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14


Spring 2015


CONTENT MARKETING 3 JASON SMITH


Art Director The New Brewer


The bimonthly journal of the Brewers Association


Included with a paid Brewers Association membership, The New Brewer was established to help commercial start-up breweries find their way during the early days of the craft-beer revolution. Today our content includes features on brewing technology and problem solving, quality standards, pub and restaurant management, raw-material world reports, industry reviews, and news. Our member breweries range in size from fewer than 500 barrels per year to more than 800,000. Our goal is to inform and educate them, enabling the U.S. craft-beer industry to thrive and grow professionally and responsibly as a collective group with a similar vision.


ONLINE ACCESS. We make The New Brewer digital edition available online to members in a semi-interactive format that is searchable, with active links throughout the editorial and advertising sections. Members can also access 15 years of archived issues. The digital content is the same as the print edition, with the exception of a digital-edition sponsorship opportunity. We track page views for our News posts and have access to open rates on the digital edition. Members receive an email announcing the new issue, and it includes an advertising sponsor that helps generate revenue for the publication. These touch points pique interest in the new issue and notify our members that it will be in their mailbox soon.


Photo © Brewers Association


MAGAZINE STRUCTURE BASICS FLATPLAN


Similar to a storyboard, a flatplan is a diagram of thumbnail pages in which each story is represented by the number of pages it occupies. Ad pages are included and identified differently from the editorial pages for quick reference. Flatplans are used to arrange pages in a particular way so that the magazine has proper flow, breaks, balance, and pace. Due to almost daily changes, it is imperative that all staff have a printed copy of the current flatplan.


ADVANCED PLANNING. Planning is a crucial element to our success. Each August, we build the publication calendar for the following year. We rely on reoccurring meetings during the publication timeline and multiple layout reviews prior to proofs. We also have “postmortem” discussions on what worked and what needs improving. Due to a desire for an organized process for all staff involved, we implemented the project-management software Basecamp in 2014. Basecamp keeps all communications between the Editor-in-Chief and Art Director in one place, organized, and accessible. It also allows everything to be tracked, viewed in real time, and archived.


GENERATE REVENUE. Niche magazines allow trade organizations like ours to generate revenue, provide topical information to their members or audience, and create a benefit to the reader who is interested in the topic. Most industries have some sort of trade organization that represents them or the products they use or produce, and those organizations need an outlet for their voice, education, and knowledge, as well as a way to connect their community. A magazine is the perfect way to accomplish that, but before jumping into a print publication, research the wants and needs of your members or community. Make sure your audience will support your publication through subscriptions or membership dues and that your advertiser base is strong enough to add additional revenue to your efforts. Then ensure you have proper staff to handle your publication. Finally, create a strong look and feel for your publication and hold true to your organized layout templates and editorial voice.


KEY TAKEAWAYS:


• Before launching a publication, understand the organization’s goals and research whether the community can and will support its own publication.


• Consider using a project-management software system, which could free up your team to build the bridge between print and digital.


• Many publications today get their start online, develop a following, and expand into print later.


COVERS Outside Front Cover (C1 or OFC); Inside Front Cover (C2 or IFC), typically the second-most expensive ad page; Inside Back Cover (C3 or IBC), third-most expensive ad page; and Outside Back Cover (C4 or OBC), which holds the title of the most expensive ad page.


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