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THE DRIVE
On this episode of Dreams In Drive, we chat with Andréa Butler, the founder of Sesi Mag, a teen magazine for Black girls. ( The word “sesi” means “sister” in the Sotho language of South Africa.) She started the magazine to fill the void in the mainstream magazine marketplace in which Black girls are virtually invisible. We talk about what it takes to launch a magazine from scratch and what motivates Andréa to keep going even when she feels like giving up. Ifg you ever want to launch your own magazine, blog, or community forum, this episode is for you! Enjoy!
IN THIS PODCAST YOU’LL LEARN:
– Andréa’s early inspirations
– How Andréa launched Sesi Magazine and transitioned into the running the print magazine full time
– Why understanding your core demographic is key
– Challenges Andréa faced early on launching the magazine from scratch
– Tips for finding sponsorship/advertising partners & building strategic relationships
– Biggest expenses when launching a print magazine
– How Andréa gets celebrities on Sesi Mag covers
– How to leverage social to grow your subscriber base
– What Barnes & Noble told Andréa when she pitched a distribution partnership
– Why you can’t give up on you dream
– What motivates Andréa when she feels like giving up
– Why DRIVE is SUPER important
ANDREAS’S KEYS TO SUCCESS:
1. Faith
2. Support System
3. Belief that you can do it
LINKS:
Twitter: @sesimag
Instagram: @sesimag
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sesimagazine
Site: www.sesimag.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE #DREAMSINDRIVE NETWORK: www.dreamsindrive.com/JOIN
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I stumbled on your podcast by accident and I have been binge listening every since. I loved this episode probably because I flirted with the idea of doing a magazine and listening to Andrea someone younger than me just jump while I talked myself out of it, just hit home. Kudo’s to Andrea and to you Rana for this effort. Keep it up!