Once a hack, always a hack, apparently…

Silver Magazine is back in print. And not only am I doing this because I love it, but apparently so do hundreds of thousands of other people.

Friends and followers on social media will have seen me crowing about this already recently. It’s vulgar to crow, I know. But I don’t care, because something good happened the other day that was worth having a little crow about. Something that felt like a proper ‘sign’ from the Universe, you know?

This was my slightly cocky social media post:

“Today I crunched some Silver Magazine numbers as we’re going back into print (whoop!) and we need a new media pack. And I’ve managed to get hold of a bunch of media packs from competitors to have a nose, natch.

“And we are actually killing it. We’re blowing at least two of the biggies absolutely out of the water! Our reach is higher, our follower numbers are higher. I had no idea, until I actually worked it all out. So yay for us!

“Now I know this I’ve got my swagger right on. Look out!”

So yes, I have a bit more swagger again. And yes excitingly, Silver Magazine is coming back in print format. And while comparisons are odious, it was really encouraging to see that not only are we – as a very small business – fighting our corner with not inconsiderable zeal… we’re actually outshining publishers and magazines with budgets and manpower that I can only dream of. Little us!

Some of you will have had a print issue of Silver before. And many of you subscribed, and have been insanely patient, waiting for the print issues to be relaunched. God, I love you guys. The faith people have in Silver Magazine is humbling.

But I digress. Print! Hurrah for lovely print, with its lovely feel, and it’s lovely new-print inky smell. And as someone commented on one of my posts, that feeling of “thumbing through the pages.”

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So why are we back in print?

The last few years have been filled with the excitement of bringing new things into the Silver arena. I created a truly wonderful little Silver Skincare range, that I’m so, so proud of. And we launched our Silver Retreats, which I am also really excited about. But this meant learning a whole new set of skills, and delving into the world of ecommerce.

But my heart will always lie in making magazines. I don’t care if it is hard to do, or if it doesn’t make me rich. I just want to do the things I love.

And so when I crunched those numbers, and discovered that we genuinely, honestly stand proud in our given arena, more than head and shoulder above many bigger brands, it was actually quite an emotional moment.

It also helps that one of my younger team members told me we should be back in print, before I’d even floated the idea. Apparently it’s what all the cool kids are doing because it’s trustworthy, and seen as classy. Print is BACK baby.

And so here we are

I’ve put literally everything I have – energy, heart, money, and soul – into making Silver Magazine work. There have been days – so many days – where I’ve felt like I’m banging my head against a brick wall. I’ve seen other startups in the silver sector moving faster than us, and felt inadequate. I’ve wept with frustration as global events have knocked us down, repeatedly. On a personal level I’ve soldiered on through the loss of my parents, the menopause, the end of my longest relationship ever… you get the picture. It’s been hard work.

But through it all I kept feeling like Silver was a good thing. And people kept telling me it was a good thing. And the other day was really wondering if I should keep going. “Give me a sign, please!” I asked the Universe. And I got a sign.