Hey Kids! Let's Put On a Show!!

Nora and I have toyed for several months with the idea of starting a magazine, but haven't pushed it very far yet.  For the past week, though, I've been doing some early diligence on markets, costs, etc.  It's VERY preliminary, and closer analysis may find all kinds of amendments to be necessary.  But I'm optimistic, perhaps simply because I'm too dumb to know better.

The big question, of course, is how many of these things can we sell.  I've managed the expenses side of organizational budgets for a long time, but the INCOME side is where the magical thinking happens.  It's the shoeshine and the smile.

• Sure, our organization can grow to 20,000 members.    
• Sure, we'll sell $50,000 of advertising per issue.   
• Sure, that investment will triple in value over six months.
• Sure, we'll get 9,000 billable hours next year.

Sure ya will...

Here's a matching quiz.  Match the magazine title with the December 2011 paid circulation.  Correct answers at the very bottom of this entry.  No prizes, 'cause we can't see if you're cheating (you know you'll peek...)

1. American Cowboy
2. Audubon
3. Cat Fancy
4. Cosmopolitan
5. Orion
6. National Geographic
7. Martha Stewart Living

A.  4,480,788
B.  425,786
C:  3,040,013
D.  99,463
E.  25,000
F.  195,164
G.  2,083,854

All we have to do is have subscription rates equal to about 1% of Sports Illustrated, and we'll have a very healthy budget.

If you'd like a copy of the prospectus, e-mail us in about a week, and you too can be a media critic!

(My favorite moment so far in web searching is the advertising guidelines for Backwoods Home magazine.  "We do not accept advertising from or for any person, company or other entity which contains any type of pornography or any hate, bigotry or other stupidity."  We're definitely adopting the "no stupidity" guidelines for advertisers.)

Answers:  1(D); 2(B); 3(F); 4(C); 5(E); 6(A); 7(G)