[xr7g428]

How would you guys like to have an online magazine devoted to our beloved Cougars?

Back in December Rich Truesdell and I started working on this concept, and we have a few ideas for how it might be possible to make it happen.

Here is a link to an early first draft so you can see what It would look like.

http://legendarycougar.bctpublishing.com/viewer/viewer.php?path=demo

 

[towcat]

I think it's a great idea. Pretty good read.

 

[xr7g428]

Now to figure out how to pay for it... We would have to cover Rich and the copy editor, plus some technical stuff. I think I can get it done for about $3K to $5K per issue if I donate everything else (hosting etc.)

 

[68 MERC]

Looks very nice.

Do you have any proposed ideas for covering the costs?

 

[68 MERC]

Also, how many issues per a year were you looking at publishing on-line?

 

[xr7g428]

I think that we would probably shoot for 6 issues to start. I think ti could go up to 12 issues if we can get enough content.

I would like to make it free to every one to read. That means it would take sponsor ship of some sort. Of course there is always advertsing n the magazine, I think that it would be pretty reasonable, maybe in the $300 to $500 per page range. I am open to suggestions and could really use a few creative ideas. Maybe something like a vendor that would give us a small percentage of sales on a featured item... There are lots of smart people on here that probably have pretty good ideas. Suggestions?

 

[68 MERC]

I would not want to receive issues for free, just because of the amount of time and money I know you and others would have into it. I, like possibly others, would want to pay for a yearly subscription. A yearly subscription to a magazine is not going to break anyone.

Also, I think it would be nice if everyone was able to receive it in a "print format" that can be copied and professionaly bound, without binding over photos or words.

 

[xr7g428]

Print on Demand is available for this format, the pages are a little smaller than the 11" by 17" that we use for the original. So if you did want a printed copy it would be available.

I have been thinking about the subscription idea. How does this sound:

Subscribers would get access to the current issue on the date it goes online, plus all back issues. Subscription price of say $12 a year? Is that too high?

Non Subscribers could access the issue that was just replaced by the current issue (the newest back issue). This would allow people to sample the magazine and also allow those that could not afford to subscribe to have some access to the magazine.

Non subscribers could also access any single issue for $4 or so.

 

[cyclonelou]

Subscription? Sign me up. Example looks super fantastic.
[email protected]

 

[xr7g428]

We are not quite there yet Lou, but thank you very much for the show of support! This is very addictive hobby.

 

[68 MERC]

$12.00 is extremely fair.

 

[tbm3fan]

I'd have no problem with $20 for a year since that is what I pay for one year in the Stray Cats car club. If this is your first time selling a "consumer" item try to be very objective about pricing.

 

[xr7g428]

TBM3fan, good point. I pay $20 a year to AZCC, and another $20 to the CCOA, and it seems just fine. My concern was that so much stuff on the internet is free that if the price wasn't super reasonable, we could price our selves out of the already super small market. From a pure business standpoint, this probably doesn't make mush sense, but then again having 6 Cougars in the garage is also pretty crazy LOL! Mostly what I need to do is to make sure that I can cover the cost of the pros that will be needed to make this a quality publication.

 

[xr7g428]

WooHoo! that was post number 5000! If that doesn't say crazy, nothing does!

 

[old wood]

Count me in. Where do I send the check you crazy loco Cougarphile!

 

[xr7g428]

On the "other site" there has been some discussion about how this might work including how it might be possible to develop a joint effort with the CCOA. Here is what I posted over there, and I wanted to post it here to get more input from the members over here.

I am still kicking around different ideas for how to do this and here is what I am thinking at the moment. I would really appreciate any honest feedback.

I think it is important to make it possible for people to see the magazine, or at least a sample magazine for free. ( I am on the drug dealer program... give 'em the first taste for free and get 'em hooked! LOL!) Plus I think it is really good for the hobby for people to see that such a title exists. The Classic Cougar Network had a lot to do with my getting back into Cougars, I think this title can do the same. (Steve E. hats off to you and the gang!)

So here goes:

Subscribers get access to all issues, from the first day published. Starting out with 6 issues $12. I think we can get 6 issues out in year one, but just in case I want it to be clear that you are buying 6 issues, even if it takes us 14 months.

Non subscribers could get access to any single issue for $4. (think of this as the news stand price)

Non subscribers could also see the first back issue for free. (They would always be at least 60 days behind on what was published).

I don't want to jump the gun on CCOA stuff, but here are some ideas to kick around:

First off, I want to work with the CCOA. I think the CCOA does things, (like setting the judging standards, the registry etc.) that no magazine can ever do well. I am concerned that a successful magazine might whittle away at the foundation of the CCOA, something that is not good for the community. So the idea here is to explore how we might be able to work together.

We could do a special version of the magazine, title it At the Sign of the Cat, (produced by Legendary Cougar Magazine for the CCOA in small print) We could include the CCOA specific pages with in certain limits (8 new pages max?) We would host it on our server, but the CCOA would control the distribution (send out the link in the same way they send out the PDF now) We could also password protect it if desired.

There would be some cost associated with lay out and publishing of the new pages, but the rest of the content would be the same, so other than the hosting set up and so on it would not be too expensive. We would offer a bulk rate subscription price to the CCOA, but instead of paying for the entire subscription a year in advance we would need to charge on a per issue basis. (since the CCOA memberships all start and end at different times). As an additional bonus we could also give the CCOA a full page ad in the regular version of the magazine to help them recruit new members.

One thing that I have to keep in mind is that CCOA members won't become direct subscribers, since they would already be getting the magazine as a part of their dues. This is a very significant part of the market so we can't just do this for free.

I would like to get some feedback from CCOA members as well as non members: Your $.02?

 

[Bad69cat]

I doubt your going to find anybody who doesn't like the idea.....the only thing I can say is that like most magazines (mustang monthly etc..) tend to hit a wall after a few years of trying not to re-hash similar articles/stories, so going 6 a year sounds like a pretty good start and keeps the pressure of publishing it a bit lower as well. I'd like to think you could build a better product if you take some pressure off IMO. Keeping it as a soft copy has many benefits as well - maybe something to be tablet/Kindle friendly too? Either way, I'd sign up! Sounds like your heading the right direction to me Bill!

 

[ahunt191]

I'd have no problem with $20 for a year since that is what I pay for one year in the Stray Cats car club. If this is your first time selling a "consumer" item try to be very objective about pricing.

I agree. 6 issues for $20 per year is just fine with me.

I just renewed my Stray Cats membership also. This will be my first full year.

 

[Mike_B_SVT]

I have a suggestion for non-subscribers. Couldn't you just provide a "teaser" / sample of the issue, sort of like the Amazon.com preview where you can see just a few pages?
Maybe just a sample of the cover and table of contents, plus maybe a partial article. Do this for current and back issues for non-subscribers.
Then you can offer the option of purchasing the entire issue for $4 if it is something they are interested in. But they won't have to subscribe to the entire year, as it may not be in thier budget, or they may only want certain content.

I'm just thinking that you shouldn't offer a complete issue for nothing, no matter if it is a back issue or not. I'm cheap...err... "frugal", so I know what I would do, and it would keep my money in my own pocket as much as possible.

However, I just want you to know that I think the idea is AWESOME! You probably know exactly how frustrating it is to scan all the magazines on the rack for anything Cougar related only to be disappointed month after month.

 

[xr7g428]

Mike you may have the best idea. I was thinking about it this way... If your car was in the magazine and you wanted to be able to share the article, it would be cool if the magazine was in the clear for a while. I am still working on how we can share the content with out losing control over it.