Mr. Magazine

A lot has been written about the “scratch-and-sniff” cover of this month’s issue of Sactown magazine, the city magazine of Sacramento, CA. Sactown ventured into a new “value added print” (VAP) by introducing a scratch and sniff coating on the cover that makes the reader actually smell the slice of orange. FIPP Magazine World also introduces with this issue a “Peel ‘n Taste strip, one of the newest and most innovative techniques available in print magazine publishing.”

But the founders of Sactown magazine did not stop their innovation there. In addition to the technological innovation with the scratch and sniff cover, Rob Turner and his wife Elyssa Lee opted to innovate editorially with the masthead of the magazine. In celebration of Father’s Day this coming Sunday, the two decided to list every body on the masthead of the magazine as the son or daughter of rather than the given names of the staffers. Each and every staffer is listed as Son of or Daughter of.
A great combination of technological and editorial innovation that is just one example of how magazines are more than just content providers, but rather they are experience makers. Thank you Rob and Elyssa and Happy Father’s Day to all.

Being in the content business and being in the magazine business are two completely different worlds. While the magazine business deals with content, content is only but a fraction of what makes a magazine. The myth that is now sweeping our industry that we are content providers and it does not matter how our customers get their information may be the Trojan horse that will aid some publishers continue on their print suicide path.

Content is good and content will continue to be king and queen of our profession, but magazines are not going to live and survive by content alone. It never stops to amaze me how the majority of people jumped on the bandwagon of equating magazines to music and wanted to sell magazines like the iTune store sells music. I said that before and I will say again, the only similarity between magazines and music is the letter m. Everything else is different. As a child I listened to music on the little transistor radio. Later I listened to records, tapes and even listened to music on television. I listened to my favorite songs over and over. I used earphones, loud speakers, any and all the things created to help me listen to the music. The goal was always to listen to my favorite song over and over again. I did not care how the song was broadcasted or delivered. I was not holding to that radio or television set, because the medium did not matter in that case. It was the message that mattered. It was so easy to separate the message from the medium, and it did not matter what medium delivered that message to me, because my addiction was to the message that I kept listening to, time after time. It was not a message meant for a one-time use. The physical medium was just the vehicle to deliver the message and it was never part of the message.

That brings me back to the printed magazine. Like music, each and every magazine can be used as a medium to deliver a message, but if that was all what magazines do, than we would have been out of business long time ago and we would have one format, maybe an iMagazine that delivers all the content you need to select and choose from for your daily needs, wants and desires.

Magazines are much more than content. Magazines are much more than information, words, pictures and colors all combined in a platform that serves nothing but as a delivery vehicle. Magazines, each and every one and each and every issue of every one, are a total experience that engages the customers five senses. Nothing is left to chance. It is a total package. Without the ink, the paper, the touch, the smell, the look, the taste, it will not be called a magazine. Every issue is a complete new experience with a sense of ownership, showmanship and membership and is renewed with the arrival of the next issue. The total experience of flipping through the pages of a magazine, looking at the different dimensions, shapes, and other physical properties (including the colors we use on every issue whether it is the famous TIME red border or National Geographic yellow border) create a unique relationship with the customer issue after issue.

So before we close the book on this great technology we call ink on paper and start moving with the tide of this new digital world, stop and think for a moment on what makes a magazine a magazine and why in this digital age millions of magazines worldwide are still thriving in ink on paper creating daily experiences, one issue at a time. Magazines are much more than content and they are even much more than ink on paper. The total physical aspect of each “storehouse” to use the original meaning of what a magazine is include all of its properties, from the size of the store to the content of the store, seen and felt together.

Take time and think about it. The digital age is helping us create new platforms and new media, but do not fool yourself and think you can recreate a similar experience to that we have in ink on paper magazines. It is one of a kind and I if we only devote five percent of our time, money and energy in this digital age focusing on how to enhance this existing ink on paper technology and what it is delivering, our business will be in a much better shape. Magazines are not just content providers, they are experience makers, one printed issue at a time. And, if it is not ink on paper, please try to find another name to define that new medium, because in my book if it is not printed it is not a magazine. I am living the digital age (you name the gadget I have it, including the iPad) but I am not living in a dream world. I have yet to see anything comes close to what an ink on paper magazine can deliver and do for its customers at such a great feel, not to mention a great price too. Go grab a magazine, any magazine and then let’s start talking about experience making!

Enjoy.

PS: The image above is taken from the invitation card used by Triada Printing Company in Kiev, Ukraine for the seminar I gave on June 9 in Kiev.

“Serve your audience and stay relevant,” is the secret ingredient that Jeff Wellington, publisher of ReadyMade magazine, believes is needed to ensure a successful publishing plan for magazines today. His advice for new comers to the magazine business is to “think for an idea for a media brand” rather than one for just a magazine. He should know. After all he is the one to lead ReadyMade, “the magazine for the innovator in all of us,” into the multi-channel multi-platform that it is today. “We have always had a strong print component, a solid web and digital foundation, as well as experiential events that reflect the passion of our readers and core audiences,” he told me in a recent interview. The publisher of the magazine that tags itself “Instructions For Everyday Life,” offers his instructions for everyday magazine publishing.

Mr. Wellington shares his views on the future of magazines, the story behind the name of the magazine and the user generated content in this installment of The Mr. Magazine™ Interviews. That, and other words of wisdom from the publisher who lead the “little small engine that could” to one of Adweek’s highest awards, are in the following complete, lightly edited, interview with the publisher of ReadyMade magazine Jeff Wellington:

Samir Husni: It has been said that there are three groups of new magazines: ground breakers, copycats and cheap imitators. ReadyMade is a groundbreaker with nothing like it on the market place. How do you publish and deal with a groundbreaker with no competitors in the market place?

Jeff Wellington: Regardless of how you are perceived, you have to stay focused on two critical things: serving your audience, and staying relevant. That sounds easy, but in today’s multichannel environment, it requires having an editorial voice that can connect on many different platforms.

SH: ReadyMade was founded by two entrepreneur women in San Francisco, now it is published by a major magazine publisher, Meredith… is it the same magazine or is it a different magazine? Why?

JW: The core focus of the title and its mission as a lifestyle brand for young, creative professionals interested in home design, decorating, and personal style and that environment has not changed. However, we have been able to expand the range of topics covered because of our ability to leverage the broad editorial assets of Meredith. This evolution of the title has been very organic, and well received by our audience.

SH: The name of the magazine is not the best reflector of what the magazine is all about. What is the mission and goal of the magazine and how can you adapt to such a non-descriptive name for the magazine?

JW: We believe the name is quite apt., actually. It was named after the term artist Marcel Duchamp coined in 1915 to describe a series of sculptures that playfully rethought the relationship between people, mass-produced objects, everyday items and art. Readymade is rooted in the idea of rethinking everyday items and how they might be reused or repurposed. ReadyMade is about people who make things and the culture of making. It’s a magazine for the innovator in all of us.

SH: The new business model for magazine publishing is becoming to resemble a three legged stool: print, the web and digital. What are the plans for ReadyMade?

JW: Fortunately, ReadyMade has always viewed itself as a brand so was fairly ahead of the curve when it came to creating multi-channel elements for our readers. We have always had a strong print component, a solid web and digital foundation, as well as experiential events that reflect the passion of our readers and core audiences. In addition, we are constantly looking at new platforms such as mobile that we believe are core to the DNA of the ReadyMade audience. The truly important points to remember is, content and context, and to be consistent to your brand voice.

SH: If you were to assign a competitive set for ReadyMade, both on the reader’s side and the advertiser’s side, who will be that competitive set?

JW: As you just mentioned in question #1, ReadyMade is a ground breaking concept with a unique editorial formula – 60% of our content is user generated which allows for an open dialogue between our editors and our readers. To that, our readers are highly engaged with our brand both in print and online. Competitively for both readers and advertisers ReadyMade is a hybrid of many elements, it has the creativity of a younger Martha Stewart, the design sense of an Elle Décor or Dwell and the lifestyle sensibility of a Real Simple – all wrapped around the idea of living a responsible green lifestyle.

SH: What advice will you offer someone coming to you and saying, “Jeff, I have an idea for a new magazine…”?

JW: I would make them first think of an idea for a media brand. In today’s world it is critical to think beyond the printed page since the flow of ideas is no longer a one- way street. For example, last year Meredith launched a social media site called MixingBowl.com. Later that site became a series of special interest print media publications featuring content created by the contributors to the site. You have to think much larger than one dimension for any new media brand.

SH: How do you see the future of magazines in general and print in particular?

JW: Generally, I avoid the crystal ball business. However, magazines remain a solid and important part of consumers lives. For example, the recent MRI numbers revealed that many titles actually increased their audience numbers, and that more younger people are reading magazines than ever before. There is something uniquely special about that relationship between a magazine and how consumers experience a magazine. Obviously, new platforms will create new options to engage those audiences, but the future of print magazines will remain vital as long as we create compelling and engaging editorial that taps into the passions of our readers.

SH: Thank you.

“With the launch of any new magazine—especially one that hopes to be “both inspirational and aspirational and sometimes even a bit confrontational”— there will be opinions on it, good, bad, and otherwise,” thus writes Jim Meyers President & Founder of the Imagination custom publishing and content marketing company.

Orange magazine Mr. Meyeres continues “is about providing some understanding and perspective, asking questions and exposing you—the reader—to things that maybe you haven’t thought of before. Working with leading companies and associations, Imagination has intimate knowledge about how to help you connect with your customers or members. We want to share that with you.”

In the second issue of the magazine Rene Ryan director for Imagination’s client strategy interviewed me on the topic of magazines, custom media, the future, free content among many other things. Her lead and first question are below:

His “little black book” is filled with numbers: 685 in 2008; 704 in 2009; 170 in the first quarter of 2010. But what do they mean? We discuss the print industry’s commitment issues with Mr. Magazine.

Q: To many of us in the industry you are known simply as “Mr. Magazine,” a champion for the printed word and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi. While that’s true, you’re also one of the industry’s harshest critics, saying that major media companies are “in a coma” and “not living in this world” if they think things are going to go back to the way they were. Since we’re not going back, what needs to change?

A: The No. 1 thing is to stop the “welfare information society.” We have been giving our content and our experiences away for free for years. We’ve put people on this information welfare model for so long that they have now the sense of entitlement; they expect everything to be for free. I laugh when I now hear media companies saying, “Oh, we need to start charging online. We need to start putting up paywalls.” How about you start charging for print first?…

To read the entire interview click here.

If print is dead, Samir Husni has been working in a mausoleum. Running a $30,000 annual tab for his magazine collection, the issues are overflowing from his three storage units and onto his office floor and couch at the University of Mississippi, where he educates the next wave of journalists and runs the Magazine Innovation Center.

The aforementioned is the lead to an interview Blake Gernstetter mediabistro.com’s associate editor conducted with me and is published today in the Interview section on mediabistro.com

Part of an ongoing weekly segment on mediabistro.com “So What Do You Do” the interview sheds some light on both the personal and professional life of media folks.

Click here to read the mediabistro.com interview with me, “So What Do You Do, Samir Husni, Mr. Magazine? Husni shares his take on monetizing digital content and the outlook for print publications.”

When Roy Reiman talks, I listen. The man who has launched 14 successful magazines is a wealth of information and ideas. I had the opportunity to visit Mr. Reiman in beautiful Greendale, WI and could not resist the temptation to video tape some of those words of wisdom.

A storyteller and instant idea generator, Roy Reiman has been described as the man who “was born with an endless curiosity about people. He observed, listened and learned… and launched magazines that captured the interest of so many readers that he didn’t need advertising for support.”

From the humble beginnings of Farm Wife News magazine to the great success of Taste of Home, the largest food magazine in the country, Mr. Reiman knew how to treat his customers as friends and his magazines as letters from friends to friends. He sold his magazines few years back, but his love to this business brought him back to the world of publishing with Our Iowa magazine which he started less than three years ago.

In the following three videos, Roy talks about what it takes to launch a new magazine in today’s market place, on whether you can or can’t launch a magazine today without advertising, the realities of the marketplace and his latest entry to the magazine world with Our Iowa magazine.

So, I asked Mr. Reiman, “What would you tell someone who comes to you and say, I want to start a magazine?” Click on the video below to hear his answer:

“Can people still launch a magazine without advertising and what does it take to do so?” I asked. Click on the video below to hear his answer.

“And what about his latest magazine venture, Our Iowa?” Mr. Reiman offers the behind the scenes in and outs of making Our Iowa magazine. Click on the video below to hear the details.

Now, you know, why when Roy Reiman talks, I listen. Keep in mind, if you are going to start a new magazines the four simple WOW words of Roy Reiman: “Be different, be better.”

James Elliott president of the James G. Elliott Company, a firm that specializes in media, marketing, research and sales, visited with my students at Ole Miss last week. As part of a new blog occasional series The One Minute Advisor, I asked Mr. Elliott on what he sees as the major mistake most magazine publishers are committing today and what advice he would offer them.

Click on the video below to hear Jim Elliott who has over 30 years experience in the advertising industry. Before founding the James G. Elliott Co., Inc. in 1984, he held numerous executive positions, including Director of Field Services at CBS Magazines and Western Advertising Manager for Road & Track Magazine.