Clean Run - February 2016 - 5

Help Spread the Word
By Brenna Fender

Clean Run began in 1995 as a weekly newsletter made
up of a few sheets of stapled paper. Over the years, it has
grown to a full-color, monthly magazine packed with
training information from all over the world. We present
training techniques and ideas from trainers of various
backgrounds and styles, providing information for dogs
and handlers of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments.
Our mission statement is, "To document
and explain both basic and advanced
handling and training techniques for individual agility competitors as well as
instructors; to support humane training
methods; and to present varying viewpoints on our sport." We work hard to
ful ll our mission with every issue.
Because there aren't many practical places to advertise agility training magazine,
Clean Run has always relied on word of
mouth to generate new subscription sales.
For many years, competitors new to the
sport were directed to the magazine by
agility instructors and clubs.
ey explained to their students its educational
value and even brought their copies of the
magazine to class. is support from clubs
and instructors ensured that we always
had an in ux of new subscribers, which is necessary to
keep any magazine healthy, since people do leave the sport
or take breaks from subscribing when they get behind in
their reading.
Over the past ve or six years, we have virtually stopped
receiving these referrals, and new subscriptions have
dropped o signi cantly; in fact, to the point that we have
to consider publishing only a digital edition because we're
now losing money each month. If you follow Clean Run
on Facebook, you have already heard about this situation
as we have been running a subscription drive and talking
to subscribers.

Several instructors have written to us saying they have just
forgotten over the years about recommending the magazine in classes, and they thanked us for the reminder.
But what about the many other instructors and clubs out
there? How can we reach you?
We try to make it easy for instructors to share information about Clean Run. We can send out sample issues for
special occasions in classes, plus we have
subscription cards. For every subscription
that comes in that lists an instructor as a
referral, that instructor gets a bonus issue
added to their subscription. is is not a
new program-I used to pay for most of
my own subscription to the magazine that
way when I was an instructor at an agility
club back in the 90s! ( is program also
applies to anyone who refers the magazine to a friend or fellow competitor.)
If free issues aren't enough incentive for
you to share information about Clean Run
subscriptions, what would be? Do you
have ideas on how we could encourage
instructors to tell their students about us?
Please share your ideas and comments by
contacting us at editors@cleanrun.com.
We hope to keep providing Clean Run magazine in both
paper and digital versions; however, if we are unable to
increase our subscriber base, we may have to discontinue our printed copies. We know most of you don't want
that to happen, and we don't want it to happen either.
Clean Run has been a staple in the agility community for
a long time. We'd very much like to keep it that way, but
we need that word-of-mouth support to help bring in
new subscribers.

Brenna Fender

Brenna Fender is the associate managing editor of Clean Run magazine and the Clean Run special projects assistant. She lives in Florida with her husband, two children,
a Papillon (Spark), a Beagle (Wrigley), a Border Collie (Tessa), a Chihuahua (Chase), and a variety of other creatures. Tessa has agility titles, UpDog Challenge disc
achievements, and a Trick Dog Champion Title. Over the years, Brenna's dogs have been titled in conformation, agility, Junior Hunter, Junior Courser, rally, obedience,
and Canine Good Citizen. Brenna can be reached at brennafender@gmail.com and you can read her humor blog at www.laughingattherain.blogspot.com.
February 16 | Clean Run

http://www.laughingattherain.blogspot.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2016