SRDS has increased by 60 titles - 250 new ones appeared and 190 died. So, despite the recession, we had a net gain of 60 titles. There were major increases in crafts, epicurean, ethnic, fitness, gay, men's, metropolitan, motorcycle, parent and religion.

Major decreases were suffered in airline, bridal, business, computers, general interest, science, teen, and youth. But there have been few major launches by top publishers. Conde Nast is most aggressive with Teen Vogue, Lucky and now Cargo. Meanwhile, Dennis has added The Week, Stuff and Blender.

The recession was brutal on trade books: While some 60 new magazines are listed, there was a net decline of 630, or about 16 percent. Only 19 of the 169 categories showed an increase, the largest in financial, fitness, and security. You can pretty much guess why.

Big decreases occurred in advertising, air-conditioning, automotive, general business, chemical, computers, educational, electronics, government, grocery, insurance, metal, motor trucks, paper, petroleum, radio, TV & video, sporting goods, telecommunications and travel.

Change has created new categories but not new methods.

James Kobak wrote How To Start a Magazine ($29.95), the latest edition of which is available on Amazon.com and at local bookstores.