How To Create And Start An Online Magazine

You might think that an online magazine is only for major publishing houses. Perhaps it was once, but that’s no longer the case.

With the platforms and tools available now, it’s possible for anyone with creativity, imagination, and determination to become a publisher.

However, like any new online venture, it is essential to have a target audience in mind before you begin.

Before you start, though, you should think about it as starting a business and doing your research and planning before you jump in.

What’s the difference between a blog and a magazine?

What makes a great magazine?

Lots of pictures, large images, ads, and bucketloads of color.

A magazine is all about content that is entertaining and relaxing to read.

Think about how people read a magazine by flipping through the pages, glancing at photos, and only stopping to read when something grabs their attention.

On the other hand, a blog aims to inform, solve problems, and provide answers to questions.

There is usually a lot of text with possibly only a few images. This post is definitely not a magazine article.

Like a print magazine, it must be high quality and beautifully designed to appeal to its target audience.

It’s all about the look.

You don’t need a graphic designer. However, you will need to have a flair for what looks great and what will appeal to your target audience.

Check out what other people are doing

If you want to start a magazine or any new business online, all you have to do is a Google search. When I first started in business many moons ago, I hated doing market research.

It was painstaking to check telephone books and business registries and drive around the city trying to spot my potential competitors.

It took weeks or months to get enough information to start writing a business plan.

Now, all you need are a few clicks, and you have all the information you need to find magazines and magazine publishers for almost any topic.

What about starting a food magazine? Here are six that might give you some ideas.

If fashion is your passion, look at these 10 Indie fashion magazines for inspiration.

Look at a lot of sites and think about what you like and don’t like about them.

You can find inspiration and ideas that you can either copy or, even better, improve upon.

First, make a plan

You don’t need to write a long business plan to start a magazine site. However, it’s a good idea to take a few notes about what you’ll need to get started.

The first notes should be about the subjects or topics for your new site.

It’s always best to choose something you’re truly passionate about. Then your enthusiasm will keep you going in the long term.

If you plan to do everything for free, it is not going to happen. You won’t need to break the bank, though.

You will definitely need a self-hosted WordPress site and a premium theme. Site hosting should cost less than $150 per year, and top-class magazine themes range between $30 and $75.

You need to register your domain name, which costs only a few dollars per year.

What you might need

If you are new to intensive daily writing, you might also need some help with your grammar and writing accuracy.

I primarily use Grammarly, but there are many online grammar checkers and proofreading tools to choose from.

Since images will be vital, you may want to consider using a digital camera in addition to a stock image service.

You could also think about hiring writers to help build your content faster, but it comes at a price.

When you are planning, think about possible revenue streams, potential advertisers, and how you will promote your new site.

How will you make money?

Like all small businesses, you will want to make a little profit by generating revenue.

The quickest way to monetize a new site is with ad income. Google AdSense is the obvious first choice, but you should also consider affiliate marketing opportunities.

You might consider offering premium content, but this can be challenging to sell in the early stages of a new site. Once your site is more mature, it is a possibility.

For promotion, consider how you can use your social media network, as it is free. The second should be how you plan to use SEO to get search engine traffic.

Many people think SEO is difficult, but it is not. If you take the time to learn a little, you will be rewarded with a lot of organic traffic.

There is always the option of using pay-per-click advertising with Google AdWords. But beware, it can become an expensive way to promote your new site.

I think it’s better to work on building your organic search traffic. It’s slower but doesn’t cost you anything except your time.

Ready, set, whoa, hold on!

If you make the decision to start your own magazine, don’t rush into it.

First, choose your domain name very carefully. Look for a .com URL that is as short as possible while also clearly indicating your magazine’s name.

Then, take your time and carefully set up your new site, but not online and in real-time.

You will have a lot of work to do in making your web design look absolutely perfect, as well as writing lots of content.

You should only launch when you have everything perfect and have enough pages and posts to satisfy new visitors and readers.

Additionally, avoid using an under-construction page. It’s a turn-off. Wait until you are ready, and then go live online.

When, how often, and what should you publish

Unlike a blog, a magazine can feature both timeless and current content. The front or home page should offer the reader a choice of both.

A professional WordPress theme will come complete with many options to showcase articles on the homepage.

WordPress is, in fact, a content management system.

This means that you can display your content in so many ways.

Categories are the most common way to sort articles into groups that can then be displayed on sliders or feature galleries.

Unlike a print magazine, there is no need to have a strict publishing schedule.

In the early stages, you should write a lot of new articles to build up the bank of content on your new site.

You might think about even paying freelance writers to help you.

But once you have fifty to sixty articles in the bank, you can relax a little. One or two new articles per week will be enough to maintain visitor interest.

There are also many WordPress plugins that can help bloggers.

Wrap up

If you think that having your own magazine is what you want to do, there is nothing to stop you.

It is inexpensive, and if you are passionate about your subject, it can be a very fulfilling part-time or even a full-time job.

In the early stages, focus on creating high-quality content and attracting a new audience to your new site.

Then, later, when you have established your site, consider monetizing and selling ads.

You need a lot of traffic before any online ad income starts to pay well. So, concentrate on getting traffic first.

If you succeed at this, the money will eventually roll in the door.

Related reading: How To Start Writing And Publishing For A New Writer