How to run an online magazine

Have you ever dreamed of a sharing valuable content around topics you love? All the laughter and treasured moments frozen in words and pictures? You can make it happen, through running an online magazine around your unique and fond topics. Digital magazines can deliver the same value as a print magazine can do, plus added convenience and interactiveness.

In this digital era, almost everyone who owns an electronic device is looking for tidbits of everything, fun and valuable. It can be like a digital circus or parade, compressed into pictures and powerful words to evoke the desired emotion, regardless of the time of day. You can learn more on how to get started, by following the veterans of the digital content such as  Michael Bloomberg, Bertie Forbes, and Fortune Magazine.

As an individual just starting, you need to arm yourself with the right information, including key insights and the necessary skills. After all, writing should be considered a form of conversation with a distant person. Context is key, and the better you are at understanding your audience, the more relevant you can become, as you share your story. Only going for what makes their blood tick. Be prepared to fail, and learn from your mistakes. Like any start-up, the risk of failure is high at first, but through iteration of the business model and plan, the road eventually gets flat.

Your goal and purpose for the magazine

Just like any other content creator and media platform, you need to set your vision, mission and actionable goals for your magazine. Know your niche from the beginning, whether it's going to be Sports, Fashion, Pop-culture, or Business and Finance? Examples of the magazines include flash magazines, pdf magazines, flip book, native apps, HTML5, etc. It is also important to know the different types of online magazines that suits your budget, know the demands of running each type of it and most importantly know the best suited for you.

Before you start writing content or hiring writers, decide what subjects your magazine will talk about , (including the taboo topics) and editorial policy. Make sure the policy is firmly observed to create a professional environment when working with writers whether inhouse of freelancers. In the end, every published work must earn its place by merit and considered relevant by the target audience and potential subscribers.

One of the means to improve your publication is to offer high-quality content that builds on itself over time. At the outset of any big project, it's important to start with the goal in mind. Establishing an online magazine is no different. Magazines can have many different purposes, and recognizing yours will affect the platform you choose, the layout and design options you decide upon, your editorial formula, and more.

The advantages of having an online magazine compared to print magazine

Before we go into the risks and software and all information there is to know about running an online magazine, let us look at the advantages first. Let's put aside the type of online magazines

available just as an online magazine is different from a print magazine which means that you are already saved from the printing expenses. Almost everyone who owns an electric device can access it with obvious the right marketing. An online magazine allows you to reach both computer and mobile users with an equally immersive reading experience, and you won't be accountable to anyone else's terms and conditions. Another thing is that an online magazine can come with a software design that allows them to turn into pdf files so that anyone can read them freely. When starting an online magazine, it is crucially important to know that you can publish your content from anywhere, as long as you know the digital publishing solution that matches your resources and objectives and have a bit of business understanding.

Tools needed to run an online magazine

Before you invest in your online magazine, take note of assessing your magazine needs. An adequate research is essential to help you understand the scope of the project and/or operations. The starting point is in asking trusted informants for recommendations on areas like niche, trends etc., conducting project trials, whether in the form of A/B Tests with different niches or in your intended niche can help you in a big way. Lastly, you need to read reviews of the magazines in your target niche and if you have published feature stories, feedback from the readers' suggestions can help to stir your efforts in the right direction.

· Computers

 Just like any online platform, there is a need for high-performing computers and smart devices. This will help you with seamless integration of the platforms and easy access by your times whether remote or onsite. Think of it in terms of editing, the bigger the software, the more resources will be demanded from your computers, and if the machines are outdated or poorly perform, they can freeze or even crush. Think of the situation in terms of costs operational costs!

A good tablet computer ,a laptop, a smartphone , good DSLR camera and NAS( network attached storage ) are must have electronic  equipment in your online adventures but however you possibly start with a smartphone and PC  only

List of were to Find Electronic Devices

• Walmart
• Bestbuy
• Lenovo
• Dell
• woot
• Aliexpress
• Newegg
• Adorama

· Software

An online magazine requires investment in good and reliable software. This gives you the power to control the quality of the work you are publishing, from aesthetics to readability and project tracking and other uses like pic editing.
You can found Good Multimedia Software And Apps on:

• Autodesk

There are software for checking plagiarism, lest you end up facing a heavy lawsuit because of plagiarism among other technical issues of the field. You can do lots of work with a small team of without compromising on time to market or quality of the product. The benefits are innumerable.

· Email and digital marketing tools

Since an online magazine leverages on the internet, unfortunately, your content can easily get lost in a single click. Hence the need for creating a strong digital presence across channels. The goal is to keep the audience engaged, subscribed and looking forward to the next publication. You can manage the audience by using email listings and social media for marketing your work. The audience should be kept in the state of expectation for your next release. Let your news and updates be everywhere your audience spends its time on. Build and manage your audiences and wherepossible, tailor your offering to them.

Tools like Mail Chimp and

Risk Management

Just like any other business, an online magazine requires risk taking. You need to equip yourself with the right knowledge and tools to help you manage your business well. Just like any other business there are things you need to avoid when running an online magazine such as :

· Insufficient capitalization and an insignificant plan

When venturing into an online magazine, one requires to be strategic in thinking. You will require a concrete plan and solid capital of what you are embarking into. Capital is an essential tool when you start a business, and the crucial thing to do is to have it in it's adequate. Your plan needs to be solid and you need to invest in a lot of things. Avoid going into business with less capital than intended for it  will only lead to failure of your business. Your investments corresponds to your success or failure therefore solid planning is crucial. Make plans for the future and have an insight of what you will accomplish before you start.

· Impoverished market research and undermining competition

Do not make the mistake of basing your research on secondary data. The internet and google can be misleading when it comes to decision making and market survey. Oftentimes, there is a greater disparity between the "Internet data" and the reality. Always keep in mind that your business idea is not new. Probably lots of people have tried and failed along the way, so your job is to unearth the issues and build your strategy based on your SWOT analysis. Competitor research needs to be balanced you're your organizational vision. Not every move made by your competition is meant to be imitated, at times you need to stay true to your core values in order to win. At start, invest in independent researchers and have an analytical team to help you draw insights from the data, otherwise it will amount to nothing but wasted resources.

· Not Investing in Marketing

Know the right strategy to market and sale your product. Not every magazine needs advertising in the traditional media, and for B2C. Some niches are strongly based on industry practices and trades which will eliminate certain channels. Advertising has been over-emphasized to the point that it is increasing the cash burn rate for start-ups.  Have a solid strategy then act. Take advantage of the media and websites (personal or affiliates) and ensure that your magazine is accumulating to more subscribers. Build strong networks to help you reach target markets. In the end, it is the right strategy that win, and those business that are operating with agility.

How to hire and manage Writers

After determining the frequency of your publishing of content, understand how you will hire writers. Some work with freelancers while others have an inhouse team. Each decision has its own merits and demerits.

There is a need for having a criterion on how you will hire writers, what the key indicators to consider in your team? If it's a weekly publication, who will be providing for your magazine? The skillset required in the writers is a crucial factor.

You might choose to write your own articles, but it is advisable to hire a team of seasoned writers who are considered subject experts to bring a spark to your content. Freelancers deliver better in this regard, however, hiring an inhouse team can help you to maintain a consistent voice and quality across the articles. The only cause for concern is lack of "Wow" factor when your team stick to the old norm with little effort in creative drive.

According to Forbes Magazine, Adrian Fisher the writer of the post  advised entrepreneurs looking to launch an online magazine recommended avoiding freelancers for a magazine since it can be challenging to guarantee the quality of the content or their experience in the subject. Therefore, as an entrepreneur, you will need to choose what works best for you. In the end, you are searching for the magical touch, which keeps the audience glued to your content.

While you can occasionally ask for guest contributions for your articles and content, remember that contributed content is worth as much as you are willing to pay for it. This can help you measure the value in each content submitted. There are some established writers who have built legions of followers over the years, such that if they contribute to your articles, you can tap into their audiences gaining wider readership. However, there is a cost attached to it. In the end, you should do your homework, possibly a cost benefit analysis.

How to monetize the site

As you are starting your online magazine, always think of the business side of it. This means having a proper revenue model for the magazine so that it can be self-sustaining, and profitable. Identify a few potential sources of funding as early as possible. Decide is you are going to push costs to the audience in the form of subscriptions or you will push it to businesses seek advertising space. Either way, you need to have a solid strategy on how you are going to pull it off.

You can should have different options for monetizing your magazine. This can be in the form of display advertising, banner ads, etc.
In Terms of monetization you should check out google AdSense and Yllix .Its very easy to create an account with them just click Yllix or AdSense to check out for yourself.

Have an " advertise with us " section. This will help you get more clients and people who would like to advertise with you to your advantage. According to Lucidpress; "..If you become a trusted source for quality content that's providing a unique perspective, you have a good chance of gaining a loyal following of subscribers..." In this field, content is King!

 You can check out the best web hosting sites for your magazine here

Besides All the that security of your site , content and data matter so it necessary to find a place you can safely backup your data and content with loosing it incase of any accidental data wipe. ==> Cloudways can help

And also to purchase a license from McAfee or Norton in the case of getting trust from customers when purchasing or leaving their details or data on your website.

In conclusion, like any business, it gets better the more you invest time, human capital and money in nurturing it. The returns will be exponential.