From The Publisher February 2010

Thu, Mar 4, 2010

From the Publisher Ed Bertha

In the February print edition of this column I reference two posts exceeding 20,000 views. The statistic came from a 3rd party report generated from the REAL website. After receiving notification that the counts seemed high and researching the two posts in question REAL Magazine retracts the statement. We have logged a trouble ticket with the software vendor about the discrepancy. Screen shots and the supporting server log were made available to assist the vendor in isolating the problem. Independently the server log was downloaded and placed into third party escrow. I apologize for this unintentional error and the statement was removed from this online post.

At our January networking event I shared with the crowd what the REAL Magazine team accomplished this past year. At the gathering the focus was primarily on the REAL website but in this issue I will share magazine happenings as well. To say the least we came a long way in a short time.

Print
Much like it takes six to eight months to develop your brand with advertising the same holds true in establishing a magazine. REAL Magazine has certainly established its identity this past year. Starting out at just three months into publication REAL was awarded a silver ADDY from the local Advertising Federation. That endorsement marked REAL as a quality publication and we never wavered. As REAL matured in reader’s eyes interesting things began to occur with our distribution. REAL’s national distribution to Fortune 500 CEO/CFO/COO’s spawned inquiries from IBM, Kraft Foods, Better Homes and Gardens, Best Buy and Pepsi Cola for additional copies as reported by Innovative Agent Services. On the west coast of Florida requests continually come in for extra copies, change in mailing address, how do I get a copy, and so on. Where REAL is delivered into establishments that affluent consumers frequent multiple copies of the magazine have collected in the lobby or waiting room. This year look for REAL to expand into luxury consumer products and services, to better service our target demographic.

Web
Six months from launching the REAL website Google started placing much of what we posted on page one of a Google search. This wasn’t by accident. REAL has a very focused Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan in place. At nine months when doing a Google search multiple search results reflecting REAL Magazine web content from different sources began to show up on page one of a Google search. This means that REAL may monopolize page one of Google at given times for a particular search topic. How this happens is our trade secret and certainly a key competitive advantage. At twelve months the REAL website was ranked in the top 8% of websites worldwide and top 2% in the U.S. using statistics from Alexa. Over the course of this past year I have established “virtual relationships” with professionals in Miami, Boston, NYC and LA to name a few through the REAL web site. In the next issue we will share with you our next step to continue increasing REAL readership on the web.

Community
Supporting the community is also of upmost importance and part of what REAL Magazine is grounded in. REAL Magazine supports local businesses. We develop, design, print and ship in Sarasota, Florida effectively putting over 95% back into the community. As a start up entity REAL has also made very significant efforts to support local charities and civic institutions this past year. The gratitude emanating from these organizations from our efforts makes it all the more special in what we do for them. REAL Magazine is part of the community and proud to give back and will continue to do so.

We certainly came a long way this past year and I would like to share a heartfelt thank you to those that helped make these achievements possible; the REAL Magazine team and REAL Magazine’s sponsors.
Ed Bertha
February 2010

The January issue’s event collage for “Oasis by the Sea” should have reflected Peter Acker as the photographer. The corrected collage reruns in this issue on pages 26 and 27.