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Bill Coore wrote and illustrated a cheat sheet for our members playing The @bandondunes Sheep Ranch next week. It signifies the unofficial launch of TGJ Digital.
I’m excited so here’s a nerdy biz-dev thread abt the @golfersjournal membership philosophy and product roadmap...
I’m excited so here’s a nerdy biz-dev thread abt the @golfersjournal membership philosophy and product roadmap...
Since the beginning, we’ve taken deliberate steps to differentiate ourselves from other golf media. That meant going against the grain and doing things completely backwards.
Typical media upstarts begin with lowest-possible overheads and seek audience traction before $$ commitment:
•Make content using free labor
•Build an audience
•Sell advertising
•Realize selling ads is hard/advertisers are fickle
•Start selling D2C subscriptions
•Make content using free labor
•Build an audience
•Sell advertising
•Realize selling ads is hard/advertisers are fickle
•Start selling D2C subscriptions
@golfersjournal started with the book (expensive!) and vowed to compensate/reward contributors fairly for their art (s/o contribs!). We also only sought a few sponsors who truly believed in the vision and would be around for the long haul. (s/o sponsors!)
We also asked a lot of our early adopters. Commit $$ for a product that didn't yet exist.
Now we had to deliver what we promised: A book that was elegant but not pretentious, and content rooted in the core but with enough edge to engage and entertain all golfers.
Now we had to deliver what we promised: A book that was elegant but not pretentious, and content rooted in the core but with enough edge to engage and entertain all golfers.
By the time the first issue was printed we had ~650 subscribers. Hardly a success story, but a start!
We then set about building on the first issue while adding value to the membership, believing that our early adopters would be our biggest advocates. (s/o early adopters!)
We then set about building on the first issue while adding value to the membership, believing that our early adopters would be our biggest advocates. (s/o early adopters!)
Since that first issue we’ve added:
• The TGJ Podcast
• Limited edition merch
• Events and tournaments
• Swing Thoughts monthly newsletter
Upcoming: TGJ Digital w/ complete digital access to everything we’ve ever published. +more
• The TGJ Podcast
• Limited edition merch
• Events and tournaments
• Swing Thoughts monthly newsletter
Upcoming: TGJ Digital w/ complete digital access to everything we’ve ever published. +more
We’ve also leveraged our nascent brand cache and the extremely high golf IQ of our subscribers to create hard-to-copy experiences. eg. Playing @bandondunes Sheep Ranch and @pinhurst No.4 before they open to the public.
Since then we’ve added 10’s of thousands of subscribers. Throughout we haven’t raised the cost of membership or the cost of sponsorship.
We’ve added talented people to our team and they work tirelessly. We’re still a long way from where we want to be but we’re well on our way!
We’ve added talented people to our team and they work tirelessly. We’re still a long way from where we want to be but we’re well on our way!
Oh, here's the feature that this whole thread started with (which we’ve made available to everyone.)
TGJ digital as well as digital-only subscriptions will be available in just a few weeks. Enjoy! https://www.golfersjournal.com/editorial/course-tour-sheep-ranch/
TGJ digital as well as digital-only subscriptions will be available in just a few weeks. Enjoy! https://www.golfersjournal.com/editorial/course-tour-sheep-ranch/
