Healthy Growing Pains at Trail Builder Mag
It was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s that moment everyone fears but is needed. It’s an essential step of growth. I call it the “ah crap!” moment. It usually goes in phases something like this …
Phase 1 - Yeah! We’re doing this! We started something new! People are stoked!
Phase 2 - Ok, sweet. It’s growing!
Phase 3 - Wow … it’s growing, like fast …
Phase 4 - Whew, I think I’m going to need help and create systems and a more robust infrastructure.
Welcome to Phase 4. I’m excited to update you on what’s happening at Trail Builder Magazine, including tweaks for both online and print content. Ready? Let’s jump into this …
First, I want to thank every one of you. I receive countless DMs and emails from you. Your support and encouragement are remarkable. There is no Trail Builder Mag without you. I genuinely hope you feel part of it because you are.
Yes, we are going through growing pains. None of it was unexpected. In fact, I anticipated it but didn’t know when some of those pains would hit. Growing pains are actually good! That means we are growing and moving in the right direction. Here’s what this looks like.
Online Content - I am shifting our approach to how we produce online content. Previously, when I talked with those interested in contributing, I would share that we don’t pay for online content. If you wanted to write, you’d do so for free. While a few were happy, it’s not a sustainable way forward. Technically, it’s VERY sustainable for the magazine to get free content. However, I want to honor those who contribute. That means paying writers for their work. That’s why I returned to every conversation I had with potential contributors for online content and told them we would shift their article to the print mag. Why? Because we pay for print mag content (whether financial compensation or free gear for reviews).
At the same time, we do receive requests to post online content. Why? For some organizations who contribute an article, this has the same impact as a paid ad. You can write and share about what your organization is doing. When we share on our various platforms, that means thousands of people see it. Okay, back to the conversation of sales …
Sales - One of the reasons why we haven’t published a print magazine this year is I haven’t had the capacity to correspond with innumerable brands/companies about ad space, whether for the print magazine or on our website. I noticed the stark difference between our first two issues. For the first issue, we had plenty of ad revenue to pay for the printing costs and the contributors. Because I got buried with work at my day job(s) plus cramming in another Master’s degree in a year, I didn’t secure but one ad for the second issue. That means I paid for everything personally out of pocket. That’s not a sustainable way forward (nor is it wise).
The good news is we now have a Marketing Director in place to focus on that. That frees me up to focus more on website and print mag content. I have a lot of good content in the pipeline that I can now focus on. Also, I am more available to travel, attend events and races, and dig days for content.
Print Magazine - Given everything I shared above, I slowed down when pushing out the next print issue. As I shared from Day One of launching this magazine, I need to be sustainable to make this work in the volatile world of print magazines. That means low overhead and make intelligent decisions. The good news is the only pressure to churn out print magazine issues is internal (from me). I have not received one complaint about why we haven’t published any print issues yet this year. Yes, we are a quarterly print magazine, but we are growing into this footprint or pant size. I appreciate your grace.
So there you have it. That’s our growing pain. These are exciting times. Why am I sharing this? I committed to you to be transparent as we build and grow this magazine and media platform. You are part of this. Thank you.
Words: Sean Benesh Photos: Sean Benesh
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean Benesh
Sean is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Trail Builder Mag. He is also the Communications Director for the Northwest Trail Alliance in Portland, Oregon. While in grad school, he worked as a mountain biking guide in Southern Arizona. Sean also spends time in the classroom as a digital media instructor at Warner Pacific University.
