Business-Type Question... Exit, Stage Left Even!

[fenderlove]

Enough Snagglepuss (one day I will have a tattoo of that gay lion on my foot)! I have a business query-like hypothetical to the fine folks on my f-list!

1. If there was a magazine for purchase online, would you like to have a high resolution digital copy of that magazine email to you or a printed copy sent by the mail, having in mind that the physical copy would be more expensive due to printing costs? Would you like for both options to be available?

2. a. How much would you be willing to pay per issue of a digital copy of a magazine? Would $5 be too much?
b. How much for the printed copy (including shipping costs)?

3. Is Paypal the generally accepted online method of payment now?

Comments

[owenthurman.livejournal.com]

1-> I'd like to just read it online. Sometimes I like a printed version, but I usually don't want every issue like that. I still do subscribe to a few paper magazines so I have something to read when I'm traveling.

2-> The Atlantic and the New Yorker come to my mailbox for well under $1 per issue. Of thousands of newspaper and magazine publishers, only the Wall Street Journal and ESPN The Magazine are making real money charging for the online edition. Everything else has to be free or nearly free.

This poses a certain problem because good writing, good research, and good design take money to put together. The solution, of course, is sponsorship -- also known as advertising. Google Ads and the like don't pay squat so you'll need real businesses to advertise directly in your book. That means salesmen and lots of calling and persuasion. Unpleasant stuff, but that's why the publisher is the boss.

3-> PayPal works fine for the web-savvy. The general public finds it amateurish but that might be an aesthetic you can choose to project in your payment system if you're a cutting edge publication. A brandy, walnut, and overstuffed leather luxury book needs a more polished payment system. More polished means they will want either a proven credit history from your business or several percent more of your money. Or both.