Business

Mama’s Black Book – a magazine written by mamas, for mamas

About two months ago I was thinking about ways that I could help fellow Mastermind Mamapreneurs and I came up with the idea of launching a free, online magazine with a directory listing. This is not a new concept as others have had online directories for a long time, but I wanted for this to be more of a magazine with encouraging articles, a beautiful print for each season that you get with the magazine, and a resource spot for mamas who want to shop small but often don’t have the time available to do the digging to find the businesses to shop from. And with that little time spent brainstorming, Mama’s Black Book was born!

Mama's Black Book - Jenn Elwell - Mastermind Mamapreneur

The first issue is launching on November 8th and tomorrow, October 15th, is the deadline for the first set of shops to get their businesses featured in the magazine. And while I have a number of fantastic shops already participating, I want to take a second to speak to those who haven’t yet made the decision to hop in to Mama’s Black Book. I know that advertising dollars are in short supply (that’s why I wrote that blog post earlier this week!) and investing in a brand new magazine seems risky, but I think it’s a pretty good investment and I want to give you some background info to show you why.

By the numbers

Since this is a brand new magazine I don’t have any hard or fast numbers about readership yet, but I can share with you my current reach online which should help you get an idea of the beginning reach of the magazine.

  • Roughly 450 email subscribers with an average open rate of 12.8%
  • Follower counts around: 1500 (Instagram), 700 (FB page), 90 (FB group), 700 (Twitter), 1700 (Pinterest)
  • Over 8800 video views and a reach of over 22500 for my promoted videos on FB in the last two weeks
  • Over 150 visits to the Mama’s Black Book website since it was released three weeks ago
  • A marketing plan to send over 50 printed copies of Mama’s Black Book to influencers after is releases as was as run ads on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest in addition to other ideas
  • An affiliate program that is growing every day and gives you 20% back on shop listings and features purchased through your link (not for your own purchases though)
  • 9 gift guide posts for the holiday season all of which will have Mama’s Black Book tie-ins
  • A 100% commitment to having this magazine succeed and benefit each shop that is in the issue

Mama's Black Book Shop Feature

What’s Guaranteed?

As you know, in life and in advertising, we aren’t guaranteed anything. And I can’t promise you hundreds of sales from Mama’s Black Book (I can’t even promise you 1!) but there are some things I can promise you.

  • Shop listings include over $200 in complimentary bonuses which include a Mastermind Mamapreneur eWorkbook download on Business Planning, ad space on the main page of this website for the quarter, blog post submission option, credit towards a listing in the next issue, consulting credit with me, promotional images and copy with your listing shown, badge to display on your website, gift guide submission credits, preferential access to advertising opportunities, and (as announced on FB yesterday), all advertisers in this first issue will get to choose a complimentary t-shirt or tote bag from the designs being released next week and a printed copy of the magazine!
  • Shop features include over $500 in complimentary bonuses which include a Mastermind Mamapreneur eWorkbook download on Business Planning, a choice of a dry erase planner or the How to Write A Bio eWorkbook, larger ad space on the main page of this website for the quarter, feature on the blog with the option to host a giveaway, individual promotion on the Instagram and Facebook pages at least once during the quarter, blog post submission option, credit towards a listing in the next issue, consulting credit with me, promotional images and copy with your listing shown, badge to display on your website, gift guide submission credits, preferential access to advertising opportunities, and (as announced on FB yesterday), all advertisers in this first issue will get to choose a complimentary t-shirt or tote bag from the designs being released next week and a printed copy of the magazine!

What Shops Should List Themselves?

Shops that are small businesses of all types are encouraged to join the Mama’s Black Book community. Specifically shops that

  • are small businesses or independent distributors/consultants of national brands (only 3 allowed per brand and are subject to approval)
  • include mothers as their target market
  • value honesty, quality, encouragement, family, kindness

I encourage you to go back and read my blog post from earlier in the week about how I’ve messed up in advertising in the past and the three questions I now ask myself before I participate in an advertising opportunity. Mama’s Black Book might not be a good fit for your business, which I totally understand, but if you sell to mothers, I highly encourage you to get your shop listed! In future issues, shops that participated in the first issue will have a star by their names to denote them as a “Founding Member” of Mama’s Black Book.

Mama's Black Book Shop Listings - Jenn Elwell - Mastermind Mamapreneur

What Do I Do Now?

If you

Don’t forget that the issue contents close at midnight tomorrow, October 15th so don’t delay! I look forward to working with you in the future as a part of this exciting new magazine for mamas.

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