+El Diablo Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 IMO a magazine/newsletter should be designed as a potentially profitable entity, but should not cost subscribers. Advertising can, and should pay the way. It should be constructed on a website outside of this one, but hopefully could be linked to this and other caching-related sites. That is how to get readers. Readers=advertising potential. The editorial policy of the publication should be independant of any other geocaching sites. My thoughts exactly. This is why we need GC. BTW Bryan contacted me yesterday and will try to get back to me soon. El Diablo Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 For now we are talking about an online news letter. Although a paper is not out of the question. However it would have a substantial start up cost. If the online goes well and people want a paid subscription to a paper one, then I'm sure it could be worked out. BTW Woodsters, I got your email along with several others. I was adding them to my buddy list in order to start a private topic when the fourms went down. Of course as it stands now we can't do a private anymore. Just hang in there, I'm waiting to hear from GC on this. El Diablo Bu+t El Diablo, I can always set you up a private forum. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 I would say to offer a paper version of the magazine as well. The PDF's are great, but not for those of use with dial ups. At least offering a print version which may cost us a little plus the postage might be worth it. What will the ties to Geocaching.com be though? Is it going to be the same stuff we already read on the forums? Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 I would expect that Groundspeak would provide a link to a magazine in a manner similiar to liscensing; a small percentage of advertising contract revenue would pay for the link. BTW Bryan contacted me yesterday and will try to get back to me soon (Bryan seems like a reasonable lawyer. You just need to keep him away from Heidi!) Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 What will the ties to Geocaching.com be though? Is it going to be the same stuff we already read on the forums? The ties to Groundspeak and other sites are inevitable. We would gather material from these sites, from forums, cache logs, events, policies, etc. Also, the bulk of our viewers would come from these sites, at first. If Groundspeak won't cooperate, we'll have a tough time of it. I think I saw a comment, though, in another thread, where Jeremy indicated some interest. Quote Link to comment
+geospotter Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Are we talking 'newsletter' or 'magazine'? Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 I envision a magazine. Something with off topic articles as well as hard information. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 My interest would be that it's dedicated to the sport and not just the site here. There are some other sites out there where information could come from. I think it would benefit them as well as gain more subscribers who don't have anything to do with GC.com... They could always do an email newsletter type of thing.... Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 ...dedicated to the sport and not just the site here... Yes, all sites involved in the sport and any outside publications, too, (i.e. television, newspaper stories) should be a source of information. And the magazine should be global. There are lot's of cachers around the world. Quote Link to comment
+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Why do you hope we don't get much bigger. I think we lose lots of freedoms the bigger we get. We get overrun by rule monkeys Look at all these threads about the desire to have more and more rules. I loved virtuals and locationless caches, they're gone. Now we're complaining about micros. I just liked it when it was smaller because we pretty much did what we wanted. Now we have to be correct. I guess I hate correct. I have no idea how many cachers there are. I assume there are just a few thousand active cachers. Maybe there is 100,000 cachers. But in regards to a magazine I have seen many special interest magazines come and go. I would suggest shooting for a column in an outdoor magazine first. If we can't get at least that I think a nice shiney glossy magazine would die fast. There used to be a gorgeous magazine about blackpowder shooting. The publisher mortgaged his home because the sport was taking off. It came out quarterly. It lasted 3 issues. On the other hand there are a couple of paintball magazines. But these are put out by huge publishers who had advertisers all set up long before they went to press. What about a newsletter at first? That is expensive to start itself. See if you can get subscribers to a quarterly newsletter. Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 At first, the magazine/newsletter should be only cyber. That would not be cost prohibitive. Any printed material would be very costly (paper, printing, postage) and would require mailing lists or subscriptions. We need to keep it simple and cheap. Quote Link to comment
+Eric K Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 I just got in on this topic. If whomever is in charge of this project wants to contact me I have a webhosting company with the ability to send out newsletters via a mailing list. I have one customer that sends out his newsletter out to about 1300 members twice a week. Just click on my profile to contact me. Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 My interest would be that it's dedicated to the sport and not just the site here. There are some other sites out there where information could come from. I think it would benefit them as well as gain more subscribers who don't have anything to do with GC.com... They could always do an email newsletter type of thing.... It would be dedicated to the sport/game/hobby of Geocaching and not for Geocaching.com. Although we need their co-operation to get it off the ground. You said you could set us up a privare chat on your site. Make it so and invite all that have posted here plus I have a few others to add to the list. While we're waiting on a response from Bryan we can starting sorting this out. EL Diablo Quote Link to comment
+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 It would be dedicated to the sport/game/hobby of Geocaching and not for Geocaching.com. Although we need their co-operation to get it off the ground. You said you could set us up a privare chat on your site. Make it so and invite all that have posted here plus I have a few others to add to the list. While we're waiting on a response from Bryan we can starting sorting this out. EL Diablo That might be the rub. Are you going to get cooperation from competing cache sites? Probably not. website first, then move into a newsletter, then you'll know if it flies or not. Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 (edited) It would be dedicated to the sport/game/hobby of Geocaching and not for Geocaching.com. Although we need their co-operation to get it off the ground. You said you could set us up a privare chat on your site. Make it so and invite all that have posted here plus I have a few others to add to the list. While we're waiting on a response from Bryan we can starting sorting this out. EL Diablo That might be the rub. Are you going to get cooperation from competing cache sites? Probably not. website first, then move into a newsletter, then you'll know if it flies or not. If they had a subscriber base of 100k plus...yes. Without GC how do you think you could get enough subcriptions to make it work. The idea is to do this for a profit. The only way you will get profit is to get advertisers. The only way you will get them is to have a large circulation. To get a large circulation you need a base. GC has to be that base. Business 101. This is a news letter is intended to inform and entertain readers. It will not be used to bash any other site, including this one. El Diablo Edited December 4, 2003 by El Diablo Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 ...intended to inform and entertain readers... Exactly Quote Link to comment
+tpatjones841 Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 There was to be a GeoCaching Magazine...I subscribed to it - they took my ~$20 and I got one issue - a couple of months after they said it would come...Since then - I have received an email or two about this thing or that delay...I'd call it a lost cause and NO JOY! If anyone hears anything about it - maybe make a post for the rest of us poor dupes... Thanks - tpatjones841... Quote Link to comment
+TheAlabamaRambler Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 The Online Geocacher. Just sayin, since this thread's been resurrected! Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I work for a publishing company and we ALL Geocache! We're EXTREMELY interested in a publication, but I need to prove that there is interest......PLEASE e-mail AZGeo_cacher@yahoo.com. Specify if you would prefer print or E-Zine (turn-page) format. The higher the response, the quicker we can get going. Show your support for this awesome cause! We can't do it without you! Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I work for a publishing company and we ALL Geocache! We're EXTREMELY interested in a publication, but I need to prove that there is interest......PLEASE e-mail AZGeo_cacher@yahoo.com. Specify if you would prefer print or E-Zine (turn-page) format. The higher the response, the quicker we can get going. Show your support for this awesome cause! We can't do it without you! Quote Link to comment
+catsnfish Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 The Online Geocacher, Keep your money in your pocket all we want are your stories! Quote Link to comment
+TheAlabamaRambler Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 (edited) I work for a publishing company and we ALL Geocache! We're EXTREMELY interested in a publication, but I need to prove that there is interest......PLEASE e-mail AZGeo_cacher@yahoo.com. Specify if you would prefer print or E-Zine (turn-page) format. The higher the response, the quicker we can get going. Show your support for this awesome cause! We can't do it without you! Just for clarity, we publish The Online Geocacher as a free online magazine in which any geocacher can publish any geocaching-related content, but we do not compete with any other magazine... in fact we contribute to and support others! We believe that choices are good and the more the better. Our publication guidelines state that any content submitted to The Online Geocacher can be freely reproduced or reprinted by any geocacher in any non-profit publication. Our mission is to get geocacher's stories out there; how or who does it is not important. So... go for it! If and when you do get your magazine off the ground please write an article about it and send us a link to it, we will be happy to publish it. I will tell you that in my opinion a print magazine will likely fail based on the historical efforts at print magazines. I certainly would not invest in the founding of one. Edited June 16, 2009 by TheAlabamaRambler Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Thanks for your replies! I did visit the Online Geocacher Website. It is very organized and informative. Definitely an amazing resource for any Geocacher! I started on this idea based on the lack of a monthly publication. Of course reader submission would be an absolute must! This could be another quality resource in a different format. If you would like to give me any input I welcome it: azgeo_cacher@yahoo.com Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment
+catsnfish Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I was a bit flippant with my earlier remark and apologize. Thanks to Ed for explaining the guidelines and (gently) taking my foot out of my mouth One problem with a monthly issue is having enough content to publish regularly especially when relying upon reader submissions. Caching Now is also an excellent magazine that is published almost regularly but generally has 4 or less new articles at each publish date, nothing wrong with that and I eagerly await their email notifying me of new content, but it would be great to have more Good luck with your magazine and we will be happy to post links to it! Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have geocaching staff writers at my disposal. Working in conjunction with geocacher submissions I believe we could put out a professional, organized, and interesting magazine. The one hurdle I NEED to overcome is showing that the publication would have subscribers Quote Link to comment
+wkmccall Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 This was done already and stopped because of lack of interest (and other things). There are tons of geocaching sites, online forums and newsletters emailers out there, but hardly anything ever evolves from them though for the same reason. Quote Link to comment
+9Key Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Caching for 7 days and ready to start a magazine! You're probably very excited about this new game you've discovered, but let it simmer a little while before you go too far. Crawl, walk, then run. Quote Link to comment
+TheAlabamaRambler Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) I have geocaching staff writers at my disposal. Working in conjunction with geocacher submissions I believe we could put out a professional, organized, and interesting magazine. The one hurdle I NEED to overcome is showing that the publication would have subscribers Welcome to the real world! Your "hurdle", proving to your backers in advance that your business plan is viable, that there is in fact a large enough base of subscribers awaiting your magazine to at least cover your costs within a reasonable time frame, is exactly the hurdle wall that keeps most people from building a business out of their "great idea". I applaud your desire and will support you where I can, but reiterate that a for-profit subscription (especially in print) geocaching magazine is going to have to be one heck of a stellar must-have publication to draw enough subscribers to even come close to costs. Catsnfish and I publish The Online Geocacher free as a gift to all geocachers, but we're not stupid - if there were a way to turn a profit or even cover our costs we'd be all over it! I'm not trying to discourage you, just telling you to be realistic with your market research and due diligence before investing anything of consequence. On the other hand if you could pay authors instead of begging for free content like we do then you might have a totally different success rate! You might want to start your market research here in the forums. These forums represent but a small fraction of geocachers internationally, but taken as a whole (at a very high level, not individual threads) their opinions fairly well represent all geocachers. First Google "Today's Cacher" and see how that magazine worked... and ultimately failed (the cost of going from online to print wiped it out). Then ask Groundspeak for permission to start a thread posing your question, something like "If we were to offer a print magazine published quarterly that had stories about geocaching and geocachers, which was partially supported by advertisements, and the subscription rate was $xx.xx per quarter or $xx.xx per year, would you subscribe?" I think that you will be astounded at the lack of "yes" responses to what seems to be a killer good idea! But hey, prove me wrong... lot's of folks do! Edited June 17, 2009 by TheAlabamaRambler Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I appreciate everyone's input Although I haven't been doing this long, I was doing it prior to creating a profile. Additionally I am not the only one at this company who Geocaches. Keep in mind that the people doing the ground work are not necessarily the people in charge. This message board posting is a step in the process but by no means the only avenue of research on the topic. E-Zines are quite popular these days and the technology has come a long way. Upon further research a decision will be made as to this publication, but the decision has not been made. I have spoken with others who have expressed an interest and we'll see where it goes. I personally would love to see this come to fruition as I would certainly wish to be regailed by the tales of fellow Geocachers on a regular basis. I have thoroughly enjoyed the publications found currently online and only wish to put more out there for all of us (novice or veteran ) Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I appreciate everyone's input Although I haven't been doing this long, I was doing it prior to creating a profile. Additionally I am not the only one at this company who Geocaches. Keep in mind that the people doing the ground work are not necessarily the people in charge. This message board posting is a step in the process but by no means the only avenue of research on the topic. E-Zines are quite popular these days and the technology has come a long way. Upon further research a decision will be made as to this publication, but the decision has not been made. I have spoken with others who have expressed an interest and we'll see where it goes. I personally would love to see this come to fruition as I would certainly wish to be regailed by the tales of fellow Geocachers on a regular basis. I have thoroughly enjoyed the publications found currently online and only wish to put more out there for all of us (novice or veteran ) Hopeful skeptic here..... Here is an exchange with the previous and most recent aspirant to print a geomag: WOW! I'm a geoprophet. Barely in time for the Holidays, check out the long awaited Geocacher Magazine! The perfect gift for any caching enthusiast! Whether its for you or an addicted fellow cacher. Gift subscriptions available at 25% off! View the online sample at: http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=prrpt then go to http://www.geocachermagazine.com to subscribe! Don't miss a single issue! Happy Holidays from the Geomag staff! P.S. Bare with us, the "Take A Peek" link to the digital sample will be active from our web page in the next few days; when our programmer gets back from Christmas caching with his kids. Umm, I saw lots of ads, big pictures and very little content of interest to me. At $18 for 6 issues of what I saw in the sample..... your balloon is leaking. I'd be happy to invest a few bucks in a couple copies of the first issue, but beyond that it's wait and see. Who is doing the writing? What are their geo-handles? How long have they been geocaching? I'd love to throw my support behind a viable venture, but I ain't seein' viability here. Can you provide more info for us hopeful skeptics? My kids and I are TheFortuneFinders on gc.com. Cache On! That makes more sense. The "Geo Mag" ID only has two finds (both social events) and I couldn't imagine someone with no actual caches logged trying to produce a caching mag. Your actual ID lets me get a better idea of who is making the publication. Anyway...thanks, again, for the clarification. So, is it just you that is writing the mag? I can't help but notice that the two largest articles in your sample are of a personal nature: An under water cache that you are the last reported finder of and a story about a travel bug that belongs to you.... Where's the diversity? Are there ANY other writers? Who are they? Can you shed some light on the diversity of content in your future issues? Will you be selling single issues? I will certainly buy a couple copies of the first issue. I seriously WANT to see a printed geocaching magazine succeed and as I've stated earlier in this thread, my spider sense of impending doom was not tingling.... ummm, until now.... Just callin' it like I see it. I wish you the best of luck. The sample looks pretty good. On the positive side, I see ads which bode well for the future of the mag. Probably the biggest problem with Today's Cacher was generating revenue. As far as the naysayers here, who cares who writes it? Who cares who is on the staff? If it's an interesting magazine that stuff is irrelevant to me. Instead of putting it down based on a 6 page sample of a 60+ page issue, why not give it a chance? I really don't understand the antipathy. I believe the sample was between 15-18 pages or just under a third of the mag. Sorry, I wasn't impressed. The bar has already been set. Could I have done so well. Heck NO, but then I have no desire to publish a magazine and get folks to want to subscribe to it. Someone else has already done better IMO and sadly, their effort failed... What I desire as a consumer of this or any other attempt at a geocaching magazine is diversity and stories that consistantly hold my interest. I looked over the sample in magnifed mode twice a in unmagnified mode 3 or 4 times. Sorry, I saw none of that in the sample pages. As for antipathy, I believe the totality of my posting to this topic's many pages will show no such animal. I started to scold Jerry and stopped. He and TAR are just speaking from experience which may be of some help. My experience also counts. I lost $30+ in subscription fees and received exactly ONE issue of TC in the mail.... I'm not bitter about that. Jerry & Company put forth a valient effort and turned out first class if narrow perspectived (IMO) magazine which I was happy to support. I'm as yet to be convinced on this one though. Hopefully, I have been constrctive enough. Nope. No antipathy here. Just hopeful optimism turned south at the first example and now I'm a hopeful skeptic. Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 In order for this project to succeed I need to know what went wrong in the past and what everyone is looking for in the future. The more input I receive the more bumps in the road may be avoided. We could all benefit from an attention-grabbing worthwhile read. If anyone would like to give direct input please e-mail me @ azgeo_cacher@yahoo.com This is all extremely helpful, just remember: I'm working with you to bring you exactly what you're looking for so that we can all be happy with the results Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) In order for this project to succeed I need to know what went wrong in the past and what everyone is looking for in the future. The more input I receive the more bumps in the road may be avoided. We could all benefit from an attention-grabbing worthwhile read. If anyone would like to give direct input please e-mail me @ azgeo_cacher@yahoo.com This is all extremely helpful, just remember: I'm working with you to bring you exactly what you're looking for so that we can all be happy with the results Your best resources out of this peanut gallery would be the folks that actually worked on the various publications. Geocacher Magazine (forgot their other username) - The most recent failure and in very poor form IMO. All talk and very little action. Good luck getting an answer BTW.... Ed - The AlabamaRambler - successfull e-zine creator and passer onner Jerry - ElDiablo - the former Today's Cacher owner/editer/publisher (a valient effort that sadly didn't work) Happy little Today's Cacher Elves: Pyewacket, GeoWorms, & briansnat And that's just off the top of my head.... These are the folks that can help you best. They have been in the trenches so to speak and you may learn from their mistakes and successes ummm if they feel talkative. Edited June 19, 2009 by Snoogans Quote Link to comment
CacheNCarryMA Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Print magazines are going the way of Beta videotapes and 8-track audio. Starting a print magazine now is especially bad timing -- household budget "extras", like magazine subscriptions, health club memberships, and Blockbuster/NetFlix are the first things to get cut when times are tough. Quote Link to comment
+TheAlabamaRambler Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Ed - The AlabamaRambler - successfull e-zine creator and passer onner Thanks, we hope to live up to "successful" and are working hard to accomplish that. I did pass ownership to Catsnfish but stayed involved as Editor-in-Chief... together we hope to see The Online Geocacher continue to provide free value and entertainment to geocachers. (Nikkolas_VonTikkolas @ Jun 19 2009, 09:44 AM) *... I personally would love to see this come to fruition as I would certainly wish to be regailed by the tales of fellow Geocachers on a regular basis. I have thoroughly enjoyed the publications found currently online and only wish to put more out there for all of us (novice or veteran ) Great! Any time you want to "put more out there" we stand ready to publish it! Send it to TheAlabamaRambler@gmail.com Quote Link to comment
+speakers-corner Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Thanks for the mag. "Online Geocacher ", just signed on and added the link to my favorites now Im going back to read the articles. I wish all of the authers all the best and thanks again. Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Just so we're clear, I LOVE what's already available. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Most industries offer multiple publications (electronic or print) Options only make things better. Competition is not the goal, only variety. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Think what things would be like if we had only one newspaper, one news network, one magazine. One doesn't have to be better than the other, just different. Isn't variety what America's all about? Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Just so we're clear, I LOVE what's already available. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Most industries offer multiple publications (electronic or print) Options only make things better. Competition is not the goal, only variety. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Think what things would be like if we had only one newspaper, one news network, one magazine. One doesn't have to be better than the other, just different. Isn't variety what America's all about? Quote Link to comment
+TheAlabamaRambler Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Just so we're clear, I LOVE what's already available. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Most industries offer multiple publications (electronic or print) Options only make things better. Competition is not the goal, only variety. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Think what things would be like if we had only one newspaper, one news network, one magazine. One doesn't have to be better than the other, just different. Isn't variety what America's all about? You have no competition, it's your oyster, crack it open! I will refer you to what I said above in post #73 before returning this thread to it's original topic... the apparent failure of Geocaching Magazine. If you want to talk about The Online Geocacher there is a thread for that. If you want to talk about your new magazine please ask Groundspeak if you can start a thread. Just for clarity, we publish The Online Geocacher as a free online magazine in which any geocacher can publish any geocaching-related content, but we do not compete with any other magazine... in fact we contribute to and support others! We believe that choices are good and the more the better. Our publication guidelines state that any content submitted to The Online Geocacher can be freely reproduced or reprinted by any geocacher in any non-profit publication. Our mission is to get geocacher's stories out there; how or who does it is not important. So... go for it! biggrin.gif If and when you do get your magazine off the ground please write an article about it and send us a link to it, we will be happy to publish it. Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I apologize for taking you off topic.....My google search for "geocaching magazines" lead me here. I saw the topic began with the question of whether one existed or not, and thought it an appropriate forum for my query. I have posted my e-mail on here and would welcome any further input or criticizm. Happy caching to all! Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I apologize for taking you off topic.....My google search for "geocaching magazines" lead me here. I saw the topic began with the question of whether one existed or not, and thought it an appropriate forum for my query. I have posted my e-mail on here and would welcome any further input or criticizm. Happy caching to all! You're already making a mistake. You're expecting the mountain to come to you when it's YOU that must ascend the mountain. How many emails have you gotten so far?.... Ed and I have pointed you to specific individuals and to Groundspeak. If you believe you can make this work, come back and show some progress and folks like those of us already participating here will lend our support or try to constructively criticize your effort. Start by asking Groundspeak for permission to post a thread about your commercial venture and then bring these unseen others you work with to participate openly so we can see you actually have a team and are serious. If you read the BS postings of geocacher magazine, you will see that he spoke of unseen others and never delivered his product that many folks here paid upfront for. Don't make that mistake too. Fool us twice and so on..... Contact the folks on the list I gave you. With the exception of Pye & GM, they are all already linked to this very old thread. I wish you the best of luck. I really want to see a printed mag succeed, but the two previous efforts have yielded exactly 3 printed mags combined total and only Today's Cacher (2 issues) was worth reading..... I am ever the hopeful skeptic. Again, Good Luck. Quote Link to comment
+popokiiti Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Apologies if I am repeating something here, but have you checked out The Online Geocacher? I believe it is www.onlinegeocacher.com It is a good read, and catsnfish are in control.............. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Print magazines are going the way of Beta videotapes and 8-track audio. Starting a print magazine now is especially bad timing -- household budget "extras", like magazine subscriptions, health club memberships, and Blockbuster/NetFlix are the first things to get cut when times are tough. Actually, I was thinking the cell phone family plan with unlimited texting would be the first thing to go. My paper magazine subscriptions are already paid for. Oh, I dunno. As far as the "what went wrong" question, I feel this is still way too fringe of an activity to support a paid paper magazine or E-zine. Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I support anyone that is interested in putting a caching magazine out to the public. There is a lot of you can learn from past and present publications as to what works, and more importantly, what doesn't. If you want a magazine that turns a profit you will need advertisers, subscriptions aren't going to carry the operations. Not to mention after Today's Cacher's failure and the other one that I can't recall the name to, you are going to have a hard time selling subscriptions. The only way you are going to get advertisers is to have a huge circulation. The only way you are going to do that is with the support of Groundspeak. The only way you are going to get Groundspeak is to pay for their ads. Which means you need some deep pockets. They aren't in this for free. Don't even consider a printed issue. there are people out there that want one, but not enough to carry the cost. Even major magazines are going to ezines rather than paper due to cost of circulation and the trend of the world, which is on-line. Of course none of this matters if you can't attract readers. The way to attract them, is simply to center your magazine around them and make it personal. Our goal with Today's Cacher was to publish stories about cachers, written by cachers. Every staff member was an avid cacher and knew the game/sport inside out. Even though the staff wrote a lot of articles we spent the majority of our time pursuing regular cachers to tell us their stories. We then used staff editors to refine the articles when needed. It was a magazine for cachers, by cachers. Here is what you need in my opinion to put a magazine together as far as staff goes. Publisher. This person needs to be able to manage others and handle the business side. Editor in Chief. this person needs to manage others and be well organized. They have the hardest job of all. They make sure everything is submitted on time and is of the content desired. They direct and help shape the magazine. Web Master. Note the word "Master" I had one of the best in Geo Worms. This person has to make the magazine functional and most importantly easy to read and appealing in presentation. Due to the nature of the business he/she works under constant pressure to put everything together in the last minute. Staff writers. they write articles on a timely basis and need to have a finger on the pulse of the game/sport. They are crucial to the operation. You need as many as you can find. This will give you many varied opinions and insights that can really make a magazine cook. Editors. These people are good and taking submitted articles and tweaking them to make sense and appeal to the reader. A good one is worth their weight in gold. Proof Reader. i actually think there is another name for this, but it escapes me right now. This person is responsible for making sure everythin is spelled correctly and the proper gramme is used. this saves some embarassing moments. Once again i had the best in April. She minded our P&Q's. This is just a basic guide to a good magazine, and I think I had one in Today's Cacher. Even though the magazine hasn't been updated in years it still gets an amazing amount of readers and feed back. El Diablo Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Good to see you in the forums El D. Quote Link to comment
Nikkolas_VonTikkolas Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Thank you so much for the advice! I am currently reading some of the past publications and find them quite enjoyable Quote Link to comment
+BareFeat Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Wow! How did i miss this topic? To those that say a printed magazine will not flourish i would have to agree. I was a graphic artist in another life, and am now in a completely different line of work because of such down trends. However i would have to say if done correctly, (cost!!!) and if your not shooting for the stars straight out of the shoot, this idea intrigues me greatly. I have very many contacts in the printing field. And could provide good costs on stock/layout/bindery type aspects of such a product. Mailing could be done by a few of us. I propose this idea: Start the website, find your people. Your contributors, your content. Then instead of going for a full color magazine, start off with a simple newsletter. Then if you do a good job, you can start inquiring of your subscribership what would they pay, to have a bit of a nicer "publication". Also many magazines are now published on CD. I think a website with "tools" for the community, and people covering different geographical "areas" is a fine idea that would be welcomed by many. Dont forget Europe! They are mostly english speaking also. Hell just to have a site where you felt your input was heard would be nice. Quote Link to comment
+solo63137 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I'm interested... I would buy the 1st few copies to see what it was about, if it was interesting and had useful info, I'd subscribe... Somethings that might have already been done in various places, but would be good starts into to Geocaching Getting started Real world reviews on 6 or 8 handheld GPSrs (maybe a few car type like the Nuvi or something) Reviews on some tools, backpacks, water carry systems like Cammelbacks, other canteens and water bottles Digital cams Software A few contests (maybe a give away of some sort) Feature a few caches each month, leave a trackable in said featured cache Put a few trackable out in randon caches review some of the really hard 4/5 caches that alot of us have never attempted stories and comment sections from the readers Tips, advice, new info from some venders like Garmin or anyone else who makes something related... You could drive a few adds from venders who sell Cache containers, tackables and other gear related I know alot of this stuff is already online, but there are a lot of old fashioned folks who like to read about their hobby or interest in an actual book or magazine and not online... I love to lay in bed and read a mag or book for a half hour or so, before I crash and when I go to my cabin where we have no tv or internet, I alway bring atleast one book and one mag... Nice to lay out in the hammock in the breeze and read something interesting... Quote Link to comment
+BareFeat Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Not to mention the exposure for the sport, if an actual caching mag was at the dentists office instead of issues of LIFE from 1983. whoever decides to attempt something of this sort, please contact me, even if just for New England related content. This is exciting stuff. Quote Link to comment
+Maingray Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 "Once bitten, twice shy, three times a fool." Start with a free newsletter, build up a critical mass and show that you have CONTENT. Quote Link to comment
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