10 Friggin’ Cool Things About MagCloud

When I wrote about ways to sell your blog content, there was one way I hadn’t tried yet: publishing a magazine with MagCloud.

(and I still haven’t tried it because I need to finish the Shopping Cart Guide first)

But I took a moment to read over the MagCloud site so I could be simmering on its ins and outs. And well…I just about boiled over!

The more I read, the niftier it got. I’m sure there’s more stuff to Ooo! and Ahh! over, but here are 10 friggin’ cool things I found—

1. A super, simple price structure: 20¢ per page
   ‘Nuf said.
2. A single, simple document format
   Good ol’ letter-sized, Baby. The biggest design decision is a done deal (and a software default), so you can focus on the devilish details and MC’s simple process. Read the How To here…
3. Downloadable templates
   Lots of ‘em. For heavy-duty designers using InDesign and QuarkXpress, and also for normal people who use Word, Publisher, and Pages.
4. A built-in message system
   As a reader, you can follow a magazine to get new issue notifications and other bits. As a publisher, you can easily broadcast announcements and such. More on that here..
5. Photo magazines direct from Flickr
   Not a lot of template options (i.e., None), but a nifty feature just the same. Here are tips and examples…
6. You can sell ads to earn $
   In the traditional publishing way, you can sell ad space for a premium and the magazine at cost.
7. You don’t have to sell ads to earn $
   I’ll happily (gratefully, even) pay extra to avoid advertising, and I’m not alone. So feel free to price your mag above the printing costs to save yourself (and your readers) the hassle.
8. Plenty of helpful help
   In addition to the How Tos and templates, MagCloud has fluff-free FAQs and troubleshooting tips.
9. No minimum order
   So you can publish for a small group, or just for yourself.
   
10. No up-front costs
    So there’s nothing to lose by giving it a go.

So…go!

.

Photo credit: MagCloud