Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ellen Caldwell.
Mary Ellen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
One week! That’s how long it took for me to fall in love with my new company. As a healthcare professional (Licensed Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist) for 20 years, I learned that what I do makes a difference in the lives of others. Well, guess what; while I was going over every aspect of becoming a publishing editor, I knew that what I’ll do in this position will make a difference as well. The difference is that I have a much larger audience.
Two things were important to me; 1. I wanted to drive these successful publications to new highs with a fresh look, better content, better distribution, greater exposure and more local resources. 2. Content is king! Educating and inspiring our family of readers with relevant content on important topics makes a difference, and they will continue to look for us each and every month.
What I have learned is that we have two customers, our readers, and our advertisers. Editorial content, community involvement, distribution, and other opportunities to engage with our readers strengthens the commitment of doing business locally, and this has proven to be effective!
Families really do need to be inspired, in a good and healthy way. Inspiration could come from an editorial, an Ad from a local business or an event.
I’m at a good place with this and when I hear from my readers that my words helped them, it’s a good day!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, there was a learning curve with the ins and outs of publishing that I needed to master. We also wanted to step up our game by bringing in new staff members. An art director with a great history of working with magazines, new sales people with greater experience in sales, and, of course, visiting our distribution areas, all 1800 of them took some time; but it was important to me to see where our publications were going. And, yes, there were many changes.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Suburban Parent Magazines – what should we know?
We are a Family Lifestyle publication that helps raise awareness and generate business for our advertisers by connecting them with their desired market. With six market specific monthly editions to reach local families in and around DFW, advertisers have the ability to choose their desired market or markets. So advertising is scalable and affordable with no wasted media spend.
Our engaged audience of readers (3ooK+) gets to enjoy great content that informs, educates, entertains and delights them. From our timely/relevant articles, our Fun Stuff page, TimeOut calendar of events and more!
We are proud to have been a trusted resource for local families for nearly 17 years now. We have grown in the last 4 years and will continue to expand our reach. In addition to print and digital, we also offer our local businesses High-Impact marketing options, that are unique to us only.
Quality is our top priority and we take every measure to ensure excellence with our world-class team of editors, designers, account managers, etc.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It’s interesting that during the first slow changes we made after purchasing this company, we were getting emails from readers complimenting us and commenting on my “Mary Shares” editor’s note. That really let us know that we truly do have an amazingly loyal readership and its growing! So, I would say they are our cheerleaders. Our staff is dedicated and will often share ideas, tips, etc., and we all frequently come up with ideas to make our publications even better. Personally, my husband and my family are very supportive. Many of our advertisers engage with us as well. And our staff has great relationships with them. We have advertisers that came into our pages and have never left. So our local communities deserve credit for our success.
Pricing:
- We are intentionally affordable. Advertising starts for as little as $225/month/1/4 page!
Contact Info:
- Address: Suburban Parent Magazines, 8344 Sterling Street, Irving, TX 75063
- Website: www.suburbanparent.com
- Phone: 972-887-7779
- Email: advertising@suburbanparent.com; editor@suburbanparent.com
- Instagram: suburban.parent
- Facebook: suburban parent magazine, irving parent magazine, dallas parent magazines, dfw familia
- Twitter: @mecrd, @dfwfamilia
Image Credit:
Misty Stagnone Photography (Personal Photos)
Suburban Parent
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