Just give us a call or send us an
email saying that you are interested in becoming
an Edible Communities newsletter publisher and include
the following information:
Name
Address
Phone and/or email address
Region/Geographic area you
wish to publish in
Preferred way of being contacted
- by phone, email, etc.
A brief note about your background
and areas of interest regarding local foods,
agriculture, etc.*
*your information will not
be shared with anyone other than our staff
members, who use it only as a preliminary
evaluation tool and to record contact information.
2)
We send an email back to you confirming
receipt of your information.
3)
We then set up either a phone call or email
with you to answer any initial questions you may have.
At this point, we also give you a brief outline describing
the costs involved with becoming a publisher/member of
Edible Communities, Inc., as well as the services provided
under our contract agreements. Once we've answered all
of your preliminary questions, we ask you to sign a non-disclosure
agreement (NDA), which protects our business model, revenue
and distribution channels, concepts and ideas, financials,
and other privileged company information from being used
without our permission.
4)
We send you the NDA which you then sign
and return to our offices either by fax or U.S. Mail.
5)
Once we receive your signed NDA, we will
set up a conference call between you and members of our
staff so that we can give you more detailed information
about the process of becoming an Edible Communities newsletter
publisher.**
**up to this stage of the process, you are under no obligation
to follow through with becoming an Edible Communities
newsletter publisher. It is only AFTER a contract is signed
(see #6), that you are obligated to fulfill the terms
of the agreement.
6)
Once all of your questions are satisfied
and you have all the information you need, we would then
proceed to the contract phase. Our contract includes detailed
and specific information about: timeline; costs; payment
schedule; services provided; collateral and other materials
provided; legal name, trademark, jurisdiction of newsletter,
etc.; corporate rules, regulations, guidelines; production,
design, distribution, revenue, financial, staffing, expenses,
profitability information; and more. Once the final contract
is negotiated and signed, the process of creating your
first newsletter begins.
7)
Members of our staff come to your community and work
with you to create the premiere issue of your newsletter.
This also includes providing you with promotional, collateral,
and other various business materials you will need;
the launch of your web site; national branding and exposure
under the Edible Communities umbrella; public relations
and marketing assistance; and an assessment of your
ongoing needs in order to continue publishing successfully.
Please note: this outline is only a partial
list of everything that actually occurs in each stage.
Although we are unable to include more specific details
here, we have found it useful for those who are interested
in contacting us to have this information available
upfront in order to better evaluate whether this venture
is right for them or not. It is helpful to keep in mind
that the process of becoming an Edible Communities newsletter
publisher is just like buying any other business-it
includes fees, contracts, legal documents and agreements,
as well as a commitment of time, energy, and skill to
be successful. If you believe you have those ingredients
and want to continue the process, please feel free to
email or call us at your earliest convenience.
To see an example of our existing newsletters,
click on the "Edible
Publications" link.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Q
Why affiliate with Edible Communities? Why not just
start my own magazine with a different name?
A
You are part of a national organization. Advertisers
are impressed by this, since you are not a complete startup,
there are proven success models to use as examples, and
you are part of a larger movement. EC sets up and maintains
your web site, has a database of food related images,
gives you templates and graphic support, leads on good
printer quotes, some national content, and a growing suite
of national advertisers.
Q
What sort of hardware and software do I need and
what does it cost?
A
computer and printer, a good digital camera, and some
basic design software, including Quark/Indesign, Photoshop,
and Acrobat.
Q
How do you distribute the magazines?
A
It's probably a good idea to do the first distribution
run yourself using a car (preferably with lots of storage
space). This will help you figure out appropriate locations,
meet existing and potential advertisers, and map out drops.
For subsequent issues find either a distribution service
or speak with publications in your area about how they
distribute. Post signs for a man with a van. Students
with cars are always looking for work.
Q
What costs will I incur and when will this be profitable?
A
Your major start-up costs are expenses for hardware
and software that you don't already have, as well as the
Edible Communities membership license agreement fee. You
will probably need to layout half of your printing cost
before you have been able to collect any money from advertisers.
Based on experience around the country, the average Edible
begins to see a profit in issue 3.
Q
Is any content/advertising included?
A
Edible Nation is a column on a nationally relevant topic
or theme written by a nationally known food writer each
quarter. National advertising is constantly being solicited
by our staff for EC wide inclusion.
Q
What does the license fee cover?
A
See "List of Services" document
Q
How do I convince people to advertise who say they
don't believe in advertising?
A
Edible is part of a movement to change the way people
think about food and advertising here aligns them with
it. This is a different sort of publication. It's a magazine
with a mission. And because it's devoted exclusively to
food, people with a limited ad budget will not get lost
in the shuffle. Our readers are devoted and interested
in the content, so they are more likely to look at every
ad.
Q
Why not Edible Colorado rather than Edible Denver?
A
Edible publications usually cover "communities"
working together and supporting themselves. There are
also some practical considerations with distributing over
the area of an entire state and trying to report on the
food scene in an entire state. Start small, and consider
adding publications in the same state.
