Getting the message out there

Network She member Kate Hamilton is a magazine editor that moved to North Wales to raise her family. Spotting a gap in the market for a quality, regional lifestyle publication she launched North Wales Magazine in April 2017

I didn’t get to bed until 2pm last night (I was going to have an early night but decided to have a “small” glass of wine at 10pm and got my second wind) and now, at six thirty in the morning, I am being banged on the head by a three-year-old with a small, but rather hard, toy car.

All would be well if I could spend the couple of hours that he’s at school having a revitalising coffee and actually begin to tidy the tip that is my house – but, like you, I am self employed. Its days like this, with a mountain of work to do and no time in which to actually do it, that I rue the day that I had my lightbulb moment and decided to start my own business…

Anyway, I decide to do what any go-getting 40-year-old mother of three does when she needs to concentrate on her new business – I ring my mum. I do a deal whereby she picks Tom the troublemaker up from school if I can do some internet shopping for her later – a silver surfer she is not.

And, ironically, coming to this arrangement with my mother reminds me of why I actually launched North Wales Magazine in the first place. Because, no matter what you may hear, print publishing is not dead. We are not all digital whizz kids and, even those of us that are, like to have a break away from a screen occasionally.

A magazine, especially a lifestyle magazine, is still a treat. It’s worth putting off emptying the dishwasher or doing that third load of washing in order to snuggle up on the sofa and indulge in those glossy pages. The next time you go abroad, take a look at the amount of magazines that are hauled onto the plane by men and women of all ages that still think a glossy mag is the best way to start their holiday…

Magazines are practical too (especially if you’re a bit uncoordinated like myself and don’t trust yourself to juggle your Kindle and that well-deserved glass of Prosecco in the bath simultaneously), and there’s no denying that glossy mags smell nice!

Of course, no amount of glossy images can make up for a poor article. Quality, independent, original content is vital, and this is where I had a stroke of luck. North Wales is a beautiful, fascinating and thriving place – and nobody was writing about that in a traditional magazine format. I’m a journalist by trade, and we moved to North Wales six years ago when I was pregnant with my second child – simply to follow my parents who retired here.

But, free babysitting or not, we wouldn’t have followed them if they had retired to Swindon. We made North Wales our home simply because it is an amazing place in which to raise a family.

So, North Wales Magazine exists in order to celebrate the amazing region in which we live and, I am proud to say, it has been very well received. We print between 8,000 and 10,000 copies every month which are currently distributed in all of the major supermarkets along the North Wales coast – and each and every copy gets picked up within 48 hours of distribution.

But, and it’s a big but, the problem with glossy magazines is that they cost a bloody fortune to print. And so with that in mind we are about to enter the next stage of our business.

From the November issue we will be starting the transition from a free publication to a paid-for magazine. We won’t be charging the earth – at just £2 we will still be the most cost effective regional mag out there – and we want to share the love with you…

North Wales Magazine is looking for other, local businesses that might be interested in selling the magazine. And, for every single copy that you sell you keep £1. There is no limit to how many you can have; we’ll even drop them off to you too. There’s no contract, no pressure – in fact there aren’t any strings at all.

So, if you are interested in selling North Wales Magazine, and adding another revenue stream to your own business, or, if you are looking for a quality platform from which to promote your business, then please get in touch via kh@northwalesmagazine.co.uk – and we can get the North Wales message out there together.

To see the latest issue please click here.