Out of desperation I'm contemplating stating as business without funding

Sir_Pac

Thats me done until tonight, I have to go to my mums to make her dinner :-/ back tonight to pick your brains :-)

oh and my fingers are numb from the cold, not good :-(

sax11

Sir_Pac wrote: »

I have a dream, my products are 90% digital

If you are started localised first of all you need to cater for those without a pc who like to have something in print. Someone else mentioned classes earlier with a 10% discount, how would your readers get this discount if they weren't online to print it?

Depends where you are in the country could dictate the kind of thng you first put in the issues. If it's a sleepy town full of pensioners then 10%% off zumba might not appeal but a 2 page gardening feature might (could get in touch with local garden centres then)

ms_night_ryder

Sorry I had meant to add that they would mention a code word or simply name your mag for the discount, pensioners do zumba too! But I see what you mean, deffo have to look at the demographic of your area.

Also Paul I think you may have misunderstood my eBay thing.

I meant you could start a wanted/I'm selling area within your mag, I think this could work because of the eBay fees, you could. Charge people a few quid to put there items in your mag, a local selling page, have I explained it right, I hope so.

You could even sell your posters there.

Sir_Pac

sax11 wrote: »

If you are started localised first of all you need to cater for those without a pc who like to have something in print.

I have no intention of catering to only one demographic. Those without internet access aren't going to buy my products or use my services. My magazine will have both online and offline elements.

Sir_Pac

sax11 wrote: »

Depends where you are in the country could dictate the kind of thng you first put in the issues. If it's a sleepy town full of pensioners then 10%% off zumba might not appeal but a 2 page gardening feature might (could get in touch with local garden centres then)

Fair comment. I'm in solihull, near the NEC. We have a population of 20,000 on my doorstep, more if I included the neighbouring areas.

My Weight Loss Challenge is free for everyone. Not sure how to respond to the comment regarding Zumba/Discounts, I don't offer Zumba classes, I think an earlier post regarding Zumba classes.

Sir_Pac

ms_night_ryder wrote: »

Also Paul I think you may have misunderstood my eBay thing.

I meant you could start a wanted/I'm selling area within your mag, I think this could work because of the eBay fees, you could. Charge people a few quid to put there items in your mag, a local selling page, have I explained it right, I hope so. You could even sell your posters there.

Sorry MS Night Ryder, It was my fault, I did understand your meaning, I just went off on a tangent, and didn't get back on point, my fault entirely.

I think that's a great idea, only with a twist. I'm sure if you use facebook, you'd have noticed the many 'Buy, Swop & Sell' fan pages springing up all over the place. I could do something similar, encouraging my 20,000 target audience to join my 'Buy, Swop & Sell' facebook group.

Possible problems, Groups can only hold 5000 members (or so I believe, I would have to check this) and I'd need to find someone to admin the board/group to stop board abuse.

Good idea though, and thanks for putting me onto it.


I'm getting quite excited no at the prospect of starting my business, even if it were to fail, 'hat a ride it would be'

Sir_Pac

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

Good luck with your venture. Could something like Kickstarter be used to get some capital if you don't qualify for any of the other help detailed above?

Thank you for the idea, I'll look into it :-)

Sir_Pac

I needed to find a way to deliver the Great News magazine (in its latest incarnation), and I think I've achieved that. Obviously on my own web site I simply replace the old version with the newer one.

On facebook I created a 'Group' as an addition to the fan page. With the group, I'm able to upload my magazine, all members of the group are informed of the file upload, and of any revisions.

Today, was a good day :-)

JimmyTheWig

Sir_Pac wrote: »

I have no intention of catering to only one demographic. Those without internet access aren't going to buy my products or use my services. My magazine will have both online and offline elements.

By aiming at a specific audience (e.g. age group, location) you will be more likely to find people who your magazine connects with.

Sir_Pac

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

By aiming at a specific audience (e.g. age group, location) you will be more likely to find people who your magazine connects with.

As the magazine is to be community based, maybe I shouldn't single out a particular demographic, and instead cast as wide a net as possible, and let the 'response rate' dictate where I then concentrate my efforts.

If I manage to speak to all 20,000 homes within my catchment area via my leaflets, those that respond (visit my web site, fan pages etc) will become my demographic.

As a side note:

Your point with regard to aiming at a specific audience, is a valid one for individual products/services within the magazine, and is something I will have to address for each product and service I plan to offer.

However the magazine itself is more a catch-all umbrella, for all the products/services, and therefore would have no demographic.

I'm not sure how I'm going to narrow down my audience for say the Weight Loss Challenge. The market is huge. Do I compete for the gym go'ers, or for those who wouldn't step inside a gym, ever, for any reason.