League of Ireland e-zine

**shefellover93** · 20/06/2014, 1:00 AM

Hey guys,

Looking to get a League of Ireland magazine going, think it's a market that's totally left untouched and there's definitely an audience for good opinion and articles on the league. It would be in e-zine format, so no printing or distribution costs to worry about.

What I need is content; I'm hoping to get the first few issues spot on and build from a strong base. I think if the first few issues are of good quality then the revenue streams will create themselves and I will be in a position to reward contributors.

So if you have an article, new or old, about anything surrounding the league and you'd like to get it published (Or you have an idea you'd like to pitch) then send me an email at loimonthly@gmail.com

Also if anyone with graphic design experience would be interested in designing the magazine that would be great too. I'm trying to put it together myself, and while it doesn't look bad a more experienced designer would of course be capable of doing a far better job.

If you've any questions or comments then it'd be great to get a discussion going about it in the thread below. I know there have been attempts at this in the past, but I don't think the overheads required in a print magazine make it sustainable. An online mag however isn't as dependent financially.

All the best,
Kevin

**shefellover93** · 22/06/2014, 8:22 PM

Just a reminder, deadline for the first issue is this coming Friday the 27th.

Preview of the cover for the issue
phpGjqzHzPM.jpg

**bennocelt** · 22/06/2014, 8:29 PM

Good luck

**NavanBohs** · 24/06/2014, 11:58 AM

Tried to pm but

shefellover93 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.

**shefellover93** · 25/06/2014, 12:29 AM

Will do that so!

**pateen** · 25/06/2014, 11:15 AM

Is a printed version ruled out completely?
Thought the Soccer Magazine was great a few years ago.

I think and Ireland/LOI combo would be great and increase circulation too.
As a matter of of interest did you look into gov grants, or even FAI grants though thats been very optimistic

**shefellover93** · 25/06/2014, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by pateen

Is a printed version ruled out completely?
Thought the Soccer Magazine was great a few years ago.

I think and Ireland/LOI combo would be great and increase circulation too.
As a matter of of interest did you look into gov grants, or even FAI grants though thats been very optimistic

Not ruling it out completely but it is highly unlikely, print seems to be dying as it is, and the way forward seems to be online hosting, especially with e-readers & tablets. We might get Irish pieces in when the Euros start back up again, but just getting started with League of Ireland pieces. The main thing re. revenue is to have a large and established readership, so we can go looking for different revenue streams with that backing, and improve the magazine further and further!

**pateen** · 26/06/2014, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by shefellover93

Not ruling it out completely but it is highly unlikely, print seems to be dying as it is, and the way forward seems to be online hosting, especially with e-readers & tablets. We might get Irish pieces in when the Euros start back up again, but just getting started with League of Ireland pieces. The main thing re. revenue is to have a large and established readership, so we can go looking for different revenue streams with that backing, and improve the magazine further and further!

Anyway I didn't say it Shefellover but great work, fair play and best of luck with it.

**RiffRaff** · 26/06/2014, 1:08 PM

Anyone old enough to remember Soccer Reporter from late 70's / early 80's??It was a great read and pretty much along the same lines of LOI and Ireland

**wonder88** · 26/06/2014, 1:47 PM

Sadly I am one of those who remembers Soccer Reporter. Was a good paper/magazine that came out monthly. Not sure if it was published during the off-season which was summer then. Had more longer/detailed articles than you would find in the national newspapers at the time, who covered the LoI a lot more than they do today, especially the Irish Press and evening papers. I know that the tabloids do give good coverage to the "domestic game" these days and in ways there is greater output on the league now due to the internet but there could be a market there for what Shefellover93 has in mind. Wishing you the best of luck and you are right to go the online route, as printing and distribution costs would make it uneconomical I think.

**shefellover93** · 29/06/2014, 1:10 AM

Thanks to everyone for their interest so far. I'm delighted to announce the first issue will be available from this coming Tuesday, July 1st

Featuring pieces on Sligo Rovers, a European Preview, the 1940 League Championship story and an interview with Player of the Month Daryl Horgan!

It will be available to read and download from here, and we would be hugely grateful if everyone would let their friends know about the publication. Hoping that nearly every single League of Ireland fan will have the chance to read it over the coming months so we can get the biggest spectrum of what works and what doesn't!

It's taken quite a bit of work and many emails, but extremely proud of the issue, and hopefully we can go from strength to strength!

Kev

**shefellover93** · 29/06/2014, 11:20 AM

The issue is actually available to read now so flake away!

**patrickccfc** · 29/06/2014, 1:18 PM

Well that was a great read. Look forward to the next one. Keep up the good work kev

**nigel-harps1954** · 29/06/2014, 1:27 PM

Couple of decent pieces in it, but one thing stuck out, the first article on Europe, and the bit that sticks out "More clubs need to turn professional". That made me cringe a bit seeing how many clubs have almost folded or have folded due to their attempts at turning professional. Most clubs need to manage themselves better on the inside before concentrating on paying bigger wages and turning professional, and the fact remains, without larger attendances and greater sponsorship, the large proportion of clubs in this league simply cannot turn professional.

Also, the picture of the lad, looking about 16, with the first sentence "let me take you down memory lane...a decade ago". That made me laugh heartily, but in an ironic way rather than a mocking way.

A decent first effort, but wouldn't be too pushed to return to be honest with zero First Division coverage. Hope it can grow though, as there's definitely a niche market there. Best of luck with it.

**shefellover93** · 29/06/2014, 2:01 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Couple of decent pieces in it, but one thing stuck out, the first article on Europe, and the bit that sticks out "More clubs need to turn professional". That made me cringe a bit seeing how many clubs have almost folded or have folded due to their attempts at turning professional. Most clubs need to manage themselves better on the inside before concentrating on paying bigger wages and turning professional, and the fact remains, without larger attendances and greater sponsorship, the large proportion of clubs in this league simply cannot turn professional.

Also, the picture of the lad, looking about 16, with the first sentence "let me take you down memory lane...a decade ago". That made me laugh heartily, but in an ironic way rather than a mocking way.

A decent first effort, but wouldn't be too pushed to return to be honest with zero First Division coverage. Hope it can grow though, as there's definitely a niche market there. Best of luck with it.

Thanks for the comments, and that's an opinion piece so good to see some reaction to it

The lack of First Division coverage is purely because we hadn't any contributor come forward to cover First Division issues. I'm really hoping to get people writing in about the First Division because it's totally ignored by the media. Hopefully by the next issue it will be a bit more balanced