SoGlos.com: Online Magazine

Posted by: Rachael@Thegmg.Org at 13:45 on 18.04.11

Posted by Rachael 18th April

Welcome to the all new members’ showcase. Every month we’ll be talking to a GMG member business, blogging all things Creative, Business, and Gloucestershire. So first up is James Fryer from Cheltenham based SoGlos.com. As James says, think Time Out Magazine but just swop London for Gloucestershire…

Gloucestershire Media Group: So, before we get started, how do you like your tea?
James So Glos: Earl Grey with one, preferably from a flask while out and about at a fantastic Gloucestershire event – and not while glued to my desk in the office where I am all too often.

GMG: So, tell us what SoGlos is all about?
JSG: SoGlos.com is Gloucestershire’s answer to Time Out London. An authoritative, independent and influential guide to arts, entertainment and leisure in the county – and the most popular resource of its kind for both local residents and visitors. If you want to make the most of your free time in Gloucestershire, SoGlos.com is for you.

GMG: Where did it all begin?
JSG: SoGlos.com’s editor Michelle Byrne and I are both from Gloucestershire, but we moved away for several years to study and cut our teeth as journalists. While working in Dubai, Michelle for Time Out Dubai and me for a rival publication called What’s On, we decided our home county was missing something similar. Print media was already in decline so we bucked the trend and launched the UK’s first regional online-only magazine in July 2007 after a year of very hard work.

GMG: So has it all been worth it? How are things going? Do you have any news?
JSG:We started out with 5,000 readers and 100 email newsletter subscribers in our first month. Today SoGlos.com attracts 75,000 monthly readers and email newsletter subscriber numbers have reached more than 17,000 – making it the most popular resource of its kind in Gloucestershire.

SoGlos.com remains one of the only regional online-magazines in the whole UK, we’ve had a wealth of support from the national trade press, and last summer it was crowned the best website in the whole south west – beating off the likes of BBC Bristol and thisisbristol.co.uk to the title.

This year has already been our busiest yet and we have a very exciting new development around the corner. It’s all top secret at the moment but it will be a sister publication to SoGlos.com under the So Publishing umbrella. Watch this space!

GMG: What does the future hold for you and the team at SoGlos?
JSG: From the outset SoGlos.com has been firmly committed to providing readers with professional editorial of a national media standard. It’s helped us rise to the top of our game and is something we’ll continue to pioneer. Our goal is to reach 100,000 monthly readers this year, see our new title launch successfully in Gloucestershire and continue to develop our business model.

GMG: What’s the best way to get on the SoGlos website?
JSG: Visitors can log onto www.soglos.com 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, completely free of charge, where they’ll find the latest events, features, reviews and news. We also send a weekly email newsletter of local highlights, for free.

GMG: Is there anything else we should know about?
JSG: This week marks the 200th issue of SoGlos.com’s newsletter, and our dedicated YouTube channel is just about to tip the 5 million views mark – making it one of the most popular in the whole south west.

Thanks to James for being the first to take part in our new showcase idea. If you’d like to see your business being blogged about please get in touch with rachael@thegmg.org