What do we know about Towpath Talk?

[Baron & Mrs Boater]

Well at least with a paper copy you can use it to light your squirrel !

[dor]

Now that they're charging, will they drop some adverts and put articles or some other interesting stuff. I downloaded and read the free Jan edition and it was just full of adverts.. it was boring.

 

I was talking to one chandler yesterday and they said they would probably drop their advert, as it was unlikely to be worth it with the much reduced circulation that would occur if it was charged for.

 

Can't understand why they need to charge for it, as it is nearly all adverts.

[Liam]

Maybe they want to drop some adverts and put some decent stuff in, but the only way they can get the money is by selling it now.

 

Thing is, will it make or break them?

[denboy]

Yes, it's been around for a while. The editorial has been a bit amateur sometimes and the pictures don't always have any relevence to the text, but, hey, it's free! (paid for by the advertisers, so there's lots of adverts!)

 

To find out where to get a paper copy try this list (if you can read it)

 

Towpath Talk Distributors

its not going to be free anymore they are going togo mainsstream and charge for it unfortunatley

handy little freebei some intresting articles from time to time

 

its not going to be free anymore they are going togo mainsstream and charge for it unfortunatley

handy little freebei some intresting articles from time to time

Sorry missed a page

[tony collins]

So the Free Towpath Talk is going to be a paid for... typical I find a good little read and it goes and changes.

 

Does anyone know why it's going paid for?

 

And more importantly how much it is going to cost us?

 

I have a thousand questions...

 

Is it going to be available from the current outlets still?

 

Regards

 

Bob

 

I suppose we should have seen this coming when we learned it had changed hands recently.

I see it perhaps twice a year when we dine at Badsey's Bistro in Hillmorton (excellent by the way) as they are/were an outlet for the paper. Whether the current (free) outlets will want to take on selling it is perhaps another matter.

 

Tony

[GRPCruiserman]

Perhaps with the only freebie mag gone, someone else should start a new freebie, as they must be able to attract the same advertisers as the last freebie, and the same outlets??

 

Any printers reading??

 

I for one would be prepared to contribute editorially if invited to do so. (I am very cheap!!)

[Bobphilips]

Hello again guys,

 

I hear that the new look and 'paid for' Towpath Talk is now out.. has anyone seen it yet?

 

Have taken a peek at the webiste and it's smartened up a little but not much.

 

Now it's for sale does anyone know if it is in somewhere like WHSmiths?

 

Bob

 

Ps. At last the better weather seems to be upon us.. looks lovely and sunny out doors.. must contemplate getting the kayak out on the water very soon.

[Gary Peacock]

The new version is going to be offered on a sale or return basis to the likes of newsagents and the original outlets, the original free distribution outlets will be still supplied (At least for the time being!) with free issues of the previous to current edition.

 

Personally I don't rate the chances of it being a great success we advertised in it from the early days when advertising in it was cheap, the variety of places you could pick up a copy meant it was read by a large variety of people and this made good advertising sense.

 

It now seems to have been reincarted in a different form and finding good editorial content over quite a broad remit will be difficult (The waterways mags prove that already!) so time will tell if it will succeed or not.

[Alec Gatherer]

The newsagents near The Colomendy Arms, Cadole, Flintshire, has copies @ £1-65. As this is approx. 15 miles from the nearest canal, in an area populated with hillwalkers, competition cyclists, and cavers, it would make a good place to drive to for your copy, as I can't see them selling any!

[anhar]

Perhaps with the only freebie mag gone, someone else should start a new freebie, as they must be able to attract the same advertisers as the last freebie, and the same outlets??

 

Any printers reading??

 

I for one would be prepared to contribute editorially if invited to do so. (I am very cheap!!)

Hello GRPC

 

I presume the old free version terminated because it couldn't make enough money. Consequently there cannot be much business attraction in starting up a new free version. My business instinct suggests that probably the new paid version doesn't have much chance of success either, unfortunately, because of the number of canal mags already available in what is a very limited market.

 

regards

Steve

[Gary Peacock]

Hello GRPC

 

I presume the old free version terminated because it couldn't make enough money. Consequently there cannot be much business attraction in starting up a new free version. My business instinct suggests that probably the new paid version doesn't have much chance of success either, unfortunately, because of the number of canal mags already available in what is a very limited market.

 

regards

Steve

 

The old version was making money but was run on a very small basis, a too good to refuse offer was then made for the paper by the company who printed it and initially the original owners were kept on to run it.

They were subsequently made "excess to requirements" along with the feature writers and a new editorial team was brought in to replace them.

 

The new paper maintains little except the name.

[David Schweizer]

Moving onto another mag.. Waterways Word Ltd announced in their Feb edition that they're bringing out a new quarterly mag, called "Narrowboat". This is going to be based more around the historical side of things, such as working boats, roses and castles, old engines, working boat rallies etc. Because I'm interested in that sort of thing, it does interest me, although I don't like the sound of 4 editions per year, they did say although it's called "Narrowboat" it certainly won't be a small mag.

 

I have already paid my subscription for the first year, and am looking forward to the Premier Edition. Every three months is a small output but they may have to struggle a bit to find new archive material for a regular monthly issue, or maybe it is a trial run. I remember when "Old Glory" magazine (Steam and vintage vehicles etc) first came out there were only six issues a year, but demand and interest was such that it became montly within a year or so.

[John Orentas]

The old version was making money but was run on a very small basis, a too good to refuse offer was then made for the paper by the company who printed it and initially the original owners were kept on to run it.

They were subsequently made "excess to requirements" along with the feature writers and a new editorial team was brought in to replace them.

 

The new paper maintains little except the name.

 

 

 

I'm not sure there ever were any feature writers as such, they relied on readers submissions, £30 for a full page spread and they wanted photo's included in that, I did a couple of them. It would take a long time to get rich though, I have an idea the chap that owned it did the whole thing evenings and weekends, his phone was always turned off during normal working hours.

[Alec Gatherer]

Well at least with a paper copy you can use it to light your squirrel !

Brilliant idea! All I have to do now is catch the little bugger.