Aquascaping World Magazine - Sample Images Included

[ian]

i'd glady pay £5+ for a mag of this quality! if its bi monthly i'd say thats a bargain as you know PFK is £4.

i'm sure i'd not be the only one Andy, have you seen all the interest on UKAPS regarding a UKAPS magazine?

 

[SuperColey1]

The problem is Ian that when something like this is posted up i.e

'who would be interested in a printed version of X magazine'

The response is way way better than the actual take up. Very low percentage of actual completion.

I would suggest that 100 people may reply with a buzz and excitement as if it were the ultimate thing yet only 20 or so actually come through to actually buying etc.

Then there is the continuity factor. As a one off you can get away with 100 prints but then as people start to drop away from the initial demand then the decision has to be made whether to continue or not!!!

Just as a guide I would need interest of at least 250 to get these sorted in A4 at £4 delivered to the door!!!!

That would be pretty good quality gloss but like Sunday magazines used to be. To get a magazine done in todays thick glossy covour with thick glossy pages would need interest of 1000 people to get it below a fiver before delivery!!!

However we shall see.

Pre-orders and subscriptions would be necessary to get it off the ground for sure. No-one is going to lay out £3000 to have 1000 magazines sat on their floor!!!

I'll post a few teasers up to gauge interest.

AC

 

[ian]

i disagree with the 'not many people buy magazines anymore', i for one will often buy a mag, my mrs will also, infact my whole family have subscriptions to magazines! Whether it be Peoples Friend or Auto Express.

Look at the amount of Hello mags that get sold each week, 2.1 million (Which, 2009)!! I know ASW doesn't reach that but thats just an example of people 'not' buying magazines anymore. I think it would sell as aquascaping becoming more and more fashionable.

 

[SuperColey1]

I mean in comparison to 20 years ago Ian. Back then people would buy magazines galore and there was no real alternative.

These days the printed mediums are having to compete with the web medium and there is a huge percentage that will not pay for what they can get for free.

You are in the minority believe me.

One example are the 'lads mags' that took off in the late 80s and early 90s. They reached huge sales all of a sudden and within 5 years there were huge amounts of competition. Then when the internet became a mainstream item in the late 90s early 00s (and I mean for the masses not just became available) their sales plummeted. Many went under and a few survived but not even as many now as before the 80s/90s boom.

That is our generation and you and your missus do buck the trend. My mates and I always used to be discussing articles and swapping albums/tpes/CDs etc. These days we swap links (for both.)

There are a huge amount that will not pay when they can get something for fre even if it is not the same quality. They will download mp3 even though it is in most cases dimished quality in comparison to the hard copy!!!

AC

 

[ian]

i think you hit the nail on the head with 'amounts of competition' statement, you'll remember FHM and GQ were the only lads mags available, the market then saturated with all the other ZOO, NUTs, loaded and the like. I don't think it had everything to do with the Interweb, as magazines never were available (not in full anyways, just snip-its). I don't think i'm in the minority, i just think theres an over subscription to the mass marketing, ie, theres not just 'Hello' anymore theres all of the others. 2.1 million people a week cannot be a minority shorley? These mags sell predominantly on pictures, as would ASW. I wonder how many copies of ADA get sold throughout the world. I know its very popular, i also know the target audiences are not gonna be 18-25's, its gonna be 18-100! which gives more scope for selling. I think you'd be suprised Andy.

and totally agree with the MP3 situation, that has been proved.

 

[SuperColey1]

We'll have to agree to disagree but when broadband replaced dial up on mass magazine and newspaper sales started to drop off in numbers to the point we are today where sales are vastly lower in total not just per mag.

Anyway we are looking at 2 options before gauging interest.

The first one which I like is a pocket sized A5 version that people can stick in their back pocket/handbag (purse) or coat pocket and read on the go etc.

And the other is a full on A4 proper jobby.

With each the problem isn't so much the printing. We list the price, cover the paypal or other credit application fees and people buy or don't

The main problem is logistics in that we would print in 1 place and then have to distribute worldwide. That gets pricey!!!

Its actually cheaper to post single issues out worldwode than it is to send a bulk to a country and someone despatch within their internal mail system!!!

Will put up a thread to gauge interest if we think it is a viable option.

AC

 

[ian]

yeah, the only problem as logistics, as when you look at the membership of ASW, it really is from one end to the earth to the other. A5 mags have taken off as well, i wouldn't mind either TBH. Juri mailed me after the post i made on ASW and he said to post europe wide it'll be 3.50 euros (not including cost of mag). Which isn't to bad if it was bi-monthly. I have just seen someone wanting a hard copy from Vietnam! Like i said earlier i wouldn't mind paying £8 for a bi-monthly. Thanks Andy.

 

[SuperColey1]

Lol. Either the German post is expensive or Juri is guesing the weight.

I worked out £2 worldwide per magazine. That is individual deliveries from UK to USA etc.

Add 10p for the envelope.

For UK to Germany would be :
A4 version - £4 per mag + £1.98 + 10p envelope
A5 version - £3 per mag + £1.70 + 10p envelope


For Vietnam it would come in at something like:
A4 version - £4 per mag + £3.20 postage + 10p envelope
A5 version - £3 per mag + £2.65 postage + 10p envelope

However those prices depend on the interest. 250 is about the lowest quantity to get without having to charge £8 per mag. I know you say you would pay that but I can't se that many going for it

The logistics isn't so much the cost. More about the processing, enveloping, addressing, licking envelope glue, and taking to post office etc.

However I'm not overly bothered about that. I could easily just take them along with my ebay sales. It is more the geting 250 people to pay up front that I doubt.

I could always just write a shop addition for the website to automatically go through the charging of different postage per country etc as well as auto processing the cash. That would also enable me to print off the address list too.

However we would then be saying 'thanks for paying but you'll have to wait until 250 people do the same before we get the mags' lol.

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

I've added a poll to gauge interest in a hard copy after the replies I have had back on forums.

Info:

Would be 60 pages glossy colour and cost (approximately) £4/$6 for the magazine. shipping would be between £2/$3 and £3.50/($5) dependent on which country.

US/Europe Main should be £2/$3 shipping. Places like South America/Africa/Asia would be circa £3.50/$5.

Note to Mods : Hope this is OK to do. Just gauging interest not selling anything as there is nothing to sell at the moment

AC

 

[lljdma06]

You know I am a tad more relaxed with regard to questions such as this. You're right there is nothing to sell at this point. When there is, I strongly recommend you take it up with William and/or Tolak.

 

[aaronnorth]

I've added a poll to gauge interest in a hard copy after the replies I have had back on forums.

Info:

Would be 60 pages glossy colour and cost (approximately) £4/$6 for the magazine. shipping would be between £2/$3 and £3.50/($5) dependent on which country.

US/Europe Main should be £2/$3 shipping. Places like South America/Africa/Asia would be circa £3.50/$5.

Note to Mods : Hope this is OK to do. Just gauging interest not selling anything as there is nothing to sell at the moment

AC

I wouldn't subscribe as it's pretty pointless seeing as it is free.

 

[curlyriff]

I would I hate reading magazines on here and its not always to hand when you need it. I can't sit in the same room as my tank and look at the pictures to see how it compares if I want to match something in my scape and it gives me something to read at night or while watching TV etc. I suscribe to a mountain bike mag & practical fishkeeping and would also subscribe to this if it became availible.

Kind Regards,

Adam

 

[SuperColey1]

I have had a couple of samples back from my printers and it does look darned good, however that comes at a price.

As a gauge a leading 120 page fishkeeping magazine I have weighs in at 225grams. The magazine is full colour and pretty good quality. Like you would expect from your local magazine shop.

Got carried away with the quality on this ASW one. Thick glossy cover and thick glossy pages. Similar to the upmarket 'social' magazines that you find in posh dentists/doctors. The type where someone is constantly tidying them up through the day 60 pages so half the size of the 'leading existing magazine' but it weighs 300grams!!!

That is going to mean that an issue would cost circa £4 with the postage coming in at circa £3.50 (shipping will be weighted so wherever you are in the world it will cost the same)

Therefore £7.50 for a magazine inc. shipping. It is pretty competitive compared to other 'small' publications and the quality is much better than 99% of the competition.

Ianho has seen the sample so maybe he would be better to give an 'unbiased' view.

AC

 

[ian]

Its more like a book than a magazine. Its of an excellent quality, and i will be paying full amount when it comes out.

 

[SuperColey1]

I've added some pictures of a sample I had printed. Only samples we haven't started printing yet as we are still gauging the interest level first.

AC