Hi everybody,
A theme that was gratifyingly often expressed in the comments that
came back on my recently put up broken-arm-sale web page was, “Well
if you can’t make jewelry for the moment then maybe you should
consider writing.”
As it happens, for quite some time, and with increasing seriousness,
I have in fact been considering the publication of an internet
lapidary magazine. There was a start, already, a few years ago
(Welcome virtualfundy.com - BlueHost.com) but that remained a
one-off with only that one single issue.
The reality is it’s a huge amount of work, and time, to put up
anything half decent. So somehow this venture has to pay for itself.
But how?
I had initially considered a subscription model, say somewhere
between 20 and 40 dollars a year. Yet subscription seems to me to
come with at least four drawbacks: one, it would be out of sync with
the usual practise of the internet, where (unless you’re a porn site)
stuff is expected to be free; second, it would limit the number of
readers; third, it would put a serious quality onus on the publisher,
because if someone’s going to pay for stuff they’d expect it to be
not only good, but damn good; and fourth it would be an
administrative nuisance to keep track of passwords and subscription
dates. I’m not sure that this model should be entirely rejected but
these factors certainly speak against it.
Then there’s the paid advertising model. While much more in line
with customary internet practise it would require probably four or
five issues, at least, to build up credibility and visitor numbers
before you could make a plausible case to potential advertisers.
Which is a lot of time and a lot of work.
So there’s where I’d be grateful for thoughts and advice. I know
there are many Orchid members who have media experience. How would
you tackle this conundrum, if you had it staring you in the face?
Cheers and thanks to all,
Hans Durstling
in Moncton Canada, typing two handed again.