2012 Feb 13 Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
Hello, readers. You're well aware that we're a blog – you're reading it right now – but some of you apparently are not aware that the Beijinger is also a print magazine. (Not a joke. More than a few people have expressed great surprise when they first see a copy of our publication.)
While we strive to distribute our magazine to the venues that we think our readers like to hang out, there is always room for improvement. With that in mind, we'd like to hear from you so that we can figure out how to reach more of you. We've got a few questions for you. Step into our office, please ....
- Do you actively seek out the print magazine every month or do you just pick it up when you see it?
- Do you think some venues have too many copies of the Beijinger? If so, which ones?
- Do you think that some venues have too few copies? If so, which ones?
- Are there venues where you used to see copies of the magazine but now no longer do?
- Can you suggest a few venues that should be distribution points for the magazine?
Please answer as many of these questions as you can in the comments section below. We really appreciate the feedback!
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bluefish
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
1. No. Just pick it up when I see it, which seems to be less and less lately.
2. At this moment, I can't think of any venues I've seen lately that have it at all. Whether this is because I'm missing the right venues or because the magazines are going so fast they're all gone when I get there I couldn't say.
3. I've been surprised at never seeing them anymore at the Jenny Lou's on Sanlitun Beixiaojie, or at Element Fresh by the Lido.
4. I used to see them at the Jenny Lou's mentioned above, and at some Starbucks (though that was a long time ago, I guess).
5. Other than the places mentioned above, no.
johnnybigstar
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
1) I remember after about 14 or so months in Beijing I had every beijinger that had came out during my stay in China and thought that I'd keep it up so when i left China I'd have the beijinger to chronical what had happened in Beijing during my time in China..well six years later who thought i'd still be here? It certainly helped that i worked in JianWai Soho and the Grandma's Kitchen always had them at the beginning of the month and it was just 50meters to go pick it up... but then between not working there anymore and other things i came to only pick them up when i happened to be in a jenny lou's or elsewhere that had them.. and lately, great thanks to the beijinger, i read them online everymonth in that awesome new feature that enables me to do so..so sorry, i've stopped even looking for the print copy
2) never seen a place that had too many.. they're always gone after the first couple days of distribution
3) along with 2, i think every venue has too few copies! lol
4) sorry, i dunno
5) how about at more lounge/sit down types of bars or bars scattered throughout beijing..does the Brick carry them? It'd be a good pick-up point for the tons of foreigners in Shuangjing..
new_here
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
I like to have a hard copy but if I don't pay attention they are all gone from my local April gourmet and Jamaica Blue at Park Avenue.
Traminer
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
Haven't been able to get it at April Gourmet, Jenny Lou and Element Fresh in Sanlitun. I've got my copies recently at the Bookworm and the Din Tai Fung at Dawang Lu in the middle of the month.
lodgerly
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
Always see them at Kro's nest.
Show Oligarch
乌鸦
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
I always grab it when I see it, but I can't say that I've seen it in quite some time.
The expat packed places always have an obscene stack.
I'd concentrate on hooking new arrivals and being available to long-term residents. Hostels have far too few. I'd make more of an effort to put it IN people's hands who aren't used to snagging free mags. We all started out in a hostel at some point, or a dorm, which might be a good place to seed as well. It's possible you can get Uni's and Chinese study programs to distribute them to new students on your behalf, especially if you package 'welcome to beijing' issues for them. Ass-pain? Maybe, but if you want to do the 'community' thing then you've gotta be a good gift-basket sending neighbor. Blood and Soil.
Availability to residents - I'd try to seed more of the bars in the Gulou area where there's a regular patronage of residents.
I built a magazine from scratch using some pretty novel distribution techniques to achieve unprecedented success in this anti-paper age. Holla if you're interested, I'd be happy to share more.
道可道非常道名可名非常名
Daoable dao ain't DAO!
Prolly? Cain't say...
Musicism
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
1. I used to actively seek it, but now I don't see it as often, so now I just grab one if I see it.
2. The last time I saw too many was one day back in 2009 when I think Element Fresh had just had a batch delivered. While I understand it had to last an entire month, it looked like several thousand copies. Whether it was too many or not, based on their numbers of people I have no idea.
3. I don't know whether venues are just lazy about their stocks of reading material these days or whether it is now in less demand, or whether The Beijinger has cut supplies, but from where I am standing, I don't know anywhere that has enough these days.
4. Blue Frog always used to be my reliable magazine pick-up point, but for a long time now, seeing The Beijinger there has become a rare treat; that rarity appears to be increasing. Likewise with Element Fresh, April Gourmet, Jenny Lou and even Suzie Wong used to have them.
5. I think you need to maybe re-establish numbers / displays with your current outlets first. Then it would be nice to see the magazine appear in more coffee shops, bars and hair salons. For example, I don't ever recall seeing the magazine in Costa, Starbucks or Jamaica Blue, and when I am getting my hair cut, I would much rather read the Beijinger than a ragged copy of Autocar from 2006.
lip3
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
Do you actively seek out the print magazine every month or do you just pick it up when you see it? - When it comes out I make sure to get one wherever we are at the time (ex. if I dont have it yet and I am in a restaurant in Sanlitun etc, I make sure to look for it). My husband often brings it home from his school though where he works.
Do you think some venues have too many copies of the Beijinger? If so, which ones? - No, more places need more copies. Especially Lido
Do you think that some venues have too few copies? If so, which ones? - Park Side Grille
Are there venues where you used to see copies of the magazine but now no longer do? - Pete's Tex Mex
Can you suggest a few venues that should be distribution points for the magazine? -
chefjeff9
Re: Have You Seen Our Magazine? We Need Your Help
we need some at Frost Coffee, nails and Cocktails. #57 xingfucun Zhong lu!!!