Magcloud.com is a relatively new website where you can publish a magazine for free. People can then order your magazine for $.20 per page. If you set the price of your magazine over $.20 per page, then you will receive the difference.
Previously, to publish a magazine you had to pay a large amount of money up front to meet the the minimum run requirements to achieve economy of scale. Now, with print on demand services such as with
Magcloud there is no risk involved because there is absolutely no cost for the person publishing a magazine.
So let's explore the potential from the perspective of the orchid community...
Orchid Societies. In addition to offering their monthly newsletter via e-mail, orchid societies can also upload their monthly newsletter to Magcloud. Another possibility is that orchid societies in the same geographical region can pool their collective knowledge to publish a magazine for all orchid hobbyists in the same region. For example, there are around 14 orchid societies in Southern California. If every society submitted at least one article and a few photos...then you could throw in a few upcoming events, include a list of all the orchid societies in So Cal and you've got a pretty decent magazine.
American Orchid Society. The vast majority of orchid hobbyists are not members of the AOS due to the high cost of membership. The AOS cites the high cost of publishing its magazine to explain the high cost of membership. With Magcloud, the cost of publishing its magazine would be reduced to nothing...zip, zilch, nada...which would greatly reduce the cost of membership. Recently I corresponded with Magcloud about this possibility and they said that they plan to offer a service where the AOS could send them a list of members who wished to receive the printed magazine and Magcloud would ship the magazine to all the people on the list. The AOS could then put all their articles on their website. Currently, the AOS offers a little information to everybody (via its website) and a lot of information to a few people (via its magazine). With print on demand they could offer a lot of information to everybody.
Orchid Forums! Stickies, photo contests, article contests are all potentially great content for a magazine. The other day a friend in another society and I were talking about how difficult it is to try and encourage society members to join orchid forums. If you can't bring orchid society members to the orchid forums...then bring the orchid forums in magazine format to your society.
Orchid Hobbyists. Many orchid growers have a favorite area of interest within the orchid hobby. For example, my area of interest is epiphytic orchid species that can grow outdoors in nearly frost free climates. Others are interested in semi-hydroponics, miniature orchids, slipper orchids, native orchids, breeding orchids, orchid conservation...it's a long list! With Magcloud, orchid hobbyists with similar interests can publish a magazine dedicated to their area of interest.
Information is an essential part of our hobby. With Magcloud, it is completely free to publish a magazine that can help share valuable information with other orchid growers.
Magcloud - A Resource For Everybody!
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