NEW ZEALAND CRAFTER MAGAZINE
New Zealand Crafter is a magazine dedicated to crafts in New Zealand for NZ readers, making it the only one of its kind.
New Zealand Crafter magazine is a crafts magazine produced in New Zealand about crafts and crafts people in New Zealand. By being local it will engage its readers as being about them, for them. Advertising will be local, competitions and giveaways will be local so unlike overseas craft magazines that are readily available, readers will be able to take part and find shops relevant to local environment.
Also, being a NZ publication, the cost will be cheaper than imported overseas magazines, making it an affordable addition to their craft consumable purchases rather than a costly luxury.
Seeing that the magazine will be affordable, we also intend for the content to be accessible to everyone, all skill levels. The crafts scene has become somewhat elitist is some circles and we want our magazine to be focused to the craft maker, craft enthusiast, hobbyist rather than the top end of the market of people who are buying crafts for the artist value and not actually making them themselves. Though, making craft as a profession, will also feature as an element.
We aim to engage, inspire and spark creativity rather than showcase. We want our readers to keep crafting for the love of it and not feel that their work isn’t good enough because it doesn’t stand up to ‘showcase standards’. Rather we want to foster growth and promote confidence, and leave the showcasing to other publications.
Our magazine, being produced in NZ, will also help to promote Kiwi made.
If all goes according to plan, we aim to launch in March 2017.
Format
Printed and bound: initially 72 pages, stapled. Future could increase this to around 140 pages and glued could increase to monthly as interest and contributor pool builds.
Online: Downloadable PDF
Publish cycle: initially bimonthly. Future could increase to monthly as interest and contributor pool builds.
Topics
While this might seem like too broad a selection, that readers would surely want a more specific subject range, most craft enthusiasts enjoy more than one kind of craft and are always keen to try something new. Craft enthusiasts can be viewed the same as gardening enthusiasts. While some people are mostly interested in roses or vegetable growing, it all comes under gardening.
Features/columns
* Directory and calendar via NZCraft Hub website – i.e. magazine to promote my existing website as a means to developing it into a comprehensive directory and calendar, the accompaniment to the magazine.
Contributors
If you are interested in becoming a contributor for New Zealand Crafter magazine please email us at magazine@nzcrafthub.co.nz with a short sample of your work.
New Zealand Crafter magazine is a spin-off/accompanying venture to the New Zealand Craft Hub, which is a directory website of craft suppliers, expos, markets, craft sellers and other craft-related events and organisations. It was started with no money down in March of this year, and is run on a DIY website platform. An accompanying Facebook page was launched at the same time and had reached 75 followers a week before the website had even gone live, and is over 1000 followers and growing steadily.
In developing the website and adding extra content to increase interest such as a projects page and monthly newsletter it became evident that there is a strong appetite for this kind of content. Thus, the website and Facebook page has acted more as a market research tool through which we’ve been able to gauge what the market really wants and this prompted the idea to investigate the possibility of starting a magazine.
New Zealand Crafter magazine is a new Kiwi magazine for Kiwi craft enthusiasts. It will be the only one of its kind in the current market. It aims to engage those already crafting by building new networks – as 49% of craft enthusiasts we surveyed said they wanted a printed version, it would help to bring together many crafters, particularly those in the 50+ age bracket who are not as online as much as the younger audience.
Plus by having a print version that younger generation might pick up at gran’s house or mum or doctor’s rooms, might help to inspire new crafters.
In this digital age, with people turning more and more to online media, it may come as a surprise that 49% said they wanted a print version.
Despite there being a huge number of craft websites, blogs, books, etc available, magazines are still popular and growing in popularity. The Magazine Publishers Association research shows women choose magazines they identify with, as a treat – something they can use to indulge in some “me” time, and that overall magazine sales are generally increasing.
In our survey, 46% said they would definitely buy a NZ craft magazine and 51% would consider buying it. Only 1% said they would not.
In addition to the usual reasons for buying a magazine, special interest magazines are especially valued by their readers and may be kept for months, even years or specifically collected. Issues not sold immediately can be kept for on-sale as back issues in the future as new readers wish to make their collection complete.
Also, magazines tap into the gift market, making a perfect gift for that person when someone doesn’t know what else to get. According to iSubscribe, “50% of their customers are purchasing a subscription as a gift for someone else”.
If you are interested in advertising in the magazine, please contact us atmagazine@nzcrafthub.co.nz for a media kit, which will be available in November.
What we can achieve is limited by the funds we can raise. Our goal is the minimum amount we need to get a basic magazine up and running. It would allow us to produce a printed magazine selling for around $12.50 that would only be available via direct subscriptions and sales from our website.
We would love to be able to sell our magazine for less than $10.00 a copy and through retailers such as news agents and supermarkets, however the cost of the logistics involved make this impossible with our initial weak financial position. If we can raise two to three times our goal amount, we would be able to do it.
We need your support – after all, this isn’t our magazine, it’s yours!