How to Create Your Own Magazine [The Easy Way]

Marvin Baradely
10 min readNov 8, 2018

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Have you ever wondered if you could create your own magazine? If you, like me, love to read magazine publishers content, you’ve probably thought at least once, ‘hey, I could do this better’. But where do you start to create your own magazine?

My background is in media studies.

That’s right, I was just a student when I thought about digital publishing.

My tutor said, ‘why don’t you create your own magazine if you like them so much’, so I thought it would be a great project to get into.

Although I only wanted to make a magazine for a school project, I quickly found that I really like to create beautiful digital magazine content and new magazine covers .

I did make a magazine for school project (and got an A, by the way!), but my love of being a digital magazine creator has stayed with me for many years.

When I started my own business, I knew that if I could make a free magazine, I would blow the competition out of the water.

If you can create your own magazine, it shows your business is knowledgeable, ambitious and trustworthy, all critical things for new start-ups.

The trouble was, I hadn’t tried to make a online magazine for some time.

I didn’t know what digital magazine software was out there, or how much it cost, so I didn’t know what was involved in trying to create your own magazine anymore.

How I discovered to create my own magazine

I decided it was worth an investment of my life time and energy to find out how to create a magazine online.

I set out to see if there were any free online magazine maker programs that could help me, and what I found almost blew my mind.

Are you ready to have your mind blown too?

You see, when I had to make a magazine at home for my school project, there were really only a couple of tools available.

I’m pretty sure I used MS Word as my magazine maker app, which is ridiculous.

I’d also used Paint to edit my images. I thought I was cutting edge at the time, but things had changed… a lot!

Now, thankfully, there are literally hundreds of programs online to help you create your own magazine.

From free magazine templates to software to help you create your own magazine cover design, I was literally spoilt for choice!

But, this came with its own set of challenges too.

Although there’s plenty out there to help you create your own magazine and magazine covers, how should I know which ones were the best?

I decided to conduct a bit of a review and tips of the different e magazine creators, and that’s what I’d like to share with you today on my blog .

But wait, it gets better.

As well as sharing my top software to create your own magazine, I want to give you some insight into the steps to creating a magazine too.

With my help and resources, you’ll be able to create your own magazine as soon as you’ve finished reading. No, really; I promise!

Let’s get started.

How to create your own magazine?

No idea?

Don’t worry, I got you covered.

If you want to create your own magazine, you’re going to need to know a few things:

  • Who? Who do you want to create your own magazine for? What does your audience look like?
  • What? What will you create your own magazine about? What’s your niche and expertise?
  • When? How often will you create your own magazine? How much time do you have to invest?
  • Where? How will you get readers to your magazine? Where will it be hosted?
  • Why? What’s the purpose of wanting to create your own magazine? What do you want viewer to do once they’ve read it?

Once you can answer all these questions, you’re all set to create your own magazine.

Having a purpose and clearly defined goals is crucial, so take some time to think then through before you try to create your own magazine.

How to create your own digital magazine?

Now you understand why you want to create your own magazine, it’s time to think about the how.

To make own magazine publications, you’ll need a few key ingredients:

Content:

When you create your own magazine, you’ll need to ensure you have access to insightful, interesting, relevant and unique content and a good magazine cover maker. You should create your own magazine content and text, at least initially, so brush up your writing skills and look for inspiration within your industry. And always remember to create a compelling title .

Images:

Online magazine design needs to be eye-catching, so you’ll need to create your own magazine imagery to give readers that immersive experience they want. Try to create your own magazine images from personal photos, but if you can’t do this, look for royalty free images online.

Interactivity:

One thing to remember when you create your own publication online is that you have the ability to add interactivity to it too. Think about how to create your own magazine interactivity with links, videos, photo, audio and more to make it a more engaging experience.

Publishing:

Once you create your own magazine, you’ll need a publisher online to turn it into digestible content as well as a magazine cover maker that also has magazine cover templates with nice designs . Some of the options to create a magazine online include publishing but think carefully about where you’ll host it to attract readers from your target audience.

Evaluating:

A good free magazine creator will include tools to help you evaluate your success. There’s no point in trying to create your own magazine if you do not have a way of assessing if it’s worked or not, so before you create your own magazine, decide what measures of success you will use.

To create your own magazine, you’ll need to figure out each one of these elements yourself.

It may be that once you’re in the swing of how to create your own magazine, you’ll be able to leverage some outside assistance for things like writing articles, but for now at least you need to create your own magazine by yourself.

However, you’re not alone.

I’ve found lots of free online magazine maker which are a great way to start and create your own magazine.

With these free online magazine creator on your side, you’ll be able to create your own magazine even if you do not have lots of skills in graphic design.

What is the best digital magazine software?

If you want to create your own magazine, you’re going to need some great magazine publishing software to help you on your way.

I’ve found that you can create your own magazine with very little cost involved, in fact, it’s even possible to create your own magazine completely free!

I’ve reviewed some of my favorite high quality online free magazines pdf maker software on the web right here, to help you create your own magazine.

Anyflip

Website of Anyflip

In my search for top publish services to create your own magazine, I found loads of flip magazine maker programs which were very exciting for me.

These let you create your own magazine with animated flipping pages, and out of all of them, the company Anyflip was my favorite. Intuitive, easier and simple to use, you simply upload your pdf to the flip book converter.

I further like it because it lets you create your own custom magazine which is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and even Kindle, and it has features such as SEO built in, so you can create your own magazine and Google can find it! With this software, you also get to share your magazines on social media (Facebook, Twitter & Co.) with one click and you can always contact their support team if any help is needed.

Issuu

Issuu Website

This free online magazine creator service is one of my favorite ways to create your own magazine without having to download any software (ps.: and the got some really nice features).

You get to easily design magazine online in Issuu just register (you’ll need an email address), and then you’ll get create your own magazine by uploading the PDF to the flip book converter. You also get to select different magazine template designs and you can add audio, photo/image or your logo, video and links.

The online pdf magazines free software Issuu has 80 million users, so finding people to create your own magazine for shouldn’t be a problem. Your customers can also view your created magazines on every device, computer desktop and mobile!

You can create your own magazine and host it on the digital publishing platform Issuu to get plenty of exposure. But you can also share your magazine on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and more.

There is a free version but also other premium plans to upgrade.

Canva

Website of Canva

I already mentioned that when you create your own magazine you’ll need some awesome customize images and a great online magazine cover maker tool, and this program is what can help.

Although you can’t create your own magazine within the app, it is literally the very best magazine cover creator tools I’ve ever come across.

It’s completely free and can help you create your own magazine cover that looks 100% professional including a magazine cover template .

Blurb

Blurb Website

Throughout this article, I’ve talked about how to create your own page flipping magazine for the digital environment, but perhaps you arrived here hoping to create your own magazine for print?

If so, the website Blurb is your new best friend.

As well as being an amazing magazine maker free printable versions are also available, so you can print your own magazine direct from the app.

Madmagz

Madmagz Website

One of the hardest parts of trying to create your own magazine is the layout.

Trying to fit all those words and images together in an attractive way can be tough, but the service Madmagz has you covered.

This program tool comes with magazine layout design software free and has loads of templates for you to use to create your own magazine.

All the templates have been created by pro designers, meaning you’ll be able to create your own magazine with a professional touch for free!

All the software to create your own magazine that I’ve mentioned here are completely free to use and do not need a download .

There are often limitations, however, so do check out the pricing structure before committing to any one solution.

Often, you’ll be limited to only create your own magazine once per month, or perhaps to only create your own magazine with up to a certain number of pages.

However, if you’re just getting started, you can go ahead making your own magazine completely free of charge using any or all of these services!

Are you ready to create your own magazine?

I do hope I’ve opened your eyes to just how easy it can be to create your own magazine with flipping pages and to create a magazine cover .

With no insight, you could easily spend thousands to create your own magazine, hiring in designers, paying a fortune for software and suchlike.

But what I wanted to prove to you here, and I hope I have, is that you do not have to shell out lots of money to create your own magazine.

It’s perfectly possible to create your own magazine that is both beautiful and readable using only free programs found online.

Once you’ve got going, it may pay to upgrade so you can create your own magazine anytime with more features, more pages or more flexibility.

I began making magazines in school and finished using them to build my online business.

I hope you’ll try to create your own magazine, because it’s one of the most rewarding and fun marketing activities you can do!

Hopefully, my tips, ideas and review were of help to you — leave a comment down below this blog post and let me know about your top magazine creator software on the web!

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Marvin Baradely

Writer; Digital Magazine Software Specialist; Food Lover