Need you honest opinion

[CgarDan]

Here is an idea for a cigar magazine: would this interest you and how much would you pay for a monthly issue ????

Would include:

Cigar reviews that are -- truly unbiased, reviews are done by readers with new panel every month. Each reviewer’s pic will be also included. UNBIASED !!!! If a cigar is reviewed that same brand is not allowed to advertise in that issue

Listing of HERFs and cigar events by state, and those who want to provide more info will get a small paragraph about the event Also a pictorial from previous HERFs with pics of real people and small description of the HERF that took place

Articles that are cigar related from freelance writers -- no writing staff to ensure that no one opinion or theme get pushed but rather what ever is of the most interesting content. Also giving unknown writers perhaps lit majors or just everyday people share their knowledge and writing styles.

Q & A questions that is a real section. Let's say someone asks about humidity they will get an answer that is comprehensive not a one liner. Sometimes pictorial applications to follow the answers. So real questions are raised and real answers are given

Each issue to focus on a certain city and do an article on that places cigar friendly establishments, pics of he place also; also Zagat ratings for each place: price, atmosphere, etc

Each issue to include a pictorial of a hot girl smoking a cigar. Not playboy nudity but Maxim type of sexuality.

Each issue will have some kind of a contest to take place with winner getting something nice like a box of good cigars, etc.


Once again would love to have your comments, suggestions, and please on a scale of say
1 - 10 how interested would you be in this magazine and realistically how much are you willing to pay for this monthly publication (per month or yearly subscription)

 

[Dice]

Everything sounds of interest to me except the bimbo smoking the cigar. Keep the focus on actual cigar related topics and they will buy it! I know I will. As for price,take a look at the market as it stands now. Most all of the cigar related mags are $4.95,keep it in that price range with special reduced prices for subscribers (along with PROMPT shipping to subscribers who will get they're mags BEFORE they end up on store shelves) and you'll have the beginings of a Great magazine!

Good luck with your endeavour.

 

[symyn]

I would subscribe, keep the bimbo's too

 

[Mark Twain]

Sounds like a great idea. This will take a lot of heart and energy to get off the ground. As for the issue of bias, every magazine that I know of has one. Perhaps not towards any specific brand of smoke, but just about every publication I can think of has an editor or an editorial board that often take the form of Gods over the material that goes into their magazine. This can be problematic to say the least. I suggest that your magazine should have a bias, and a positive one at that. You should strive to attain quality in your magazine by asking cigar smokers from every walk of life to present their material and then step up to the editorial duties and pick a nice selection of the top reviews encompassing quality (i.e.-your, or who ever the editor’s opinion of quality is).

Bias is after all pretty subjective stuff. Editors, both good and bad are constantly under accusation of bias. My advice is to be open about it, say that you have a bias about reviews centered on quality and define what your idea or the editorial boards idea on quality is in your opening mission statement and reinforce this statement with each good review you publish.

I really like this idea. I’m studying writing now and have one measly publication to my credit, so the Lit stuff really intrigues me. The ideas you present all seem very good and I would enjoy, no pay to enjoy reading this mag on a quarterly or bi yearly basis at a cost of $7.00 to $15.00 an issue depending on how much content is involved.

As too the points thing, I’m kinda done with points in cigar magazine ratings. I think they’re arbitrary, and to be frank useless. Focus on what your reviewer writes and you won’t ever have to use a points system.

 

[PuroEsq]

I am OK with the general idea as some of the things you mentioned are sorely lacking in many "Cigar" mags. (Will you be reviewing private jets, $30,000.00 watches, and $200,000.00 cars too? ??? )I am also hesitant regarding the "Cigar Babe" idea. Is this the type of magazine you want sold in Head Shops or one that has to have a plastic seal on it to keep little Jonny from looking while at the store?

If a cigar is reviewed that same brand is not allowed to advertise in that issue

I do not think this will work. Advertising generally is purchased in multiple issue blocks. Pulling advertising just because that particular advertiser's product is reviewed may cost you advertising. I understand that you want to be clear that advertising does not buy favorable reviews but this is not the way. I think once you have advertisers who remain with your publication even though their new cigar did not get a 85+ in the most recent issue it will become clear that you are selling advertising and not reviews.

Overall as an idea it is a good one. I have become disinteresated in CA mag because it is 90% non-cigar related stuff. I don't have a private jet, own a Bently, wear $30K watches, or play golf at the prestigious courses of the world. What is left for me when you take all of that out of their mag? Not much.

My .02

 

[tigger]

Honestly, I like your ideas, but I think you'd have a tough go of it.

There are already 4 magazines that come to mind immediately that would be your competition. Three of them publish quarterly (though Smoke's website is showing Spring 2006 as its most recent issue, so I'm not sure what's going on there), probably because the numbers don't work publishing monthly. The most recent one is Lew Rothman's, and he has alot of money to keep the thing running for awhile until it's (hopefully) profitable.

As has been mentioned, I think you'd have a really hard time turning away advertisers because you were rating their smokes. You'd need every dime you could get.

Those things said, I would pay ~6 or 7 bucks for the first couple of issues, and subscribe at a similar rate if I liked it.

A thought - it might work better as a web-based thing, if the technology exists to make sure that only subscribers can view it.