After finding out Swimmer takes 30% of our budget,I was thinking how to make it better.I think it is perhaps fine as it is now for what it does now,but if it is to help us grow...
What do you think?
Rodale had a magazine called "Fitness Swimmer' a few years ago and I thought it was excellent and I think implied that such a mag could be(almost) profitable.The current 4 in one format of "Swimming World" now seems excellent.Perhaps Swimmer should have sections:Competitive Swimmer,fitness swimmer,tri,noodlers(to be totally inclusive.)This might help with the problem of technique articles in Swimmer.The articles seem aimed for the middle and are too simple for elite swimmers and too advanced for beginners.
If you want to sell issues how about more pictures of good looking Masters swimmers in swim suits(it worked for Sports Illustrated.)
I don't find the "new product"section very helpful as it just gives what the company says.How about product testing? I expect a company would be glad to say"our goggles were the top rated by USMS-publicity for us.)If you really want to sell how about product testing on LZR vsTracer Rise,vs Nero Comp.I bet most swimmers,coaches,and parents would be interested in that.
The big issue affecting all media is format and distribution. Just look at how popular newspapers and magazines (US News and World Report, Christian Science Monitor, among others) are going all-electronic due to the costs associated with print.
Why do we want to invest resources into a dying medium?
Rather than allocate time, money, and effort to print, why not make the website, forums, and email distribution tools top-notch? This would involve spending on infrastructure, software, and services but the costs would be much less than print and postage. Content could be fresh and include everything for every segment identified in Dr. Boyd's reports from two years ago.
Let's look at better ways to convey information and take advantage of tools that now exist for us to use. If people want/need to print something, have the articles available as PDFs. That is only my suggestion but we ought to consider it as an enhancement to our overall communications strategy.
:2cents:
The big issue affecting all media is format and distribution. Just look at how popular newspapers and magazines (US News and World Report, Christian Science Monitor, among others) are going all-electronic due to the costs associated with print.
Why do we want to invest resources into a dying medium?
Rather than allocate time, money, and effort to print, why not make the website, forums, and email distribution tools top-notch? This would involve spending on infrastructure, software, and services but the costs would be much less than print and postage. Content could be fresh and include everything for every segment identified in Dr. Boyd's reports from two years ago.
Let's look at better ways to convey information and take advantage of tools that now exist for us to use. If people want/need to print something, have the articles available as PDFs. That is only my suggestion but we ought to consider it as an enhancement to our overall communications strategy.
:2cents:
