This has been something I really wanted to do for some time now. After creating DIYorDIE on YouTube, I felt that there is just more information that can be given in some sort of a newsletter / magazine format. So I started working on this newsletter for DIYorDIE, and realized how much more information I could put into it if I had the time. I wanted curated flavoring notes, curated recipes, curated DIY information all given to you as it comes out, in a nice beautiful layout. So I took some risks, spent some money, and now we have this. Vaping's first, curated, community driven, DIY focused eMagazine, delivered every week
The first issue includes The conception of InTheMix, my CAP VanCust flavor notes, favorite drippers for testing, beer review, article about how vaping saved my life, and a brand new recipe by me. Nothing too insane, as I really just wanted to get everything set up right and make sure automations went smooth. The next issue is a big one. Next issue will be 12:00am Monday exactly, and will have a look at cloning 9 South's Cereal Killa, a deep look into Flavorah and flavor notes, community written pieces, more coupons, and some secret stuff.
I really want to thank everyone who has been supporting me. Everyone here is so cool, and for me to be able to do something like this is so amazing. Everyone wants to get into the vaping industry, and they usually go through the traditional route of a juice line, or a B&M, or a modder. But I wanted to find a way where I could constantly do what I love, which is mixing ejuice and finding crazy ways to produce them. So I figured this would be the best way to go about it. I really hope you guys enjoy the first issue, and I can't wait to get you all more awesome DIY vaping focused content.
<3
Well, this isn't a whole lot different from the HiC approach. Rather than charge for recipes, you're charging for tips and tricks and reviews essentially?
I don't know, perhaps I'm a bit jaded by people utilizing forums to generate popularity for themselves.....only to capitalize on it in other ways. I know it's not entirely different than a Redditor starting an E-liquid line and promoting here.
Just my two cents, I'm sure you sunk a lot of time into it!
I see this in a lot of hobby forums, in the end if someone wants to produce good content he has to put a lot of time into it. And to justify the time investment you need to either make money out of it or be rich, otherwise you will starve or at least create a lot of stress on your personal life.
There are only a few ways to monetize your content in this market.
3 bucks is low enough that I don't really care about spending it. It would suck if he stopped posting his recipes and videos though. And I think the guy deserves money.
This. I feel like most of this community isn't of age to know the actual cost of living, and the time and effort it takes to put together the content hes sharing. He's not getting rich off of a $2 magazine.
I was order 790 something. Let's completely highball the currentish sales figures a bit and say he has 800 orders at $3 a pop. Everyone subbed for a month. That is a total of $2,400 off his first edition in the first day or so. Say he spent 100 hours on the first issue which I'm sure is fairly low and he's looking at $24 an hour or roughly 50k a year. Dude isn't going to be buying yachts with a DIY ejuice mag. Is it worth $2 an issue? Maybe not yet. However I enjoyed it, and the at $36 a year I think it's a decent enough entertainment investment.
> I don't know, perhaps I'm a bit jaded by people utilizing forums to generate popularity for themselves.....only to capitalize on it in other ways.
Yeah, I kinda agree. I used to hang around a lot of car and homebrewing forums and this sort of thing never happened there/then.
Honestly, nothing personally against /u/Enyawreklaw, or anyone else who does this sort of thing, as soon as one person does it it kind of make sense for other people start doing it, and he definitely isn't the first.
I just think it kind of sucks that the internet used to be about sharing information freely and now it's all about the money.
If you frequent car forums then you should know that a TON of people attempt to monetize their hobbies. It isn't a bad thing because prior to this he has provided the community with a ton of information and some good recipes free of charge.
Nothing wrong with attempting to get paid for your work.
No, I don't frequent car forums now, but I did ten years ago, maybe it's changed now but I didn't see anything like this back then. Shit, some of the guys who were mechanics would sometimes let people use their shops on a Sunday for free or a box of beers. The most monetisation that was done was joining the car club, which came with enough perks in discounts that it was worth joining. You'd get the guys selling stickers or parts, but that's something material and I'm talking about making money off information.
If you went on a car or homebrewing forum (at least when I was there) and tried to sell recipes or engine specs of cars you'd be laughed off the forum.
I agree, there's nothing wrong wanted to be paid for your work. But at the same time I don't always agree with pay-walling information - especially when relatively little work has been put in. And I'm not saying these guys haven't put the hard yards in, but I think it's worth making the distinction between DIY'ers (in any field) and a true authority on a subject - like someone who has studied and worked for years in the field and releases a book, for instance.
Like I said, this isn't a personal attack on any DIY'er who's tried to monetise, more a rant on how shit has changed online...fuck I'm turning into a Dad...
EDIT: FWIW, I bought InTheMix. Contradictory, I know.
I see where you're coming from Perry, but let us not forget, HIC's recipes suck.
It's a lot different than charging per recipe. Have you ordered it or subscribed?
I personally have not. I have mixed every recipe that you have released publicly, and none of them blew me away. Rhodonite was good, but just not up cup o' tea. I personally don't feel your magazine will offer someone like myself, that much that is useful.
I'm sure the beginners, and the people who have grown fond of you will enjoy the magazine. From what I saw, it looks reasonably well put together and you obviously care about it. Still, I can't say I agree with trying to monetize your hobby, but that's just me. I have copious amounts of free time, so perhaps I don't value mine as much as you.
I wish you the best of luck, I just won't be a supporter!
Well I'd hope one day you'd change your mind. I really only wanted to charge just enough to actually do it, but I understood charging at all will make some people upset. There's gonna be some great stuff in there, and it's not all written by me. Anyways thanks for your input.
There's nothing wrong with monetizing your hobby. It's extremely smart and it's how you know that you've reached a level where others are willing to pay for your expertise. Do you have an issue with every other magazine and website out there that provide information about "hobbies" such as fishing/hunting/etc while charging a subscription fee?
I see where you're coming from but I strongly disagree about monetizing a hobby, in my opinion that's to everyone's benefit. With a hobbyist you know the person is passionate about what he's doing, with a genuine interest to learn more, to keep improving and possibly even a modicum of pride and ethics. Can't have too many people being passionate about what they sell, there's more than enough businesses with purely profits in mind already.
I feel the same as you. No offense it's just this dude started diying 8mo ago. I started pouring money into this hobby well over a year ago but I still wouldn't think of pumping out an ezine or you tube channel. Also like you I've never cared for his blends.
I may be totally wrong here but you can tell when someone hones a recipe in over the course of weeks or months. All the ones I've tried posted here by op have seemed like first additions. Not awful, I'm sure they're well thought out just not anything special. If bombies, thc, or gremlins did this then maybe I'd drop three bucks on it. I don't want this sub ending up like ecr but worth this kind of stuff were getting there.
please tell us more about this cashcow youre promoting at every chance you get. to pre-answer your question if i have subbed to the mag - no, so this minimizes my chance of getting a non sellout bullshit answer.
It would suck if Wayne stopped releasing recipes, wouldn't it? With all the hype his recipes ALWAYS get here and even on other subs he could easily start his own line and not GAF about us, like other mixers have done in the past. I don't know about you but I would prefer this approach to the alternative...
Ok so here's my opinion. You know all the new diyers that post the same question over and over that the regulars alway bitch about? Those are the people that would benefit from this. Will the more experienced mixers walk away from the magazine having learned much? Probably not.
good start to the mag. a couple of thoughts on it:
- white text on light colors is hard to read.
- Didn't care for the flow of it. felt like a lot of the graphics were blown up just to fill up empty space. if it's a lack of content issue, I think changing it to a twice per month issue would more beneficial.
- could use more useful content. felt like a lot of it was a feature article on yourself. which leads me to my next point...
- needs more contributors. You said on your vlog that you're planning on having more people featured on it, so I hope that's still in the works. Maybe get differing viewpoints on a flavor profile, or have recipes from different people where the main flavor is the one featured.
- lastly, you're a jerk for releasing a recipe where i dont have the majority of the flavors.
People, call it a paywall if you want, but this wall is only $3.00/mo high. If you're that cheap, then just don't read the damned thing. If you're that uninterested, then don't be interested.
If this was a recipe book, then I wouldn't be interested at all, but I feel it's worth the cash to see how the experiment forms up. I think Wayne has a talented palette, and I hope he has found a way to share his process and experience with those of us who want it, sustainably.
To those who don't want this: don't worry, you will not receive a bill. You will have the opportunity to benefit from the insight anyway, as it is shared by subscribers.
If you're just offended that someone might value his own opinions and expertise enough to ask those the group who benefits from his effort to support him, then ... I don't know what you create in life, if anything, but I hope those who benefit from it treat you better than that.
I can't believe the resentment from some in here over a guy wanting to find a way to balance his passion, talent and survival. He's not taking anything away from anyone, he's making new content and sharing it with those who support him first.
I'm calling it a paywall, not because I want to, but because that's what it is - - no matter how high or low it is. It's still a barrier to entry that potentially prevents people from accessing his content. He has every right to do that, and I'm not criticizing it.
I think there might be better ways to do what he's doing - because a magazine 4 times a month is a goddamn ridiculous amount of work with a lot of very short deadlines. One magazine (with all the content consolidated) a month would easily be worth 3 dollars, and would allow time to find sponsors or advertisers for the magazine - which would mean more revenue, or possibly putting it out for free so that it gets in more peoples hands - which is valuable not only to advertisers but the magazine itself. A month would give contributors more time to get their materials to him and also allow time for editing and layout. 7-8 days for the turnaround on a magazine means there will be a struggle to put out something with a consistent quality over the course of a year. I hope he pulls it off. It's crazy ambitious, and that's admirable.
I am not subscribing, and it's not because I am cheap... I don't feel I need the information. I have my own tasting notes as I've been DIYing for over a year at this point. I get more interaction and information here on reddit, and that's what's valuable to me. If I am working on a recipe, I can post it here and get feedback and ideas. If people ask for advice, and I can provide it, I like to do that as well. That's what I love about this community. I am also not like the majority of DIY folks here, as I can't vape diketones without coughing fits and a tight chest. So that, unfortunately, wipes out 90% of the recipes that get posted, including many of Wayne's. Paying to gain access to recipes that I won't be mixing, and notes on flavors I won't be using doesn't seem worth it to me. I don't have any use for beer reviews.
I have purchased some of HIC's recipes, and don't have a huge problem with what he's doing - it was a matter of knowing that I'd be able to vape the recipe, as he also avoids diketones. Unfortunately, he's pretty hit or miss with recipes, so I don't do that very often. I have no problem with supporting people who contribute to the DIY community, but I also don't want to throw my money at something that won't be very useful to me.
With all that being said, if there were a tobacco edition I'd be inclined to pick it up. There's not a whole lot of information on those flavors... you really have to dig to find anything. That's where I've been devoting my DIY time lately, since I feel it's somewhat uncharted territory.
To begin with, I just moved into tobaccos, so anything you share on that subject will be very interesting to me - as you say, there's very little out there, and the term "tobacco" seems to vary so much it's hard to build any consensus.
To your original point, I hope he realizes that releasing a magazine (more a curated and well produced newsletter) every week doesn't mean he needs to write a set of articles in one week, every week.
An article can be in process for a year and released when it's ready, and I hope Wayne currently (or will soon) have longer term more in-depth work in progress.
He's not there now, but I want him to get there, so he gets my cash now, when the offering isn't stellar. (Although definitely worth $0.75/week!)
More power to anyone that supports this endeavor. That's great that there's an outpouring of support for this. I hope that people temper their expectations, and that Wayne can deliver on what he's promising. I will be surprised if it goes 3 months without missing an issue (and not because I don't believe in Wayne, it's just a huge undertaking for anyone - experienced or not). He'll have to lean heavily on contributors, and that is where I think the most potential for problems lays. Not everyone has the same drive to put out content or investment in the idea, even if they say they do - and I say that from years of collaboration on many different kinds of projects. I hope it goes smoothly though, and I may find myself subscribing in the future.
I'll be trying to post up my findings on tobaccos when I have time. It's good to see others delving into that realm as well!
Putting out a weekly magazine is going to be a shit ton of work and because of that (not to mention all the other projects you have going), I suppose we won't be seeing you contribute here much going forward. Personally, I'm not sure that's the best way to monetize this hobby - I feel like doing the podcast and featuring ads might be a better option until you gain a lot more followers. Putting recipes and insight behind a paywall at this point doesn't seem like a way to grow much... but that's just my opinion. I do wish you the best of luck with it.
Oh man, I was kiiiinda looking forward to this but feel completely let down that I paid $3 for just a review of CAP Vanilla Custard...
Live and Learn
It might be beneficial to have some kind of preview of your mag, if I'm going to buy a mag off the rack, I like to have some idea of what's inside. Some kind of teasers or something. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks this way, I like to know what I'm paying for.
All these people down below saying Wayne just a started mixing, they've mixed longer, blah blah blah, I've never seen their names before.
I wasn't going to subscribe to the magazine, but with all these cry babies, I think I will. In fact, I kind of want to just send him a larger donation for the hard work he puts into everything DIY.
why do I have a feeling a lot of these negative panzies are the recent leaked trolls? Jealous they didn't put the work in and do it first? Hmmmm....
Granted I'm not a fan of every one of his recipes, it's cool to see people approach this differently than just starting their own juice lines or selling recipes. I'll likely throw $3 to see what it's about and if I like it continue on. I can find $3 in quarters just cleaning out my truck monthly so no big. Guy wants to help the community but there's obviously a huge time requirement for it, can't blame him for wanting a very minor fee for it.
Subscribed. Beer review seems out of place, but I'm also a bigger beer enthusiast than vape enthusiast. Maybe strive for more exciting beers that aren't on grocery store shelves, the same way we're striving for the best juices. Also beer / juice pairings would be nice.
cant believe some guys are giving wayne shit for this, jees, this guy has probably given more info away for free than most, if he feels he can charge a couple of quid for some for his time then good on him, keep it up wayne and fuckin good on ya kid. btw, might be an idea to drop flavour companies a line, maybe they could knock up a unique individual user discount voucher up for subscribers only ?
Bronuts = $2 to make 60ml, 60ml of equal quality juice = $40, I owe Wayne money, lots of money.
In all seriousness though, two of my 3 ADV's are Waynes creations (Bronuts and Funfetti) and I feel that if I am going to give money to anyone for the contribution to the sub and me personally its going to be Wayne. If a paywall of 3 bucks a month is too high then so be it, I simply ask that you consider whether you have used his recipes and enjoyed them, especially if you are burning through the stuff like I am.
As I sit here and look at 4 empty 60ml bottles of his creations that I have vaped over the past two weeks the small sum of 3 dollars seems like a trivial matter compared to what he has saved me.
I already posted something in the thread bashing this, but I'll just say it here too since you are the one actually posting this and might read it in your inbox.
I think this was a good start to the magazine. I think people are a little annoyed at the lack of vaping content off the start, and I understand that, but in the future, once you get some more people contributing, it will be a lot more robust.
I do think that you either need to take people up on their offers to edit the document before you release it, or work on your editing. As I've said multiple times, I'm willing to help. I also think you really need to find someone willing to work with you on graphic design and magazine layout. I know those people tend to not work for free, but it's something to consider.
As for the content of this issue, I personally liked most of it. The RDA information was great, so much so that I bought both of them that you mentioned on Ebay while I was reading. The CAP reviews were good, but I do agree with some people that feel that it's not really new information. Personally though, I found it a good read.
Overall, I wouldn't let the negative press get to you. It's just starting out, and I imagine that the more love and attention you put into it the better it will be. I'll be sure to get you an article for next week's issue relatively soon to help you out.
Here's another RDA recommendation guide from Bombies
Thanks! That was a very good read. I'll have to look into the Vector RDA a little more. Right now I run a Tugboat v2 (authentic... because back then I didn't know clones were any good), and I'm very happy with it as an overall RDA, but it's nice to have a few others to play around with too.
I just subscribed and read the first issue. At less than 70 cents an issue, I'm not expecting something too polished but I have some constructive criticisms, most related to aesthetics:
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Please pick a sans serif font and stick to that. There's a different font on every page and the serif fonts are hard to read. The bolded font in the PlumeVeil piece is hard to read. And the white text on yellow background is nearly impossible to read in the V2 Custard piece.
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I also noticed some typos like "paird" and "unbelievabley" that should have been picked up by your spell checker. A sentence starting with a lower case word (know about DIY), etc. Also, most of those side pieces were laid out in a ragged justification that didn't look right.
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Not a fan of the paginated PDF format. When scrolling vertically to catch the bottom of the page, it often jumps to the top of the next page instead. I'd much rather have it all as one continuous scrolling page. That was super annoying.
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As others have mentioned, content was sparse. And I have no interest in beer reviews. If it was one article among 20 vape related articles, not a big deal. But when it's that plus (basically) Capella Custard, it's out of place.
Anyway, still looking forward to future issues and the stuff I mentioned above can be fixed. Good luck!
That was interesting, gave it a quick once over. Will have to get the flavors to make the recipe. I'll give it a real read later.
One thing, the formatting on the PDF seemed a bit off in regards to margins and text fonts but that may be my system too.
Also, it's nice and cheap but more pages at more $ is nice too, maybe some special editions that are longer?
I purchased first issue and subscribed. Where the heck is the mag? I can't find it. Lol
I wasn't linked to any downloads. Im on iPad.
I went here then scrolled to available downloads and opened the PDF version. Worked on my iPhone.
I enjoyed the read, $2 isn't bad for a fair bit of information :)
I really liked the flavor profile, didn't care as much for back stories, though it was interesting I didn't find it as useful as the flavoring (obviously).
Also the recipe looked tasty, I'll have to try it!
Subscribed!!! I love that there is the epub alternative source, great for my kindle!!! Great job for your first magazine publication, it's not really good but can see great potential and hidden gems.
I do love the flavour notes, weekly recipe and even the background info but, maybe keep diy ejuice to diy ejuice? Skipped beer, came for juice haha.
Can't wait for next issue and many more.
Just subscribed and read the first issue. My thoughts;
-First issue felt a bit short. Lacked a bit on the mixing tips, flavour pairings, etc which is what I was looking for. Beer review is nice for those interested, but we readers are looking for ejuices. Maybe a review of an ejuice recipe you tried lately? Or even a "premium" liquid you bought.
-Some of it looked harsh/unpolished. The first paragraph on the vanilla custard was barely readable on my tablet (white text over beige-ish background).
-I liked the idea of the "Vaping saved my life" part, but it felt too long to me. I couldn't read it to the end to be honest. I think you should leave it in every issue, but make it a bit shorter and add a letter section right after it where people could comment on how vaping saved their lives. Just an idea!
-Flavour pairings; would be interesting to see your take on the mixing of two flavours. For example, you mention in the first issue how CAP vanilla custard and TFA graham cracker clear are commonly used together. Why not expand on that and offer your notes on the combo? How they relate and react with each other, etc.
-Letter section; might sound stupid, but I love letter sections in magazines/comic books. I'm a big The Walking Dead comic fan, and the letter section at the end has to be the part I'm looking forward to the most. Would be interesting to see people's reaction/answers to the previous issue (like comments on flavor percentages or combinations, etc).
-Maybe a beginners section? Articles for beginners and intermediate mixers. Stuff like "Mixing by weight vs volume", "Take a real life recipe and make an ejuice out of it", "Steeping; how does it work?".
Overally, I liked the first issue and looking forward for the next ones. Just thought I'd give my two cents :O.