When you first set out to publish a magazine - whether an electronic version or print - the primary question you are going to have to face is: "How do I pay for this?". The costs can range from low - in the case of an electronic version, perhaps just your time - to very high. If you're not an ardent hobbyist willing to sacrifice anything to pursue your dream, or just simply a masochist, then you're going to have to look at ways of covering your expenses.

There are two main ways of raising revenue for your magazine - advertising, and/or user pays. In the case of the electronic magazine, if you have access to a large and interested audience, then you may be able to go completely via sales to readers. However, in most cases your sales revenue will not be sufficient to cover your expenses, and so we must turn out attention to advertising. How do you find advertisers, what do you charge, and (of greatest concern to most people who are deeply interested in the topic of their magazine), does placing advertisements in your magazine make you look like a two-dollar whore?

Secondly, how do you find advertisers? I say secondly here, because there is an earlier question: firstly, what is your magazine about, who are the audience, and what products are going to interest them? Only once you have answered that question will you know which advertisers you are chasing. If your magazine is about high-end stereos and directed at audiophiles, then your market seems quite defined. If you're an ant hobbyist and looking to publish a magazine about the best breeding techniques for Mongolian jumping ants, then you may have your work cut out for you.

Next, you need to think about how much competition you have for those advertisers - that is, other magazines similar to yours - and where your magazine stands in the pecking order. Do you have a chance of being considered by these advertisers? What can you offer them which stands out from the pack? What does it cost to advertise in your competition mags, and can you undercut them? If you are looking at an electronic publication, you may be able to offer very attractive rates because of your lower overheads (see my article on free magazine distribution via the Internet).

So what do you charge? It is important to note at this point: work in 'cpm' - cost per thousand copies - so that you can compare your 10,000 copy mag with your competitor's 20,000 copy mag. Advertisers want to know the value in reaching every thousand readers. There is certainly no hard rule on what cpm you should set, though the most obvious is to be just a little lower than your competition. However, if your magazine is much more desirable than your competition (whether for the information, or just because it looks of better quality), you may be able to get away with more. Send out for rate cards, and see how much they are charging. However, pay attention to your own expenses - it's no good setting a rate that undercuts your competitor, but actually doesn't cover your own expenses. In the case of a print magazine, figure out how much it costs to print one page - you may be surprised - and whether your full-page advertising rate actually covers that expense. If it doesn't, then you are better off not even including the advertising!

How do you reach advertisers? See who is advertising in your competition's magazine, and approach them with your rates. Keep your eye out for like-minded companies to the ones you have already found. If you're browsing topical webpages, pay attention to who is advertising on them and contact them as well. Consider employing an ad rep - you will have to give up a part of your income, but they may be able to hook you up with more advertisers than you could reach on your own. And, of utmost importance, you should create a professional looking ratecard which you can share with interested advertisers (or even just canvas potential advertisers with). It's not difficult, but it is a simple way of providing the necessary information about your magazine. See the advertising ratecard for our online magazine Sub Rosa as an example.

And finally - does accepting advertising make you look like a two-dollar whore? That's up to you. If you want to accept every scrap of thrown to you from the advertising table, then you may well end up looking bad - a black and white, badly laid out ad for something pornographic is not a good way of saying "my magazine is quality". If you aim for high standards in advertising, and reserve the right to reject ads which lower the value of your magazine, then in many cases advertising can actually enhance the look of your magazine. A full-page ad for the latest sci-fi movie is usually quite a graphic extravaganza, and can make your magazine look important. Keep your standards high, and the rest will follow.