Mark My WordsA few lines from UK Cabaret managing editor Mark Ritchie.

It is now almost exactly one year since the publishing adventure which is UK Cabaret began. We kick-started our attempt to find our niche within the show business publishing map and at the very beginning things didn’t look too promising. Initially we published a modest magazine and launched our web-site with the intention of selling advertising. Our toe-in the water approach was openly ridiculed by one or two people, who clearly didn’t think we could make any inroads whatsoever.

One year on, we are making most of our income from a modest annual subscription fee of £25 and subscriber numbers are set to hit a remarkable milestone soon, but more of this later.

Our magazine, which comes as part of the subscription, along with a business listing and a free web advertisement, is now a superbly designed, colourful 20 page glossy affair. Every penny which is being earned is ploughed straight back into the business. Print version designer John Stokes deserves all the credit…end of story!

Our web-designer is Martin Brown and the Google analytics data figures he provides me with indicates we now have around 4000 unique and regular weekly web-visitors. In fact our site was hit almost 600,000 times in the first nine months after our launch in late June 2014.

To say we are chuffed to bits is a massive understatement and we now look likely to have the guarantee of a future as we attempt to cover all aspects of light entertainment here in UK Cabaret and www.ukcabaret.com

Before anyone starts viewing our approach as a form of rash hubris, I know we still have a long way to go with UK Cabaret. It takes so much time and effort to launch something as complex as this publication and for the brand to become widely accepted. However don’t misinterpret my cautious approach as managing editor as vacillating or general uncertainty. We have attracted a major investor and there may be another potential investor waiting in the wings.

My goal for UK Cabaret is to improve the web-site yet further and launch an online jobs section in the not too distant future. I want the magazine to be bigger and more comprehensive in terms of coverage. However, we are not going down the news gathering route at this stage. In my view, advertorial style promotion of show business does not sit easily alongside hard news. I believe that by trying to combine news and advertising under the same banner, as The Stage newspaper does, is not the route I want UK Cabaret to take.

The direction I am steering this publication in dictates that we publish features and reviews only. One year on into our publishing adventure our feedback from subscribers is terrific. However I will be e-mailing a readership survey quite soon to our entire subscriber list. Show business people should, in my view, be regarded as a family and I want to consult our supporters and friends every step of the way. On June 12th I hope to raise a glass of champagne to celebrate the first birthday of UK Cabaret with the close group of people who have helped me make it happen.

If you haven’t joined us yet, please e-mail mark-ritchie@btconnect.com