From Hammock editors Jamie Roberts and Shannon McRae:
In our opinion, New York is the center of the world. During a three-day trip to the Big Apple, we stayed within a city block of some of the week’s biggest news stories: Charles and Camilla attended a MOMA event, the Top of the Rock observation deck opened to the public for the first time in almost 20 years, and the Radio City Music Hall orchestra walked off the job on the opening day of the Christmas Spectacular.
So why were in the center of the universe (other than to eat sushi and take in a show)? We went to attend the 2005 FOLIO show, one of the publishing industry’s leading seminars.
It’s always good to hear about what other people in your industry are doing. And sometimes the best brainstorms come when you’re not in the office. Here’s a top 10 list of what we learned this week (some of which we hope to use in American Spirit and MyBusiness magazines):
1. Some magazines are having great success with online readers’ panels.
2. Creating a summary of stories for designers to read before they begin layout is more helpful than handing them a stack of copy.
3. The editors and designers at Hammock get along a lot better than those at other publications.
4. American Airlines has a tough time getting luggage from Nashville to New York and back again on direct flights.
5. To encourage reader feedback, make sure you consistently remind readers of how to contact you.
6. A magazine is not a community–community is real people connecting…but a magazine can help bring a community together, according to one of our favorite panelists.
7. Encouraging free thinking and regularly recognizing employee contributions is a good way to avoid editorial burnout.
8. Enlist readers to provide content–under certain parameters, of course!
9. Hammock designers do a pretty good job of following the four-point approach to good cover design: Simplicity, Strength, Sizzle and Sophistication. They even win Ozzie awards for their covers.
10. No matter how long you lived in New York, it takes time to harden your feet to pounding the pavement again!
p.s. Is it just us or does the girl in the FOLIO ad look a little like our own Lena Basha?