How to Start a Magazine as a Student

Students are surrounded with different information during their years in college. Checking and researching what data isn't outdated or fake takes much time. Hence, students are constantly searching for interesting and trustworthy sources to get the latest updates on college news. Many universities have in-house magazines. Such publications entertain and inform their readers about current news, the latest trends, interesting events, and more. Such magazines are often run by students. If you are considering starting your own magazine, our article will guide you through the basic steps.

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Define the concept of your magazine

At the very beginning, you need to decide on the idea and goal of your magazine. Define the target audience. The publications must cover topics related to the main area of interest of potential readers. For most student magazines the readers would come from the same college or university. Hence, consider the prevailing subjects and specializations. For example, if most students of your educational organization study engineering and STEM subjects, then articles about innovations in IT would be a good idea.

The preliminary concept of your magazine should include the regularity of issues and formats of the magazine. For example, you had better start from the digital version and after you gain popularity, you can decide on a printed version.

Calculate the budget

Finance is a crucial stage of the preparation process. Your business plan for the magazine will show you the vitality of the project. However, most student magazines get funds from their universities, but initiating a new project, you are more likely to start with your own funds. If you have partners, it would be easier to split the budget. You can also try to get funding from volunteers on GoFundMe or Kickstarter. After your magazine has a good reputation, you might apply for funding from your college. However, prepare yourself for self-funding for a minimum year.

Find writers

One of the crucial steps of starting a magazine is creating a strong team. If you’re going to combine the roles of a writer and an editor-in-chief of a magazine, you will quickly burn out. So you need to start looking for writers at the preparation stage. 

Experienced students recommend using all channels to pass information to potential team members:

●      Student communities

Usually, many writers join specific student communities and campus societies. For example, your university can have a book club or a journalistic society. Reach out to such foundations and ask them to spread information that you're looking for writers among the members. 

●      Social media

Use the internet as this is a powerful resource for searching for talent. You need to create an attractive and informative pitch that will engage and motivate your potential team members. One of the tips is combining video and an attractive Keynote or PowerPoint presentation (5-7 slides will be enough). Film a short clip telling about your magazine, its name, and topics you want to tell about to your readers. If you're going to publish your video on social media, remember to add subtitles.

●      Word of mouth

Spread the information about hiring writers among your circle of friends. Ask everyone you know to pass information further and help you find talented and committed writers for your magazine. Ensure to have a short, but solid and convincing pitch. 

Start your first issue

After you have a team of writers and a chief committee, you are all set to start operations. Begin with a first team meeting where you will get to know each other and discuss areas of responsibilities. Discuss the steps and create a project plan. Define who will be responsible for initial steps and set deadlines. The main advice is to be ready to work and learn from your mistakes.

Afterall

We hope now you see what steps one should take to start a magazine as a student. We wish you good luck!