Know-How Exchange : Other

The book Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine by Cheryl Woodard actually covers baby magazines as one of its examples from time to time. Well worth reading.

You have 2 goals, and best to keep in mind they are separate. One goal is to increase paid subscriptions. You have a challenge on the pregnancy aspect that your target readers have a finite time between getting pregnant and being a mom when they will be readers. Pretty small window, actually. So these people need to know about the magazine in advance or find out about it quickly after becoming pregnant.

The parenting side has a slightly longer window, but presumably is more aimed at parents of toddlers over parents of teens (if your magazine covers everything from pregnancy to dealing with an empty nest, that likely is a bit broader content than most would want, so that may be an issue).

So the challenge is to get the word out about the magazine to all sorts of places where someone who recently got pregnant would find it. Doctors are one area that comes to mind - maybe you can work with them where they provide discounted subscriptions to their patients?

On ads, the first step I would do is look at what companies would potential advertise and who you are currently reaching, and see if there are companies you haven't approached. Beyond that, look at who is advertising and who you think should be but isn't, and figure out how you can better reach them.

Is your magazine print-based or online-based? If only print-based, consider making a version for online. It's where people go to find information, so if your magazine is SEO-optimized for your target market to find you, you've got a good head start.