Above is my SWOT analysis for the project.
Strengths
I believe I have particular strengths that will help me to complete the project to a high standard, such as having skills/experience in graphic design, photography and the software I'm using to produce the magazine. As I've also been operating in the blogging field for three years I am also knowledgable about the market and have contacts with people which will make finding collaborators a lot easier. I'm passionate about blogging, designing, magazines and other aspects of the project and so this should hopefully keep me motivated.
Weaknesses
Although I have the skills to produce a magazine I've never created a full issue before and so don't fully know the amount of work/time it requires. I maybe a little overambitious by aiming to complete a whole issue, mainly by myself. Furthermore since I have no client, I am using a lot of my own expertise and idea. Having no second opinion might cause me to create something I like and not necessarily something that the user will enjoy. I will try to research as much as possible in order to ensure this doesn't happen.
Opportunities
The blogging industry has been experiencing a lot of growth recently and there is a large community. This provides me with a large audience and the opportunity to create something hugely popular. As I also have contacts with the community there is plenty of opportunity to find interesting and talented people to collaborate with.
If this project is successful there is the opportunity to show my work to potential future employers which could set me apart from other candidates. The project will hopefully combine a lot of my skills and interests which could be a good impression on employers.
Threats
The main area I need to consider is my threats. If these threats arise then they could seriously slow down the project and cause me to miss the deadline.
There is a slight chance that I won't be able to find anyone to collaborate with or interview. As the blogging community is very large this isn't likely however, there is a strong chance that collaborators could let me down. Bloggers tend to be very busy and don't always fulfil their commitments. I can't control how long it'll take them to write an article and send it to me and having to chase them up could be detrimental to the professional relationship. Furthermore things like interviews will strongly depend on the interviewees availability.
Also there are things like, data loss and printing failure I need to bare in mind. Backing up my work on a USB is a good way to prevent losing all my work however sometimes InDesign can force quit unexpectedly which might happen. I need to leave enough time to allow the magazine to be delivered but it still might not arrive on time.
In order to reduce the risk of threats I need to be able to make quick decisions and have back up plans/collaborators in case I am let down.
I have briefly researched competitors and found that there is already and existing bloggers' magazine! I will be looking into it in more depth to see how I can differentiate mine and give it a USP however this is currently a large threat.
They currently have over 6,000 followers on Twitter and their publications feature a lot of well know bloggers like Lily Pebbles. I don't have contacts as popular as that and usually you have to pay them a large fee for an interview. I want to concentrate on more "everyday bloggers", who might not be as well known but will be more co-operative and easier to get hold of.
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