HOW MUCH SHOULD I CHARGE
FOR MY MAGAZINE?

How much you should charge for your community magazine will obviously be determined by your actual publishing costs so you must price your magazine so that it gives you a good return on your investment. As your circulation increases, the actual cost of each published copy of your magazine will decrease but don't, under any circumstances, make the mistake of pricing your magazine too low in the belief that it will generate more sales.

Plan for the future and aim to get the cover price of your magazine right from the very first issue so that you don't have to increase the price a short time later to cover any unexpected expenses. Remember that if you choose to publish your magazines using the services of a local printer, you will have to stand the cost of any copies that remain unsold.

The biggest mistake I made was not getting the price of my own magazines correct from the outset and then having to increase it as my publishing costs increased. Even now, at a level that everyone can easily afford, the effects of a recent price increase deterred a number of perhaps casual readers.

A glance around your newsagents shelves will show that monthly magazines are generally priced at anything between £1.00 and £5.00 per copy and more, although I don't suggest you aim for such a high figure with your own community magazine. Publishing a community magazine similar to the ones detailed on this website you should aim for a minimum of £2.00 per copy to give you a decent return on your time and investment.

Michael Norfolk

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