National directory type publication- publishing and advertising advice

M

Marconi2012

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Have an idea for a specialist national directory, that would include advertisements also- hopefully sufficient to allow free distribution. Envisage directory to be A4 / A5 type large magazine - with significant potential to repeat each year.

Supported by website...

No experience in advertising, publishing, design and website

Any suggestions- where I can get advice/ partners to realise this project?
 
Marconi2012 said:
No experience in advertising, publishing, design and website
Click to expand...

This is a very difficult business to make money in. I would imagine that such directories are no longer profitable.

The only way you could possibly do it is to find a similar directory for another industry and then approach its publishers with your idea.

Brendan
 
If you compare the thickness of today's Golden Pages with one from ten years ago,it should give you pause for thought about the viability of any such publication.
 
You should go and talk to your Local Enterprise Board as your starting point, they will give you advice and support. Depending on where you are with your business plan they may also be prepared to give you a development grant. They can be fussy, after all they are giving away taxpayers money but as I said, it could be a good place to start.

Having said that, I would agree with other posters on here, any such directories I get delivered usually go straight in the bin, Google and other tools has surpassed all of that
 
thanks for feedback- yes this directory is unique and to serve a specialist market. is there anywhere I can partner with people with relevant experience- advertising, publishing?
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but until i checked the date of your post i thought it was a post from years back that someone opened up.

Physical printed directories simply don't work anymore.
The only area it could have any use is where it may target the elderly who at present don't use online as much as others (but even that is changing)

If its a specialist area, then if there's nothing out there, it may be because its not an area searched for.

If you think there us some sort of market, then an online resource incl forum and directory is where to start.

But definitely forget about printing anything.
 
Very pragmatic and helpful advice. Much appreciated. Yes this would be a niche sector with print run around 20000 copies for national distribution.

I note that newspapers and magazines continue to print many supplements to reach their target markets. Some have much less distribution that the one I propose. Am I missing something ?

I would estimate turnover from advertising 50000 and cost around 30000 for 100 page a4 style printed magazine.

Is this not a runner ? I would need assistance of two partners with expertise in advertising and design.

I envisage publication to be supported by a website and annual publication
 
Marconi2012 said:
Very pragmatic and helpful advice. Much appreciated. Yes this would be a niche sector with print run around 20000 copies for national distribution.

I note that newspapers and magazines continue to print many supplements to reach their target markets. Some have much less distribution that the one I propose. Am I missing something ?

I would estimate turnover from advertising 50000 and cost around 30000 for 100 page a4 style printed magazine.

Is this not a runner ? I would need assistance of two partners with expertise in advertising and design.

I envisage publication to be supported by a website and annual publication
Click to expand...

As with any new venture, start by looking at the market: who will pay for your product. In this case, as you have a niche, you should be able to get reasonable feedback fairly easily as you can speak with people directly. You estimate 50,000 from advertising. Is that 500 from 100 customers or 50 from 1000 or something else (i.e. what's your expected spend per customer?). Approach some target (potential) customers. You're likely to find this quite difficult, unless you have existing contacts in the particular industry. Use the difficulty you have in getting information as an indication of the difficulty you will have selling into the particular market. For those you do get to speak to, ask them if they would be interested in what you are planning to offer. It's quite possible they will say "yes". Then ask would they be prepared to spend X in a year with you on it. It is quite likely they will turn the "yes" into a "no" at that point. You will get a feel before long on whether the idea is viable or not.

Another approach would be to find some other existing product or service that is as similar as possible to what you are planning. If you can't find one, this is a really loud alarm bell for you: it means that the market for the product or service you're planning probably doesn't exist. If there is a similar one, try and find as much information about them as possible. For example, in this case how much do they charge for advertisements? Try talking to some of their customers.

Bottom line: get out there are start talking to people!

One other thing: do not listen to friends and family: they have a habit of telling people what they think you want to hear (usually positive if they see you are enthusiastic)/

Best of luck!
 
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