Rue magazine embraces blogging community

With the launch of a digital shelter magazine, three veteran bloggers prove that online communities and interactivity are king — or in their case, queen.

Last September, the world of digital publishing got a lesson in stylish journalism with the premiere issue of Rue, a bimonthly interior design magazine. A playful blend of Martha Stewart Living and the now defunct Domino magazine, Rue features design and entertainment tips, picture-perfect homes and ethereal fashion spreads.

Inspired by years of blogging for Plush Palate and the desire to forge her own professional path, the idea for Rue came to Editor-in-Chief Crystal Gentilello on her 27th birthday last April. Soon after, she joined forces with co-founder and Executive Editor Anne Sage, 28, whose own blog, The City Sage, was mentioned in Martha Stewart Living.

“It was about being in a place in our lives where we were looking for the next thing and wanted to bring something new to the industry and the community,” Gentilello said. “And we’ve been lucky that it’s taken off in the way that it has.”  The Rue girls use savvy social networking skills to connect with online design communities. Clockwise from top: Editor-in-Chief Crystal Gentilello, Art Director Bri Emery and Executive Editor Anne Sage. Graphic by Samantha Miller

“Lucky” may be an understatement — the magazine turned a profit after the first issue and is now debt-free. And since launching the premiere issue five months ago, the site has had more than 31 million page views. But here’s the kicker — unlike other digital magazines, Rue doesn’t charge a subscription fee.

Inspiration for all

A number of contributors worked without compensation to help get the magazine off its feet, and the Rue girls already had relationships with advertisers through their blogs. While 18 percent of Americans have paid for digital magazines, newspapers or journal articles, according to the Pew Research Center, Gentilello has no intention of charging for content.

“We will always have the magazine be free to the public,” she said. “That’s part of our mission of wanting to share inspiration free of charge.”

So how did two bloggers with no formal training in journalism create an online magazine from scratch? “Looking back on it now, I realize that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into,” Gentilello said with a chuckle. “Basically we just took it step by step.”

After sharing her vision with Sage, the duo narrowed in on the kind of content they wanted to feature, including everything (and everyone) from interior designers and photographers to luxurious throw pillows and sparkly frocks. The next step involved contacting stylists for shoots and homeowners for interviews with the help of a little bird named Twitter.

Social media queens

Gentilello attributes Rue’s staying power to her staff’s savvy social networking skills. “It’s amazing what you can do on Twitter,” she said. “It’s so powerful, it never ceases to amaze us.” So far, she’s used the microblogging service to contact designers and photographers, find house tours and, of course, promote Rue’s content.

Since launching its premiere issue, Rue has amassed more than 10,500 Twitter followers and nearly 9,000 Facebook friends. “We all are very versed in social media, just as being products of our generation,” she said. “I think it comes from our background as bloggers.”

Sage couldn’t agree more. She said that being “blogger-founded” has enabled the Rue girls to leverage social media in a way that other publications can only dream of. “We already have trust and authority with our online audiences, and we’re carrying it over from our blogs,” she said. “And we recognize the importance and the power of online word-of-mouth marketing and being transparent with our readers.”

In fact, Gentilello and Sage discovered Bri Emery, the magazine’s art director, through her blog Design Love Fest. “We have a really playful, fun, interactive site because we’re all bloggers,” Emery said. “And I think that other magazines don’t do that as much as we do.”

Emery, who creates each issue using Adobe InDesign, said that although designing for the web is faster than print, it still takes about three weeks to lay out each issue. Plus, her creativity isn’t limited by page numbers — one of the advantages of designing for a digital publication.
Rue boldly goes where few magazines have gone before — it has the look and feel of a print publication, but with the added bonus of interactive content. Image courtesy of Rue magazine
Every issue is bursting with high-quality images, behind-the-scene videos and links to online stores — enough to make any fashionista swoon. The Rue girls are onto something with their love of interactivity — 72 percent of 18- to 29-year olds are drawn to sites with links, and 57 percent look for sites with multimedia, according to the Pew Research Center.

“With Rue, we want to feel like a magazine that is inclusive and community-driven. And as editors, we want to be approachable and available to our readers,” Gentilello said. “That’s why we love social media, because it gives us the platform to speak to our readers, hear from our readers, engage in conversation with them.”

Over the next few months, readers can expect to see fresh ideas and inspirations from the magazine. “We want to set the trends, rather than just report on them,” Sage said.    

And Sage has some advice for writers and designers looking to break into the world of online publishing. “Reach out and make connections with all the other talented [bloggers] — share your passions with them and you’ll become a part of the community,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, that’s been the most rewarding thing about this endeavor.”