How about a CC cycling mag?

[bikepete]

For what it's worth if you do decide to do a print mag (it's a lot of work, I should know!) give me a ring or whatever and I'd be happy to give any advice I can about any of the practicalities, as far as my experiences as a small publisher who got into it almost by accident will permit :-)

A subscription-based mag may be fairly straightforward, but I don't know how that German photo mag managed to get on the newsstands - a rich benefactor perhaps? Or rich camera companies as advertisers/sponsors? Every time I've looked into it, it seems to basically require lots of money up front :-(.

 

[Arch]

"Dear Bonj,

When I got my bike out of the shed, I realised the mudguard had fallen off. My husband won't let me ride without it as I'll get a dirty back, but you said I don't need it. Husband threatens to divorce me if I don't refit mudguard. What should I do?"

Marry Bonj instead?

<shudder>

Anyway, this mag....

No, I really must get back to work...

 

[Fnaar]

I'm willing to hang round the office and make inappropriate suggestions to the lasses in the typing pool

 

[bikepete]

Actually i just googled it:

http://www.dwdl.de/story/20639/fotocommunity_bringt_zeitschrift_an_den_kiosk/

Brief translation:

- they sold 2000 subscriptions IN ADVANCE
- Print run 28,000, retail price 7.80 Euros (about £6, same as Velo Vision incidentally)
- It's a quarterly
- They use a distribution company for retail sales
- about 100 pages
- fotocommunity has around 800,000 members
- they did a survey of forum members and around 3/4 said they would like such a mag

Sounds like they just have the numbers they need to make it work. How many does CycleChat have, roughly?

 

[Arch]

5464, according to the member list....

So, a little bit of catching up to do...

 

[Aperitif]

Nothing wrong with say a quarterly digest as a supplement to CycleChat.co.uk maybe.

Sift out some fun stories like Rigid R's balloon escapade. If not now - then def.later

HlaB's 'rides' through the highlands...mine through Neasditz - all sorts of nice info within this site which is 'buried'.

Come on Arch - you're the ologist...get digging!

 

[Andy in Sig]

I'd be happy to contribute a bit about some of the rides over here.

 

[Auntie Helen]

So would I... in a few weeks' time

So who's going to get the ball rolling?

 

[Arch]

Well, it maybe wouldn't do any harm for anyone who feels they have something to write (as an article as opposed to a post), to think about it now, maybe do a draft, to be ready. Um, is that treading on the blog's toes? (Does a blog have toes?)

I like the idea of a digest - with some added content, otherwise it's just a paper copy of the forum.

Shall we serialise Tea?

Regular content could be stuff like 'letters (maybe like Photo Gallery stuff), Q and A, maybe an editorial piece, a regular funny column. Plus a 'how to' bit each time, for mechanic stuff?

 

[Dayvo]

Sounds like it has great potential!

There are plenty of experienced, qualified and capable people here involved in most, if not all, aspects of cycling, so it should definitely be 'do-able', if the support and interest was there.

 

[Hilldodger]

I'll be a cover model

 

[Arch]

Damn, I saw you'd replied and was convinced you were offering a history column....

 

[Dayvo]

Damn, I saw you'd replied and was convinced you were offering a history column....

He just looks very old (I imagine).

 

[yello]

I like the idea. I think you'd need to be careful not to make it just an extension of CC though and should try to appeal to, or target, a broader audience. The mag would need a personality (if I can put it like that!) of its own.

Shall we serialise Tea?

PS I know you were only joking Arch!

 

[HJ]

Would it be something like this???