https://baekdal.com/strategy/so-you-want-to-start-a-new-magazine-good-idea/
Right now is the absolute best time to start a new magazine. The reason is that right now we have a very special situation where the public are willing to think about new ways of doing things.
You might think that, by saying this, I have gone completely mad. I'm writing this article in May-June 2020, in a time when our planet is in the middle of a pandemic (with big variations between countries).
We are seeing massive disruption all around us. Consumer confidence is down, brands are delaying their plans, companies are going bankrupt, people are getting fired and it all seems pretty bleak.
And the media industry, of course, is just as much a part of this. Not a day goes by without hearing about yet another media company having to cut costs, fire people, or even having to close.
So how can I possibly say that this is the best time to launch something new? "Read the room, Thomas" ... you might say.
But this is the best time because of several very important things.
First of all, this crisis is forcing people to change their habits and to think about how they are doing things. This means that they are now open to new ideas, and new choices for consuming media.
We saw the same thing after the last financial crisis. It accelerated a shift in the market with new platforms and new ways of consuming media. As a result, we saw many old publishers ending with huge problems (because they didn't do anything new), while new publishers started growing.
And this happens after every single crisis. It's the start of a new growth phase.
Secondly, the public actually has a lot of money right now. Yes, again, you are probably thinking that I have gone mad. But, it's true. Every time we have a crisis, what actually happens is that the people get scared (that's what consumer confidence is measuring) and they stop spending their money (a drop in consumer spending), which makes them put their money in savings instead of spending it.
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