By Cathy Seiler

Thinking of starting your own magazine or newsletter? If you do have a good idea that you want to market, be sure to do your homework so that you can be well prepared for a magazine launch. To help you succeed, you may want to enlist the services of a magazine publisher who can help you with many of the details of publishing a magazine.

A magazine publisher can help with many of the startup, marketing, production, and distribution tasks that need to be taken care of for a magazine's launch and longevity. They can provide sound advice based on years of experience, and help you avoid pitfalls along the way.

Before you decide to look for a magazine publisher, it's important to have a well thought out business plan in place that clearly outlines your product and audience, marketing strategy, financial plan and analysis, your management team, industry analysis, and competition. Once you have your business plan, you can determine what startup capital you have available to work with, and you also have a clearly stated plan that you can use as a basis for future discussions with various magazine publishers.

Do some research on various magazine publisher options to come up with a short list of those you might want to talk to, and what services they offer. Each publishing company will have their own strengths and weaknesses, and their own mix of services and features. Magazine publishing companies can offer a range of services; launching and startup advice, design and development, editorial expertise, printing and production, advertising campaigns, telemarketing, web site development and design. You need to determine what services you want to utilize, and which ones you may want to do yourself.

Meet with each publishing company, present your business plan, and see what they can offer you in terms of service and price. While many services may sound great, they often are not cheap, so you need to select those services that will leverage the publishing company's strengths and augment your weaknesses, so that you can get the most value for your money. Talk to them about how they might be able to help you gain circulation and advertising dollars, which is the key component to sustaining any magazine. Ask them how they have helped other clients succeed, and have them provide specific examples of their magazine publisher expertise.

A key component of your new magazine will be a website, and in fact, many magazines are now starting out as e-zines, purely electronic magazines, to reduce initial costs. While magazine owners report that they don't typically get the bulk of advertising dollars directly from a website, it is necessary to host content, generate ads, increase readership and circulation, get feedback, and advertise. A well developed and interesting website can definitely complement and boost your print magazine with the aid of a magazine publisher.

For anyone considering starting a new magazine, expert advice and good ideas are critical to magazine success. A good magazine publisher can provide these missing components to the inexperienced, deliver services, and take care of details that allow you to focus on the most critical aspects of your magazine.