Camper & Bus mag - who's paying for it?

[retro.james]

Cue james p to justify his wages :lol: :lol:

To be honest, I don't have as much time to scan the forums as I'd like but I'm glad I came across this thread.

Feedback on the mag is always appreciated and bad feedback is especially useful in my opinion as it let's us know where we're going wrong and what needs changing.

With regards to adverts in the mag.

I was a VW enthusiast long before I got into writing about them and personally I'm with you BUT I have to put my business hat on and say the reason the magazine exists is to make money.

That's why IPC started it.

As ACMAG so rightly put it, "A magazine doesn't exist for the scene. It exists because of the scene" but I like to think we give something back in return.

In a struggling economy where magazine sales are dwindling across the board (although not actually with C&B!) greater demands
are made on us to hit ever bigger targets to balance the books by the powers that be.

As such, our ad team has to bring in more and more revenue so require more and more pages to hit those targets.

We're also in the (fortunate?) situation where ad space always sells out in the mag so are being 'asked' to give over more editorial pages over to ads...

If the magazine wasn't making money it would be closed down - simple as that.

We also have our subs and marketing people making demands on us for pages.

And you can't say "No, we're not going to advertiset our own show" can you?

No publisher in the world would let you do that...

There are so many factors and demands to take into account when putting the magazine together that a balance has to be struck.

To quote ACMAG again - "Requesting a magazine reduce its advertising content is a waste of your time" - and it's a waste of mine believe you me because it's something we've talked about in the office on numerous occasions...

Also, as the editor I have to balance my own books.

We may be owned by IPC but we have a ridiculously small budget to pay for putting each issue together.

IMO - out of all of the VW magazines you can buy on UK news stands we have far and away the best photography.

The vehicles are what people buy the mag for at the end of the day so we go out of our way to shoot them in the best possible way. Whether you agree with that or not is again, a matter of opinion.

Have a look at the mag and try and work out how much it costs to bring you an issue - I'll wager you think we have more to spend than we actually do...

By the time we've paid for photography and paid the free lancers to write them that doesn't leave much left over to pay for the rest of the magazine so we can't increase the amount of editorial pages either - but I always try to strike the right balance.

No one here will get rich writing/working for C&B - sadly me included!

With features like readers road trips - which we also pay for - we do end up cutting some bits out due to space and for the fact that some of it can be (dare I say it?) a bit uninspiring...

Ok, they've driven from X to Y which is great but to give details of the many hours spent on the motorway drive to get there could also be seen as a bit dull, so we use the space to detail the parts that we have pictures of and that we have more written details of.

Again, it's down to the space and the content we have available.

For larger road trips - with lots of words and pictures we do spread them over more than one issue.

We've got a really cool one coming up that will be spread over 2 or 3 issues.

If you've been somewhere cool in your Bus we're always looking for road trips, weekends away and campsite recommendations so please send them in.

In terms of the features - if you think they're a bit thin on detail then that's something I can do something about.

We always try and make them more about the owner and their experience of owning/building the vehicles than a shopping list of what was bought/fitted to the Buses.

But, if you think we should provide more details then we can do that - more relevant captioning perhaps?

Leave it with me - I'll see what we can do...

For the next issue - the March issue - on sale Feb 9th - we've got a redesigned look.

Nothing extreme, just a few styling tweaks to freshen up the mag and a couple of new feature ideas.

We've shown the new look to focus groups (at Vanfest and in the office) and made the changes they suggested in order to provide more value.

We'll continue to tweak things as we go so any suggestions will always be received in good spirit.

I'm the only full time member of staff on the magazine so I can take a little while to reply to emails but please email me at [email protected] and I will reply eventually.

Also, we can't please all of the people all of the time - so the content that does go in won't always be to all tastes - I've said it before but I'll say it again, T4 owners want more T4s, Bay owners Bays, etc, and our remit is to cover the entire Bus scene...

Right, I'm off to check the Late Bay thread now...

Cheers!

 

[pk1was]

i have an annual subscription and on the whole i like it, but a couple of things i have noticed (apart from the adverts) is the features on the vans. I like looking at the photos reading the words but to me it looks like theres some serious brown enveloping going on. For instance i have lost count of the feature vans that say

meet Gregg hes 24 and owns his own vw restoration business brownenveloperestos.co.uk and the work is top notch blah blah brownenveloperestos.co.uk blah blah blah. Anyway Gregg is selling this as he has a new resto on the go which will no doubt be featured in this mag, buy it on 0800 brown envelope.

a lot of the features seem to have a commercial element to them, i know some of the features are normal people but its just something i have noticed

i have emailed a photo of my bus 4 times for the show us yours feature with a few words, never had a response a returned email or a photo in the mag, mind you i dont do brown envelopes and im not selling it so probably of no use.

rant over

wozza

 

[retro.james]

i have an annual subscription and on the whole i like it, but a couple of things i have noticed (apart from the adverts) is the features on the vans. I like looking at the photos reading the words but to me it looks like theres some serious brown enveloping going on. For instance i have lost count of the feature vans that say

meet Gregg hes 24 and owns his own vw restoration business brownenveloperestos.co.uk and the work is top notch blah blah brownenveloperestos.co.uk blah blah blah. Anyway Gregg is selling this as he has a new resto on the go which will no doubt be featured in this mag, buy it on 0800 brown envelope.

a lot of the features seem to have a commercial element to them, i know some of the features are normal people but its just something i have noticed

i have emailed a photo of my bus 4 times for the show us yours feature with a few words, never had a response a returned email or a photo in the mag, mind you i dont do brown envelopes and im not selling it so probably of no use.

rant over

wozza

All brown envelopes are most graciously accepted - although none have ever come way. (I live in hope!)

And we no longer allow owners to use a feature as free for sale ad. (It was something that has been pointed out to us before) although if a company has built a cool Bus we will feature it.

With regards to reader's rides - when did you send it and what email address?

Email me direct at [email protected]

Although - why not send me enough information and pics to do a back to mine on it - a whole page?

Use the template in a past issue to see the sort of words we need and I'll get it in the mag for you...

Cheers

james

 

[bertiethebus]

well james, thanks for the great reply.
nice to get the views and response from the man at the top :mrgreen:

 

[pk1was]

James

thanks for the reply. i may well knock some words together and throw a few pics your way. it is great to have the views and opinions of the people involved and it can only make for better reading, i appreciate the response.













sorry there will be no brown envelope

 

[retro.james]

sorry there will be no brown envelope

I'm not in the office tomorrow but I'll look forward to seeing what you send me...

And I also accept PayPal...

Cheers all

 

[ib-bus]

You guys are so lucky to have a magazine dedicated to VW buses only , in the states it is not common to see a bus featured in a VW magazine and when you find one chances are it will not be an earlybay. I don't buy any of the US magazines because I don't own a bettle, sandrail or a buggy, I won't pay the $5 they ask for.
For C&B tough I have to drive from work a good 15 minutes each way to buy the magazine , not too many places carry it and they only have 2 or 3 in stock , so if I don't act quick I'll miss it.
I am happy to fork more than double of what the US magazines cost to get it because I feel I get my money's worth.
I like to read and look at the pictures of road trips as it helps me plan and visually convince my wife to take vacations on a bus , I have learned a lot of useless details about a bus with that old guy at the end of the magazine , Trinket Pimp is also one of my favorites , all those camper only events that are covered just make me drool , I have ordered parts that are not available in the US from vendors I would have never heard of if it wasn't for them being on this magazine.
I don't see myself walking away from the camper scene , I don't think we will ever get our own VW bus magazine in the States so I will keep buying it while I can , if it goes away it would be a shame.
Those are my 2 pence , cents or centavos depending on what currency you roll with :mrgreen:

Juan in Sun Diego 8)

 

[Gadget Boy]

Ive read this whole thread and laughed at some of the responses , I remember a time when '' WE '' the Vw scene didnt have many magazines , and we had NONEthat were solely dedicated to buses . It was a rare thing to get a bus feature in a UK mag and these were usually split screen buses, bays were ignored as no one thought they were any good :shock: ....... My how times have changed

If you want to get your bus in the mags and get it featured , whether or not its stock or lowered or slammed the only way to do it is to get to the shows and stick it about a bit . It wont get featured if it never leaves the county you were born or raised in , So when mags start saying have you seen this bus or that bus etc , It may well be a prelude to a feature and alot of the time the good , above average stories or restos do get featured and the owners do get the credit and all fair play to them too .

I have in the past emailed mag editors and said have you seen this or that as If something/someone impresses me with there bus Im pretty sure others will like it too I.E You guys

Having seen some great magazines fall by the wayside ( Vw Trends anyone ) We should do all we can to support the magazines that support us and remember that without Camper an Bus or Volksworld there'd be no Volksworld show which is a massive favorite of mine , and without Camper an Commercial , there would be no Camper Jam which is starting to become a favorite too

If the adverts make the mag cheaper then I have no problem with that , Have you seen the amount of adverts in Hot Vw's so that the features suffer and half of the write up is at the back of the mag.

Photos are mainly in most mags frt, back, sides, interior but with amazing photography from Camper an Buses Steve Sharp ( The Murphy panel van , Steve Gilberts Splitty on a quarry ledge, The Citrus Valley Bus ) to name a few , Thats why I buy the mag instead of looking at poor quality pictures the photos are outstanding and more importantly CLEAR

There are features that dont tick a box for me about a certain bus etc BUT I still read them, and I do enjoying reading the T4 an T5 features as there now part of our scene Just like T25s I especially like the road trip features as that serves as a inspiration to me to get out and about on the nations roads instead of just being under a bus :mrgreen:

Finally I do love Van Man :lol: :lol:

Everybody have a great 2012 of bus ownership and after the great success that was The Xmas diner doo Just keep your eyes peeled on this forum :mrgreen:

Gadget

 

[sparkywig]

Ive read this whole thread and laughed at some of the responses , I remember a time when '' WE '' the Vw scene didnt have many magazines , and we had NONEthat were solely dedicated to buses . It was a rare thing to get a bus feature in a UK mag and these were usually split screen buses, bays were ignored as no one thought they were any good :shock: ....... My how times have changed

If you want to get your bus in the mags and get it featured , whether or not its stock or lowered or slammed the only way to do it is to get to the shows and stick it about a bit . It wont get featured if it never leaves the county you were born or raised in , So when mags start saying have you seen this bus or that bus etc , It may well be a prelude to a feature and alot of the time the good , above average stories or restos do get featured and the owners do get the credit and all fair play to them too .

I have in the past emailed mag editors and said have you seen this or that as If something/someone impresses me with there bus Im pretty sure others will like it too I.E You guys

Having seen some great magazines fall by the wayside ( Vw Trends anyone ) We should do all we can to support the magazines that support us and remember that without Camper an Bus or Volksworld there'd be no Volksworld show which is a massive favorite of mine , and without Camper an Commercial , there would be no Camper Jam which is starting to become a favorite too

If the adverts make the mag cheaper then I have no problem with that , Have you seen the amount of adverts in Hot Vw's so that the features suffer and half of the write up is at the back of the mag.

Photos are mainly in most mags frt, back, sides, interior but with amazing photography from Camper an Buses Steve Sharp ( The Murphy panel van , Steve Gilberts Splitty on a quarry ledge, The Citrus Valley Bus ) to name a few , Thats why I buy the mag instead of looking at poor quality pictures the photos are outstanding and more importantly CLEAR

There are features that dont tick a box for me about a certain bus etc BUT I still read them, and I do enjoying reading the T4 an T5 features as there now part of our scene Just like T25s I especially like the road trip features as that serves as a inspiration to me to get out and about on the nations roads instead of just being under a bus :mrgreen:

Finally I do love Van Man :lol: :lol:

Everybody have a great 2012 of bus ownership and after the great success that was The Xmas diner doo Just keep your eyes peeled on this forum :mrgreen:

Gadget

+1

apart from Van Man.....

 

[Doris]

On reflection if there were no bus or VW mags, we'd be moaning. Then someone somewhere would start a 'let's start a VW scene magazine' thread and in a few years we'd end up here again. At least we're fortunate that there is a good choice and not just one VW mag.Internet has also no doubt affected mag sales/cost. Just look how small the classified section in volksworld is now, compared to say 10-15 years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[naskeet]

Having written a few articles for magazines over the years I can confirm they are nearly always quite heavily edited, to get them to fit into whatever format/space the editor has decided on. Even when specifically asked for say 2000 words and 20 photos, the actual published article can often get reduced to half the amount of words and pictures originally requested.

It can be very disappointing, especially when so much effort has been put into making an article nicely rounded with a good "flow".

On the other hand many magazines go out of business each year and managing costs verses income is not easy. Many magazines run along the ragged edge just to survive.

I have also found this in the past, for some technical articles I prepared for Transporter Talk, VW Motoring and Volkswagen Camper & Commercial magazines.

Several years ago, VW Trends were trying to recruit technical writers, but the emphasis was on writing articles which would prompt readers to avail themselves of the products and services, provided by the advertisers. Given that a lot of materials and components, which I have used for my modifications and upgrades, have been salvaged from other car marques & models, from my local vehicle dismantlers, my articles were unlikely to get published!

 

[burns808]

I don't mind the adverts so much as i keep all the vw mags and its interesting to look back at them from the 90's and realise how far things have moved forward, prices have changed, companies no longer around etc. i guess todays mags will be the same in 15 years time.

I really enjoy reading through a build/resto thread on the forums and where possible it might be good if a link to the thread could be added to the article - i have seen mentions of threads in articles before.....

We are lucky to have em.

Nick

 

[ACMag]

You guys are so lucky to have a magazine dedicated to VW buses only , in the states it is not common to see a bus featured in a VW magazine and when you find one chances are it will not be an earlybay. I don't buy any of the US magazines because I don't own a bettle, sandrail or a buggy, I won't pay the $5 they ask for.
For C&B tough I have to drive from work a good 15 minutes each way to buy the magazine , not too many places carry it and they only have 2 or 3 in stock , so if I don't act quick I'll miss it.
I am happy to fork more than double of what the US magazines cost to get it because I feel I get my money's worth.
I like to read and look at the pictures of road trips as it helps me plan and visually convince my wife to take vacations on a bus , I have learned a lot of useless details about a bus with that old guy at the end of the magazine , Trinket Pimp is also one of my favorites , all those camper only events that are covered just make me drool , I have ordered parts that are not available in the US from vendors I would have never heard of if it wasn't for them being on this magazine.
I don't see myself walking away from the camper scene , I don't think we will ever get our own VW bus magazine in the States so I will keep buying it while I can , if it goes away it would be a shame.
Those are my 2 pence , cents or centavos depending on what currency you roll with :mrgreen:

Juan in Sun Diego 8)

Something me and a few mates knocked up one day... :mrgreen:

http://www.issuu.com/aircooledclassics/docs/kombilife_0 might make you smile...

 

[Chris73]

Just spent 20 minutes reading the whole thread and some really interesting points raised.

For me, it was an off chance purchase of camper & bus while doing the weekly shopping 3 years ago that has led to my financial rack and ruin, sorry, involvement in the scene, and the knowledge I gained from reading the mag for a year until I'd saved up enough to get my own van was invaluable. I'm sure the mags pull people into to the scene and help you not look an idiot when you start looking for a van, and help define what you actually want. I didn't know the difference between early and late or westy/Danbury before I started reading the mag.

The fact that James can come on with a positive response to the criticism, shows the mags in good hands, and having been into bikes, and seeing the motorcycle press for the last 15 years splitting into ever narrower niches for different types of reader ( fast bikes for the nutters, ride for the plodders etc) I like the fact it caters for all.

I'll keep buying it, just so I can get some peace and quiet in the smallest room in the house once a month......

 

[KevH]

i may well knock some words together and throw a few pics your way. it is great to have the views and opinions of the people involved and it can only make for better reading, i appreciate the response.

Go for it, pk1 was 8)

I reckon James' response produced no surprises but does show that they are / he is listening. For 4 quid a month I get good value from it, and Hans Klapp is a stunning read in more ways than one. Just don't mention the war.