I have an idea to create a magazine for local teens and young adults. It would include articles on colleges, health issues, local entertainment, shopping. Also basic starting life articles, how to open a checking account, start saving for retirement!, how to do laundry. I have two sons and I thought I had taught them all the basics of life, but I'm discovering there are many things we just never discussed and I'm wondering if other young adults are in the same boat. I have absolutely no experience in writing or publishing, but I am willing to learn. I'm just wondering if this sounds like a good idea, how would I market it, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

>I have an idea to create a magazine for local teens and young
>adults. It would include articles on colleges, health issues,
>local entertainment, shopping. Also basic starting life
>articles, how to open a checking account, start saving for
>retirement!, how to do laundry. I have two sons and I thought
>I had taught them all the basics of life, but I'm discovering
>there are many things we just never discussed and I'm
>wondering if other young adults are in the same boat. I have
>absolutely no experience in writing or publishing, but I am
>willing to learn. I'm just wondering if this sounds like a
>good idea, how would I market it, etc. Any help would be
>greatly appreciated.
>

I think that almost any idea has the potential of being a good idea.

Just look at the basics of how a magazine runs. They get their income from subscribers and advertisers. How do they get them? They show them why it would be adventageous to either subscribe or advertise.

Now you could get this kind of thing started by either starting a blog or a website and you could add Google's Adsense ads to them. Just in case you don't know Adsense puts ads on your site and you get paid when visitors to your site click on the ads. Now since Adsense is a part of Google then hopefully you are secure with the name.

But it would be like having your own on-line magazine with the added benefit of having advertisers. Now I don't know if you want to charge for subscribers - that would take another tact.

But at least its a good place to start.

I agree with Rose - you should do a website or a blog... in your case probably a website rather than a blog.

Your target market is teenagers and they're all on line. Also, getting a website is A LOT cheaper than publishing a magazine. Plus you can reach a much bigger audience for much less money.

I think it's a great idea, but you might want to partner with two people; one who can write and one who has experience in publishing.

You'll also discover that online Ezines are easier to sell these days than print magazines. But they're still not going to be easy to sell. It will take time to garner interest and signups. Starting with a blog is a good idea though.

If I were you, I'd start your blog on MySpace... it's where you'll find teens.

T

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

I love the blog idea. A lot of teens (I have several teenage employees) are also very active on facebook.com. Some of them have already given up their myspace accounts. (No reason why you can't do both, too)

And have you thought about maybe writing a book? (Mine was published by outskirtspress.com) You could use the blog to gather ideas and hone your writing skills.

I agree that a print magazine isn't going to reach your target audience.

-Adeena
http://cutelittlestore.net

Printed mags are tough these days, especially with your target audience. They want information now and readily available (think blog, instant message, etc.). I'd suggest that you start a blog that allows you publish an ezine (electronic newsletter) from it. I've published many an ezine and highly recommend the information offered by Alexandria Brown (ezinequeen.com).

Also, to learn about blogging and a good example of a newsletter publsihed using blog, check out debbieweil.com. If you sign up for her WordBiz Report ezine you will see a good example of how blogs are used in this capacity. Also, blogs allow you to offer an RSS feed (think automatice update to your audience if they sign up for your feed). Another great blogging info site is andywibbels.com. Andy is an expert blogging (gains awards for his blog for past two years) and wrote a great book (I bough five copies) called Blog Wild! I've also used his Easy Bake Blog info produce to start blogs for myself and others.

Keep exploring new ways of reaching your audience. Talk to them, find out how they want to get their info, and ask how that works. They'll tell you. Good luck!