Women's Lifestyle Magazine owner, founder and publisher Victoria Upton couldn't be more excited. The success of her 14-year-old endeavor to create a magazine for women in Greater Grand Rapids has, in turn, created a need for 15 new staff members and freelance employees. In addition, the magazine is now available in over 450 locations throughout the region, up from 400 locations just six months ago.
"Businesses call us to put magazines in their stores, and that's always increasing," Upton says. "There's no way we can accommodate every request -- we'd have to print a lot of magazines!"
But that popularity is precisely what has driven the magazine's need for 13 additional freelance writers, a full-time graphic designer/webmaster and a full-time sales and advertising person.
Besides the local magazine for the Grand Rapids area, Women's Lifestyle Magazine also syndicates the magazine to publishers in Detroit, Lansing, Kalamazoo and Muskegon who use their own local content to customize the publication for their readers.
The magazine, which is always free, is also available in its entirety on a new interactive website.
"The website puts us on an equal playing field with the rest of the media because we can use social media and can create audio and video content," Upton says. "We're very retail-friendly and we fill a need for local boutiques, shops and one-of-a-kind businesses to have a place to promote their businesses in an affordable manner. We're also a great source for resources, information and positive inspiration. We let you know that there are all these things that are fun to do in our community and you're invited."
Source: Victoria Upton, Women's Lifestyle Magazine
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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