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Magazine Business Plan

Running a magazine business enables you to share your thoughts with a larger audience that shares your interests in a particular topic. Also, it keeps you in the company of creative people.

Do you want everything perfect for your magazine business, then why not write a business plan first?

Need help writing a business plan for your magazine business? You’re at the right place. Our magazine business plan template will help you get started.

Free Business Plan Template

Download our free magazine business plan template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

• Fill in the blanks – Outline
• Financial Tables

How to Write A Magazine Business Plan?

Writing a magazine business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

• Market Opportunity: Summarize your market research, including market size, growth potential, and marketing trends. Highlight the opportunities in the market and how your business will fit in to fill the gap.
• Marketing & Sales Strategies: Outline your sales and marketing strategies—what marketing platforms you use, how you plan on acquiring customers, etc.
• Financial Highlights: Briefly summarize your financial projections for the initial years of business operations. Include any capital or investment requirements, associated startup costs, projected revenues, and profit forecasts.
• Call to Action: Summarize your executive summary section with a clear CTA, for example, inviting angel investors to discuss the potential business investment.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your company. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

• Online magazine business
• Print magazine business
• Lifestyle magazine business
• Fashion magazine business
• Business and Finance magazine
• Travel magazine business
• Sports magazine business
• Health and wellness magazine business
• Technology magazine business
• Describe the legal structure of your magazine business, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.
• Owners: List the names of your magazine business’s founders or owners. Describe what shares they own and their responsibilities for efficiently managing the business.
• Mission Statement: Summarize your business’ objective, core principles, and values in your mission statement. This statement needs to be memorable, clear, and brief.
• Future Goals: It’s crucial to convey your aspirations and vision. Mention your short-term and long-term goals; they can be specific targets for revenue, market share, or expanding your services.

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

For instance, individuals with hobbies or interests or professionals would be an ideal target audience for a magazine business.

• Competitive Analysis: Identify and analyze your direct and indirect competitors. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, and describe what differentiates your magazine from them. Point out how you have a competitive edge in the market.

For instance, digital transformation has a booming market; explain how you plan on dealing with this potential growth opportunity.

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your magazine business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

• Opinion pieces
• Other formats of content
• Any interactive features: Describe any multimedia components or interactive features your magazine includes, such as interactive infographics, quizzes, audio content, or videos. Describe how these aspects make reading more enjoyable and create an immersive & engaging experience.
• Frequency & distribution: Indicate the publication schedule (monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc.) and describe the distribution strategy for your magazine. Talk about the various print and digital distribution methods, such as websites, mobile apps, and subscriptions.
• Additional Services: Mention these as part of your product and service offerings if your magazine business offers extra services or products beyond the primary journal, such as events, online forums, webinars, or merchandise. Describe how your audience will benefit from these extra services.

In short, this section of your magazine plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

For example, exclusive content, high-quality visuals, or customization could be some of the great USPs for a professional magazine business.

• Marketing Strategies: Discuss your marketing strategies to market your services. You may include some of these marketing strategies in your business plan—social media marketing, Google ads, email marketing, content marketing, etc.
• Sales Strategies: Outline the strategies you’ll implement to maximize your sales. Your sales strategies may include direct sales calls, subscription offers and promotions, affiliate marketing, offering referral programs, etc.
• Customer Retention: Describe your customer retention strategies and how you plan to execute them. For instance, introducing renewal discounts, early subscriptions, personalized service, etc.

Overall, this section of your magazine publisher business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your magazine business, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

• Staffing & Training: Mention your business’s staffing requirements, including the number of employees or writers & editors needed. Include their qualifications, the training required, and the duties they will perform.
• Operational Process: Outline the processes and procedures you will use to run your magazine business. Your operational processes may include content creation, printing, distribution, marketing & promotion, etc.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively..

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your magazine business’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

• Founders/CEO: Mention the founders and CEO of your magazine business, and describe their roles and responsibilities in successfully running the business.
• Organizational structure: Explain the organizational structure of your management team. Include the reporting line and decision-making hierarchy.
• Compensation Plan: Describe your compensation plan for the management and staff. Include their salaries, incentives, and other benefits.

This section should describe the key personnel for your magazine business, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

• Profit & loss statement: Describe details such as projected revenue, operational costs, and service costs in your projected profit and loss statement . Make sure to include your business’s expected net profit or loss.
• Cash flow statement: The cash flow for the first few years of your operation should be estimated and described in this section. This may include billing invoices, payment receipts, loan payments, and any other cash flow statements.
• Balance Sheet: Create a projected balance sheet documenting your magazine business’s assets, liabilities, and equity.

This exercise will help you understand how much revenue you need to generate to sustain or be profitable.

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more. These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your magazine business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

This sample magazine business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful magazine plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our magazine business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a magazine business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful magazine business. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your magazine business.

How to get funding for your magazine business?

There are several ways to get funding for your magazine business, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are:

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan

Crowdfunding, angel investors.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your magazine business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your magazine business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your magazine business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any magazine business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Magazine Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Magazine Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Magazine business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Magazine businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Magazine business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Happy Trails Magazine is a startup magazine company located in New York City, New York. The company is founded by Lawrence MacGuire, who has experience in traveling and offering podcasts from around the world. Now, with the expertise of knowledge and business acumen, he has determined he can confidently start and effectively grow a successful magazine company. He believes his experience of strategic planning, marketing skills, financial capabilities, and wide and deep knowledge of traveling practices will provide everything needed for long-term growth and profitability.

Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive array of articles of interest for a wide variety of travel-loving customers. The Happy Trails Magazine will be the premiere travel magazine, providing services and products to each customer, while supporting the strategic goals of the company. Happy Trails Magazine will be the ultimate choice in tourist travel for customers to ensure that every need and desire of all travelers is fully and completely met.

Product Offering

The following are the services and products that Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

• Unique and exclusive content creation
• Experienced writers who provide superior journalism and reporting
• Photography from around the world
• Art and illustrations that support the travel articles
• Special offers of travel and related products for publication subscribers
• Online magazine offered in addition to hard copy publication
• Fun quiz and explorer’s facts for readers
• On-time delivery every month

Customer Focus

Adults within the New York City region. Customers who love to travel. Global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

Management Team

Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company, including Derek Flanagan, as his Operations Manager, and Sherry Culver, as the Senior Administrative Manager.

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.

Tracey Newthorn is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer. She will be the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine.

Alex Hawkins, an experienced magazine editor, will be the Executive Manager & Senior Editor of the Happy Trails Magazine. His former position was as the Senior Manager of Horizons Over Hawaii Magazine for over 20 years. His experience with travel and journalism leads to the new position of executive management.

Success Factors

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of Happy Trails Magazine
• Comprehensive menu of accurate and complete travel-related stories, as well as multiple photographic demonstrations of places to visit and things to see.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Outstanding photography and illustrations that highlight the beauty of world travel
• Happy Trails Magazine offers the best pricing in town. Their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for Happy Trails Magazine.

Company Overview

Who is happy trails magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine is a newly established, full-service consumer magazine published in New York City, New York. Happy Trails Magazine will be the most beautiful, consumer-relatable, and cost-effective choice for a global reading and subscribing community. Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive menu of editorial articles, In-Style pictorials, Go-To suggestions for hotel/travel bargains and special discounts for any reader to enjoy. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive website with multiple gateways to information and related services.

  Happy Trails Magazine will be the premier travel magazine in the publications industry. Led by the team of experienced professionals, the magazine will entice travelers to explore the world, while advertisers and interested parties will enjoy purchasing ads, placing click through ads and offering specials throughout the hard copy and digital magazine. Happy Trails Magazine removes all headaches and issues of traveling globally and ensures all travel negatives are addressed and diminished, while delivering the best customer service.

Happy Trails Magazine History

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years. During his prior employment, he recognized that many of the world’s finest destinations have been passed over in favor of traditional, favored locations. After much research and industry information-gathering, he started the Happy Trails Magazine to appeal to youthful travelers and old alike as they traveled the world.

Since incorporation, Happy Trails Magazine has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered magazine, Happy Trails Magazine, LLC to transact business in the state of New York.
• Has a contract in place for a 10,000 square foot office at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include Happy Trails as a source for advertising.
• Began recruiting a staff of 3 and 2 office personnel to work at Happy Trails Magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine Services

The following will be the services and products the Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

Industry Analysis

The travel magazine industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $24684 billion. The growth will be driven by an exponential interest in travel exhibited during the recent pandemic years, as most consumers were sequestered with no ability to travel. The industry is also expected to grow now as people begin to explore once again, looking for places off the beaten path. While travel costs remain high due to shipping and supply line issues and the economy, consumers find delight in exploring travel magazines and the pleasure of escape they offer.

Costs will likely be reduced as the process of production and print continue to fall due to technology advancements. The software that drives the consumer-provider relationships will also change, as most redundant or fairly simple administrative tasks will be given software solutions rather than handed over to a live publication agent.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Customer Segmentation

Happy Trails Magazine will primarily target those young adults and adults who live within the New York City region. They will also target customers who love to travel, including global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release will be welcomed. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

• Young adults through seniors
• Those who love to travel
• Those who want to travel to exotic, almost unknown destinations
• Those who enjoy viewing beautiful photography
• Those who like to read magazine articles about travel
• Advertisers and interested parties who want to sell through or collaborate with Happy Trails Magazine

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Happy Trails Magazine will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Sunset Magazine

Sunset Magazine, started in 1953 by a married couple, Ernest and Columbine Trentom, who were experienced global travelers. They began the magazine in a home office and quickly built their subscriber base to over fifteen million at the height of popularity. In recent years, the popularity of Sunset Magazine has waned, due to the loss of advertisers and poor construction of the magazine during production. The subscriber base has moved to new, more trendy, travel accommodations and travel styles.

Sports Illuminated

Sports Illuminated was founded by Cissy Travers, an ardent sportswoman and enthusiast of global sports events. With distribution to over 10 million readers, Ms Travers maintains complete control of the magazine and related ventures, which include sporting goods sales, sports apparel sales and global sports items.

The magazine was founded in 2001, when Cissy Travers took a medium-grade local magazine in upstate New York, and began to manage the content within. During the following five years, she single handedly engaged sports writers of the highest caliber and photographers who traveled the world on behalf of the magazine to shoot pivotal sporting events. Since that time, the magazine has continued to grow as new sporting events are added globally every year.

Taft & Hanson

Taft & Hanson Magazine was established in 2003 by Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson, a couple who traveled throughout the United States in their luxury recreational vehicle. The magazine is dedicated to the ultra-expensive and luxurious recreational vehicles manufactured and on the roads of America, with each monthly edition highlighting both the features of the vehicles and the features of traveler’s retreats around the nation.

The magazine is published once each quarter and is available by subscription only. Each edition is priced at $125 per copy. Designed to entice readers to purchase new recreational vehicles as they are released from manufacturing, the magazine makes it’s return on investment by selling to manufacturers and consumers alike.

Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson travel extensively throughout the nation, each reporting and writing about various aspects of living the “luxurious recreational vehicle life,” and the accommodations in which they choose to stay, which is used by the magazine publishers as another form of revenue in advertising. The magazine has earned a five-star rating by the Travelers Trailers International and has a following of over 100,000 subscribers.

Competitive Advantage

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Happy Trails Magazine will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of skilled employees who are able to provide a comprehensive travel experience via the magazine and website.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Unbeatable pricing for customers; subscribers are offered the lowest pricing of any travel magazine on the market.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for magazine is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Happy Trails Magazine has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to hospitality and lodging clients. The contacts and clients will follow them to this new company and help spread the word of Happy Trails Magazine.

Professional Associations and Networking

Trade Associations for travel and travel accommodations will be joined and actively pursued by the Happy Trails Magazine staff. Professional Networking in the New York City region will also be conducted to increase visibility and engage additional subscribers and advertisers.

Print Advertising

Limited print advertising will be offered within travel magazines and news periodicals. The bulk of the advertising will be found on the internet within various social network channels.

Website/SEO Marketing

Happy Trails Magazine will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services and products that the magazine provides. The website will also list their contact information and list their top-rated travel spots and special discounts for subscribers. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “travel magazine” or “travel reading near me,” magazine will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of the magazine will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for the Happy Trails Magazine. Operation Functions:

• Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company.
• Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort travel magazine affiliated with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.
• Derek Flanagan will take on the position of Operations Manager, with a professional background of several years in management within the travel magazine world.
• Tracey Newthorn is the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine. She is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer.

Milestones:

Happy Trails Magazine will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the magazine
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for magazine advertisers
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into magazine office
• 7/1/202X – magazine opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Happy Trails Magazine are the fees they will charge to subscribers for their services, in addition to charges they solicit from advertisers who place ads in their publications. .

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff the magazine. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its travel magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Subscribers Per Month: 750
• Number of Advertising Accounts Per Month: 50
• Average Revenue per Month: $550,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Magazine Business Plan FAQs

What is a magazine business plan.

A magazine business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your magazine business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your Magazine business plan using our Magazine Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Magazine Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of magazine businesses, some examples include: Entertainment magazine, Home and living magazine, Business magazine, Digital magazine, and Online magazine.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Magazine Business Plan?

Magazine businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Magazine Business?

Starting a magazine business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A Magazine Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed magazine business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your magazine business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your magazine business is in compliance with local laws. 3. Register Your Magazine Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your magazine business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your magazine business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 7. Acquire Necessary Magazine Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your magazine business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your magazine business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful magazine business:

• How to Start a Magazine Company

How to Start a Magazine Business

Starting a magazine business can be very profitable. With proper planning, execution and hard work, you can enjoy great success. Below you will learn the keys to launching a successful magazine business.

Importantly, a critical step in starting a magazine business is to complete your business plan. To help you out, you should download Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template here .

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

15 Steps To Start a Magazine Business:

• Choose the Name for Your Magazine Business
• Determine the Type of Magazine Business You Will Launch
• Develop Your Magazine Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Magazine Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Magazine Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Magazine Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Magazine Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Magazine Business Equipment
• Develop Your Magazine Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Magazine Business
• Open for Business

1. Choose the Name for Your Magazine Business

The first step to starting a magazine business is to choose your business’ name.  

This is a very important choice since your company name is your brand and will last for the lifetime of your business. Ideally you choose a name that is meaningful and memorable. Here are some tips for choosing a name for your magazine business:

• Make sure the name is available . Check your desired name against trademark databases and your state’s list of registered business names to see if it’s available. Also check to see if a suitable domain name is available.
• Keep it simple . The best names are usually ones that are easy to remember, pronounce and spell.
• Think about marketing . Come up with a name that reflects the desired brand and/or focus of your magazine business.

2. Determine the Type of Magazine Business You Will Launch

The next step is to determine the type of magazine business you will launch. The four main types of magazine businesses are:

• Print Magazines – These are traditional printed magazines that may be sold in stores or through subscriptions.
• Digital Magazines – Digital magazines are digital-only publications, usually published on a website or app. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.
• Video Magazines – Video magazines are like “television shows” but distributed solely online. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.
• Podcast Magazines – Podcast magazines are audio-only publications, usually distributed via streaming services or podcast apps. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.

3. Develop Your Magazine Business Plan

One of the most important steps in starting a magazine business is to develop your magazine business plan . The process of creating your plan ensures that you fully understand your market and your business strategy. The plan also provides you with a roadmap to follow and if needed, to present to funding sources to raise capital for your business.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

• Executive Summary – this section should summarize your entire business plan so readers can quickly understand the key details of your magazine business.
• Company Overview – this section tells the reader about the history of your magazine business and what type of magazine business you operate. For example, are you a print magazine, digital magazine, video magazine or podcast magazine? 
• Industry Analysis – here you will document key information about the magazine industry. Conduct market research and document how big the industry is and what trends are affecting it.
• Customer Analysis – in this section, you will document who your ideal or target customers are and their demographics. For example, how old are they? Where do they live? What do they find important when subscribing to magazines like the ones you will offer?
• Competitive Analysis – here you will document the key direct and indirect competitors you will face and how you will build competitive advantage.
• Marketing Plan – your marketing plan should address the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
• Product : Determine and document what products you will offer 
• Prices : Document the prices of your products
• Place : Where will your business be located and how will that location help you increase sales?
• Promotions : What promotional methods will you use to attract customers to your magazine business? For example, you might decide to use pay-per-click advertising, public relations, search engine optimization and/or social media marketing.
• Operations Plan – here you will determine the key processes you will need to run your day-to-day operations. You will also determine your staffing needs. Finally, in this section of your plan, you will create a projected growth timeline showing the milestones you hope to achieve in the coming years.
• Management Team – this section details the background of your company’s management team.
• Financial Plan – finally, the financial plan answers questions including the following:
• What startup costs will you incur?
• How will your magazine business make money?
• What are your projected sales and expenses for the next five years?
• Do you need to raise funding to launch your business?

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4. choose the legal structure for your magazine business.

Next you need to choose a legal structure for your magazine business and register it and your business name with the Secretary of State in each state where you operate your business.

Below are the five most common legal structures:

1) Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business entity in which the owner of the magazine business and the business are the same legal person. The owner of a sole proprietorship is responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. There are no formalities required to establish a sole proprietorship, and it is easy to set up and operate. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and inexpensive to establish. The main disadvantage is that the owner is liable for all debts and obligations of the business.

2) Partnerships

A partnership is a legal structure that is popular among small businesses. It is an agreement between two or more people who want to start a magazine business together. The partners share in the profits and losses of the business. 

The advantages of a partnership are that it is easy to set up, and the partners share in the profits and losses of the business. The disadvantages of a partnership are that the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the business, and disagreements between partners can be difficult to resolve.

3) Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a type of business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of an LLC for a magazine business include flexibility in management, pass-through taxation (avoids double taxation as explained below), and limited personal liability. The disadvantages of an LLC include lack of availability in some states and self-employment taxes.

4) C Corporation

A C Corporation is a business entity that is separate from its owners. It has its own tax ID and can have shareholders. The main advantage of a C Corporation for a magazine business is that it offers limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The disadvantage is that C Corporations are subject to double taxation. This means that the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and the shareholders also pay taxes on their dividends.

5) S Corporation

An S Corporation is a type of corporation that provides its owners with limited liability protection and allows them to pass their business income through to their personal income tax returns, thus avoiding double taxation. There are several limitations on S Corporations including the number of shareholders they can have among others.

Once you register your magazine business, your state will send you your official “Articles of Incorporation.” You will need this among other documentation when establishing your banking account (see below). We recommend that you consult an attorney in determining which legal structure is best suited for your company.

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5. Secure Startup Funding for Your Magazine Business (If Needed)

In developing your magazine business plan, you might have determined that you need to raise funding to launch your business. 

If so, the main sources of funding for a magazine business to consider are personal savings, family and friends, credit card financing, bank loans, crowdfunding and angel investors. Angel investors are individuals who provide capital to early-stage businesses. Angel investors typically will invest in a magazine business that they believe has high potential for growth.

6. Secure a Location for Your Business

Having the right space can be important for your magazine business, particularly if you’d like to meet clients or advertisers there. Some magazines outsource the printing, but you might opt to print them on-site.

To find the right space, consider:

• Driving around to find the right areas while looking for “for lease” signs
• Contacting a commercial real estate agent
• Doing commercial real estate searches online
• Telling others about your needs and seeing if someone in your network has a connection that can help you find the right space

7. Register Your Magazine Business with the IRS

Next, you need to register your business with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will result in the IRS issuing you an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Most banks will require you to have an EIN in order to open up an account. In addition, in order to hire employees, you will need an EIN since that is how the IRS tracks your payroll tax payments.

Note that if you are a sole proprietor without employees, you generally do not need to get an EIN. Rather, you would use your social security number (instead of your EIN) as your taxpayer identification number.

8. Open a Business Bank Account

It is important to establish a bank account in your magazine’s name. This process is fairly simple and involves the following steps:

• Identify and contact the bank you want to use
• Gather and present the required documents (generally include your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address)
• Complete the bank’s application form and provide all relevant information
• Meet with a banker to discuss your business needs and establish a relationship with them

9. Get a Business Credit Card

You should get a business credit card for your magazine business to help you separate personal and business expenses.

You can either apply for a business credit card through your bank or apply for one through a credit card company.

When you’re applying for a business credit card, you’ll need to provide some information about your business. This includes the name of your business, the address of your business, and the type of business you’re running. You’ll also need to provide some information about yourself, including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Once you’ve been approved for a business credit card, you’ll be able to use it to make purchases for your business. You can also use it to build your credit history which could be very important in securing loans and getting credit lines for your business in the future.

10. Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Every state, county and city has different business license and permit requirements.

Nearly all states, counties and/or cities have license requirements including:

• General Business License : getting your Articles of Incorporation as discussed above
• Sales Tax License or Seller’s Permit : for selling products
• Zoning Approval : typically at the city or county level, this provides authorization for construction or use of a building or land for a particular purpose

Depending on the type of magazine business you launch, you will have to obtain the necessary state, county and/or city licenses.

11. Get Business Insurance for Your Magazine Business

There are a few different types of insurance that you may want to consider for your magazine business.

General liability insurance : This covers accidents and injuries that occur on your property. It also covers damages caused by your employees or products.

Product liability insurance : This insurance is important to have if you are selling products through your magazine business. This type of insurance can help protect you financially if someone gets injured by one of your products.

Business owner’s policy (BOP): The policy combines general liability and property insurance into one policy. This can be a helpful option for small businesses as it can be more affordable than purchasing the two policies separately.

Other business insurance policies that you should consider for your magazine business include:

• Workers’ compensation insurance : If you have employees, this type of policy works with your general liability policy to protect against workplace injuries and accidents. It also covers medical expenses and lost wages.
• Commercial property insurance : This covers damage to your property caused by fire, theft, or vandalism.
• Business interruption insurance : This covers lost income and expenses if your business is forced to close due to a covered event.

Find an insurance agent, tell them about your business and its needs, and they will recommend policies that fit those needs. 

12. Buy or Lease the Right Magazine Business Equipment

Most magazine companies don’t need much equipment. To start a magazine business, you probably only need a computer, phone and internet access. You might also need office furniture.

When starting a magazine business, you can  purchase or lease the necessary equipment. This may include:

• Computers : Computers are necessary for any type of magazine business. You will need computers to design and layout your magazine, as well as to manage your business finances and records.
• Printers : You will need printers to print out your magazine pages. You may want to invest in a color printer if you plan to print in color.
• Scanners : Scanners are helpful for scanning in photos and other graphics for your magazine.
• Software : You will need software to design and layout your magazine, as well as to create PDFs of your finished magazine pages. A popular software package for magazines is Adobe InDesign.
• Office Supplies : You will need office supplies such as paper, pens, pencils, staplers, scissors, etc. to run your magazine business.

13. Develop Your Magazine Business Marketing Materials

Marketing materials will be required to attract and retain customers to your magazine business.

The key marketing materials you will need are as follows:

• Logo : Spend some time developing a good logo for your magazine business. Your logo will be printed on company stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so forth. The right logo can increase customer trust and awareness of your brand.
• Website : Likewise, a professional magazine business website provides potential customers with information about the subscriptions and information you offer, your company’s history, and contact information. Importantly, remember that the look and feel of your website will affect how customers perceive you.
• Social Media Accounts : establish social media accounts in your company’s name. Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other social media networks will help customers and others find and interact with your magazine business.

14. Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Magazine Business

There are many different types of software that you may need to run your magazine business. The most important software for printing and designing magazines is Adobe InDesign. This software allows you to create layouts for your magazine, as well as to create PDFs of the finished pages. You can also find other software designed specifically for magazines, such as QuarkXPress and PagePlus.

You will also need accounting software to manage your business finances. Popular accounting software packages include QuickBooks and Peachtree. Other software that may be helpful for a magazine business includes contact management software, such as Salesforce, and design software such as Photoshop.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is also beneficial. Some of the most popular CRM programs include Salesforce, and Zoho.

15. Open for Business

You are now ready to open your magazine business. If you followed the steps above, you should be in a great position to build a successful business. Below are answers to frequently asked questions that might further help you.

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How to Start a Magazine Business FAQs

Is it hard to start a magazine business.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the difficulty of starting a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry and market conditions. However, with a well-executed business plan and some hard work, you can start a successful magazine business.

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to start your magazine business without too much difficulty.

How can I start a magazine business with no experience?

If you have some journalism experience, that can be helpful when starting a magazine business, but it is not essential. There are many resources available to help you get started, including online how-to guides, books on magazine publishing, and even online courses.

Another option is to partner with an experienced magazine publisher. This can give you access to their expertise and knowledge, and can help reduce the risk associated with starting a magazine business.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help from others in the publishing industry. There are many people who are happy to share their knowledge and advice.

What type of magazine business is most profitable?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry and market conditions. However, in general, magazine businesses that focus on niche markets tend to be more profitable than those that compete in more general markets.

Another factor that can affect profitability is the size of the magazine. Generally, smaller magazines are more profitable than larger magazines, as they have lower overhead costs.

Finally, the type of advertising that a magazine business attracts can also affect its profitability. Ads for luxury goods or services tend to be more lucrative than those for mass-market products.

How much does it cost to start a magazine business?

The cost of starting a magazine business will vary depending on the size and scope of the business, as well as the type of software and services used. However, in general, the cost of starting a magazine business can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. 

The cost of starting a magazine business typically includes expenses for printing and postage, software and services, marketing and promotion, as well as any staff wages or freelance fees. 

Before starting a magazine business, it is important to create a budget and stick to it. This will help ensure that you are able to cover all expenses associated with launching the magazine.

What are the ongoing expenses for a magazine business?

In addition to the initial start-up costs, there are a number of ongoing expenses that are associated with running a magazine business. 

Some of the expenses you may incur when starting a magazine business include:

• Software licenses and subscription fees
• Website design and hosting fees
• Printing and shipping costs
• Staff salaries
• Advertising and marketing expenses
• Office supplies and equipment
• Professional services such as graphic design or legal advice 

It is important to factor in all of these expenses when calculating how much money you need to get started. You should also consider how much you will need for ongoing operations, such as staff wages, printing costs, and advertising fees.

How does a magazine business make money?

A magazine business makes money by selling advertising space to businesses and individuals. Advertisers typically pay a fixed price for a certain number of print ads, which are then placed in the magazine.

Magazine businesses can also make money by charging readers for subscriptions. In some cases, magazines also sell back issues and other merchandise such as T-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs. 

Finally, magazine businesses can generate revenue by providing consulting or other services to clients. For example, a magazine might offer marketing or branding services to help businesses promote their products or services.

Is owning a magazine business profitable?

Yes, owning a magazine business can be very profitable. 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on a number of factors. However, in general, owning a magazine business can be profitable if you are able to attract enough advertising revenue and subscribers.

The profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry, geographical location, and other factors. However, there are a few things you can do to increase the chances of your magazine business being profitable. 

Some of the key things you can do to make your magazine business more profitable include:  

• Offering a variety of services, such as marketing, branding, and advertising
• Developing a strong online presence, including a well-designed website and social media platforms
• Focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to content
• Charging a fair price for your services
• Building relationships with clients and partners
• Offering discounts and promotions
• Networking with other magazine businesses to share resources
• Becoming familiar with digital marketing, such as SEO and social media
• Nurturing a niche

By taking the right steps, you can make your magazine business successful and profitable. Investing time and money into developing a strong foundation for your magazine business is essential for long-term success. With the proper planning and dedication, you can have a profitable business.

Why do magazine businesses fail?

Magazine businesses can fail for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of planning, poor execution, and not understanding the needs of their target market.

If you're not proactive about planning and executing your magazine business correctly, it's more likely to fail. It's also important to understand the wants and needs of your target market in order to create content that is valuable to them. 

One of the main reasons that magazine businesses fail is a lack of planning. This can include not having a detailed business plan, not doing research on the industry, and not targeting the right customers.

Another reason is a lack of marketing and sales skills. This can include not creating a sales process and not have a clear and strong value proposition.

The last main reason is a lack of financial management skills. This can include not having a realistic budget, not tracking expenses, and not investing in the business.

Who are key players in the magazine market?

The magazine market is made up of a variety of different players, including small businesses, large enterprises, and even individuals.

Some of the key players in the market include:

• Bertelsmann SE & Co.
• CorporationTime Inc. 
• Meredith Corporation
• American Media, Inc.

However, there are many other players in your specific target market, and it is important to research the market to identify the key players that may have the most direct influence on the success of your business.

How much should I charge for my magazine services?

Magazine fees can vary depending on the type of magazine services being offered, as well as the size and scope of the project.

However, some common magazine fees for projects and advertising include:

• A flat fee per issue
• A flat fee for the entire project

Examples of magazine advertising rates are:

• Full page ad: $1000
• Half page ad: $500 
• Quarter page ad: $150

It is important to consider how much time and effort you are putting into the project, as well as how much value it will bring to your client. It can also be helpful to compare your fees with those of other magazine businesses. 

Some magazine rate examples are:

• $5.99 per issue 
• $29.99 for an annual subscription 
• $9.99 for a back issue

The best way to determine the right fee for your magazine services is to research the rates of similar businesses in your industry, and to also consider the value that you will be providing to the client.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

• Integrations

Cover to Cover: How to Start a Magazine in 2024

i. Choose a Niche

Ii. create a business plan, iii. hire your staff, iv. make use of all platforms, i. rounding up content and creating a mock-up, ii. tools to create your issue, iii. post-launch, i. create a brand, ii. diversify, iii. develop quality content, iv. use your channels — all of them, 1. planning a magazine.

We’ve come quite a long way since the very first American publication in 1741. Who knows if Ben Franklin and his chronicling competitors had any idea that their budding industry would blossom into something that has a global market size of $79.8.3 billion this year ?

Thanks to both their centuries-long resilience and progressive nature to adapt, magazines continue to be a worthwhile project to embark on. 

If you’re looking to start a magazine or pivot to digital editions, read on. We’re outlining the basic steps of how to start a magazine in 2024. 

The first step to starting your magazine is, of course, to choose a concept. Before you venture down the path on how to make a magazine, you need to know what you want to write about in your publication.

Will it handle a general topic, such as business or politics?

Do you want to get down to the nitty gritty of gardening or interior design? 

Be sure to choose a concept that you will be able to generate ideas around. 

Magazines have been around for centuries, so chances are that there’s already a plethora of publications on your chosen topic. How would you tackle the topic differently? Or present it in a unique, fresh way? 

It’s not as simple as just choosing a topic, however; you should also consider who your primary audience would be. 

What type of readers are you targeting? 

What’s the demographic profile? Think in terms of age, interests, education level, family dynamics, and so on.

Pro Tip : “It’s … important that your audience has a ‘continuing need’ for your content, so they’ll want to subscribe and read more. Think about your audience’s lifestyle and cater to the issues and ideas they care about.”

Knowing your audience will help to keep you established and focused in the niche you’re pursuing. Because just as Michael Keaton’s Ray Kroc learned in The Founder — when the McDonald’s businessman learned he wasn’t, in fact, in the hamburger business, but rather the real-estate business — it’s essential to remain true to the business  of The Niche even as people can’t keep their hands off the publication.

Beyond your concept, other factors to consider are:

• The title. Your audience’s first impression of your publication comes from its title. Make sure it’s concise, catchy, relevant, and distinguishable. Your magazine should stand out from others in your topic.
• The tone and message. Though all writers and editors bring something different to the table, the overall tone of the magazine should be consistent and relevant to your topic. For example, an upbeat tone is fine for an entertainment magazine; pulling off that tone for a political publication would take considerably more skill and effort.
• The stylistic elements. Generally, you want the font type, size, and color to be uniform across all of your editions. Like branding in marketing, you have to develop a style for your magazine. 

The initial stages of developing your concept will involve lots of research. However, it ensures that you’re organized and have a clear vision as you develop your publication.

Think of your up-and-coming magazine as a company. It’s not just a publication. It’s a brand, a business. As with any venture, you need to devise a solid plan. 

Using your concept research, build a business plan that addresses the logistics of starting a magazine. Priority considerations include:

• How will you fund your first issue? Some aspiring publishers have money saved up while others look to crowdfund or use investors. (As you grow, you may be able to rely on advertisements to finance issues. Until then, it’ll likely be difficult to get advertisers until your publication is more established.)
• How will you distribute your magazine? If it’s a print publication, how will you print it? If it’s digital, where would it be available to read or to download?
• Would you rent or buy office space, or would staff work from home? Think about the added costs of office supplies, insurance, energy and Internet bills, and more.
• Where will your magazine be distributed, regionally or nationally? Magazine start-up costs range from $100,000 to $1 million, depending on geographic circulation. 
• Speaking of, will your magazine be a free or paid circulation? If it’s free, who’s the most relevant audience to distribute to? If it’s paid, how much will you charge subscribers? (Most publications make revenue from subscriptions, advertisements, or a combination of the two.)
• What type of advertisements would you plan to include? If you choose to have ads, ensure they’re relevant to your audience. 

Pro Tip : If you will be relying on ads for revenue, you will want ads to cover at least 50% of your publication, and closer to 60-65% if you’re relying solely on ad revenue. 

• Do you intend to make a profit from your magazine? Is this venture not-for-profit? Pro Tip : If you’re trying to increase revenue, keep printing and distribution costs below 50% of your total budget.
• What are your basic editorial topics? Most first-time publications plan a content calendar at least a year in advance. In addition to providing solid footing for the editors, this also allows publishers to give advertisers a better sense of the magazine’s scope and direction.

In every film involving magazines (and newspapers), it’s all about the staff. Your team members take ideas and mold them into stories. They give a voice and visual to each individual page and to the larger brand. 

Because they’re so important, don’t skimp out on hiring a dream team of editorial all-stars to get your magazine off the ground. Though you may not yet have the budget to hire a full staff, you’ll at least want these essential members in your corner, laying the foundation:

• Editor-in-Chief: To oversee all aspects of the editorial process. 
• Managing Editor: To assign stories and edit text
• Copy Editor: To fact-check and edit for grammar
• Staff Writer: To write articles, website content, etc.
• Production Manager: To keep track of ads and handle bookkeeping
• Salesperson : To sell advertisement space in your magazine 
• Creative Director: To design the publication style and more prominent features
• Graphic Artist / Designer: To design department layouts and graphics
• Photographer: To take high-quality pictures
• Digital Content Editor: To create complementary editorial content for website and across all online channels

Other positions to consider down the line (or on a freelance basis): 

• Proofreader : for reviewing the text in each issue
• Photo Editor: for scouring stock-image sites and other photo research
• Associate Editors: for assigning and editing text in specific departments
• Advertiser Account Managers: for handling accounts as they come in
• Editorial Assistants: for helping with assorted editorial logistics

An editor’s salary can run between $50,000 and $125,000 per year, depending on factors such as experience, location, etc. When hiring a top-notch editor, focus on finding a candidate with impeccable writing skills, an eye for detail, and a knack for deadlines and organization. Have them include writing samples or a sample assignment to ensure their skills are near perfect. Tone can be taught, but basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation are necessary from the get-go. 

As for a salesperson, costs fall between $30,000 to $40,000 annually for a base salary, plus at least 10% commission. Hiring a dependable salesperson is a little trickier than an editor. As with an editor, you want someone with basic skills. Great salespeople hone “soft” skills like communication, customer service, and interpersonality. 

Ideally you want someone who also has experience selling similar products. However, product knowledge can be taught, so lower that priority. As a general business rule of thumb, hire a salesperson that you can genuinely sit down and have a conversation with. If they’re personable, chances are they’ll do great in the field. 

A production manager’s annual salary can range from $30,000 to $60,000, depending on their experience level. If you’re financially savvy and the rest of your staff is willing to take on whatever tasks are thrown their way those first few months, you may be able to get by without a production manager initially. As revenue and ad sales grow, however, you should definitely look into hiring one.

If you’re looking to save money, outsource your writing, design, and photography needs by hiring freelancers.

Costs for freelancers differ based on industry and experience: 

• Freelance writers might accept as little as $0.50 per word if they can appreciate the topic or the potential of the magazine itself. Whether you assign per-word or per-project, be sure to communicate word-count expectations clearly.
• Graphic designers vary from $25 to $300 per hour. This is worth a little extra, because a great eye for color and layout is hard to come by. They can even help first-time publishers develop a new brand. 
• Photographers range from $25 to $250 per image. Equally as important as copy, photography is a necessary expense for magazines. 

Luckily, it’s the 21st century, and freelancers are everywhere. Any decent editor will have a stable of reliable writers at the ready, but you can fit your needs and budget with this quick list of resources available for your editorial needs: 

• Upwork ( www.upwork.com ): One of the most popular freelancing sites, Upwork provides opportunities in over 70 different job categories. Millions of freelancers offer over 5,000 skills for 4 million businesses, making this site a great option for publications looking to hire for multiple positions from one platform.
• Behance ( www.behance.net ): Behance is a platform by Adobe specifically intended for designers to showcase their work. It allows publications to explore candidates around the world. The best part is that the platform is entirely free, which is ideal for those looking to cut costs.
• PeoplePerHour ( www.peopleperhour.com ): Smaller freelancing platform PeoplePerHour requires users to send a proposal to companies. This is beneficial for first-time publishers who don’t have the time to sift through resumes of prospective employees. 
• YunoJuno : YunoJuno is a great platform, especially if you’re searching exclusively for designers. They seek to attract top-tier graphic artists, so if magazine design is one of your priorities, look into this amazing freelance space.
• Freelancer : Freelancer is the largest freelancing website out there. Their matching process consists of a bidding system and allows employers to view past projects and portfolios before hiring someone.

Other websites to hire specialty team members include Fiverr , WriterAccess , and Guru (which also includes translation services if you’re producing a multilingual magazine). 

Pro Tip : Though not directly part of your editorial team, you also need to find a reliable printer during the hiring stage. Ultimately, a Creative Director or Production Manager will manage the issue-to-issue operations.

If you’re distributing your publications, look for a printer who also distributes. This will save you the time and money of hiring two separate companies. 

When your magazine is more established, you should look into hiring a digital marketer. They’ll promote your publication and manage your social media channels. 

One of the most important considerations for starting a magazine in 2024 is making use of all possible platforms, particularly in the interest of marketing. This means taking advantage of all channels to post and promote your magazine and engage with your readers.

• One way to promote is to send out an email newsletter to your subscribers . Give them industry updates, the latest editions, sneak peaks of articles, and more. By providing digital content for them to read , you keep them engaged with your magazine.
• Posting digital content has the potential to become an additional stream of revenue — if you require online subscribers to pay a fee. However, this gates your content and prevents readers from sharing it, which hurts engagement and readership. Initially, it’s recommended that you provide online content at no charge and leverage advertisements to generate revenue. Some digital magazines ask for subscriptions in exchange for articles. See this example from The Guardian :

• Use social media to further enrich your brand. You can do this by providing food for thought for your readers, asking questions to get them engaged, or creating videos to support your written content.
• Podcasts have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Creating a podcast for your magazine in which you explore related, relevant topics could engage your audience and even help you reach new readers. Including ads in your podcasts is another potential source of revenue, and you can also reuse podcast clips as social media content.
• The most traditional method of promoting your publication is to distribute it strategically . Even in today’s digital world, this remains essential. In addition to your subscribed readers, be sure to send a sample of your publication to potential and existing advertisers. If your publication is free, send your magazine to relevant readers in the industry. For example, if you run a business magazine, it might be a good idea to send it to prominent professional figures, local businesses, networking events, and more.

Businesses with waiting rooms, like doctors’ offices, and colleges and universities are also great places to distribute your publication. 

• You can build your circulation and subscriber lists through more traditional methods, such as cold calling, street team promotion, or direct mail. 

All of these tactics will bring awareness — and thus, subscribers — to your new magazine. 

2. Launching Your First Issue

So, you’ve ironed out most of the initial kinks and are ready to create content for your magazine. You want your first issue to be palatable, welcoming enough to draw in a readership … but with all of the magazines that exist, your launch must also stand out. 

Creating content is not a linear process, so reading a step-by-step guide will not be helpful. It may even distort your creative process. But the basics are hard to argue with.

Stay up to date not just with other publications that cover your topic, but with specific keywords and conversations being had across all social media. And participate and be active in those niche sectors so you can get a better sense of where people’s interests are currently and where they might be headed. Along with active listening on your topic, make sure to get feedback on your efforts as well.

Here are some additional suggestions to keep in mind: 

• Your topic should be specific enough to pique interest, but broad enough to generate article ideas around. 
• Consider topics that are generating conversation among your audience, and position your issue as part of that conversation. 
• Make sure your topic is relevant to both your audience and the overall concept of your publication. 

As mentioned earlier, it is recommended that you plan out your editorial content at least one year in advance. You can always adjust editions to reflect relevant events and trends, but planning out your content all at once will save you lots of time down the road.

Once you’ve chosen your topic, you’ll need to create a mock-up of your issue. 

While your content doesn’t have to be finalized in this stage, it is important to have a general idea of what your issue will contain. 

Plan to include a variety of content. Aim for a good mix of articles, interviews, and opinion pieces. Above all, make sure your content is helpful to readers by providing actionable information. 

Article, design, and photography assignments should be given well before the mock-up is finished. This will ensure that you will receive all of your content in time for your launch. 

Though you may want to keep your costs as low as possible, do not cut corners on content acquisition. High-quality content is well worth the investment. 

If you outsource your content, it would be a good idea to create a style guide. This will ensure that your content is consistent, even if your creators are not. 

Pro Tip: “ A copy editor will take your magazine from good to high-quality … This person provides a fresh, outside set of eyes to go over what you’re creating, and offers insights you would likely miss … Copy editors police your use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation [and] ensure a consistent writing style for your magazine.”

The tasks of writing the articles and curating the images would likely be left to your staff. However, as the founder, you should work hand-in-hand with your designer(s) to create a mock-up that fits your vision. From title treatment and cover concept to the layout of articles and ads, this mock-up will serve as the blueprint for your issue. As you receive finalized content, your graphic designer will stylize it and replace the fillers. 

Mock-ups should also be included in your media kit, a package of information and content with which you pitch your magazine to advertisers. A well designed mock-up will make your pitch that much easier to sell. 

Pro Tip: To visualize your issue without finalized content, use Lorem ipsum text (aka greeking) to fill in empty text boxes and images from the internet as placeholders.

Of course you can’t create your issue, or even the mock-up, without the right tools. Luckily, there are tons to choose from. Here are a few suggestions:

InDesign is an offering from Adobe’s Creative Cloud ( www.adobe.com/creativecloud ) that allows graphic designers to create posters, brochures, magazines, and even interactive eBooks. 

• Highly intuitive, user-friendly software
• Media is easily exported in a variety of formats 
• Access to Photoshop tools and effects for images
• Does not lend itself well to more detailed de signs
• Text spacing requires manipulation, as it is known to look uneven at times
• One of the pricier options on this list

Price: Adobe offers a 7-day free trial of InDesign. Otherwise, it is available as part of a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. It will cost either $22.99 for the single app or $59.99 for the entire design suite.

DigitalStudio

DigitalStudio is a flat-planning and pagination software by Mirabel Technologies ( www.mirabeltechnologies.com ), created specifically for magazine publishers. 

• Allows users to accommodate ad units and paginate as live inventory changes
• Interactive software designed for team collaboration
• Includes free publishing to Mirabel’s Magazine Central , a digital magazine stand
• Designed exclusively for magazines
• Included only as part of a Magazine Manager ( www.magazinemanager.com ) subscription to its magazine publishing CRM software

Price: A subscription to the magazine management software costs $65/month/user with an additional $250 initial setup fee, and includes DigitalStudio, access to a powerful publishing CRM (with full publishing ERP software capabilities), electronic invoicing to bill advertisers, and top-tier support services. 

Considering the large scope, it’s the software magazine designers, production staffers, and sales teams alike can utilize together.

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Publisher is a design program that comes exclusively with a Microsoft 365 ( www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365 ) subscription. If you use Microsoft, as most businesses do, this might be a great option for you.

• User-friendly interface, drag-and-drop capabilities
• Tons of templates to choose from
• Guidelines to ensure that your content is perfectly aligned
• Only available through Microsoft subscription
• Only available for PC
• Not compatible with other programs, such as Adobe

Price: Microsoft offers a 1 month free trial of Publisher, through its trial of Microsoft 365. 

The annual subscription for Microsoft 365 Business Premium is $22/user/month, and includes all of the Microsoft 365 products, along with their secure cloud services.

The next step is, of course, distributing your publication. In addition to the distribution suggestions earlier, you can build your circulation and subscriber lists through traditional methods, such as cold calling, street team promotion, or direct mail. 

Eventually, consider a magazine subscription software, such as Mirabel Technologies’ ChargeBrite platform, to help manage magazine subscription data and recurring revenue.

Obviously, your work is not finished after you distribute your publication. After distribution, you should follow up with your readership. You can do this by sending a postcard or email asking for feedback. 

One of your primary objectives is to satisfy your readers, so their feedback is essential as you move forward with your publication. 

Following up is especially important after your first issue.

Keep track of the things your subscribers enjoyed. Those elements should remain consistent across your editions. If they enjoyed a specific promotion, consider repeating it in a later edition.

On the same note, keep track of the things that your readers were critical of. These will be the things you should focus on fine-tuning as your publication progresses. 

3. Marketing a Magazine

You need a consistent, effective marketing strategy to draw in new readers and keep existing subscribers engaged. When marketing a new magazine — or product of any kind — it’s important to create a brand. 

Let’s circle back to the beginning, and the very first steps we discussed in starting your publication: specifically, establishing a niche or concept that it centers around. It considers a market with a continuous interest in or need for your content, as well as:

• Stylistic elements

As Small Business Chron put it:

 “ Don’t just sell your content. Sell the benefits of reading your magazine. The more you create a niche for your magazine, or develop a specialized image or brand, the more likely you can generate an affinity for your publication with specific consumers.”

It’s not enough to generate great copy and design striking visuals. A brand is the element that keeps readers coming in and coming back.

Another key strategy to get readers interested in your publication is to diversify your content. Consider adding a product or service to complement your publication.

This could be as simple as creating long-form content, such as books, guides, or whitepapers, on topics that might interest your audience.

It can be as complex as organizing community events or workshops that relate to your niche. 

For instance, the popular lifestyle magazine Kinfolk ( www.kinfolk.com ) would host “ global gatherings held in over 25 locations worldwide ” to celebrate their magazine launches. At these events, they focused on forming genuine connections with their readers.

This is just one example of the way that a magazine can diversify by hosting events. 

A restaurant/food and drink magazine might consider organizing a cooking or bartending class that their readers can attend for a small fee. 

A fitness magazine may hold a marathon and donate the proceeds to an athletic-minded charity. This diversifies th eir brand and positions the magazine positively in front of their audience.

Content diversification can be adapted to a digital format, as well. A podcast that touches on topics relevant to your magazine is another way to supplement its content. It could potentially create an additional revenue stream, too, if you decide to include ads.

Diversification can also mean giving readers a variety of subscription types to choose from. 

“ The digital era is all about options ,” according to Mag+. “Why not give your readers a range of subscription choices from a single issue to multi-year subscriptions?”

No matter how you choose to provide additional value to your subscribers, it makes all the difference in marketing a magazine.

Without quality content, the readers you attract will not be retained.

You need to ensure that you’re strategizing and developing high-quality content in every issue.

With thousands of publications in the U.S. alone, it’s likely that many of them touch on the same or similar topics as yours.

In order to differentiate yourself, or carve out a space amongst similar big-name publications, your content must set the new standard.

Take it from What’s New in Publishing: 

“ The content should be more than thinly disguised advertising . It offers compelling, valuable content focused on the brand’s customers, not purely — or overly — aimed at selling.”

You want your content to organically generate new subscribers. It’s a slow long-term strategy, but it’s worthwhile because the quality of subscribers is better.

So, what does quality content look like?

Quality content offers readers more than words on a screen or a piece of paper. It connects with readers and gives them content that’s actionable or, at the very least, thought-provoking.

This is no easy feat.

It can be hard to find content that people will read, much less connect with. 

To figure out which content is best for your readers, a great strategy is to analyze successful existing content. Which pieces are they engaging with most? Where are they sharing it online?

The State of Digital Publishing makes a case:

“ Data analyzing is the key to increasing promoting efforts. The better you know your audience, the easier it will be to keep them and reach new ones. Investigate what content your users read most often, what is most often shared, and what social networks your readers are most active on.”

Another good strategy is to ask your readers what content they’re interested in seeing from you. Put a pop-up on your website, send a reader’s poll through email, or reach out with a survey.

Don’t limit the ways that your subscribers can enjoy your content. 

Use all possible mediums to your advantage:

• Print magazines
• Digital editions
• Video (interviews, behind-the-scenes, sneak peeks)
• Social media polls and links to articles
• Podcast interviews 
• Relevant events and/or awards 

The importance of diversifying your content and platforms go hand in hand. For example, a podcast is one way you may choose to use audio content to your advantage. 

If your magazine is primarily a print publication, consider providing a digital edition to reach a wider audience or vice versa. 

Pro Tip: If you decide to host digital content, strategize whether this content will be freely available or reserved for subscribers. A mixture of both is ideal, because a variety of options ensures that you’re reaching as many people as possible.

Try to provide content that’s accessible to the general public, and reserve exclusive content for subscribers. Using this technique, new visitors/potential subscribers get a few sample articles before committing to a paid subscription. Many digital magazines ask users to provide an email address to view all your digital content. This is a great way to build an email list, which can also be used to engage with subscribers. 

Beyond digital and print versions of your publication, it’s a good idea to supplement your content through social media . Content on social media is easily shareable, making it an ideal place to reach new readers.

There’s a variety of content to post on social media, including:

• “ Fragments of the best content which hasn’t been published yet and which will spark the discussions under a social media post,
• Videos or photos from behind the scenes of an interview, unpublished or additional material
• A discount offer for social media users (in exchange for sharing the content/a post) or newsletter readers (in exchange for signing in).”

You can also use your social media to promote upcoming issues. Per the State of Digital Publishing ( www.stateofdigitalpublishing.com ): 

“ Before film producers release a new project , they present a movie trailer. The goal is clear – encourage people to go to the cinemas, buy tickets, and watch the film. My tip for you is to be like a movie producer.”

Social media may also be a place to further promote your brand itself. Twitter and Instagram , for example, are great places to showcase the personality behind your publication.

Similarly, LinkedIn ( www.linkedin.com ) is a great platform to showcase your brand professionally. LinkedIn “ drives 46% of social traffic to B2B sites and is considered the most credible source of content.”

When sharing content to LinkedIn, keep in mind that it’s more likely to be clicked if it includes an image. Also, consider posting video content, as it’s the most commonly shared on the platform. 

As we mentioned above, you may choose to require users’ to provide an email address in order to view your digital content. 

This is because an email newsletter is another great way to keep subscribers engaged. Use it to share updates, as well as new or relevant content based on a user’s past interactions with your articles. 

You can send them more of your free content, and perhaps include an exclusive article or two to entice them to subscribe. Ultimately, marketing CRM software can help not only create this engaging content, but automate how it gets to your audience effectively as well.

It may take time to garner a large audience, but it’s a numbers game. The more variety you afford readers to view your content, the better your chances are. 

It takes the strength of multiple tactics to effectively create and market a magazine. These tips are really just the beginning. 

However, by incorporating these elements into a strategy that suits your vision, you’ll be well on your way to a loyal readership and a publication to be proud of.

If you’d like to learn more about Magazine Manager, Mirabel’s Marketing Manager, and/or Mirabel’s DigitalStudio,  request a free demo .

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Magazine Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Magazine Business Plan Template

If you want to start a Magazine business or expand your current Magazine business, you need a business plan.

The following Magazine business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning Magazine business plan.

You can download our business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of your Magazine business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Magazine Business Plan Home I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document.

Magazine Publisher Business Plan

Start your own magazine publisher business plan

Group Publishing, Inc.

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

The Group Publishing, Inc. (Group Publishing) is the publisher of “Artists In Business” magazine. The magazine, which has already printed an initial issue in July/August 1996 is directed at artists at all levels of business throughout the United States. The management of Group Publishing is targeting a total combined circulation of “Artists In Business” of 206,000 in year one, increasing to 310,000 by the end of year three. The magazine will be published bi-monthly with increased press runs throughout the first three years. Sample distribution, organizational sales, and direct mail to targeted lists of artists will be utilized to build subscriptions.

In addition, Group Publishing will market books via direct marketing and through established artist distribution channels. The direct marketing of Group Publishing books will be implemented through its magazine readership base.

Publishing is a high profit and high margin business. The key to success is successful marketing. The Group has a highly focused multi-dimensional sales and marketing plan to build its total circulation base quickly. The same channels and methods were utilized to establish a circulation of 500,000 in the first year for the Visionary Artist’s periodical.

Successful execution of The Group’s plan will produce sales revenues of $3.1 million in year one, $4.8 million in year two, and $6.4 million in year three. Net profit will increase steadily over the next three years.

The highlights of the business plan are illustrated in the following chart. Sales, margins, and net profit increase each year. The lowest margins occur in year one, reflecting the marketing costs of building the circulation base.

1.1 Objectives

The initial objectives of The Group are as follows:

• To raise seed capital of $150,000 to ensure publication by month two and to establish a cash reserve to market subscriptions.
• To have 90,000 subscribers by the end of year one through direct sampling and marketing.
• To have an additional 50,000 subscribers by the end of year one through organizational sales.
• To have 10,000 more two-year subscriptions sold.
• To publish two 36 page issues initially with press runs of 50,000 promotional copies each.
• To go to 48 pages by issue number three and increase press runs to 75,000 promotional copies.
• Increase to 100,000 promotional copies in issues five and six.
• Increase average ad page cost from $1,819 to $2,618 by the end of the first year.
• To sell an average of 17.5 ad pages per issue throughout year one.

1.2 Mission

“Artists In Business” magazine is for the artist who is a worker at any level. The magazine has a commitment to be a platform to profile artists who are representing artistic vision in the marketplace and who can both encourage and provide role models to other men and women. Group Publishing, through its magazine, books, and editorial content, will be a vessel to inform artists about artistic principles in everyday business and will encourage interaction among artists as business people. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” in the workplace.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success are:

• Attaining targeted circulation levels.
• Controlling costs while spending the maximum on subscription marketing in year one.
• Carefully monitoring response rates of all media executions.
• Follow-on marketing of two to four book titles in the first year.
• Attaining targeted advertising sales revenues.
• Having quality editorial content in each issue.
• Making all production and distribution dates in a timely fashion for each issue.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

Group Publishing, Inc. began as a joint concept between two avocational artists, Red Brushwielder, an advertising executive, and Thallos Green, a former insurance executive and the owner of the “Artists In Business” name. Mr. Green will promote “Artists In Business” as a radio program for syndication (a separate business entity).

Mr. Green is licensing the “Artists In Business” name to The Group Publishing, Inc. for the sum of $1 (one dollar). Mr. Green will also receive one page of advertising at no charge in each and every issue of the magazine and one page of editorial in each issue (as the founder of the magazine). It is expected that the radio show produced by Mr. Green will be a powerful promotional vehicle for the magazine.

Group Publishing will have exclusive rights to “Artists In Business” for all print media, electronic media (Internet home page, CD-ROM, Interactive Publications, etc.), catalogue business, and possible seminars and workshops devoted to the artistic business person.

2.1 Start-up Summary

The following tables and chart outline our start-up requirements and needed funding.

Equity investment in the company is now being made available to outside investors for the first time. The purpose of this investment is to raise the needed “seed” capital to launch the magazine. An initial Private Placement offering to raise from $150K to $375K is in progress. The minimum amount of the offering would be sufficient to publish the first new issue in 1997. Money raised in excess of the minimum will enable full-scale sampling and marketing of subscriptions. It is possible that no further investment may be needed. However, it cannot be assured that additional capital will not be required in the future or that sufficient capital will be available to continue publication.

We anticipate buying back the outside investment in year three for $1.5 million.

2.2 Company Ownership

Red Brushwielder is the founder of The Group Publishing, Inc. a newly formed Southwest “C” corporation. He currently owns all its stock.

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

The Group Publishing, Inc. has current offices at 1234 Main Street, Anytown, GA. 30000 The phone # is … and the fax # is …. The office is fully equipped and functional. It is not anticipated that expanded facilities will be needed for the first few years of the plan. All business, management and editorial functions will be performed there. All printing, mailing, warehousing, and fulfillment is outsourced.

The Group Publishing will publish “Artists In Business” magazine. The magazine is high gloss, 48 pages, contemporary in look and appeal. Quality art content is the constant goal. The magazine will be entertaining and newsworthy and thought-provoking. It will appeal to a broad artist readership. No magazine like it is available today.

The Group Publishing will also publish softcover and hardcover books. Certain titles will be published in softcover “trade” size. Others (called “booklets” in this plan) will be similar to “paperback” size. Contemporary Arts themes will prevail, particularly those that deal with the demands placed on both business and family life by today’s business climate.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

The target market is broadly based and is defined as the artist business person at all levels in any organization.

Market segments are defined by organizational affiliation.

Media strategy and execution may vary by segment.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

5.1 Marketing Strategy

New subscriptions are both sample and media based. Sampling will be done to both known arts organization members and to artist mailing lists. Several of these databases are already available to The Group. “Artists In Business” has access to a list of 100,000 Artist business leaders. All will be sampled with the magazine.

Sample runs will be: 50,000 issues on the first and second runs, 75,000 issues on the second and third runs, and 100,000 issues on the fifth and sixth issues of 1997. All cost associated with these sampling programs are included in the advertising and promotion budgets for those months. A total of $362,000 will be spent on direct mailed sampling geared to subscription.

In alternate months, print media will be used. Arts publications will be employed. “New Brush” magazine, “Colours” magazine, and “Artistic License Today” will have the early insertions. As subscription base grows general interest media will be used later in the year. “Inc.” magazine and “Business Week” are likely choices.

Finally, sales to Arts supply and retail bookstores through magazine distributors will also be accomplished. Key distributors have already expressed interest in the publication.

All sales projections through this multi-channel approach will reflect the different pricing and margin considerations pertinent to each.

5.1.1 Distribution Strategy

Distribution of magazines and books through retail channels are projected at retail less 60%.

Subscriptions through organizations are projected at list less 50%.

All direct sales are booked at full revenue. Cost of product is deducted for 6 issues per year. Fulfillment costs are expensed.

Direct sales of books are billed to credit cards and drop shipped. The magazine is an ideal vehicle to promote these sales.

Future sales are planned directly over the internet from the AIB website.

5.1.3 Strategic Alliances

The strategic alliance with Thallos Green and his AIB radio broadcasts holds great potential. Thallos plans to syndicate the broadcasts on Arts News radio stations across the U.S.

5.1.4 Promotion Strategy

In addition to advertising, direct mail, and media executions, public relations exposure will benefit magazine circulation significantly. Red Brushwielder has already appeared and been interviewed on Arts News radio programs four times. Tapes of these interviews are available. In one instance more than 1800 calls were received requesting subscription information from a single program.

Red Brushwielder has also been asked to tape programs for an Anytown radio station on the subject of Artists in the workplace.

Promotion strategy for sales through organizations to their memberships includes a split of the first year’s subscription revenue with the selling organization.

5.1.5 Pricing Strategy

The “Artists In Business” magazine will sell for $3.95 per single issue on the newsstand.

• A one-year subscription is $16.95.
• A two year subscription is $29.95.
• “Trade” soft-cover books will sell for $14.95.
• Paperback size “booklets” will sell for $7.95.
• Future hardcover books will sell for $19.95 to $22.95. No hardcover sales are projected in this three year plan.

5.2 Sales Strategy

Our combined sales strategy of sampling, direct mail, and organizations will result in the following first year sales goals:

• 90,000 one-year subscriptions.
• 50,000 one-year subscriptions through organizations.
• 10,000 two-year subscriptions.

Four book titles are factored in in the second half of the year. Two are “trade” and two are “booklets.” Sales goals are modest.

The following sections illustrate annual revenue over the next three years of $3.1, $4.8, and $6.4 million respectively.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The following table and chart presents specific sales forecasts by product, by month, over the first year of sales development. Years two and three are cumulative totals only. All sales project the relevant unit cost and margin differences to reflect discounts, commissions, and revenue splits.

Discount on ad revenue is 15% agency commission and 20% sales commission for a total of 35%.

All product costs for subscriptions are based on $.40 per issue–6 issues for one year, 12 issues for two years.

The only cost not included here is an author’s royalty on book sales–expected to be 15%. These royalty costs are incurred on the P & L statement as an expense item.

5.3 Milestones

Important milestones are:

• Raising “seed” capital.
• Publishing magazine by February.
• Launching subscription marketing programs.
• Achieving subscription goals.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

With production and fulfillment services outsourced, The Group Publishing, Inc. has need for general management, editorial, artistic, sales & marketing, and financial expertise.

6.1 Management Team

Red Brushwielder (44), President & CEO, Publisher & Editor Mr. Brushwielder founded and successfully grew an advertising agency over a thirteen year period. He is accomplished in both publishing and direct marketing. One of his largest clients over the years has been Payne’s Gray Publishers, Inc. a NASDAQ public company and Art book publisher.

Mr. Brushwielder has a total of 20 years experience in advertising and publishing. His advertising clients have included American Express, Steinway & Sons Piano Company, Peachtree Software, Parisian Department Stores, and ADP Payroll Services. Red Brushwielder attended the University of South Carolina.

Ochre & Sienna Burnt, Asst. Editors Ochre (50) and Sienna (48) are the founders of Painting Restoration, which has the mission of restoring old family portraits. They are accomplished authors, with the titles “Restoring the Early Portrait” and “Demolishing Portrait Forgeries” to their credit. Ochre served in the U.S. Navy, serving three deployments in Viet Nam as a helicopter pilot.

Ochre holds a BA in Economics from the University of Connecticut, an MBA from California Lutheran College, and a Master’s of Art Education from School of Hard Knocks. Sienna holds a BS in Education from the University of Connecticut.

Timothy Clark (48), VP of Corporate Development Mr. Clark has successfully raised capital for both public and private companies and has written and executed strategic growth plans as both an executive and as a consultant. He has previously been in executive positions with three growth stage companies and also was part of a turn-around team that successfully righted a failed venture-backed start-up. In his early career he held sales and marketing management positions with Lever Brothers Company and the LCR Division of Squibb, Inc. both in Chicago and New York. He is skilled in Strategic Planning and Capital Formation. Mr. Clark holds a BA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame.

6.2 Management Team Gaps

An art director is needed. Also freelance artists.

Ad sales manager and circulation manager are factored in as needed.

6.3 Personnel Plan

The following table includes the personnel plan and projected salaries for all key people.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

After initial capitalization growth can be financed largely through internal cash flow provided subscription targets are met. In the event of a sales shortfall, marketing can be cut back temporarily to preserve cash. Or, more likely, additional investment may be sought to re-accelerate productive campaigns if growth demands more funding.

The company created by this plan will generate cash as soon as subscription base reaches critical mass.

7.1 Important Assumptions

The following table illustrates the financial assumptions used as the basis for this plan. The key element is six inventory turns per year. This reflects the issues of the magazine as well as ad revenue. Ad space is treated as an inventory item.

Subscriptions are paid in advance. Only 10% of receivables are collected in 30 days, primarily from wholesale accounts. These are notoriously slow payors, so care must be taken not to let these collections run past 60 days. This will be more significant if book sales become a higher-than-expected percentage of revenue.

7.2 Key Financial Indicators

The following chart represents changes in critical profit variables. Note that margins and expenses are consistently controlled and net profit increases nicely. Inventory turns slow down somewhat in the third year due to the burden of higher inventories for increasing book sales.

7.3 Break-even Analysis

This break-even analysis is applicable to the early 1997 time frame only. Key fixed costs represent the “burn” rate prior to major acceleration of marketing plans. Thus, if subscriptions didn’t flow in as planned this represents the point at which the company could continue to survive without increasing marketing. In that event, management could “buy” time to raise additional capital.

7.4 Projected Profit and Loss

We expect net income to near $1 million in year one and $2.4 million in year three. Net profit margins will improve as subscriptions mature and marketing costs decrease.

7.5 Projected Cash Flow

The table below illustrates cash accumulation from the initial assumption of $150K capital infusion. At no point does the company run out of cash. We expect to buy back the initial outside investment in year three.

The chart illustrates the critical cash flow in year one. Note that early contributions on a monthly basis are minimal and only gain momentum in the second half of the year. If shortfalls occur early on more capital may be required.

7.6 Projected Balance Sheet

We project a strong growth in net worth over the next several years.

7.7 Business Ratios

These business ratios are limited in value since the company projects no debt. This will also be an advantage if debt capital is desired later without dilution to shareholders. Business ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 2721, Periodicals, are shown for comparison.

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Ultimate Guide To Creating A Successful Magazine Business Plan

Launching a magazine isn’t just a creative endeavor; it’s also a formidable business challenge. Consider the fact that around 90% of new magazines fold within the first year. Crafting a comprehensive business plan can significantly enhance your chances of success in this competitive landscape.

Key elements of a successful magazine business plan include understanding your target audience and meticulously mapping out your revenue streams. The first glossy magazine, “Harper’s Monthly,” was launched in 1850, setting a precedent for what has now become a $20 billion industry. To join this thriving market, your business plan must align editorial vision with financial viability.

Identifying Your Magazine Concept

Defining your magazine’s vision is the first crucial step. Think about what message or theme you want to convey. This vision will guide all other decisions, from content to marketing. Next, you’ll need to set a strong mission statement. A mission statement clearly defines your magazine’s purpose and goals. It helps both your team and readers understand your magazine’s core values.

Identifying your target demographic is essential for your magazine’s success. Who are your ideal readers? Consider their age, interests, and what they are looking for in a magazine. A compelling magazine concept should be unique. Research existing magazines to see what’s missing in the market. This will help you carve out a niche and stand out to potential readers.

Defining Your Magazine’s Vision

Creating a clear vision sets the foundation for your magazine. This vision should reflect your passion and what you want to share with the world. For example, it could be about environmental issues, teen fashion, or tech innovations. Think about what makes your vision special. If your audience resonates with it, you’re on the right track. Your vision should be both exciting and attainable. Write down your vision and share it with your team. It will serve as a roadmap throughout your magazine’s development. This way, everyone stays aligned with your magazine’s purpose.

Setting Your Mission Statement

A mission statement is a brief description of your magazine’s fundamental purpose. It helps you stay focused and consistent. Readers can also quickly understand what your magazine stands for. To craft a strong mission statement, think about your magazine’s main goals. For instance, you might aim to inspire creativity, provide industry insights, or promote wellness. Be clear and concise. Make sure your team believes in the mission statement. This unity will translate into a cohesive and passionate magazine. A solid mission statement can also draw in like-minded readers and contributors.

Identifying Your Target Demographic

Knowing your target audience is crucial for creating relevant content. Start by analyzing potential readers. What are their interests and hobbies? Understanding their preferences helps tailor your content to their needs. Use surveys, social media insights, and market research to gather data. The more you know, the better you can meet their expectations. You can also look at competing magazines to see who their readers are. This gives you a benchmark and helps you identify gaps in the market. Filling these gaps can make your magazine indispensable to your target demographic.

Mapping Out Your Content Strategy

Building a solid content strategy is essential for a successful magazine. It involves planning, organizing, and executing your editorial vision. A strong strategy will help keep your content relevant and engaging.

Determining Your Content Distribution Platforms

Choosing the right platforms to distribute your content is crucial. Options include print, online, social media, blogs, affiliate sites, and mobile apps. Each platform has its own benefits and audience. For instance, print magazines offer a tactile experience, while online content can reach a broader audience. Combining platforms can maximize your reach. Consider where your target demographic spends their time. You can also explore partnerships with other publications or influencers. This can help expand your audience quickly. Keep track of your performance on each platform to adjust your strategy as needed.

Planning Your Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar helps you stay organized and consistent. It outlines what content will be published and when. This ensures you never miss important dates or themes. Start by identifying key dates such as holidays, events, and industry-specific times. Plan content around these dates to keep your magazine timely and relevant. Consistency is key to building trust with your readers. Use tools like Google Calendar or Trello to manage your editorial plan. Share the calendar with your team to make collaboration easier. Regularly update it to accommodate any changes or new ideas.

Building a Content Creation Team

Your content creation team is the backbone of your magazine. It usually includes writers, editors, photographers, and graphic designers. Everyone plays a crucial role.Hire team members who share your magazine’s vision and mission. Look for professionals who are passionate about your magazine’s topic. This ensures that the content will be high-quality and engaging. Provide regular feedback to help improve and refine their work. Encourage open communication to foster creativity and collaboration. This will lead to a more cohesive and dynamic content strategy.

Developing Your Revenue Model

Your revenue model is the plan for how your magazine will make money. It’s important to explore various revenue streams. This will help ensure financial stability and revenue growth . One common revenue source is advertising. You can sell ad space in your magazine to businesses looking to reach your audience. Consider offering different sizes and premium placements to attract a variety of advertisers.

Subscriptions are another key revenue source. Offering both print and digital subscriptions can appeal to different preferences. Encourage readers to subscribe with discounts or exclusive content. Don’t overlook alternative revenue streams. These can include events, merchandising, and affiliate marketing. By diversifying your income sources , you reduce the risk of relying too heavily on one method.

Creating a Marketing and Distribution Plan

A strong marketing and distribution plan is key to your magazine’s success. It ensures that your content reaches the right audience. You want your magazine to stand out and attract loyal readers .

First, craft your magazine’s branding. Your branding includes your logo, color scheme, and overall design style. Your brand should be memorable and reflect the essence of your magazine.

Next, choose your distribution channels. These can include bookstores, online platforms, and subscription services. The goal is to make your magazine easily accessible to your readers.

Develop a subscriber retention strategy. Retaining subscribers is as important as gaining new ones. Consider offering exclusive content or discounts to longtime subscribers.

A comprehensive marketing strategy involves both online and offline efforts. Use social media, email newsletters, and influencers to promote your magazine. Engage with your audience regularly to build a strong community.

Don’t neglect partnerships and collaborations. Working with other brands or influencers can help you reach a wider audience. Collaborations can also bring fresh perspectives to your magazine.

• Branding: Logo, color scheme, and design.
• Distribution: Bookstores, online platforms, and subscriptions.
• Retention: Exclusive content and discounts for loyal subscribers.
• Marketing: Social media, email, and influencer campaigns.
• Partnerships: Collaborations with brands and influencers.

Analyzing Your Competition

Understanding your competition helps you carve out your own niche. Start by identifying your main competitors. Look at what makes their magazines successful.

Examine their content, design, and marketing strategies. What are they doing well? Identify areas where you can do better or offer something different.

Pay attention to their readership and target audience. Are there gaps in their offerings that you can fill? Understanding their weaknesses can turn into your strengths.

Use tools like Google Analytics and social media insights to track competitors. Analyze their online presence and engagement levels. These insights can inform your own strategies .

Compile your findings into a competitive analysis report. This report will serve as a valuable resource for your team. Keep it updated as the market evolves.

Financial Planning for Your Magazine

Good financial planning is crucial for the success of your magazine. Start by estimating your income and expenses. This will help you create a realistic budget.

Projecting your magazine’s income involves forecasting sales, advertising revenue, and subscriptions. Use past data if available, or look at industry averages. Be as accurate as possible to prevent cash flow issues.

List out all potential expenses, from printing and distribution to marketing and salaries. This will ensure you’re prepared for all costs. Keep a buffer for unexpected expenses to avoid financial stress.

Consider creating a financial plan for at least the first year. Break down the budget into monthly phases. This will help you monitor your financial status constantly and make adjustments as needed.

Use financial tools to help with planning and tracking. Software like QuickBooks or Excel can simplify this task. These tools offer valuable insights and can alert you to potential financial problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Developing a successful magazine involves many strategic steps. Here are some frequently asked questions to guide you through the process.

1. How do I identify my target audience for my magazine?

Identifying your target audience starts with understanding who would be most interested in your content. Evaluate factors like age, interests, and demographics by conducting surveys and focus groups.

Research is crucial. Use tools such as Google Analytics and social media insights to gather data about potential readers. This information helps tailor your content to their preferences, increasing engagement and loyalty.

2. What are some effective revenue models for magazines?

Effective revenue models for magazines include advertising, subscriptions, events, merchandising, and affiliate marketing. Each has its own merits depending on your magazine’s niche and audience.

Diversify income sources to reduce financial risk. For instance, blend traditional ads with innovative digital subscriptions or exclusive merchandise sales. This mix ensures sustainability and growth.

3. How can I create an engaging editorial calendar?

An engaging editorial calendar requires planning around key dates, themes, and timely events related to your magazine’s niche. Tools like Google Calendar or Trello can help organize these elements efficiently.

Avoid content gaps by scheduling regular brainstorming sessions with your team. This allows for fresh ideas and timely updates that keep your readers excited about upcoming issues.

4. Why is branding important for a magazine?

Branding creates recognition and trust among readers by consistently conveying your magazine’s mission and values through visuals, tone, and messaging. Strong branding makes it easier to attract loyal subscribers.

Your brand also sets you apart from competitors in a crowded market. It helps define the unique voice of your publication, making it memorable and instantly recognizable to potential readers.

5. What role does competitive analysis play in developing a magazine?

Competitive analysis allows you to understand what other magazines in your niche are doing well or poorly. By studying their strategies, you can identify opportunities for differentiation.

This analysis helps refine your own approach by learning from competitors’ successes and mistakes. It serves as a valuable tool in strengthening both content quality and market positioning.

Creating a successful magazine business plan involves careful planning and execution. From identifying your target audience to developing a diverse revenue model, each step is crucial. Remember, ongoing research and adaptation are key to sustaining your magazine’s growth.

Branding, content strategy, and competitive analysis should form the backbone of your plan. Fostering a loyal readership while staying ahead of industry trends will ensure your magazine’s lasting impact. With a well-rounded approach, success is within reach.

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Your Magazine Business Plan: A Full Blueprint

Powerful integrations

Backed by industry standards

Over 37 million adults in the UK regularly read magazines. Whether online or on paper, the allure of perusing pages packed with interesting information is still going strong, 400 years since the first mag was published.

From baking to beauty and gardening to gossip, there’s a publication to match every hobby and to ignite many new interests.

With dozens to choose from on newsstands across the country, you might have decided that there’s one missing – yours.

If your dream is to launch a successful magazine , there’s a lot of work to do before you can enjoy soaring circulation figures.

Beyond the hours of preparation and lists of start-up costs, you’ll be entering a highly competitive market. And if your plans involve a printed version, be aware that annual numbers of printed magazines bought declined from 820.1 million in 2011 to 422.3 million in 2017.

But, if you find your niche, secure your finance and plan carefully, your editorial enterprise could be very lucrative.

Here we delve deeper into how to write the ideal. Follow it and soon you could be spotting people adding your magazine to their shopping trolley or happily devouring its contents on the train.

Why Do I Need A Business Plan For a Magazine?

Like any business, launching a magazine requires a carefully-considered, professional approach.

Beyond filling the pages with compelling content precisely targeted at your readers, you’ll first and foremost be running a business. You’ll need more than an ounce of acumen to secure your subscription base .

Your job will require you to:

• Recruit, train and engage staff
• Sell ads, regularly and consistently
• Persuade readers to take out a subscription and regularly part with their money
• Maintain circulation figures to attract advertisers
• Create and run an appealing website
• Organise production and printing
• Establish an efficient distribution system
• Set up an exceptional customer service offering
• Keep content fresh and engaging

At the heart of any successful start-up is a solid business plan. Your magazine business plan has to clearly set out your intentions for you, your team and your investors.

Read on to discover how to start your magazine adventure with the help of a well-structured and effective business plan.

Template Business Plan For a Magazine

1. Executive Summary

Kick off your business plan with a concise but informative executive summary. This should feature the key top-line points about your business: its name, aims and mission statement along with a financial summary.

Industry-specific detail can include:

• Both the name of your publishing company and the magazine(s)
• Target readership and how you’ll attract them
• Circulation targets for the first three years
• Frequency of publication
• Your magazine’s USP

Your mission statement should sum up your vision: focus on your audience and what your magazine will give to them.

Position the opportunity you’re taking advantage of, outlining the problem you’ve spotted and the solution you’ve devised. Will expert writers be sharing advice and insight? Will an online community provide a platform for exchanging ideas and tips?

From your executive summary, you can also extract juicy information to write an elevator pitch: your plans in a 60-second nutshell.

What would you tell a stranger in a lift about your business? What’s it called? Who’s it aimed at? What makes it unique? Aim to write a pitch that couldn’t apply to any other magazine on the market.

Perfecting this at an early stage will crystallise your vision. And, of course, allow you to spread the word about your magazine quickly and convincingly.

2. Objectives

Set yourself ambitious but achievable objectives right from the start. As well as giving you something concrete to aim for, sharing them will also provide ongoing accountability. When colleagues, friends and family know your targets, they’ll be keen to encourage you to strive for them.

So don’t just type them into a document and forget about them. Print them out in large fonts, stick them on your office wall, use them as your laptop and phone wallpaper: make them real.

And make them SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. You could even make them SMARTER: adding evaluated and reviewed to your initial criteria.

In your magazine business plan , you could include KPIs such as:

• To raise £XX to cover initial publication costs and establish a cash reserve
• To publish XX pages in issue one, rising to XX pages by issue four
• To print XX copies of issue one, rising to XX copies of issue four
• To increase the advertising rate card by XX% by the end of year one
• To increase average number of ad pages sold from XX in issue one to XX in issue four
• To have XX subscribers by the end of year one
• To sign up XX subscribers to a regular payment plan, e.g. Direct Debit, by the end of year one

3. Market Analysis

To make an impact on the newsstands, you need to know – and understand – the competition. ask yourself the following:.

• What titles are already out there? Who publishes them? Are they multi-nationals with megabucks or small start-ups?
• How high, or low, is their circulation? How many ads do they feature? What kind of companies advertise – major brands or niche companies? How much do they charge? What proportion of advertisers pay the rate card and how many get a discount?
• Do they publish online as well as in print? Do they have an app?
• Are there already magazines based on a similar topic to yours? If so, is there room for another one? What will your USP be?

Alongside your rivals, you also need to research your target readers. Identifying them and getting under their skin is crucial to success.

So, define your audience as precisely as possible:

• Where do they live?
• What do they do?
• How old are they?
• What is their income?
• What are their interests?
• What qualifications do they have?
• What magazines do they currently read?

From there, think about the size and potential of that group and how you can reach them. Then use this to inform your sales and marketing strategy.

4. Business Structure

Make sure to outline your business structure clearly. Are you operating as a limited company or a partnership? How many staff will your team consist of? What approach are you taking to staff welfare and engagement? Why will talented people want to work on your magazine?

Stress how your employees will add to your competitive advantage by focusing on their strengths and the breadth of the roles available.

Depending on the restrictions of your budget and the extent of your ambitions, your magazine could need:

• CEO/Editor-in-chief
• Office manager
• Journalists and writers, probably with distinct specialisms
• Sub-editors and proofreaders
• Photographers
• Graphic designers
• Website manager
• Sales and marketing manager
• Subscriptions manager
• Distribution manager
• Customer service executives

As part of your business plan for a magazine , you can describe each of these roles and accompanying responsibilities in detail.

Highlight how your team will cover all bases to ensure high quality content, strong advertising revenue, a reliable distribution network and a loyal subscription base. Along with, of course, all the departments necessary to run a successful business: HR, accounts, customer service etc.

5. SWOT Analysis

Assessing the potential of your business, taking all criteria into consideration, will reassure prospective investors that you understand the challenges ahead.

The easiest way to do this is through a SWOT analysis: examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business that can impact on whether you sink or swim.

Share your strengths with confidence. Ensure that they position you as professional and prepared, ticking off the basics and beyond.

These could include the calibre of your writers, the award-winning portfolio of your chief photographer or your personal track record of running a profitable business.

Don’t be shy or overly-cautious. Recognising your weaknesses, and all start-ups have them, shows that you’ve spotted the potential pitfalls and are taking steps to address them.

Maybe you’re aware that your current funding isn’t sufficient to cover your ambitious marketing campaign or perhaps you’re concerned by a lack of suitable candidates during your recruitment process.

Whatever they are, turn your weaknesses around by detailing how you’re going to overcome them.

Opportunities

Showcase your dreams here: if you believe there’s a strong possibility of expanding your magazine brand into a book, an app or even a reader event, say so. Use this chance to express your passion for the project and inspire the same in others.

If you’ve already secured interest from advertisers, add it here. And if you’ve completed any market research, pick out the highlights that present the best opportunities for growth.

Be honest about threats. Demonstrate your understanding of the market and how it could jeopardise your future plans. Will the effects of Brexit deter advertisers? Could distribution costs spiral as you grow? Could you survive if a major publisher launched a rival title?

6. Sales and Marketing

Who came first, the reader or the advertiser? Neither can exist without the other. Both are vital to your success.

A comprehensive approach to marketing will make sure you secure sufficient income from each. Use your magazine business plan to outline what strategies you’ll be employing to achieve this.

For instance, maybe you’re recruiting a marketing team with an excellent industry track record. You’ll be encouraging them to hit their targets through ongoing training and incentives.

To initially attract readers, you could devise a direct mail campaign with sample content from your magazine. Accompanied by an enticing offer – try your first edition free – the responses will soon start to populate your customer database.

To spread the word to possible advertisers, introduce your title to companies large and small, ad agencies and, if relevant, public sector bodies. Hold events, send sample copies, gather feedback, offer deals and make your magazine memorable asap.

To establish your brand online, set up social media accounts and get the conversations about your magazine started.

Be thorough here. Your marketing will determine if your idea makes or breaks so have a clear vision early on about how it will work and what you want it to achieve.

Like all new businesses, getting your enterprise off the ground requires detailed financial planning and management. You’ll need to cover off start-up costs, ongoing expenditure and income generation, sales, profit and loss, and cashflow forecasts , and your pricing strategy.

Alongside this, you need to outline the source of your funding, plus any shortfall you still need to secure.

At this stage, start-up costs should be looming large on your agenda. List them clearly in your business plan to demonstrate that you understand the financial commitment.

Your initial budget for the first three months will likely include:

• Staff and/or freelance wages
• Office space rental fees
• Distribution costs, including vehicles
• Printing costs
• Equipment purchase/hire, e.g. computers, printers, phones and office furniture
• Website design
• Consultant fees
• Advertising and marketing

Start-up costs will be lower if you’re planning an online-only publication but still need to be carefully researched and recorded.

Your appendix should include spreadsheets covering cashflow, profit and loss forecasts, and sales forecasts. Each should include projections for at least the first three years.

Of course these will be based largely on guesswork but provided they’re backed up by your research and accurately calculated, it gives an indication of what is achievable.

8. Conclusion

End your magazine business plan on a positive note. Recap on your aims and vision, focusing on your passion and commitment while highlighting that you have the knowledge, experience and dedication to make your business a success.

Be prepared and you’ll be one step closer to taking the helm of a magazine that enjoys impressive circulation, happy advertisers and a healthy profit.  

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Magazine Publishing Business Plan Sample

Published May.08, 2018

Updated Apr.23, 2024

By: Jakub Babkins

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 3

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Table of Content

Do you want to start magazine publishing business?

Do you want to start a magazine publishing business? Although this business requires a lot of initial capital, the rate of return which it yields on investment is extremely high. Magazine companies generate incomes from various sources such as from the advertisements which are featured in them, from the people who sign in online, and of course, from their sales in newsstands. But starting a magazine isn’t an easy job and you will have to effectively plan everything. In the United States, 9 out of 10 magazine businesses fail due to poor planning. That’s why before you consider how to start your own magazine , you will have to prepare a comprehensive business plan. If you are wondering how to write one, here we are providing you the business plan of a magazine publishing business startup named ‘The Reader Monthly’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

The Reader Monthly will be a lifestyle magazine owned by Martha Martin, a passionate writer. The company’s main office will be located in Dallas.

2.2 Management

The success of a startup heavily depends on its staff and management that’s why Martha planned it before considering how to start a magazine business on your own . The main management of the company will comprise of sales executives, graphic artists, and journalists. The staff will be hired one month before the launch of startup and will be trained by Martha.

2.3 Customers

We will target the young adults, adults and senior citizens of the United States. Our readers can read our magazine either in printed form or in digital form on any device.

2.4 Business Target

Our business targets, as outlined by our publishing company business plan , are as follows:

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

The Reader Monthly will be owned by Martha Martin, a passionate writer. Martha has been associated with some of the biggest international magazines including TIME and PEOPLE for more than 13 years.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

The business is being started due to two reasons. The first one is to make profits in this industry. The second one is Martha’s passion for writing and her desire to add something better to the society. Martha herself described the reason for starting her venture in the book launch ceremony of her latest book The Dying Angel as, “ starting my own magazine is something I am born for.”

3.3 How the Business will be started

The company will be started in an abandoned press office in Dallas which ceased to function a few months before. The company will initially procure following things for the startup.

• Office furniture including filing cabinets, work desks, roundtables, couches and chairs for the meeting area
• Computers with color printers and scanners
• Press machines
• Graphic designing software including Illustrator, Freehand, and Photoshop
• A strong internet connection and office telecom systems
• Assorted office stationary and brochures

The financial experts have forecasted following costs for the startup:

The detailed startup requirements are given below:

Services for customers

Before you start a publishing business or even think about how to start a publishing business , you must decide what type of magazine will you be publishing and which niches will it cover. You must also plan what other services for business will you offer, for instance, sending magazines to subscribers by mail. The Reader Monthly will be a lifestyle magazine but it will also contain a few sections featuring health, entertainment, and technology. We will offer following services to our customers/readers:

• Magazine Retail Sales: Our readers can get our latest magazines from any newsstand or bookshops located across the United States. Retail sales will be the biggest generator of our revenue in our annual sales from the magazine readers.
• Magazine Subscription: Our readers can also subscribe us to get the latest magazine delivered to their doorstep in printed form.
• Magazine Online Subscription: Our readers can also subscribe us to get a copy of the electronic magazine which can be read on any electronic device.
• Advertisements: We will offer advertisement services to the various companies and businesses located across the United States. Advertisements will be our biggest source of revenue.

Marketing Analysis of magazine publishing business

The most important component of successful magazines business plan is its accurate marketing analysis that’s why Martha acquired the services of marketing experts to help her through this phase. It is only after this stage that a good magazine business plan could have been developed. If you are starting a magazine on a smaller scale, say an online magazine, you can just take help from this magazine business plan sample or the other magazine business plans available online. Marketing analysis is an extremely important component of all publishing business plans , therefore, it must be considered before starting a magazine business plan .

5.1 Market Trends

The American magazine industry contributes $28 billion in revenue every year and the magazine advertising are alone responsible for generating more than $15.2 billion. There are more than 21,000 publishing businesses in the United States that employ more than 117,000 people across the country. However, the magazine industry declined rapidly with the increasing popularity of the internet and the smartphones which completely eliminated the need for printed magazines. The industry nowadays is truly struggling for surviving in America as well as in other countries. A 2012 survey revealed that only 3 percent of Americans read magazines on a regular basis. Statistics has it that in 1985, there were more than 1,676 dailies in America but in 2011, the number dropped to below 1,400 and is still dropping. While the popularity of printed magazines keeps falling, people are paying more attention to electronic magazines which can be read on any device like laptops, mobile phones, kindles. You also need to create a magazine in a mobile application that will allow users to quickly learn about the release of new materials, but for this, you will have to write a business plan for mobile applications . After identifying these trends, it is clearly evident that it is not easy for a startup to survive in the magazine industry unless it is properly planned and adds value to its readers.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

It is very important to analyze the market segmentation of the readers which will be buying your magazine because a successful and efficient magazine marketing plan can only be developed after we completely know our potential customers. Our experts have identified the following type of audience which we will be targeting:

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Young Adults:

Our first target group will be the young adults in the United States who are between 18 to 25 years of age. This group mostly comprises of college or university students who like to read magazines in their free time. According to a recent survey by Statista, young adults read more magazines than any other age group in the United States that’s why this group will have the biggest contribution in our revenue from the magazine’s sales.

5.2.2 Adults:

Our second target group comprises of adults from 25 to 60 years of age. These people lead a busy life due to their employment and other engagements that’s why they don’t read as many magazines as the young adults or the senior citizens.

5.2.3 Senior Citizens:

Our third group comprises of senior citizens aged above 60. These people are usually retired and have a lot of spare time that’s why they also read magazines. The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

5.3 Business Target

We aim to see ourselves among the top ten lifestyle magazines of the United States within next six years of our launch. Our main business targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, $15k per month by the end of the second year, and $25k per month by the end of the third year
• To balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year
• To have around 99,000 subscribers through direct sampling and marketing by the end of the first year

5.4 Product Pricing

Our pricing strategy is as follows:

• Single issue: $0.65 per issue
• Yearly print subscription: $7.0 per 12 issues
• Yearly e-magazine subscription: $1.49 per 12 e-issues

We have strategically priced our e-magazines in extremely cheaper range due to two reasons. Most of the people prefer electronic magazines to print magazines, and it is costlier to send print magazines to the readers as compared to providing them the digital ones.

Sales strategy is also an important component of an effective magazine business plan so make sure to plan it before you consider how to start a magazine business .

6.1 Competitive Analysis

We have a really tough competition because we will be competing with magazines some of which have been around for decades. Our biggest competitors are US Weekly, The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Harper’s BAZAAR and GQ. Our competitive advantage will be our lower prices combined with quality content which will be no less than that of the top magazines.

6.2 Sales Strategy

After carrying out a detailed analysis, our experts came up with the following brilliant ideas to advertise and sell ourselves.

• Google search ranking is one of the most important factors in deciding the success of online magazines, that’s why we will put special emphasis on it. We would do our best to get higher rankings in Google search results.
• We will give away 3 free magazines copies to our readers upon subscription.
• We will carry out a large-scale social media campaign and will interact with our readers to promote their interest.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Our forecasted sales on a yearly basis are summarized in the following column charts:

The detailed information about sales forecast is given in the following table:

Personnel plan

Personnel plan, like all other plans, is an important component of an effective business plan so it must be planned before you think about how to start my own magazine .

7.1 Company Staff

Martha will act as the Chief Editor of the magazine and will initially hire following people:

• 1 Accountant for maintaining financial and other records
• 2 Sales Executives responsible for marketing and discovering new ventures
• 6 Graphic Artists for designing the magazines
• 10 Journalists for creating the content for the magazines
• 4 Technical Assistants for handling the company’s web and social media pages
• 20 Print Press Workers for publishing the magazine
• 10 Distributors for distributing the magazines to various outlets across the United States

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial Plan

As the last step for preparing a magazine publishing business plan , you have to prepare a detailed financial plan. The financial plan should craft a detailed map of all the expenses needed for the startup and how these expenses will be met by the earned profits. It is recommended that you hire a financial expert for guiding you through all financial aspects needed for starting a magazine business .

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly