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From the Publisher: May 2007 |
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Written by Sue Fredericks
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Imagine, a Magazine With Infinite Pages
All the news that’s fit to print” is the motto that
appears in the masthead of the New York Times every day. One of the
truisms that most publishers face is more apt to be all the news “that
fits to print.”
It’s always a balancing act to try and get as much information into an issue of the magazine as the advertising budget will allow. The number of ads sold determines the number of pages that each issue should have. And then, of course, the ads have to be placed on the pages too. The space that’s left gets filled with the stories, designs, and news that we take pride in delivering.
But what if we could do more? What if we could deliver stories between the eight issues of the magazine – publish more industry photos, post more industry events and news?
We can, of course, and we do, on our website, www.canadianfloristmag.com.
In fact, I am sure most have you have noticed an annoying new habit we have of cutting news bits a little short and referring you to the Current Links section of our website. We don’t do this to be difficult, but to get you used to using our website as your hub for the industry.
Web publishing doesn’t have the time and financial constraints of printing and mailing a printed magazine. It can be done anytime and anywhere, so news can actually still be news when it’s posted. The Internet allows us to be in contact with each other pretty much 24/7, and we want to take advantage of this.
I guess by now you see there’s a theme here – we want florists to be online. Not because we’re going to abandon our printed magazine, but because there is so much we can add to the Canadian Florist experience, and because that’s where your peers around the world are too. Florists from the U.S., the U.K., Australia and elsewhere are using online blogs to talk about profits, order gatherers, holiday sales and just to say hi. Check out florist blogs such as www.floristblogs.com and www.flowerchat.com to see what they have to say. They’re free and have lots of interesting perspectives.
In a bit of an ironic twist that the Internet, which has caused one of the major issues florists face with online order gatherers, may also be the place where florists from around the world can connect to exchange ideas and experiences that will help to combat this and other challenges. The Internet is also the place where florists can speak directly to the consumer to refute some of the negative press that abounds at floral holidays. The advent of “citizen news” means that you too can speak your mind.
The first step is to get online. When you turn to page 7 of the magazine you will see an ad offering the chance to win a fantastic new book, Two Faces of Floral Design, with the combined talents of Gregor Lersch and Klaus Wagener. All you have to do to enter is fill out our online survey and tell us what your web preferences are. One lucky winner will take home the book, and the rest of us will win because our website will be tailored to your needs.
(Or you could simply buy the book for $151.00 plus taxes and shipping, from our online bookstore.)
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