How Much Would You Pay For A Home Brewing Mag

[Scotty]

Im thinking of starting a new home brewing magazine and I was wondering how much you would be willing to pay for it. The magazine (To start off) would be about 60-70 pages long with articles covering everything to do with beer and home brewing. Your welcome to leave your comments below and thank you in advance for your time.

Scotty

**Just fixed up title....**

 

[deebee]

A bit hard to answer this without knowing what I am buying. A glossy mag with enduring articles that make the mag worth keeping and referring back to is easily worth $10 at the newsagent and maybe $6-7 on subscription.

It wouldn't matter what was in it to start with -- if there was an Aussie brewing mag I would subscribe for a year straight off and see if it was good enough. If it didn't cut it after a year, I wouldn't renew.

 

[Andrew]

Good luck Scotty. There is so much info available on the net for free...
And brilliant forums like this, of course.

 

[Armstrong]

We definately need a local mag ... but the attempts of recent years have all ended in disaster. What was the last one, "Best Beer" or something ... either way it was a dog and only made 2 issues.

The balance of content tends to be the clincher ... aim solely at the passionate home brewers (like those in here) and you bypass the masses that you would need to get the circulation required to make it viable.

Anyone that walks into a brew shop should want to grab one whether he/she be a newbie or seasoned veteran.

Not an easy task ... I hope you have a team of writers, photographers etc etc ... it's a much bigger job than one man could do properly

 

[redbeard]

hi scotty, my initial reaction was not really interested. i used to buy computer & electronic mags 5-10 yrs ago, but basically the 'net replaced them.

obviously people on this forum are net savvy & into brewing. im not saying they wont, but why would we buy a paper mag every month ? i guess you need to offer something different to this forum. going a step further, are you aiming at this forums members or perhaps the general kit homebrewer ? i have no idea how the general homebrewer is interested in 'improving' or 'socialising' ie people who dont frequent here - they just make a kit beer & are happy to drink. its a means to an end, rather than a hobby / obsession.

even if you got to the point of publishing, would you get sufficient sales from newsagents / subscriptions to keep afloat ? im not trying too be negative, just realistic. two previously quality electronics mags have either folded or become a shadow of themselves, due to dwindling subscriptions & the ease of info available on the net. also to balance it out somewhat, a few niche electronics kit suppliers have thrived with their websites. as an addition to the previous comments, electronics have increasingly become a disposable item, opposed to the tv set you use to be able to be cheaply fixed.

continuing sortof, people use to homebrew because it was cheap. while some people still do, the majority of people i know who do, is because they can produce as good / cheaper beers (kits), or just plainly much better beer than volume manufacturers & take pride in doing so (ag).

am i making sense ?
what audience are you aiming at scotty ?

cheers

 

[Scotty]

Thanks for your replies. Redbeard, I was initally thinking of aiming it at the majority of homebrewers but their ages vary quite significantly. Do you have any suggestions for a target audience? Also any topic ideas for the magazine would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SJW]

What i have noticed from hanging out at out LHBS is that a lot of brewers are very happy just puting down a Coopers Lager with 1kg of Sugar the same as they have been doing for 50 years. I think the market for a mag would be very small. BUT give it a crack, i would give it a go for a year.

STEPHEN

 

[macca]

Its a very big job editing a Magazine, my brother used to produce a sailing mag out of the gold coast. Unfortunately the mag folded due to his friend and fellow editor was murded in tahiti after a trip to a night club.
But it was very successful, I wonder what would have come of it if Phillipe hadn't passed away.

Good luck with your venture and weather the storms so to speak.

Macca

 

[Backlane Brewery]

the mag folded due to his friend and fellow editor was murded in tahiti after a trip to a night club.

Macca

[post="51584"][/post]​

Jeez Scotty don't let that put you off, at least you might get the trip to Tahiti out of it!

Seriously, I'm kinda in two minds about this. I'd be happy to try and support it, but unless it is somehow a paper version of this forum, it may not hit the spot for me. Also, as others have pointed out, there is a wide range of brewers out there, and coming up with something to cover the whole spectrum could be very difficult. Hell, this forum has issues with this aspect sometimes.

 

[Darren]

Scotty,
Perhaps if you put photos of nude female brewers in it you could sell a few. I would still only buy it for the articles though!
cheers
Darren

 

[warrenlw63]

My gripe with most periodicals these days is they're basically vehicles for advertising and of very little substance. Just read a few of the American HB mags and you'll know what I mean.

I've worked at enough publishing places to realise that actual content takes a back seat for the sponsors blurbs. Editorial is merely filler for an unused ad space.

This forum is proof positive that you can gain insights, information sans advertising or waiting a month or so for something new to read. The big advantage is you don't have to part with up to $10 to read it either.

Good luck with it Scotty and I hope it works. The problem is your demographic is only going to be re-reading whatever goes around on AHB and other forums. Magazines are rapidly becoming yesterday's news.

Warren -

 

[deebee]

But you can't surf the net while sitting on the bog.

At least, I can't.

 

[tdh]

Remind me to never ask for any of your magazines.

tdh

 

[warrenlw63]

But you can't surf the net while sitting on the bog.

At least, I can't.

[post="51596"][/post]​

That's why I got a printer. (Paper's a bit tough on your date though) :lol:

Warren -

 

[Backlane Brewery]

You guys need to get wi-fied up, soon.

 

[wee stu]

I'm a dedicated reader of brewing books and periodicals on the daily tram commute to work. I'm also old enough to appreciate the tactile experienceof turning pages. I already subscribe to BYO and Zymurgy, and couldn't resist the free copy of All About Beer that the Drunk Arab brought to our attention recently. So I am firmly within your target demographic. Trouble is given the failure of previous attempts in Australia, I may be a considerable part of your target demographic.

Like deebee I would would probably support it for the first year, but achieving a content mix that would please the dedicated all grainer, as well as the mass market kit brewer could be a tricky task indeed.

Best of luck

 

[Scotty]

Thanks to all for your replys. I know it will be hard to have a sucessful magazine because of so many other failures. Im a dedicated brewer and i want to give something back to the hobby that has given me so much enjoyment. I hope to help both KK brewers as well as All Grain brewers. Thanks to all who have voted and keep them coming in. Im seeing a continuing pattern in the price so i think it will be priced between $5 to about $8. Thank you for all your help and please keep it coming.

Scotty

 

[Bionic]

pfft I have browsed and read the forums while on the shitter... Got to love wifi and a lappy!!..

As im fairly new to brewing I haven't had any brewing books... I would buy it for sure...

$10 per issue would be fine... but if it is packed with articles instead of pages and pages of advertising (like many PC mags) I wouldn't mind paying a little bit extra

 

[Gough]

Yep, I'd buy it. Like some others I'd give a year's subscription a try.

Best of luck,

Shawn.

 

[kitkat]

maybe try the small-run very targeted audience, say 200-1000 subscribers, available only by mail. You can start advertsising on all aussie HB sites, and then work out with your printer how many issues you'd print.
That way you'd get a dedicated subscribers' base, no cost linked with trying to distribute it to retail outlets, hence potentially better quality paper/color, and a better chance to come out of it even on the financial side. I think you can forget making a huge profit, there just doesn't seem to be the readership for that in Australia.

FWIW, I wouldn't subscribe, as I can get all I need on the net, but others might, if the content is good enough.