Do you, or would you, buy any Spain magazines? Feedback please!

OK, I know this sounds crazy but I have been doing the sums for putting together a glossy monthly Spain magazine that people can buy.

I can get great content, have it properly formatted and distributed at what seems not too high a cost.  It seems possible anyway.

Years ago before we moved to Spain we used to buy magazines such as "Living Spain", "Spanish Magazine", "Spain Magazine", etc.  We actually really liked them.

So, my question is. 

Do you buy any Spain magazines at the moment?  If so which ones?  In fact, ARE there any Spain magazines in circulation at all these days?

If we put together a great glossy Eye on Spain mag every month, would you buy it?  It would be a normal magazine price level.

Let me know your thoughts as I always appreciate everyone's input.

Thanks

Justin

Sounds like a good idea,I would buy it if it contained thinks like,local information of places to visit within a reasonable distance,I live in Mazarron,local walks in specific areas,restaurants,recipies for spanisd food etc.We get local information on the computer from SIMPLY NETWORKING,which is packed with info regarding the local area.One example was last weekend when the navy ships were in at Cartagena not one local paper had any think about it. Simply Networking had loads of info regarding when you could visit what times etc,and we had a really enjoyable day.The spanish have so many fiesta and things going on that tend to be free but they dont, advertise them,im sure more peoplewould like to have info about these.

Justin,

            Please note link http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/section.asp?navcode=157

This covers UK but can be equated worldwide to all mag subsciptions and readership levels.

I for one would not invest time and money for information which is readily available free on the net

The success of EOS should tell you this is the way forward, your idea of paying for articles is a way forward if you can pass this cost onto your members, I for one would pay for information about my particlar interesta if they were offered on EOS

Just my thoughts

The coast already seems littered with free magazines of which most are either advertising or featured/advertising articles and very little in the way of quality content.

I doubt I would buy

What are your thoughts on distribution or where would it be sold etc

I have no wish to be a party poop but newspapers and magazines are giving way to online media; and advertising revenue is increasingly difficult to come by. I recall browsing the Properties and Lifestyle Abroad section in W.H Smiths. At one time (about 2000) I counted over fifty titles. How many survived? The only one of note is Living Spain, a bi-monthly.

Justin, we stopped regular buying of glossy Spain type mags (Spanish Living mostly) about 4 years ago, and now  like the more "instant" type news and articles that are available on t'internet.

Maybe once or twice a year now we get Place In The Sun mag. if it has a spanish feature-but we don't go out of our way to seek it out.  And,of course, in hard times the cover price has a lot to do with the buying decision

Thanks for the comments.

I am aware that generally magazine sales are on the decline but the idea is to do it in conjunction with a digital iPad and Android tablet app, the digital version including videos, etc.  By keeping production costs low (my speciality) we wouldn't even have to rely too much on advertising to fund it. 

Faro, it wouldn't be like those awful free magazines you get everywhere along the coast....it would be considerably better than those and with excellent content.  We have some great ideas on this front.

Through a contact of mine in the UK we could even get it on the shelves in places like WH Smiths.  So it would be good for EOS awareness too.

Justin

 Sounds to me like an interesting challenge!

Best,

Maria

Hi - I buy one magazine here in Spain called Vivir en el Campo.  It is a wonderful magazine dedicated to renovated country properties so it is a specialist mag, rather than a general "life in Spain" one.  I dream of renovating an old finca, some day, so I buy this to work on my dream!

I doubt I would buy a general magazine, Justin.  What I would buy is an english language newspaper which dealt with serious Spanish news, rather than the tedious rags we get here which have a few news stories about the immediate area, British news and then pages and pages charities and ads.  Some serious Spanish news would be wonderful!

We buy El Pais (Spain's leading broadsheet newspaper) on Saturday mornings so we can read it in the local bar over coffee, but other than that we would never buy anything printed.  There is so much good material online, there is no point.  

Claire - for good quality news about Spain in English, El Pais is available in translation the next day via the Herald Tribune:

http://www.elpais.com/misc/herald/herald.pdf

Then there are occasional articles on Iberosphere (formerly Qorreo):

http://iberosphere.com/

And of course Eye on Spain's own blog, Spanish Business News:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/SpanishBusinessNews.aspx

I agree, most of the Costa expat rags aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

I think it could be a very good idea, especially tying into an app.

I also agree with ClaireT, in that I'm feed up with the British 'Costa' rags that call themselves newspapers, and just print the same old stories without actually even trying to address the issues at hand.

Something that would actually deal with these subjects with a constructive, non-biased methodology would be fantastic.

Dare I say even something that would border 'Investigative Journalism'.

I tend to get all the news on-line, but I do love glossy mags and often buy them in the UK, mainly house style stuff but I would certainly buy an English language glossy mag in Spain.

I used to read Spain magazine, before I moved out (and when I was back in the UK, sporadically) it was pretty good. and I love watching cultural programs about Spain. Especially old folks doing stuff in the countryside...

Picking Fruit - Oranges - Alicante
Catching trout in wicker baskets
Making Wine - La Rioja
Pressing Olives - in Jaen
Drying Ham - In Las Alpujarras
Making Esparto Shoes
A Matanza en Murcia
Mushroom forraging in the Guadalajarra

I have been lucky enough to see many wonderful things on my travels throughout Spain.

I would definitely buy a magazine...one that made me think "I want to go there" , "I want to see that"...Bright photos and well researched text, a high quality paper...a magazine that you would want to keep.

Having travelled Spain extensively (45 out of 50 provinces) , and I just want to see, taste and experience Spain all the more.

There is a wealth of interesting customs, crafts, people and places that has hardly been touched on...

I'd love to see an a TV series that explores Spain in some detail...

There is a gulf in quality between really professionally produced material and what people are able to do in their spare time.

Hopefully one day when I can afford it, I'll be able to return to Spain. Ha tocado mi alma, y quiero volver.

Maybe one day my own little project will be equitable...

www.spanishpropertymagazine.com

I love reading magazines and especially finding out more about different areas in Spain that we may visit in future.  I usually buy a Spanish magazine called Mia, which gives many Spanish recipes and also has a travel feature.  We also buy La Verdad at the weekend to read regional, national and international news, plus it helps our Spanish!  During the week we read it for free in local bars while having a coffee or vino.

As I live inland, with not many expats here, I doubt whether I would be able to buy such a magazine locally, however I would be willing to pay money to download it if the content was good.  Why don't you put a questionnaire on here with examples of the type of articles you would be publishing and a tick box against different topics to gauge the amount of interest?  I have mentioned Spanish recipes plus places to visit in Spain, Claire would like serious Spanish news, TechNoApe wants investigative journalism and tangledman enjoys features on country crafts and traditions.

Sue

Before we bought in Spain I had 'Place in The Sun' on order monthly and often used to buy other Spain magazines on a random basis if they were featuring a region I was interested in or had a property renovation that looked interesting or if they had specific features about life in Spain. Since we have bought our apartment near Mazarron I do still occasionally buy magazines if they feature a local area or somewhere we are hoping to visit but I no longer receive 'Place in the Sun'

I think now I'd be interested in a magazine that offered more than masses of property adverts and property information, places to visit, festivals and customs. I think some serious articles on finances,legal matters and issues facing people who live in Spain would be interesting and not necessarily doom and gloom.

I would definitly buy a magazine while im in spain at my house there, it would be great to buy one on all aspects of the country, especially about local issues fiestas and carnivals going on as someone else said they dont advertise them much. recipes, a learn the lingo page, and a recomendations page for doctors dentists etc. being in spain is the only time i get to actually read a magazine like most people and normally read one from cover to cover so one on my favorite subject(spain) would be great!

Thanks for the comments.

Personally, I still buy magazines every month.  I buy Autocar every week, and Classic Cars and Classic and Sports Cars every month.  I just love having a physical magazine in my hands.

Pitby, the iPad app is certainly the way to go but going off of our current audience, here is how many people access our site via mobile devices:

iPhone:  2.6%

iPad:  1.6%

Android:  0.5%

Then there are others such as Blackberry which are even lower.

So at the moment I can't see the investment in an iPad app paying off, even though I know that iPad usage will increase.  I think this on it's own would be a bigger risk in the short term.

It's a tough one but the comments here are really useful to come up with a formula that may just possibly work!

Remember that the idea is not to get rich out of this, I was thinking of using it as a way to spread the Eye on Spain name.  So I'm just looking for it to pay for itself.

Anyway, will keep spinning this one around in my head....along with the other million ideas or so

Thanks everyone.

Justin

Justin,

Just a comment on the iphone/ipad/android use. I'm sure you'd get many more hits via a mobile app which is tailored towards that audience. It's not much fun looking at a tiny screen with the amount of superb detail there is on this site. However, when optimised for mobile use it's a different matter. It's a Catch22 situation but I'm sure that with a tailored app you'd get a mich bigger mobile audience. If you dont want to go the whole hog and in the current economic climate who could blame you, why not go for a Tapatalk option or similar?

I like the idea of a 'whats on' section rather than  just article's about a specific celebration or festival a sort of diary of events would be really useful. We get ' Simply networking' on line and aside from all the local news features it has information about regional upcoming events- this is particularly useful when friends and family use the apartment.

Whilst I wouldnt want it to be the main focus of a magazine I think articles about how people rescue and refurbish properties is still of a big interest to many people especially if the surrounding area can be included as well. Several years ago we watched one of the day time shows in the UK about people who move to Spain to live and work and it featured a couple in Medina Sidonia who renovated an original village property and developed a fab boutique hotel 'Casa Medina'. I later saw an article in 'A Place in the Sun' about the couple and property  wiuth all the contact detailsand subsequently we stayed there. I have since recommended the hotel to friends and family and whilst they haven't yet used it I know their friends have. So, thats just one example of how a magazine can be useful for promotion.