My husband and I have plans to build a garden shed this year. Sometime soon we’ll have a detailed drawing of that shed in hand as we start the build. That’s always an exciting moment, and we’re looking forward to it. But we’re also realists. We know that at some point we’ll decide to change that plan, probably because we’ve found some new materials and had a great idea about how to use them.
I can’t recall ever undertaking a project without changing it up at some point. All of you doers out there know exactly what I mean. Partway through the best-laid plans, we realize we could take it to the next level if we’d try something different. I don’t see this as changing horses in midstream; I see it as the normal, exciting evolution of any idea.
So it is with magazines. Many decades on in Grit’s impressive run, we’ve had an “Aha!” moment. Here at Ogden Publications, we’re committed to inspiring can-do communities interested in self-sufficient living, homesteading, old farm machinery, classic motorcycles, or heirloom plants. We’re also committed to being active, positive members of those communities we help foster — our editorial director has nearly 40 years’ experience in small-scale agriculture, and I spent my formative years on a farm where we fed ourselves year-round on what we grew, raised, and preserved.
And now, we’re preparing to embrace our community membership with a new business paradigm that we think will better serve our communities while keeping our business healthy and strong. Sometime in 2019, we’ll embark on a new mission where we no longer look at ourselves as a magazine and events business, but instead as a wellspring that feeds and is fed by an enthusiastic, engaged community of individuals. In the future, you won’t simply subscribe to one or more of our magazines; you’ll instead choose a membership in one or more of our communities. Oh, don’t worry, you’ll receive the magazines in the mail as before, but for the same price as a subscription, you’ll also receive full access to our soon-to-be-gated websites; exclusive access to premium content, such as podcasts and videos; fixed discounts on books and other goods in our store; reduced prices at events (and access to some members-only components at those events); and more, as the benefits package is still being built.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the coming change from subscriptions to memberships, please drop me a line at RMartin@Grit.com. And let me know about your projects for this year, too!