Okay. Hypothetically, say I have the money to get the Fortean Bureau reprinting again for a couple of months, but in that couple of months, I need it to become self-sufficient. I'm looking for suggestions here. Say that could happen. What should I do differently than we did before? Any and all suggestions will be read and considered. Even if the suggestion is, "there are plenty of good markets out there now. Don't bother." Because I'm not sure there is as big of a need for us as there used to be. Maybe the time for such a 'zine has passed.
From my files on what I would like to see tried, in case anything strikes you:
-Offer time-based subscriptions a la Wired. ie: create an issue online that is password accessible to subscribers, but after a period of time (say 1 issue) release that issue to the public at large. Still drives traffic and discovery of your content and archives, but gives reasons for readers to pony up to get the latest and most exciting stuff, and be the first to know about it/read it. Add advertising only to the public archives. Offer readers ways to redistribute the fiction so that it might proliferate? (email this page to a friend, digg this?)
-Serialize something fictional and long? The internet seems to lend itself well to this.
-Post half the story, and then release the second half once people have hit the tipjar to release it into the public? This would allow you to proceed at a pace where you wouldn't create an issue until it made back it's cost.
-You might even step back from 'issues' and just post stories that are cut in half and when the tipjar hits the 'release' point post the rest of the story and the next half story, making people coming back to read the end start the next story.
From my files on what I would like to see tried, in case anything strikes you:
-Offer time-based subscriptions a la Wired. ie: create an issue online that is password accessible to subscribers, but after a period of time (say 1 issue) release that issue to the public at large. Still drives traffic and discovery of your content and archives, but gives reasons for readers to pony up to get the latest and most exciting stuff, and be the first to know about it/read it. Add advertising only to the public archives. Offer readers ways to redistribute the fiction so that it might proliferate? (email this page to a friend, digg this?)
-Serialize something fictional and long? The internet seems to lend itself well to this.
-Post half the story, and then release the second half once people have hit the tipjar to release it into the public? This would allow you to proceed at a pace where you wouldn't create an issue until it made back it's cost.
-You might even step back from 'issues' and just post stories that are cut in half and when the tipjar hits the 'release' point post the rest of the story and the next half story, making people coming back to read the end start the next story.
Just some thoughts.