Guest Speaker - Rebecca Matthews and Brendan Sleeman

Editor of ‘Wed’ magazine Rebecca Matthews and her co-creator Brendan Sleeman told Falmouth University students that finding their own “Niche” area in journalism is key.

Matthews studied at University College Falmouth and met Sleeman while working on an independent cinema magazine before starting up “Wed Magazine” which has two issues each month one covering Cornwall and one primarily focused on Devon.

Matthews told students: “What’s really important when starting a magazine is getting your brand right, know your readership and create a brand which hits that readership well.”

Wed magazine is a “Home-grown product” both Matthews and Sleeman pointed out that the market needed a wedding magazine which was tailored to Cornwall and Devon consequently the magazine and everything in it is primarily produced in Cornwall or Devon, Such as Writers, Designers, Locations and Photographers to make it authentic to its brand and readership.

Matthews said: “What we discovered was most of our competitors weren’t distributing their magazines online, Most of the people who get married in Cornwall don’t live there.” Consequently they realised that if they only stocked magazines in the surrounding WHSmiths & Marks and Spencer stores then they will be missing out on a much wider target audience.

Sleeman said that: “Content is always king online” however they both made sure that it was used “affectively so it wouldn’t affect [Their] print edition” in doing so they made sure that the “content of the new magazine never goes up [on the website] until the magazine comes off the shelf.”

Finally Matthews advised Journalism students that if they wanted to work for magazines and generate features for them that they had to “gain ground on a chosen subject, you will become a much better candidate.”

Check out the magazine’s website on www.wedmagazine.com