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.
Fitness Swimmer had that ad for sex improvement tapes. The editor got so may complaints because it was a "family magazine" she had to apologize. It lost several subscriptions because of this. In time she was reassigned and then fired. Somewhere i have the copy with the ad & the copy with her apology.
From reading this, I truly wonder how many members don't regularly receive their magazine. When i had a problem, I e-mailed Traci and haven't had a problem since. I have sent e-mails to her since that time. she is very responsive.
If the magazine were to be sold on a newsstand then how could it possibly be a special advantage to be a member? As for the core values, I wonder what they are and if they are published? Truly it must be admitted that the magazine came out of order. There must first be an ED before the vision and mission of a nonprofit organization can be communicated out to the world. That is part of her/his job. As we have seen so many times, the magazine seems to have nothing of importance to its members except to say how great some swimmers are.
National organizations are extremely difficult to form and to then make successful. USMS has been successful. But the success drove it to make a very premature decision. When it was decided to break from Swimming World, that perhaps was a good idea (although I will argue that editorial voice is highly over-rated among many boards but for other reasons). Creating a new magazine without a national office, a true staff and an ED though wasn't.
"If the magazine were to be sold on a newsstand then how could it possibly be a special advantage to be a member? "
Because you would get it WITHOUT paying additional fees. It would be INCLUDED with you membership. Just like Sports Illustrated is for various sport clubs.
"National organizations are extremely difficult to form and to then make successful. USMS has been successful."
Yes, great organization, proud to be a member. (My decal is on my vehicle, all my friends know I am a Master's Swimmer.) But the word "been" is the point. I am concerned that an organization who is going to apparently going to operate at a loss, can continue as "successful" Success is constant, must always be renewed. I personally love the magazine for what it is, and always get my copy. But when the amount needed to keep it going puts a strain on the Organizations budget, maybe it needs another look at. Oh, and by the way if you dont read the meeting notes on this site, you are missing some important information. For example: I would agree with the board, that knowing the salaries of the employees is important, and to say(as some did a reent meeting)that the wages of the employees is confidential even to the Board that oversees same Organization,makes me laugh. LOL
Fitness Swimmer had that ad for sex improvement tapes. The editor got so may complaints because it was a "family magazine" she had to apologize. It lost several subscriptions because of this. In time she was reassigned and then fired. Somewhere i have the copy with the ad & the copy with her apology.
Ah, yes, I'd forgotten that. But that's probably just a symptom of the larger problem expressed earlier, that swimmers don't spend a lot of money on gear and so it's hard to get a ton of advertising for a swimming magazine. So I guess they had to look elsewhere.
I remember seeing the ad and thinking, "Hmmm, that's kind of odd. I didn't expect to see an ad like that in this magazine," but apparently other people had a much bigger problem with it.
Since several people were big fans of the fitness swimmer magazine it would be helpful if someone could post the table of contents from a few issues so we can see what the content mix looked like.
Somewhere on these boards there is a thread that debated the merits of creating the magazine from before the decision was made. I think it would be interesting to look back at but I can't immediately find it...
Swimmers are among of the best educated, highest paid interest group in the world. There is no reason that the magazine cannot get better advertisers as do many other interest group magazines of similar groups. the reason is, I believe, we don't understand the relationship between organization, structure, core values, vision, and mission. This is why it should have been recognized that the magazine should not have been started until there was an ED.
As for salaries being published, I have worked only in nonprofit organizations. Never have I seen individual salaries published. There has been in some budgets, the salary of the ED published under board expenses and then thee other staffs' salaries published either under operating expenses or a specific line stating salary but not specific. The Ed works and holds her/his position at the will of the board. Other employees are hired and hold their jobs at the will of the corporation. I just finished a class on boards and their relationships to the organization, the ED and the staff. It is truly the most misunderstood relationship in the business world, I believe.
As for Fitness Swimmer, I have several old copies. If you want to know about it send a private message and I will respond. I think the advertisement ordeal was perhaps a convenient way of removing it from the Rodale Press magazine list. I know there were complaints but I had also heard that there were several problems with the relationships between the parent company and the various editors. If I remember correctly, prior to the woman who did the ad being fired, the previous editor had been replaced by her. I think that previous editor is now the editor another magazine that looks at sports. The magazine made title changes in its history and was always stating that it was working hard to reflect and address the interests of the swimming world.
I am a member of another even more limited-interest organization. Many luxury consumer companies advertise in the magazine we receive. This magazine is not a product of the organization but an outside publisher. I've never seen it on any newsstands. I will say from experience that the quickest death for an organization is to provide its magazine on newsstands. Look at the Smithsonian's RAP and SNAP memberships (People in the metro DC area who do not take advantage of RAP are really silly.). I used to work at RAP. We would send out copies to those interested in our programs but never in large amounts nor to newsstands. Both Mrs. Sollinger and the current ED, I believe, are insistent about this. I truly hope that the newly hired ED will be able to last with the organization and understands organizational structure to make our membership a great future.
Swimmers are among the best educated, highest paid interest group in the world. There is no reason that the magazine cannot get better advertisers as do many other interest group magazines.
This is a remarkable comment, and I completely agree. It would also help to have a commissioned sales person make that case to potential advertisers, "selling" space in the magazine. This could reduce the production cost away from the "membership", given that the board agreed to the products being promoted. Initial prices would be a bargain compared to other magazines, which would be an attractive feature for a business wanting to get into print.
My biggest problem with Swimmer is that it is so.....benign. There is no edge, no attitude at all comparable to what is in this board.
It almost seems like they are working so hard to avoid offending anyone. If we have to offend 5% of the readers/members to gain 20% that is OK with me.
USMS is for adults. No need to make it kid-safe.
To the earlier point about advertising - I see no reason it can't have had for Porsches or vodka or other adult-targeted products.
Please - no pathetic "what's in your MP3 player" articles either.
The writing is serviceable but could be better. Most of the articles suffer from a "first paragraph" problem. You really have to sweat it, take a walk, discuss with friends or the dog. "Did you ever wonder" and "Most US Masters swimmers are familiar with" are not riveting opening lines. The story subjects are somewhat obvious. Swimming makes you feel better. Dancing is good exercise.
I agree, the mag through its membership should be able to attract a variety of advertisers: watches, cars, shoes, sportswear, bookcases to hold all those swimming DVDs and references, food and nutrition, related sports, lifestyle items (bicycles, etc.), Rodale Press, Morningstar, business services. Digicams. But businesses catering to adults can't afford to blur their carefully cultivated corporate image by advertising in what looks like a low-budget or children's mag.
Things work out, or they don't and get changed. Getting through 16 issues is a lot. I want to commend the hard work and successes of the editor and contributors while at the same time asking whether the magazine can be more than it is now.
VB
My biggest problem with Swimmer is that it is so.....benign. There is no edge, no attitude at all comparable to what is in this board.
It almost seems like they are working so hard to avoid offending anyone. If we have to offend 5% of the readers/members to gain 20% that is OK with me.
USMS is for adults. No need to make it kid-safe.
To the earlier point about advertising - I see no reason it can't have had for Porsches or vodka or other adult-targeted products.
Please - no pathetic "what's in your MP3 player" articles either.
