Marketing Idea (Maybe Not New)

Hey, gang....

I have an idea for what I call "reverse marketing", in that the
product is created by the publisher, but is distributed by and for the
advertisers (sponsors is a better term here.)  Why I'm writing now is
I'd like some help working out the bugs, and maybe you folks have some
ideas about how to drum up the initial sponsors.

"Abstract Reality Magazine" (AR-Mag) is the product in question.  It
is a free monthly e-magazine (PDF format), science fiction/fantasy in
nature (think of "Omni" of days gone by), with some other features not
found elsewhere.  Each sponsor gets a special sponsored edition of
each month's magazine with their full-page ad on the inside
front-cover.  Let me explain how this works....

If a new reader comes to the main AR-Mag page to get a copy, they will
be redirected to a sponsor's AR-Mag site.  (When you click on the Get
Your Copy Now link, you get redirected to a rotated sponsor, as this
is only fair.)  Here, you can download back-issues, or opt-in to the
mailing list to get your monthly copy automatically from that sponsor.

What does the sponsor get?

1) A customized edition of the magazine that has their full-page ad on
the inside front cover.

2) Unlimited distribution of their edition through any legal means
(excludes unsolicited mail, email, etc., as those are illegal anyway
here in the states.)

3) (Maybe - part of where I need your help...)  A huge discount on
their sponsor ad -- the normal rate is $300 for a full-page ad, but I
was thinking $75 to $150 for Sponsored Editions, to prompt sales. 
Should I do this forever, or only as an initial offering?

4) Their cost/reader is determined solely by their ability to give
away the magazine.  The more readers, the lower the effective cost per
reader.

5) Friends telling friends about the magazine, thereby increasing the
readership, which in turn means more people sees your ad.

All of this looks great on paper.  But....  The higher I set the price
for sponsorships, the harder it is to convince advertisers to go with
it.  At the same time, if I set the price too low, they may think it's
not professional enough.  I'm sure there's a happy medium here that
meets both sides.  I would think the advertiser deserves a break here,
since they are the ones that have to distribute it.

I'm working on an Example Edition, which is basically the Premiere
Edition with sample ads thrown-in to show what it is we're offering. 
I've written most of the required articles for the Premiere as well. 
There's still a lot of work to do, mostly dealing with layout issues.
 Since I changed DTP software, I'll be doing a lot of copy/pasting too.

Keep in mind that each sponsor gets a different version of the eBook,
with their own ad.  I limited the total sponsorships to 2,000, simply
because I'm sure the editors will want to do something OTHER than make
sponsor editions.  (Too many editions will also dilute the market.)

This is family-oriented magazine, in that not-for-kids ads and
sponsors are a no-go.  Kids read SciFi/Fantasy too, so this decision
was a no-brainer.  One thing that's new -- from the Premiere, we're
going to invite readers to submit their own short-stories, poems, and
articles, and make this a reader's magazine in the truest sense of the
phrase.  For writers trying to get their name out there, this is
great.  Known writers might want in on it too, but that's a horse of
another color for this type of work.  A portion of the sponsorships
will be paid to all writers, but I don't have the percentages and
who-gets-what detailed yet.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the idea here, and make any
suggestions you might have.  Thanks in advance!

Danny Stone
Publisher
Wallstone Entertainment



------------------------------------------------------
Post a message:   ebook-community [[at]] *
Unsubscribe:      ebook-community-unsubscribe [[at]] *
Switch to digest: ebook-community-digest [[at]] *
Switch to normal: ebook-community-normal [[at]] *
Put mail on hold: ebook-community-nomail [[at]] *
Administrator:    ebook-community-owner [[at]] *

(* == yahoogroups.com)
------------------------------------------------------- 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:[email protected] 
    mailto:ebook-community-fullfeatured-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ebook-community-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/