Vice President
Texas LIVE Magazine & Media Company
Publishing
Content & Editorial Management
Using early freelance platforms, we recruited top talent and managed virtual creative and sales teams. Together they produced a 130+ magazine every 60 days for seven years, in conjunction with an online blog and advertising network. Although publishing and distribution methods have changed rapidly over the past few decades, the need for quality content still remains.
Print and Digital
Distribution Management
We launched Texas LIVE as a community magazine featuring House & Home, Personal Profiles, Retail, Texas Grub, and Travel & Events surrounding the greater Houston metroplex.
The title quickly grew in popularity within the urban markets and grew to encompass the Texas Hill Country and coastal regions.
Texas LIVE earned premium placement on every major newsstand throughout the south including Barnes & Nobles, Books A Million, Borders, HEB, Walmart and international airports.
Advertising Sales
Drive Revenue
We launched Texas LIVE as a community magazine featuring House & Home, Personal Profiles, Retail, Texas Grub, and Travel & Events surrounding the greater Houston metroplex.
The title quickly grew in popularity within the urban markets and grew to encompass the Texas Hill Country and coastal regions.
Texas LIVE earned premium placement on every major newsstand throughout the south including Barnes & Nobles, Books A Million, Borders, HEB, Walmart and international airports.
360 Digital Marketing
An early adopter of digital technology, Texas LIVE became one of the first independent titles available in the Android/Apple play stores.
Winning Sales Teams
With a small, but mighty full-time sales staff armed with first generation iPads, we led sales teams to position Texas LIVE as a 360 degree advertising platform offering print, digital and content marketing services on monthly retainers.
Transition
We launched Texas LIVE during a season which was tumultuous for print media (2006-2013). The publication had a loyal and growing following, after seven years, we had built a substantial book of business and was offered a buyout.
We oversaw an acquisition to a private firm and made the decision to transition exclusively to digital marketing services. In 2013, my wife launched Rachael Hall Creative, she and I would soon navigate the ever changing tides of web ux, social media, content marketing, SEO and digital strategy.
Strategic Planning
Contract Negotiation
In business, every penny counts. As the Vice President of Texas LIVE, I consistently reviewed printing, shipping, distribution, labor and vendor contracts to ensure we were receiving the highest quality products and services at the best possible price.
Budget Forecasting
Accurate forecasting depends on accurate data, and although it is impossible to predict every input in an ever-changing business environment, to the best of my ability, I led my teams to project future costs and projected ad revenue on an annual basis.
Planning for Multiple Streams of Revenue
By layering digital and print ad sales with monthly social media and content marketing services, our team was able to double revenue from within our existing client base.
Talent Acquisition
Recruitment & Management
Defining Job Requirements
One of the keys to successful business growth is having the right butt in every seat. It’s common in startups for employees to wear many hats, but multi-tasking can lead to multi-madness.
We knew the key to sustainability was to define role requirements, create duplicatable systems and process documentation. We strived hard to create a process of “wash-rinse-repeat” for each role in an effort to train and oversee multiple teams throughout Texas.
Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent
In a startup, it can be difficult to pay for top talent; Texas LIVE was no exception. I demanded a quality product and knew it would depend on the type of people I chose to work within the organization.
I knew that salary was not the only motivation for top performers, and I worked hard to understand the motivating factors of each employee and contract partner. By offering flex-time, onsite child-care and personal services I helped provide the support working mothers needed.
By offering employees the ability to earn additional income based on performance while offering flex-schedules and remote opportunities we were able to hire and retain top talent – a decision that paid off with a high-quality product.
“We are pleased to inform you that Texas LIVE has experienced a 90% sales-through rate at major newsstands. Please increase the draw by 30% with the next issue.”
Digital Marketing
First Generation Social Media Management & Content Marketing
In 2008, the Texas LIVE Media team was forging new paths by offering blogging and social media services in addition to the print media packages.
The term content marketing had not yet been coined and no one had heard of charging for social media services.
While building the Texas LIVE brand I faced the challenges of onboarding into the new social platforms. We knew our clients must be facing the same challenges.
By offering email marketing, blogging, social media management, script writing and video production services ( natural extension to our core services) we were able to double annual revenue from within the existing client base.
By embracing digital technology early and offering it as a paid service, the Texas LIVE team was able to navigate the choppy waters of the declining print industry.