Notes from Perry Street: 2023 to be exciting year for Winters Media & Publishing
By JOHN and CORBY WINTERS, Winters Media & Publishing Inc.
As we start a new year, we want to thank our advertisers and readers for their support. Our goal is, and always will be, to help you grow, market and promote what you do. And maybe find a great new local joint or band along the way.
We are excited about the future of print media and our company’s growth. Despite all the naysayers, niche publications, like what we publish, continue to grow. As an example, we started The Paper five years ago with a circulation of 1,500. It is now 10,000.
Looking back over the past year, whether professionally or personally, is never a bad idea. However, a word of caution: a quick glance is best. Staying focused on the past and thinking of all the should ofs, could ofs or would ofs … can leave you bitter. And a life lived in regret is a life half-lived. It’s like looking out the rear view mirror and never looking for what’s in front of you. At some point, you are bound to have a wreck.
Winters Media & Publishing started back when we bought The Coweta Shopper from Joe Williams on a Thanksgiving Eve.
We eventually shortened that to “The Shopper,” and at the beginning of 2022, we changed the name to “The Weekly.” We did this for a myriad of reasons and appreciate the community embracing that decision. We had added so many features and columns that we just didn’t think The Shopper was The Shopper any more.
We started The Paper from scratch. It was Winters’ vision and dream to create what we now call “the ultimate what to do, see and eat” publication. Or as Winters likes to joke, the “Give Me Something To Do” paper. Our columnists cover our favorite joints, the local music scene, what is trending in our area, recipes, chefs, book clubs and others’ perspective on living life.
It is now direct-mailed to more than 4,000 homes and we distribute an additional 6,000 at more than 125 locations throughout Coweta County and the surrounding areas. We have a strong social presence with Winters Media as well, including our website (wintersmedia.net), Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (all @wintersmediapublishing) as well. All these are just other cogs in our media wheel to reach readers and expand our clients’ reach.
The Paper goes out the first week of the month. We now have The Weekly direct mailed in weeks two, three and four. In each of those three weeks, The Weekly goes to a different zip code area.
A year ago this month, we started The Taku Group. If you are wondering, “Taku” is a glacier that runs down from the mountains to Juneau, Alaska. It is also the name of a company that specialized in Alaskan seafood and whose owners are friends of ours. And, it’s also why Winters’ dog is called, well, Taku.
“Taku” owns two high-end glossy magazines. One is Stroll Lake Redwine and goes out each month to the approximately 625 residences in the Lake Redwine subdivision.
The other is BeLocal Coweta/PTC. This publication targets the roughly 500 families moving into the area each month. It too is direct-mailed and covers all of Coweta County and into Peachtree City and west Fayette County.
So now we have four publications and multiple social media platforms, each targeting a very different demographic. In other words, we have something that will fit your needs. And we are looking at some additional opportunities in 2023.
As we enter this new year, we pray for blessings and peace in your lives. We are committed to continue to help you grow and strengthen your businesses.
On behalf of our family and our incredible team, we want to wish you a prosperous new year where you truly find your life and work purpose.
