Indie Travel Podcast Magazine launches tomorrow - Interview with Craig Martin

So Craig and Linda from Indie Travel Podcast are launching a travel magazine. A PRINT magazine no less ! A day before the launch, I decided to ask Craid some questions about this crazy (and cool) idea.

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Voyageek : At a time when most print magazines have financial problems, what's the idea behind launching one ?

Craig Martin: Pretty crazy, huh? The internet is infinitely flexible, but there's just something exciting about doing page layout: we have room to play and create something really beautiful. I think that's something missing from the blog world: there's lots of great content but we struggle with creating the equivalent of a full page spread - matching themes with written and visual elements and having complete freedom there.

We see the Indie Travel Podcast as much more than just a website. At the moment it's a growing travel brand with audio and video downloads, articles, photographs and community presence. Over the next 12 months, we're expanding with iPhone and Facebook apps, a growing number of travel ebooks and the start of a guidebook collection. The magazine's the next step for us as publishers.

Voyageek : Which readers are your aiming at and how do you differentiate from existing travel publications ?

Craig Martin: Indie Travel Podcast Magazine is for thinking travellers, for adventure travellers, for independent travellers of all ages. When we say "budget" we don't mean $200 a night like some magazines! That said, it's certainly not just hostels and hitchhiking: there are places and ideas in here that suit singles, couples and families.

We've created a magazine that we'd like to read: it includes thoughtful commentary on travel issues, highlights popular destinations -- hopefully with a fresh angle, and also spotlights emerging destinations. We've tried to keep things practical by including pull-out guides, toolkits and regular columns for key areas.

"A photo in the paper magazine might be replaced by a video in the online version"

Voyageek : You're coming from the web, so in terms of writing, did you think writing for a magazine was very different from writing a regular blog post ?

Read the rest of the Interview on Voyageek