Franchise Opportunities

The founders of AroundAbout Local Media, Inc.  (“ALM”) began publishing AroundAbout TowneLaker magazine in June 1996 and AroundAbout Sixes Living magazine in June 2000.  After many years of practice and development, expanding into other communities became a natural and welcomed extension for ALM.  Consequently, a decision was made to franchise this free hyper-local, direct-mailed community magazine concept in September 2002.

Today, ALM franchises are dual-medium, hyper-local community magazines, each with a mission of “building stronger communities.”  The print magazines are complemented through our proprietary social-media based websites.

ALM’s philosophy is to become an integral part of each community in which we publish our magazines by becoming fully involved and entrenched.  Its founders were heavily involved with their community throughout the growth of ALM.  ALM’s current ownership, its employees and Franchise Owners continue to be involved in their respective communities today.

Whenever anyone wants to know about the good things going in any one of our communities, we are the media source to which that person turns.  Furthermore, we participate in all aspects of community as we help the community prosper and grow stronger.

If you have a passion for helping your community grow stronger and don’t mind getting paid for it, we just may be the right opportunity for you.  An ideal Franchise Owner also enjoys interacting with a variety of members of his or her community and may even become somewhat of a celebrity as a result of all the good things with which he or she will be associated.

Benefits of an ALM Franchise
Owning and operating an ALM franchise provides you with many solid benefits in today’s competitive marketplace.  These advantages include the following:

Lower Initial Investment: You can open an ALM franchise for an initial investment of less than $50,000.  This figure is a fraction of the cost of most franchise start-ups.

The Potential for an Excellent Return on Your Investment: This low initial investment, combined with ALM’s formula for success, means you have the potential to achieve profitability much more quickly than with the majority of other franchise brands.

A Complete System of Publishing a Community Magazine: Our team will teach you everything you need to know to publish a successful community magazine. We produce the magazines for you each month so you don’t need to become an expert in publishing. Our comprehensive training program covers how to gather and organize the information to be printed, how to reach out to your community, how to sell ads, how to establish your rate sheet, how to set up your distribution — in short, how to most effectively operate your business in order to produce the most sought-after, profitable publication you can.

Proprietary Social Media-based Website: As an ALM franchise, you will have your own social media-based website which will be managed and maintained by an ALM Trust Agent, with content input from you, the Franchise Owner.  This website can and should become the source of many raving fans for your ALM franchise as you start your magazine — think of it as your online cheerleader for your print magazine.  Further, your website can offer additional opportunities for revenues through online advertising and other special offers ALM has developed.

An Excellent Add-On Business: If you are already a successful professional in a field such as real estate, insurance or similar business where name recognition is important, you can promote your primary business through your ALM franchise.  You can use this publication to help your core enterprise dominate its competitors.

Residual Income: ALM franchises normally enjoy advertiser retention rates of 70% or more from issue to issue. You do not have to start generating revenues from dollar one each month. These high retention rates allow you to concentrate on growing your revenues and profits. The longer you are in business, the less you have to work to sell new advertisers.

A Home-Based Launch: If desired, you can run this business from your home, allowing you to enjoy all the economies of a home based business, including no rent, no construction costs, few additional employees, very little marketing and no inventory required.

The Opportunity to Take a Leadership Role in Your Community: Being the publisher of a respected community magazine will allow you to take a leadership role in your community. Your opinion will matter, and you will be able to positively impact the lives of the people in your community and the growth of your community.

A Quality Publication: An ALM franchise is a sought-after publication. It offers information that is interesting, important and relevant to your readers in an enjoyable format. We focus on the good things happening in each of our communities. It is a valuable marketing tool for your customers. It is a business in which you can take great pride.

Low Overhead: An ALM franchise has low operating expenses. You can directly tie the number of pages printed (and therefore your production costs) to the number of ads sold. This process allows you to directly link your income and expenses, insulating yourself from potential losses.

A Proven Concept: The ALM concept has been tested and proven. We have years of successful, profitable operating history.

The Assistance of an Experienced Team: The management team for ALM has decades of industry experience combined. You can draw on our expertise to help ensure your success.

A Fast Launch: With ALM franchise, you will have the benefit of a short ramp-up period. You can even begin generating revenues in the first month.

An Easy Sale: Business owners realize that the vast majority of their customers come from the people who live and work in the vicinity. They are looking for advertising media that will allow them to target their prospects in a hyper local manner. Advertising with an ALM franchise allows them to do just that, thus making us a very efficient and profitable choice for their marketing dollars.

A Creative Career: This is a truly a career that allows you to use your creativity. Every day is different. You will not be stuck in a boring rut.

If you are ready to find out more about the ALM franchise opportunity, please complete the preliminary application and submit it to us.  We will review your application and get back with you to discuss the next steps.