How to Use a Business Plan to Secure Funding for Your Magazine
Starting a magazine can be an exciting new venture that combines business savvy with creative expression. Like any business, you’ll need funding to get your new idea off the ground. Whether you’re going old school with a physical publication or an online subscription, a strong business plan can help you communicate with potential investors and gain the necessary financial support.
Writing a Business Plan For Your Magazine
To write a simple business plan that nets you funding, you’ll need to make it easily digestible for private sponsors, loan providers like banks, and backers on any funding campaigns but comprehensive enough to tell your story.
Business plans exist to break down and illustrate the reason your business exists, the goals you’ve set for it, and your plan to reach those goals. A well-crafted plan translates your vision into a format that’s easy for anyone to understand. A business plan for a magazine might require some unique additions, but most business plan templates available online will have you provide certain information related to your magazine.
Summarize your business
Start your business plan with a snappy summary of your magazine’s activities and intention. Some key questions you’ll want to answer here are:
- What industry are you writing for?
- Who is your target audience?
- What is the overall concept for your magazine’s brand?
- Have you already written any content for this magazine?
- Have you built any kind of identity or online presence for your business?
- How often will you publish?
This information usually lives in the business plan’s executive summary and description of the company or project section. Keep these sections short but informative, and focus on grabbing attention and painting an accurate picture of your idea.
Prove demand
Once you’ve given investors an idea of what your magazine is about, it’s time to prove there’s a demand for it or the potential for readership. Prior to presenting your plan and attempting to solicit funding, make sure you’ve done the necessary market research. If you’ve got any competitors in your niche, make sure to use this opportunity to show off what makes you different, and the wow factor that will give you an edge.
Show off your marketing plan
A great content plan and an appealing aesthetic is a wonderful place to start, but investors will want to know your plan to get your mag into reader’s hands. In the marketing and sales section of your business plan, detail things like any email campaigns you’re concocting and whether you already have an email distribution list to support it.
If you’re planning to go down the paid advertising route, lay out your reasoning for why this will be an effective way to get the word out about your magazine. If your magazine is something worth talking about, a great marketing plan will be the perfect counterpart.
Illustrate your expertise
Don’t forget to take some time to show off why you’re the best person for this project and someone investors can depend on. If you’ve got a history publishing, editing, or writing content for businesses, show off statistics that prove you created value with that work, like awards won, honorable mentions, subscription increases.
If your magazine is about a very specific niche, explain your experience with that niche and your ability to edit and find pieces that are consistently compelling and entertaining for future readers.
As experts in business formation, Northwest is ready to help you handle the legal side of starting your business. If you’re thinking of forming an LLC, corporation, or other business entity, let us handle filing your formation documents, and we’ll set you up with a business website, domain and email.
Define your strategy and goals for revenue
Other than the actual cost of the magazine subscription, how do you plan to make money as a business? Investors will want to know all the details about the money going in and leaving your business.
Initial funding – Clearly state how much funding you’re seeking and where those investments will be allocated.
Revenue – Detail your plan for generating income and where that money will go once you make it. Give a realistic projection of your first-year revenue.
Return on investment – Give a best-case-scenario schedule for when investors might see their money come back to them, and what kind of return or profit they can expect to see if things go well.
Money talks, especially when you’re asking someone to invest theirs into making your dream a reality. Be prepared to speak in the language lenders are fluent in.
Great Business Plans Yield Powerful Results
Building a concise and informative business plan is key to succeeding in any business environment, but especially when you’re aiming to fund a creative business venture. Take your time to put together a great plan that considers things like your expertise, your financial strategies, and the unique factors that make it a worthwhile investment.
