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 magazine by Rodale supposedly went under because of the ad about the video tapes for a better sex life.
How did that make it go under exactly?
As far as USMS Swimmer I think it's pretty well done. I always at least flip through it. I have to say I very rarely read it cover-to-cover, though. I'd like to see more emphasis on competition, e.g. coverage of Nationals and other major meets/OW swims.
Good stuff; I'll compile everything - pros, cons, decals, the works.
Keep it coming!
Ideas for columns? Ron Lockman's Mexico-to-Oregon pier-to-pier swim is a beauty.
Thanks all! (Er, I have nothing to do with mag but will try to get all ideas to editor)
The old (pre-Swimmer) version of the mag used to have the monthly workout on a pull-out stock card. I also remember those workouts including several intervals for novice, intermediate & hard versions of the workout. The pull cards were great. You could take it right to the pool, or save the workouts without having to keep or copy the mag.
I also agree that the product section needs to be more than just a page full of ads. Why not ask a few people to test the products and write a review? Reading the testimonial of a real USMS member would be much more valuable than reading the manufacturer's hype. The manufacturer could even use those reviews in future ads. USMS could ask members to volunteer to become part of the 'reader panel' and be randomly selected to test/compare products.
I agree 100%. I don't need to read a few pages filled with non-paid advertisements in the product review section. I want true reviews.
I loved keeping the workouts, too. I know they are on here, too but having one to tear out and take with me would be nicer.
About stock cards and tip-ins: presses are automated to the degree possible, and anything not run on the press as integral to the magazine is associated with extra costs. Even if the total cost for printing and inserting a stock card is under 50 cents per unit, doing it 35,000 times adds up to many clamshells.
But that leads to a new idea: stock cards with different workouts, perhaps scaled and for different purposes, the size of a recipe box, sold in a pack.
:applaud:
I never seem to get a copy consitently anyway. I think in the few years I've been a masters swimmer I've only received 5 or 6 magazines. And none of those have been particularly interesting.
I haven't received a copy in awhile. The last one I read had a horrible suck up article about Olympians scratching events and playing golf in Austin. Who cares?
Vive's and Imspoiled's suggestions were very good.
Thanks, Fort!
I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but I'll imagine, with no difficulty, LOL, budget restrictions and a lot of volunteer time, not to mention a huge and heterogeneous readership to be served. So I am grateful to the editor and the writers for producing Swimmer and getting it to us. It's a big job.
Decals are, I think, a low-hanging fruit. Let's say $2 or $3 each to cover manufacturing and mailing cost, plus a few cents to USMS per decal. I know nothing about USMS administrative organization but doubt anyone in admin would want to receive a thousand $3 checks and mail a thousand decals. Therefore, it might be a USMS member's joyful task for, say, a year, then turn it over to next person. Any volunteers? Any conflict with how the org wants to run things? Is there a liaison with admin to work out details?
Reproducing good articles from chapter newsletters in Swimmer should pose no difficulty in implementation, as it is a matter of making the editor aware of good content. Just drop an email to Bill Volckening and ask that the material be considered. I'll add "Chapter Corner" or something equally awful to the list of potential Column material. I'd like to know what other chapters are doing, and what Masters Swimming Canada is doing as well.
About stock cards and tip-ins: presses are automated to the degree possible, and anything not run on the press as integral to the magazine is associated with extra costs. Even if the total cost for printing and inserting a stock card is under 50 cents per unit, doing it 35,000 times adds up to many clamshells.
But that leads to a new idea: stock cards with different workouts, perhaps scaled and for different purposes, the size of a recipe box, sold in a pack.
:applaud:
As a graphic artist and former print-shop employee, I know this can be done each month without too much cost or interruption. If it is something that a lot of the customers want, then it should be looked in to.
As I said I think Swimmer is OK for what it is,a perk for members.I would like it to be more.I thought when it was started the goal was for it to be sold on newsstands etc. and make a profit,or at least cost less than we were paying Swimming World for Swim.If it is going to represent USMS to non-members it needs an upgrade.
I tend to be sympathetic to the argument that the same purpose could be achieved with an online magazine BUT I would be extremely cautious about about cutting out the single most visible membership benefit received by non-competitive swimmers based on feedback from a subset of your membership that might be biased toward the competitive side.
A printed magazine is a "push" technology that ensures that your membership is reminded that they are members of USMS on a regular basis. If you go to a web magazine without some sort of push mechanism you may lose all contact with a large portion of your membership that may not be sufficiently engaged to go to the web site, although an improved online version of the Go The Distance program might help lure a lot of members to the web site on a regular basis.
I would also urge that the online magazine be put together and operational for a period before you do away with the printed version so you can ensure that it really works in a sustainable manner. Don't underestimate the value of regular publication dates to force the content generation versus a website where the dates can be a lot looser.
I picked up a few issues of Swimmer at convention and am not sure if it is as bad as some here think.
