What's Up

     When Terry and I started publishing What's Up, we decided
that we should not try to beat the other free publications at
their own games. We immediately saw the value in a publication
that had nothing visually sexually explicit in it. The fact that
the magazine is by, about, and for gay people is the only thing
that anyone could object to.

     What's Up does not make money. It never has. All of the
money we receive for advertising is spent on printing it. We,
Extra Stimulus Inc., even pay for our own ads and all of the
materials needed to prepare the booklet for printing. Why do we
do it? We like it! We like to put together something to be proud
of. We like to work with the good people who regularly contribute
content (and don't get paid either). We want to create a presence
that is more influential than the sum of its individual
constituents. It really is about growth and power for all of us.
We are a media company. We get good response from our ads and
we know that our other advertisers are getting good exposure too.
Each new issue of What's Up regularly adds a substantial amount
of new content to our Web site. http://www.rainbow-akron.com

     What's Up is, and always will be, about the local
community, the area to which it is distributed. All of our
writers are people you may easily meet. You might even be one!
We gladly accept art or writings and print them based on quality,
poignancy and space on our pages. We are also very open to ideas
for new potential advertisers. If you can find someone who
recognizes the value of advertising in What's Up, you will both
have increased the size and spread of this magazine. Our ad rates
are $12.50 per quarter page. Less for repeat business.

     We work at about a 50/50 ratio. That means that for every
page of advertising we can print a page of non-ad content. From
there we work the number of booklets printed. The price of mass
quantity printing is very much on a sliding scale. So, the more
pages the book has and the more books printed, the cheaper it is
per page per book.

     At present, we spend more time trying to get advertising
than we do putting together the magazine itself. We are thrilled
with the businesses that are advertising regularly. They are our
foundation.

     Gay friendly businesses, other than gay bars, are in a
unique position. They must cater to the general public and can
not usually rely on a totally gay clientele BUT, herein lies the
secret bonus! These places are THE PLACES for not-so-out people
to go to first. People who have never come out to anyone might be
in an environment where they don't know any gay people. Being
able to meet and strike up a conversation and possible friendship
with a "real gay" person, without any threat to their own
identity, is something I'm sure many people long for. What's Up
is distributed in MANY places that are not directly associated
with the local gay scene. A good number of the faithful readers
of What's Up are not-so-out. This is important to us. It makes
our magazine a community outreach tool. Never underestimate the
power of the printed word. It may very well be the spark that
starts the fire that burns down oppression.