We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chris Avena. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chris below.
Chris, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
When I first started American Outdoor News, I was still kind of feeling my way through the process of actually being a publisher. There are many aspects that you have to coordinate including writers and topics for each edition. Shortly after I published my very first edition of American Outdoor News, a friend with may accolades attached to his name including well-respected outdoor writer, outdoor tv personality as well as a wildlife biologist reached out to me about writing for the magazine. I knew that there was no way that I could afford to pay him for his work at the beginning stages of this new venture.
He told me not to worry about it and sent me an article for my next issue. Since then, he had sent me too many articles to mention and I am forever indebted for his kindness and contributions to making my award-winning publication what it is today.
Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
From the time that I was a youngster, I have always had a passion for the outdoors. I never mattered what the activity was, camping, hiking, hunting, I was all in. Spending time in the woods was my peaceful place. Watching nature, it all seemed so primal to me. During some of my remote camping trips I would imagine how someone could have been camping in this exact spot over a hundred years ago.
I never really gave a thought to getting involved in the outdoor industry. At that time, I did not even know that there was an outdoor industry. My career path took me in a very different direction. I was always involved in the financial world. I worked on the commodities exchange in the World Trade Center long before 9-11. I sold mortgages, bought and sold real estate. It was the polar opposite from where I am today.
Then, one day while hunting with some friends, I was sitting in my treestand watching nature and thinking. “I wonder how I could do this for a living.” Then a name popped into my head – SeeMeHunt. I thought that it was kind of catchy. Over the following months I fleshed out a rough idea for a website that was kind of a social network for hunters. The website never really took off or did as well as I thought that it would be it did allow me to meet a lot of amazing people and create relationships within the outdoor community.
I never planned to start a magazine. It was an accident. It was kind of a “hold my beer moment.” Along with a friend, we were discussing the possibility of purchasing an existing magazine. The price that he was asking did not make financial sense to me so I said that it would be cheaper to start a magazine from scratch. Hence – American Outdoor News was born. To be honest, I did not know a thing about publishing or running a magazine. There was so much to learn. Being an online magazine did make it a little bit easier, but it was still a huge undertaking just the same. The first year of publishing American Outdoor News was a real learning curve. I would never have been able to do it without the help of friends. I had a lot of help with friends writing articles, helping me with editing, finding eye catching cover stories just to name a few.
Starting American Outdoor News was not without struggles. You have to build a following, which is always a challenge. Fortunately, my social media pages assisted with exposure to American Outdoor News. Then there was always the financial end. You need advertisers to produce a magazine. Companies do not want to advertise if you do not have subscribers – Catch 22? Admittedly, the first couple of years were very tough but through persistence and Perserverance, our subscriber base grew and so did our advertising. Looking back at our first editions of American Outdoor News to where we are today – wow- What a difference. We learned and rolled with the changes along the way. Here we are rolling into our fifth year of American Outdoor News Magazine and Podcast and we were just honored with awards from the “Professional Outdoor Media Association” for Outstanding Achievement for Digital Magazine and from Association of “Great Lakes Outdoor Writers” for Awards In Craft – First Runner Up for – Best of Radio/Podcast. So it just goes to show that hard work does pay off.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
That is an excellent question. I would have to say, stay true to your word. Never over promise and under deliver. To under promise and over deliver will always allow your advertisers and followers to know that you are always working in their best interests.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
If you look through American Outdoor News from our early editions to our present, you will see that we have maintained a good majority of our advertisers throughout. Speak to your clients regularly. Find out their needs, any upcoming events that they would like additional exposure on. Develop personal relationships. It cannot always be about business and money. Get to know your client.
The more that you know about your client and their business, the more valuable you will be to them. With knowledge, you can create more effective marketing/advertising programs for them. Be innovative and do not be afraid to take a chance.
Most importantly – Be yourself. Do not be a phony just fishing for information. People see right through that cheap salesmanship. Be sincere. If your clients like you, they will tend to rely on you more.
Treat your small clients the same as your big clients. That is how your foster relationships.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://AmericanOutdoorNews.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_american_outdoor_news/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanOutdoorNews
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/american-outdoor-news-b2555123/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmerOutdoorNews
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk2rOVNX-2tO5BIGY_h-bvQ
- Other: American Outdoor News Magazine youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZakKOzvze9sbtDoFy8PyJg