Starting a Sports Magazine

[NickyL0885]

Hey guy, I'm thinking about starting a sports magazine and I was wondering If I can ask y'all something. I'm doing a survey to get an idea what people Like and Dislike about sports magazines, namely ESPN and Sports Illustrated. This way, I can make something everyone can enjoy and hopefully, one day, be better then those other 2 mags. I have alot of ideas going on in my head right now but for now, looking for feedback in term of Likes and Dislikes. So, please help me out and let me know your opinions on those mags and even others.

[spoon]

I love the way the sporting news breaks it down by sports in sections and covers every single team at least a little. The only problem is you're going to have to come up with something that isn't easily found online. Team reports online almost match those in the mags yet online they're free.

[MJ]

I started a sports magazine in Michigan a couple of years ago and just recently sold it.

PM me and i'll give you all the info you need.

Tip #1: Have a shitload of money, or find someone who does.

[spoon]

DId you make a profit or was it a sell off?

[MJ]

made a pretty healthy profit and am using it to move to New York and start a documentary on free speech/pc culture in america

I had a blast doing it, just wasn't something I could see myself doing for another 50 years. You'd be surprised at how jaded you get with sports after being surrounded by it constantly for 5 years.

[NickyL0885]

I cant get tired of it. its my passion. as far as money, i wont be funding it my self. i will have others. not saying im or others are rich but w/ multiple people, it can be easier. this aint going to happen over night. if a 17 yr old girl can start a surfing magazine, so can i w/ sports. only thing is, how does one go about getting Media Credentials. cant waltz to Shea ans say "hey, i wanna interview david wright. let me in"

[PapaBear]

Sports magazine or any kind of magazine... I applaud anyone who can make a go of it in this day and age. I know nothing about it, but from what I've heard, it's always been a tough business proposition. It must be much harder in an increasingly "paper free" society.

[MJ]

No exaggeration, I worked 18 hour days 7 days a week for 3 years on my baby and it was hard to let it go. I know a lot of people who have started businesses and they all agree that the mag industry is by far the toughest (restaurant/bar is pretty awful too from what I hear).

And your right, in today's age of the internet the newspaper is going to be out of business within 15-20 years and the only reason the mag insustry is still kind of doing all right is because of the niche audience.

After working for ESPN (Disney) I realized that no matter how stressful starting a business is, it's better than working for corporations. I'm just lucky i'm young enough and still single where I have no one to worry about (financially) other than myself.

EDIT: And thank you kind sir. It's amazing how many people think "ooo sports magazine...how much fun that must be!' instead of "holy shit, when do you sleep?"

[spoon]

Sounds like something to be proud of for sure. How many people can say they've taken risks and attacked their dreams so hard. Not me, not yet.

[MJ]

I am definately proud of it, which was one of the hardest parts of walking away, but hopefully this next project i'm working on will come out as well as I hope and it, and it will actually open people's eyes to what is happening in this country (as far as free speech and how big of pussies we've all become).

The way I look at it, is that until I'm lucky enough to find a women crazy enough to deal with my psychopathic ass for the rest of her life, i'll just keep taking bigger risks. What the fuck else is there to do anymore? I got sick of playing Madden all day a long time ago.

[NickyL0885]

Well, initially I wanted to do Sports Radio. I got into CSB, but cant afford the 10,000 tuition for a few months. So, this is the 2nd best avenue for me. I'm not going to start out like gang busters. If, say, next summer, I make my first issue. I'll make like 50 copies an distribute them locally around LI to get a feel. I would never get 1,000s of prints an ship them out. Its just like how McDonalds is using NY as a test market for there Angus 3rd pounders, to see if its worth it to sell them in every state. There will be, of course, a website. I know I need to do something different. Something that will make the person want to purchase my mag over ESPN or SI.

[MJ]

Well unforunately, because of the marketing dollars and the built in history those two you mentioned have behind them, there is a very slim chance that whatever you put out will ever be something that people pick up instead of SI or ESPN, but rather along with whichever they read.

If you want to eventually put this out nationally, you have to find a niche that neither of those is currently catering to, which is pretty tough to do.

If NY sports is what you are into more than any other, I suggest doing it regionally. My magazine was the only Michigan sports exclusive magazine in the state. I marketed it as an SI that only covers sports in the state of Michigan. Not saying that's what you should do, because I have a partner that was going to try that in NY and started before being crushed by how much built-in paper competition there already was in the state.

You can always start exclusive to one sport, or team, or city etc. and branch out as time goes on.

[Ritalin]

Nicky, I think your enthusiasm is great. Like MJ, I've started and cashed out on a magazine as well, and I'd like to give you a few things to think about.

First, you need to think of your magazine as a vehicle for advertisers to reach their customers, because that's all that it is. Without advertisers you're doing a school newspaper.

You need to keep that in mind when you formulate a plan for the kind of magazine you want to do, and then you need to do a lot of research to find out if that kind of magazine is already being done, and you need to figure out if that kind of magazine is going to attract the kind of readers that advertisers want.

For example, you could do a Long Island surfing and skateboarding magazine (and if you use that idea to build the next Time Warner, you owe me 5 bucks). How would you distribute it? Who would read it? Who would advertise in it? There are a ton of national advertisers in that market, but as a local startup you wouldn't get any of that advertising for at least a year.

Count heads. If your magazine is going to be 64 pages (magazines are built on blocks of 8 or 16 pages, depending on the printer you use), 32 of those pages will have to be ads. Are there 32 different advertisers in the region? Actually, you'll need more than that, because not every advertiser buys space in every issue.

I'm not trying to discourage you at all. I think that anyone with energy, enthusiasm, funding and an idea should go for it. But I do want you to know that doing a magazine about sports ends up being far less about sports than you could ever imagine.

[NickyL0885]

Nicky, I think your enthusiasm is great. Like MJ, I've started and cashed out on a magazine as well, and I'd like to give you a few things to think about.

First, you need to think of your magazine as a vehicle for advertisers to reach their customers, because that's all that it is. Without advertisers you're doing a school newspaper.

You need to keep that in mind when you formulate a plan for the kind of magazine you want to do, and then you need to do a lot of research to find out if that kind of magazine is already being done, and you need to figure out if that kind of magazine is going to attract the kind of readers that advertisers want.

For example, you could do a Long Island surfing and skateboarding magazine (and if you use that idea to build the next Time Warner, you owe me 5 bucks). How would you distribute it? Who would read it? Who would advertise in it? There are a ton of national advertisers in that market, but as a local startup you wouldn't get any of that advertising for at least a year.

Count heads. If your magazine is going to be 64 pages (magazines are built on blocks of 8 or 16 pages, depending on the printer you use), 32 of those pages will have to be ads. Are there 32 different advertisers in the region? Actually, you'll need more than that, because not every advertiser buys space in every issue.

I'm not trying to discourage you at all. I think that anyone with energy, enthusiasm, funding and an idea should go for it. But I do want you to know that doing a magazine about sports ends up being far less about sports than you could ever imagine.


Yea man I understand, thanks. I was thinking maybe when i start and when i get the the point where im ready to print the first issue, ill ask local business if they want to be advertised in the mag. gotta start somewhere. Its like that story i read on a Hot To Start a Magazine site where a 17 yr old girl started an Art and Surfing mag. After the 1st issue was such a success, companies started contacting her about advertising. So, that gives me hope. Im sure she started like i'am now. like i said, im going to take all the time i need to assemble things, like a crew, funds etc.

[NickyL0885]

So i want to cover all sports. NCAA, NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR and other Racing. And maybe at the end of each issue, Ill have a Rant of the Month where ill write a page long rant of a topic of my choosing. Like, if i had the mag now, the rant i would do is US Womens Soccer thing w/ Hope Solo. or, heck even the Mets failure(still hurts....). and with the sports, give an update/ write something about every team, cept NCAA. perhaps the top 25 though. write like maybe a quarter of a page on each team, like the NL East for example. Also, I need to find a way to get interviews w/ athletes. how does one go about perhaps getting an interview? like, lets say i want to interview David Wright before the next season started and talk about last yr an the yr ahead. i cant waltz down to Port St.Lucie and say "yea, i run a mag an need to interview Mr.Wright". i guess i need to get Media Credentials.

[DolaMight]

Another sports magazine to me would be like selling me air, why pay when I can get it for free. I it was 1986 I may think otherwise. The fact I barely like sports is a big factor though.

[NickyL0885]

Another sports magazine to me would be like selling me air, why pay when I can get it for free. I it was 1986 I may think otherwise. The fact I barely like sports is a big factor though.

True but Music has tons of different mags. Same w/ video games. Sometimes, something different can change peoples minds. Also, yes the internet is free but not everyone has internet, especially the older crowd. Magazines will never die. Thats like saying Books are going to die out.

[JPMNICK]

True but Music has tons of different mags. Same w/ video games. Sometimes, something different can change peoples minds. Also, yes the internet is free but not everyone has internet, especially the older crowd. Magazines will never die. Thats like saying Books are going to die out.

just go for it, what do you have to lose.

most ideas fail, so do not take it personally. but worse than failing is wishing you would have done something and regretting you never did

[NickyL0885]

just go for it, what do you have to lose.

most ideas fail, so do not take it personally. but worse than failing is wishing you would have done something and regretting you never did

Exactly. You need to take risk in life. The bigger the risk, the better the reward.

[JPMNICK]

Exactly. You need to take risk in life. The bigger the risk, the better the reward.

either way you learn a lesson. and you never know who you meet that can give you a job one day.

[NickyL0885]

Btw, my friend made a good point. Unless i can get people to write for free, how will i pay people to write? personaly, i cant afford to pay people a salary. i dunno how that would work. i was told i may need a investor, which god knows how ill find one nor who to ask.

[Snacks]

so hows the magazine going? Do you have a site yet?

[NickyL0885]

its been like trying to find diamonds when it comes to getting people. so for now, i doing a NY sports blog on blogspot. i have google adsense with is so i can try to make money. it all depends on how many people click the ads in my site. i get money on a per click basis.

[JPMNICK]

its been like trying to find diamonds when it comes to getting people. so for now, i doing a NY sports blog on blogspot. i have google adsense with is so i can try to make money. it all depends on how many people click the ads in my site. i get money on a per click basis.

post the link dummy! learn to self promote

[NickyL0885]

http://continentalsports.blogspot.com/


haha, sorry for not posting. needed to fix it up a bit.

[Ritalin]

post the link dummy! learn to self promote

That's some tough love right there.

[TeeBone]

If there is one thing that you should avoid with a sports magazine its the damn 'Feel-Good' story. I am tired of reading about crippled children playing basketball in a church league or throatless teens getting together to sing the National Anthem at a minor league park. Keep current and up to date while being focussed on sports; not overcoming the odds, it's destroying sports journalism.