Publisher of the Month: Est Living

est Magazine is an Australian design magazine featuring stylists, writers, and trendspotters from around the world. In this interview, we sat down with the marketing team at the magazine to learn more about their process.

How did est Magazine get started?

est was founded by an interior designer with a background in communications. Tired of carrying around heavy magazines to client meetings, she decided there was a better to store, share, save, and shop from printed magazines within the interiors and architecture category. est Magazine was born out of a need, and we are thrilled to have published 32 issues generating over 870,000 reads, from cover to cover, with approximately 110 pages per issue generating significant engagement and action

What are some challenges you face as a publisher? How do you conquer them?

1. Fast pace – in publishing, you are constantly on deadline, and now with social media in a constant conversation

2. Competitive landscape – the category of “home” interiors, architecture, and design is highly competitive

3. Evolution of digital – no one day is the same in digital and technology moves fast. You need to evolve constantly in real time. You need to be brave, push boundaries, and try new strategies.

How do you think publishing digitally has helped est Magazine?

1. est Magazine is a heritage product for our business, its reputation and visual model attract the best in-field content from leading architects and interior designers. They aspire to be published in est magazine.

2. est has always been published digitally, we use digital platforms to do more than reach and engage – digital help est as it drives our consumers to action.

3. To quote one of Australia’s best interior designers “You guys are the future”.

What advice do you have for someone looking to start a magazine?

Only do it digitally; avoid print (in Australia, print revenues are down 35% year on year). The future of strong digital content is paid. est is an ad-based model, but we are now exploring paid models for est.

What is the best part of running a magazine?

The accomplishment of completing each issue and the gratitude of our consumers/readers. They connect with our brand and eagerly await each issue. est Magazine is also very appealing to designers.

Any advice for publishers working to leverage social media to grow their brand?

Social is the new front door and can reach millions of people daily who don’t directly engage in your brand. Second, leverage multiple channels by bringing your content to life using Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. We are starting to play more with video, format, tone, and look.

We see est Living Magazine is growing, what’s next?

Thank you, est is growing at a super fast rate. For est magazine, we’re constantly adding in new content concepts, “The Latest,” pulling consumers from the magazine to site and a number of new series eg. With each issue, we introduce new content that connects deeper and syndicates back to our other channels. Continual product evolution and amplification of content remain core to our brand values and business – stay tuned!