by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Taking off after the holidays will be a new magazine specific to the Sunshine State. Florida Lifestyles is the tag line and it will be the in-flight publication for Florida Air airline.
The fleet of planes will cover eight markets and is based out of Sarasota.
“We started out in this format to be a newsletter for a real estate company and it was so well-received that a couple of our corporate advertisers asked us to go to a large format,” said Jim Craig, operator of HL Publishers, Inc. who produce the publication.
“I had a lot of readers call us, condominium associations, boards. They liked what we had. We did a good demographic study before we started.”
At the time, Craig was handling the public relations for the real estate firm and quickly evolved the newsletter into a small, glossy, complimentary booklet which was distributed to high-end condominiums and golf communities via real estate agents.
After a year of circulating the five by eight inch Florida Lifestyles to approximately 10,000 individuals, HL Publishers will spread their wings to include the estimated 12,000 readers that Florida Air will provide through ridership. More pages are a result. Initially, 104 will be the magic number but it may increase with the broadened exposure.
“Because of the expansion statewide, we’ll go to about 160,” he said.
Once Florida Air lifts off the tarmac, so too will Florida Lifestyles.
Test flights [for the airline] are already in process with the expected roll-out date to be some time in January.
“They’re still awaiting Department of Transportation approval because of the Sept. 11 events,” said Craig.
In addition to the above 22,000 eyes peering over his pages, Craig is negotiating with 50 hotels in the state to supply the magazine to their guests as well.
Geared towards Floridians, Lifestyles will cover pieces of local interest with a minimum of 51 percent being editorial. It is not to be an infomercial in print, but rather a collection of anecdotal stories.
“The feature articles are all related to unique individuals,” said Craig. “It’s focused on lifestyles—what people do in Florida outside of their work. Because it has interesting articles about things to do, the tourists are attracted to it, too.
“Right now it’s been set up for Floridians about Florida. Fifty percent of the people on the airline are projected to be be business people and a large percentage will be college students. [In the future] I think some of the focus will shift because of our relationship with Florida Air and because it will be an in-room magazine for hotels.”
Topics like eco-tourism, music, community events, dining, recreation, entertainment, real estate and the arts will be between the covers.
Last October, Craig decided to ditch the world of corporate drudgery and soar into more friendly skies. The result was Holistic Living, a short-lived magazine dedicated to natural health. Only one edition made it to print.
“We had tons of articles but the problem was we could not get enough advertising support on a local level,” he said. “We would have had to go on a national level to make it solvent. I got a lot of feedback on it but financially, it would have taken us down the tubes.”
Holistic Living converted to the real estate newsletter that spurred on Florida Lifestyles. Only a remnant of the original remains in the company’s name, HL Publishers.
Originally from Philadelphia, Craig broke out of the marketing and insurance ratrace, sold his agency to his partner and packed his bags for Florida. After a stint operating a health maintenance organization, Craig decided to devote all his time to his true passion, writing.
Putting pen to paper is not unchartered territory for Craig; he has written for many big names through his agent for two decades. His 20th novel is due out in January.
“I decided to stop doing the insurance stuff and stick with what I really enjoy,” he said.
Selecting which faces make the cut in Lifestyles is determined by Craig’s managing editor, Tamera McClearn.
Four graphic artists, a dozen salespeople and three freelance writers round out the crew.
HL Publishers, Inc. hopes to distribute 50,000 copies within the next year and a half.
A resident of Neptune Beach, Craig has lived all over the continental United States and in the Caribbean. Florida is where he chose to build his nest, though. Savoring the agreeable weather, Craig takes advantage of the climate by SCUBA diving and mountain biking.
“Florida is a unique state,” he explains. “Lot of people think Florida is an old folks’ state. One end is different from another. You’ve got all age groups and a variety of people. It’s a blend of lifestyles—offering different people different opportunities under the big, sunny sky.”