How to Create a Successful Online Fashion Magazine

A woman of unwavering faith and fashionable tastes, Heather Frierson has combined both her passion for the fashion industry and her ministry work into Created Woman. Created Woman magazine is dedicated to women that seek to achieve their personal and professional goals while leading a purpose driven life. Forming a publishing team from a network of influential speakers and community leaders, Created Woman developed its structure in the form of a blog which launched in 2010 and carries a brightly lit torch for fashion-forward, divinely inspired women.

Interview with Heather Frierson, Founder of Created Woman Magazine

FashionMingle.net interviewed Frierson after the launch of the new digital version of her magazine to ask what she’s learned about building an online magazine business.

5 Tips for Building A Successful Fashion Magazine:

1. Determine your focus to determine your voice – “I had been in the fashion industry managing retail for years and thereafter started working at a church when the idea came to combine both of my passions in a way that was real and relevant,” explained Frierson.
2. Understand the costs of business – “There are various ways to finance a business and get it started, such as small business loans or finance it yourself. We decided that we didn’t want a business loan, so we looked at other avenues, like advertising and putting up our own money. Through those two things we invested and things have come along to help.”
3. Print versus online publication – Created Woman was once a print publication. Frierson explained, “Print wasn’t reaching that many people. Financially, the digital experience was the best solution so that we could bring the same product in a more interactive way.” Online magazines are also more interactive. “With online we have videos, articles, and online conversations with our readers.”
4. Original photography is best – Fashion Photography is an essential element of a fashion publication, whether print or digital. “It is important that we have original photography. It is what makes us stand out.” Fashion photographer Maryna Marston is one of Created Woman’s most trusted pair of eyes. “With Maryna’s eye I just can’t imagine having someone else. She sees fashion like no one else.”
5. Network and market your magazine through events – Through networking events and meet-ups, your magazine will have a face to match its online presence. Frierson explains, “Events have allowed interaction and to really have a face to face with our readers. This year we are launching “Style Speaks”,  March 16 from 2pm to 6pm, at Fiat of Austin and will be produced by Modish Productions.”

The Value of Building Successful Partnerships

FashionMingle.net partners with Created Woman to provide New York Fashion Week coverage for the magazine and has three articles in the new Spring issue. We share the stories of women who are becoming who they are created to be in “Three Girls Go To Fashion Week” sharing the story of our blogger, fashion reporter, and PR girl as they experience their very first fashion week; a profile of fashion show producer Melissa d’Attilo as she produces fashion shows for Naeem Khan, Rebecca Taylor and Tess Giberson; and a profile of four female photographers making their mark in the testosterone-driven press pit at the end of the runway.

We’ll also be participating in Created Woman’s upcoming event, Style Speaks, a panel discussion and shopping opportunity for Austin area beauty and fashion businesses. Our Social Media Manager, Arielle Breedyk, will be on the panel sharing her tips for promoting your business over social media. FashionMingle.net will also have a booth at the event where you can learn more about the launch of our nation-wide fashion directory and social network, providing a PR platform for fashion businesses to grow in their communities.

Feed your passion for fashion and indelible faith with Heather Frierson by signing up to read Created Woman. Available online at www.createdwoman.net, the magazine is published quarterly and features contributing writers, outstanding fashion photography, and boundless ways for all women to “become the woman you are created to be, inside and out.”