September 1, 2025 • 23 mins
What happens when passionate storytellers reimagine a beloved local publication? The answer unfolds in this fascinating conversation with Matthew Rabe and Heather Hamilton-Post, the innovative Publisher and Editor-In-Chief behind ID Guide magazine.
The duo reveals how they transformed the former Idaho Magazine into something far more ambitious – a monthly celebration of Idaho's unique character, combining three separate publications into one cohesive, content-rich experience. With each issue spanning 80-100 pages, the magazine has quickly become a recognizable fixture throughout the Treasure Valley and beyond, available for FREE at a variety of locations including the Boise Airport, Albertsons stores, and local businesses.
Heather, whose storytelling passion traces back to recording animal sounds on her great-grandparents' ostrich farm at age five, brings an authentic voice to the publication. "I get to talk to people who are really passionate about the thing that they're doing," she explains, highlighting the joy of discovering and sharing the stories that might otherwise go untold. From roller derby athletes to international brands headquartered in Idaho, the magazine uncovers the surprising depth and diversity of the local community.
The conversation explores Idaho Guide's thoughtful approach to content creation, from their meticulously designed covers (beginning with a recreation of the Idaho state flag – the only one designed by a woman) to their robust digital strategy that complements rather than replaces their print publication. "Print is not dead," Matthew emphasizes. "It's very much like a vinyl record or like a potato" – authentic, tangible, and deeply connected to Idaho's identity.
Whether you're a longtime Idaho resident or simply curious about the enduring power of local media in a digital age, this discussion offers valuable insights into how thoughtful storytelling can strengthen community bonds and celebrate what makes a place special. Visit idguide.com to explore their stories or pick up a free copy next time you're at the Boise Airport.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today on the Ever Onward podcast, we have Matthew
Rabe and Heather Hamilton Post.
They are the publisher andeditor of the new magazine Idaho
Guide.
This is going to be fun.
We're talking about a newmagazine, formerly known as
Idaho Magazine, now Idaho Guide.
You've seen it everywhere ingrocery stores, at the airport.
(00:21):
But this is the future of theLifestyle Magazine and Business
Magazine here in the TreasureValley and we'll have them on to
talk more about Idaho Guide.
Hey guys, hey, what's up this?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
is awesome.
We're trying to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm super stoked to talk about this.
It's been fun watching you guysdo your thing.
So we're here today withMatthew Rabe, Heather Hamilton
Post, the publisher and editorof ID Guide One right here for
those on YouTube.
So this has been a reallyexciting few months and can't
(01:10):
wait for you guys to talk aboutit.
But a little background in themedia company, you have Up Tempo
, the idea that the old Idahomagazine was kind of available
from Karen Day to be purchasedand you bought it, rebranded it,
Heather came over with it andbeen working your tails off.
(01:31):
But it's exciting, the issuesare awesome, so tell the story.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Heather's going to do a lot better job.
So, heather, literally I mean,I'll just start talking about
you first.
So, heather, literally I meanI'll just start talking about
you first, but the last sixyears basically been part time
on the Idaho magazine and, youknow, as our chief editor of the
(02:05):
magazine, now it's your fulltime putting together the
stories.
You know truly crafting what,this end product that everyone
sees now on the shelf.
This is what heather does dayin and day out, and so, uh, you
know, let's talk about how wegot here, though.
Heather, what, um, how did youfirst get involved in an id
guide to kind of help tell wherewe're at now?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
an id guide, sorry, an id home to guys.
Sure.
So I met Karen because she wasdoing some technical writing in
my previous life as a technicalwriter and editor and we had a
mutual friend and she waslooking for someone to help on
her film.
So I was just doing a fewthings there.
(02:39):
The editor, who had only beenthere for a month or two, quit
and I was already there.
So I sort of stepped into therole, having not really done it
in a formal way before, um, butI've always been a writer, I've
always been an editor since aslong as I can remember.
So it was just kind of a goodfit and we just kind of went
from there and, uh, you know,six years later, seven, here we
(03:06):
are.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And Heather's like truly.
There's multiple times a daywhere we'll just pop out from
the office and be like hey.
So how do we say what we wantto say?
And we'll do that in a varietyof different contexts.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Have you always been so good at it?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Content creation good at it content creation.
You know, my mom found acassette tape from when I was
five years old and I was walkingaround my great-grandparents'
ostrich farm in Wyoming and Iwas recording the animal sounds
and I was asking my youngersisters questions and asking the
adults around me questions.
So I think I've always beensort of drawn to this level of
(03:44):
storytelling and I've alwayskind of had a knack for words.
I'm passionate about it, I loveit, I can't imagine doing
anything else and I feel solucky to get to do it full time
with such a awesome creativeteam here.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So you're really, really good at it.
I think early on, early on, Iremember saying to Matthew I'm
like, hey, this is going to beawesome, but, man, I hope this
Heather's good.
And then, when you were, I waslike, uh, we're going to be okay
.
Um, it's a big deal, it's a bigjob, right.
So, pulling together.
It's a monthly magazine, solet's talk a little bit about it
.
Idaho came out.
Uh, what was the?
What was the cadence of Idahomagazines?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
It was about eight to 12 times a year.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I mean you were at it .
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It varied over the years, yeah, so a variety of
different issues and there wasthree different magazines,
technically actually.
So there was Idaho Home, andthen there was the Home and Real
Estate or, sorry, outdoor, no,home and Garden, yes.
And then there was Flavor, andso there was three different
kind of versions of the magazine.
(04:44):
And then there was flavor, andso there was three different
kind of versions of the magazine.
And so, yeah, when we boughtthe magazine earlier this year,
it was looking at the fullpicture and saying, okay,
there's three differentpublications here, there's a
cadence that's happening, buthow do we like kind of
streamline it.
And so we took basically allthree of those magazines and
(05:09):
combined it and say, well, wereally need to provide
consistency for readers, solet's do a monthly magazine.
And then that's also kind of howwe resulted into a, into a
heavier lift magazine.
So we've we do about 80 to ahundred pages every issue, so
every month and that's a youknow it's a combination of of,
you know, stories from acrossthe state of Idaho, but but
truly focused on, focused on thestate and who's here and the
people that are here and thebusinesses, and so it's been fun
to pull together every month,but definitely going from the
(05:35):
cadence you were at to wherewe're at now.
Maybe we've hit the gas alittle harder.
I don't know, heather, what doyou think?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, people always ask me is it hard to fill a
magazine that big every month?
And my answer is absolutely not.
I have a list of a hundredstories that could go in there
at any time.
So, yeah, it's a lot of work,but it's work that we are
excited to do.
It's work that we love to do.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And what I love.
Like Matthew, you're like amaster storyteller and I think,
if you look at uptempo and whatyou do, you tell stories.
You build brands, right, that'swhat you do, and you do that
with videography and stories andwhatever, and then it's been
fun to watch the kind of thisall come together because,
heather, that's your tell story.
You're a storyteller in writing, right, and I think ultimately,
(06:22):
the platform is going to beyou've got these.
You know these beautifulmagazines that come out every
month and then you have anonline presence and I think
that's key because that's theworld we live in.
But I do believe there's stillsomething.
I was in the airport last weekand you guys have a giant
display in the airport.
It's a beautiful display.
So over right by the Einsteinbagels, right out front, you'll
see ID guide.
(06:42):
You got all your magazinesthere on display where people
can pick up.
The magazines are free, butjust watching, like walking by
or going at my bagel andwatching everyone sitting there
reading the magazine, I got allhappy and like this is so cool.
I think people still liketouching, feeling, holding
something, but there is anonline version at this as well,
right.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, yeah, I mean a variety of things to speak to.
This is literally like the cruxof why we're doing this.
I mean, I'd start actually withyou know, yes, we love
storytelling.
I think there's a variety ofdifferent ways to do that.
You know, kind of the taglinethat we've been running with
since we've launched themagazine is living your story or
(07:20):
live your story.
I mean encouraging people totell their story, however that
may be, or to start tellingtheir story or documenting their
story so that others canbenefit from it.
It also encourages positivity.
It encourages, you know, peopleto get out in the world and to
actually do things that make adifference.
So I think storytelling isdefinitely the key focus of our
(07:45):
magazine and, like Heather said,I mean they just there's not
enough opportunities for us totell all the stories that are
out there.
And so then, on top of that,yes, launching the digital
platform and that side of it,it's been fun.
So, obviously, the physicalprint magazine is kind of our.
(08:05):
You know it's the base, it'sthe thing that will always be
there for us, and you knowlooking at it and saying, ok,
well, how do we bring this todigital in a real way, not just
maybe a PDF flipbook that peoplecan go through online.
We, of course, have that too,but it's you know how do we
utilize the platforms of howpeople consume content today?
(08:27):
So how can you read a fullarticle on our website and, you
know, take the written copy,bring that onto our website.
So every single article that'sin here is on its own dedicated
page on the website and thatprovides just easy reading for
people to hop in and read thecontent that we have.
It's got a search feature soyou can search words or topics
and things will come up fromdifferent stories, from all the
(08:49):
different issues.
But then, yeah, of course we'reon social media.
You know we are email campaigns, things like that.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I love that.
I was hoping you were going tosay that because you really have
the print which is kind of theold school.
Hey, print here it is, touch it, feel it.
The website has been incredibly, I mean, in a short period of
time.
It's a go-to.
But the social media channelsalso very robust.
They're out there.
It's been really cool.
One of my favorite parts thecovers, because I'm not in on
your like interior meetings, soevery once in a while I'll sneak
(09:18):
by Heather's desk and I'll saywhat's the cover of this month
and she'll like unveil it.
But you know you started.
You started with what I thinkwas a super creative uh, cover
of math.
You don't want to talk a littlebit about that in the story.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, yeah, the first cover of IDguide.
It was like Definitely somepressure in the sense that we
wanted to make something thatwas very intentional, that was
very creative, of course, butthen also something that
everybody that lived here wouldhopefully appreciate, and so, no
(09:52):
matter who you are or what walkof life you choose to have,
it's it was something that wasinclusive in that way you choose
to have.
It was something that wasinclusive in that way, and what
that resulted in was our firstcover here, which is obviously
in front of us here, but it wasrecreating the Idaho state flag
(10:12):
design that was actuallyhand-drawn by a woman, and it's
the only state flag in theentire country that was
hand-drawn by a woman.
So it was a fascinating storyand Heather was able to write,
you know, the complimentingpiece that went along with us
recreating the image.
But you know, yeah, we broughtin the full team and you know we
(10:36):
had Jacqueline Rice, we hadJosh Johnson, we had, you know,
danny Kerr from our team.
You know we had a full staffteam and we wanted to really do
everything that we could tocreatively bring this first
cover to life and do somethingthat maybe hasn't really been
done before, and so I meanpicking the location, what they
(11:02):
were wearing.
Everything was very intentionalin this first cover and and
it's also, you know, imaginingus going from not having a
magazine to this is our firstcover we wanted to make
something that was truly acoffee table.
You know, we what is that, itpiques interest and and somebody
wanted to pick that up, and sothat was kind of the how do we
create something that ismeaningful, intentional,
(11:23):
beautiful?
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And you know this is the result.
And then the storytellingbehind the cover was awesome too
.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Thank you.
Yeah, I really love the storyof how the flag came to be,
because the person who designedit, like so many Idahoans,
actually was not born and raisedhere.
She was someone who had movedhere from somewhere else.
She, like so many people whomove here, came to visit friends
, really liked the area, stuckaround and ended up designing
(11:52):
our state flag.
So it's kind of a cool storythat I think is really
reflective of so many peoplethat come here, of the great
variety of of people that makeup our state, and we want to
celebrate all of those people,and I think that cover image was
a really good way to sort ofintroduce that to everyone.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It was just awesome, yeah, fantastic, uh.
The second one was tamarackyeah and, uh, and, and a boat on
the cover.
That, I think was just anotherphenomenal one.
And then the one that just cameout was the Boise Balloon.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, the Spirit of Boise.
The Spirit of Boise deal.
Yeah, it's been kind of fun todefinitely.
I mean the covers definitely dodrive, you know, a lot of what
people initially see with themagazine.
So that first impression ofshould I stop to care basically
about what this magazine is andI think a lot of the ways that's
why that, yeah, that coverdefinitely drives a bulk of it.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Talk about distribution.
So the magazines are everywhere.
I've seen them everywhere.
But specifically talk a littlebit about where you can find the
magazines and how that's beenand how that's been.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah.
So first I'll shout out Doris,who is our main point of
distribution.
She's got an incredible story.
She's been in the TreasureValley forever and in the
advertising world but she too is70 plus and she loads her car
up every month, actuallymultiple times a month, and she
(13:19):
distributes all throughout theTreasure Valley.
So we also distribute,primarily in the Boise Airport,
like you said.
So we go through about 5,000copies every month in the Boise
Airport alone and then outsideof that it's about 300 or, sorry
, 3,000 copies distributed,distributed, excuse me, and
(13:41):
other places, primarily in theAlbertsons, in the Treasure
Valley.
So there's about 27 locationsthere that is distributed.
And then there's also WholeFoods, natural grocers, there's
media boxes in downtown Boiseand then there's a variety of
different businesses and youknow companies that are here
(14:02):
locally that they either requesta box or they're an advertiser
in the magazine, so they want todistribute in their place of
business.
And then, as we've looked togrow, so our second cover, as an
example, with Tamarack, youknow, we said how do we
distribute where your place ofbusiness is as a way to grow?
(14:24):
You know exposure with Tamarack, and so we took, you know,
about a thousand copies of our8,000.
We distribute and you know,distributed those in Valley
County and so we're on all themain spots that you can think of
around McCall and Cascade andDonnelly and so grocery stores
up there, hotels, you know allthe main points where people
(14:45):
there's traffic, and so as welook to grow the magazine, look
for different businesses arehere.
I think we'll look to do thesame thing with distribution and
say how do we, you know, growour footprint here in the state
and look for ways, grow ourfootprint here in the state and
look for ways, uh, places wherepeople live and work and play
and and uh want to pick up thispiece of uh, uh, this
(15:06):
publication that we've beenputting together.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
So it's super positive too.
I like the.
I mean the stories you'retelling um.
Every one of them are just.
They're like awesome, they'relike I want to read more.
I want give me more of thisbecause it's so good.
Do you enjoy that part of it?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I love that part of it.
I think what I have, what Iloved about IDA Home, what I
love about ID Guide is that Iget to talk to people who are
really passionate about thething that they're doing, and
maybe it's the business thatthey founded, maybe it is a new
dish that they're cooking intheir restaurant, maybe it is a
(15:42):
comic they've drawn or a new artform they're taking on.
It's really fun to talk topeople about the things that
they care about the most and Iwill never, ever get tired of
that.
You know I write I don't knowfour to five stories every issue
and it's always so fun to havethose conversations about the
(16:04):
things people care about.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
It's awesome, um, so it's not just storytelling, it's
kind of it's inspirational,right.
And then talk a little bitabout you.
You feature companies in here,right?
So that's the other thing.
So, like Tamarack was on thelast issue, but the opportunity
for companies out therelistening is a great way to get
your brand out to themarketplace in a time when you
(16:27):
know people are honestly tryingto figure out okay, how do I get
customers, how do I getawareness of my business and
what do I do?
And I and that's the businessmodel behind it, right.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, so obviously we talked a lot about the covers
themselves, but then inside ofthere, with the a hundred other
pages that we have full is, youknow, like we said, primarily
story, but then with companiesthat we're looking to also bring
to the magazine, because we area free publication and you can
grab it off the shelf at no cost, that means we're fully backed
(16:56):
by ad dollars.
So, yeah, companies that are inthe Treasure Valley or that are
statewide, they're looking forexposure in a print publication
but then also in the digitalopportunities that we have.
Absolutely it's a place forthose companies to come in and
look for those exposureopportunities.
And it's been really cool tosee how people that are believe
(17:20):
in what we have and see how it'sa match for their company and
they can say, oh yeah, we lovethis place, Like this is how it
fits for us and so, yeah,definitely open for, for
advertisers.
You know would love any and allpeople to, to, to reach out.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, what's the URL?
So people that want to get moreinformation.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, so idguidecom, and you know we have our media
kit online um for people to askabout advertising, but then also
just to read these stories andto understand what we have to
offer as a publication.
It's awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Uh, what's, what are you looking forward to in the
upcoming issues, Heather?
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Oh gosh, we've got a lot of really fun stories.
We have a great story about uhtreasure Valley roller Derby.
That's a lot of fun.
I'm writing something aboutskydiving, which I did, but it
was 20 years ago.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Those roller derbies.
You don't mess around withthose folks.
It's a funny story.
It's a funny story but I don'teven know if she's around
anymore.
But I used to have a nurse inthe ER with me.
She was in the ER very quietand unassuming and great, great
professional nurse.
She was awesome.
But one day we're just sittingthere chit-chatting and she's
like oh, I'm doing my rollerderby this weekend.
(18:33):
I'm like do roller derby.
And so she like pulls outpictures.
And she's like, oh, yeah, yeah,she starts showing me pictures
and her nickname was nursenaughty.
I'll never forget it because itjust was like so out of
character.
I'm like what she's like?
Oh yeah, she's like thissemi-pro roller derby person.
So I look forward to that one,because I did not know this
(18:56):
thing existed and it's a bigdeal.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
They've got a whole culture around it.
That's pretty interesting, butwe're also.
Can we talk about our coverstory?
Yeah, of course yeah, we're, um, we're doing a cool story with
teton valley brands and crannyfarms, so, uh, looking at the
launch of a new potato chip someof the chips that they have out
(19:19):
um, we were eating them thismorning.
They were extremely delicious,so we're really looking forward
to that.
That'll be a cool partnership.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
And then, yeah, I mean it's hard not to talk
covers because they're soexciting.
But yeah, we'll also have someoutdoor brands, some very
prominent outdoor brands comingthis fall and you know, that's
cool because we're trying to saywho's right here in the
Treasure Valley that people maynot know are from the Treasure
Valley but have internationalbrands, and so there's some
(19:52):
really exciting things that willcome in these next few issues.
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, it's been fun.
You know, I guess when you dosomething new, it's always a
little harder than you thinkit's going to be, and it always
takes more work, more time, moreeffort.
It's been fun to watch you guysrally and just like completely
kill it at this, because it'sbeen fun to watch these things
pop out.
They're beautiful.
I mean, they're just likethey're beautiful magazines.
(20:19):
In fact, shanna was like weneed a third copy.
She's keeping them all on hercoffee table at home because
they are.
I mean, they speak to Idaho,what Idaho is.
So if anyone hasn't seen them,those are all the locations
they're at, or look onlineContact.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Matthew or Heather for any information and any
closing thoughts.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Heather, can you go first?
I'm just happy to be doing this.
This is cool.
You know, it's really fun totell these stories and to get to
know our community even better.
I've grown up here, lived heremy whole life and I still learn
about new things, new people,new experiences in the state I'm
so happy to share that we havesuch great people, don't we?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Such great people and so many stories to tell, and
it's just fun to especially theones that never would get
recognized or a story told.
I love that part of it.
Do a great job.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Thank you, Matthew, do have a story, you'd have a
story to tell and you know wehope that we can help in the
ways that we're capable of tohelp you share that story.
So we just, you know, I justencourage everybody to start,
you know, telling their story orlooking for ways to get it out
(21:37):
there, and we'd love to help inthat way by using what we have
as a tool, hopefully for thebetterment of the state, at the
end of the day, it's really thecommunity, right?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I mean, it's a way of expressing art and the beauty
of our community in a way thatit gets exposure.
And we live in the best placeon the planet, just the very
best place.
There's nowhere like thisTreasure Valley in Idaho and
what it means, and just to bepart of that's cool, but to
(22:10):
celebrate it monthly, it trulyis a blessing to do that.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah, and I would, I mean I would add into this I
wanted to make sure we said thistoday because print is not dead
.
No, you know, it's very muchlike a vinyl record or like a
potato, I mean it's.
You know, there is still, youknow, this foundation of people
like real.
You know, we say we always saypeople like authentic people and
(22:32):
we like this authentic realthing.
And you know, for us, I think,a print magazine is that in a
different way.
You know, for us it's sayingyou can tangibly grab this thing
, flip through and learn aboutthe people that are here, learn
about the businesses that arehere.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
And you still can consume the other way, which is
laying in bed scrolling.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You can still doom scroll all day, you can still
doom scroll all day.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
In the middle of doom , scrolling about whatever cruds
out there, you can always clickon an inspiring ID guide story,
but there is something to besaid to just looking through a
magazine.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Yep All day.
You can read it on the airport.
You don't have to have aninternet connection.
You're good to go.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Amen, all right.
Thanks for coming on, you guys.
Thank you Thanks everybody.
Today on the Ever Onward podcast, we have Matthew
Rabe and Heather Hamilton Post.
They are the publisher andeditor of the new magazine Idaho
Guide.
This is going to be fun.
We're talking about a newmagazine, formerly known as
Idaho Magazine, now Idaho Guide.
You've seen it everywhere ingrocery stores, at the airport.
(00:21):
But this is the future of theLifestyle Magazine and Business
Magazine here in the TreasureValley and we'll have them on to
talk more about Idaho Guide.
Hey guys, hey, what's up this?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
is awesome.
We're trying to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm super stoked to talk about this.
It's been fun watching you guysdo your thing.
So we're here today withMatthew Rabe, Heather Hamilton
Post, the publisher and editorof ID Guide One right here for
those on YouTube.
So this has been a reallyexciting few months and can't
(01:10):
wait for you guys to talk aboutit.
But a little background in themedia company, you have Up Tempo
, the idea that the old Idahomagazine was kind of available
from Karen Day to be purchasedand you bought it, rebranded it,
Heather came over with it andbeen working your tails off.
(01:31):
But it's exciting, the issuesare awesome, so tell the story.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Heather's going to do a lot better job.
So, heather, literally I mean,I'll just start talking about
you first.
So, heather, literally I meanI'll just start talking about
you first, but the last sixyears basically been part time
on the Idaho magazine and, youknow, as our chief editor of the
(02:05):
magazine, now it's your fulltime putting together the
stories.
You know truly crafting what,this end product that everyone
sees now on the shelf.
This is what heather does dayin and day out, and so, uh, you
know, let's talk about how wegot here, though.
Heather, what, um, how did youfirst get involved in an id
guide to kind of help tell wherewe're at now?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
an id guide, sorry, an id home to guys.
Sure.
So I met Karen because she wasdoing some technical writing in
my previous life as a technicalwriter and editor and we had a
mutual friend and she waslooking for someone to help on
her film.
So I was just doing a fewthings there.
(02:39):
The editor, who had only beenthere for a month or two, quit
and I was already there.
So I sort of stepped into therole, having not really done it
in a formal way before, um, butI've always been a writer, I've
always been an editor since aslong as I can remember.
So it was just kind of a goodfit and we just kind of went
from there and, uh, you know,six years later, seven, here we
(03:06):
are.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And Heather's like truly.
There's multiple times a daywhere we'll just pop out from
the office and be like hey.
So how do we say what we wantto say?
And we'll do that in a varietyof different contexts.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Have you always been so good at it?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Content creation good at it content creation.
You know, my mom found acassette tape from when I was
five years old and I was walkingaround my great-grandparents'
ostrich farm in Wyoming and Iwas recording the animal sounds
and I was asking my youngersisters questions and asking the
adults around me questions.
So I think I've always beensort of drawn to this level of
(03:44):
storytelling and I've alwayskind of had a knack for words.
I'm passionate about it, I loveit, I can't imagine doing
anything else and I feel solucky to get to do it full time
with such a awesome creativeteam here.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So you're really, really good at it.
I think early on, early on, Iremember saying to Matthew I'm
like, hey, this is going to beawesome, but, man, I hope this
Heather's good.
And then, when you were, I waslike, uh, we're going to be okay
.
Um, it's a big deal, it's a bigjob, right.
So, pulling together.
It's a monthly magazine, solet's talk a little bit about it
.
Idaho came out.
Uh, what was the?
What was the cadence of Idahomagazines?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
It was about eight to 12 times a year.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I mean you were at it .
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It varied over the years, yeah, so a variety of
different issues and there wasthree different magazines,
technically actually.
So there was Idaho Home, andthen there was the Home and Real
Estate or, sorry, outdoor, no,home and Garden, yes.
And then there was Flavor, andso there was three different
kind of versions of the magazine.
(04:44):
And then there was flavor, andso there was three different
kind of versions of the magazine.
And so, yeah, when we boughtthe magazine earlier this year,
it was looking at the fullpicture and saying, okay,
there's three differentpublications here, there's a
cadence that's happening, buthow do we like kind of
streamline it.
And so we took basically allthree of those magazines and
(05:09):
combined it and say, well, wereally need to provide
consistency for readers, solet's do a monthly magazine.
And then that's also kind of howwe resulted into a, into a
heavier lift magazine.
So we've we do about 80 to ahundred pages every issue, so
every month and that's a youknow it's a combination of of,
you know, stories from acrossthe state of Idaho, but but
truly focused on, focused on thestate and who's here and the
people that are here and thebusinesses, and so it's been fun
to pull together every month,but definitely going from the
(05:35):
cadence you were at to wherewe're at now.
Maybe we've hit the gas alittle harder.
I don't know, heather, what doyou think?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, people always ask me is it hard to fill a
magazine that big every month?
And my answer is absolutely not.
I have a list of a hundredstories that could go in there
at any time.
So, yeah, it's a lot of work,but it's work that we are
excited to do.
It's work that we love to do.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And what I love.
Like Matthew, you're like amaster storyteller and I think,
if you look at uptempo and whatyou do, you tell stories.
You build brands, right, that'swhat you do, and you do that
with videography and stories andwhatever, and then it's been
fun to watch the kind of thisall come together because,
heather, that's your tell story.
You're a storyteller in writing, right, and I think ultimately,
(06:22):
the platform is going to beyou've got these.
You know these beautifulmagazines that come out every
month and then you have anonline presence and I think
that's key because that's theworld we live in.
But I do believe there's stillsomething.
I was in the airport last weekand you guys have a giant
display in the airport.
It's a beautiful display.
So over right by the Einsteinbagels, right out front, you'll
see ID guide.
(06:42):
You got all your magazinesthere on display where people
can pick up.
The magazines are free, butjust watching, like walking by
or going at my bagel andwatching everyone sitting there
reading the magazine, I got allhappy and like this is so cool.
I think people still liketouching, feeling, holding
something, but there is anonline version at this as well,
right.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, yeah, I mean a variety of things to speak to.
This is literally like the cruxof why we're doing this.
I mean, I'd start actually withyou know, yes, we love
storytelling.
I think there's a variety ofdifferent ways to do that.
You know, kind of the taglinethat we've been running with
since we've launched themagazine is living your story or
(07:20):
live your story.
I mean encouraging people totell their story, however that
may be, or to start tellingtheir story or documenting their
story so that others canbenefit from it.
It also encourages positivity.
It encourages, you know, peopleto get out in the world and to
actually do things that make adifference.
So I think storytelling isdefinitely the key focus of our
(07:45):
magazine and, like Heather said,I mean they just there's not
enough opportunities for us totell all the stories that are
out there.
And so then, on top of that,yes, launching the digital
platform and that side of it,it's been fun.
So, obviously, the physicalprint magazine is kind of our.
(08:05):
You know it's the base, it'sthe thing that will always be
there for us, and you knowlooking at it and saying, ok,
well, how do we bring this todigital in a real way, not just
maybe a PDF flipbook that peoplecan go through online.
We, of course, have that too,but it's you know how do we
utilize the platforms of howpeople consume content today?
(08:27):
So how can you read a fullarticle on our website and, you
know, take the written copy,bring that onto our website.
So every single article that'sin here is on its own dedicated
page on the website and thatprovides just easy reading for
people to hop in and read thecontent that we have.
It's got a search feature soyou can search words or topics
and things will come up fromdifferent stories, from all the
(08:49):
different issues.
But then, yeah, of course we'reon social media.
You know we are email campaigns, things like that.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I love that.
I was hoping you were going tosay that because you really have
the print which is kind of theold school.
Hey, print here it is, touch it, feel it.
The website has been incredibly, I mean, in a short period of
time.
It's a go-to.
But the social media channelsalso very robust.
They're out there.
It's been really cool.
One of my favorite parts thecovers, because I'm not in on
your like interior meetings, soevery once in a while I'll sneak
(09:18):
by Heather's desk and I'll saywhat's the cover of this month
and she'll like unveil it.
But you know you started.
You started with what I thinkwas a super creative uh, cover
of math.
You don't want to talk a littlebit about that in the story.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, yeah, the first cover of IDguide.
It was like Definitely somepressure in the sense that we
wanted to make something thatwas very intentional, that was
very creative, of course, butthen also something that
everybody that lived here wouldhopefully appreciate, and so, no
(09:52):
matter who you are or what walkof life you choose to have,
it's it was something that wasinclusive in that way you choose
to have.
It was something that wasinclusive in that way, and what
that resulted in was our firstcover here, which is obviously
in front of us here, but it wasrecreating the Idaho state flag
(10:12):
design that was actuallyhand-drawn by a woman, and it's
the only state flag in theentire country that was
hand-drawn by a woman.
So it was a fascinating storyand Heather was able to write,
you know, the complimentingpiece that went along with us
recreating the image.
But you know, yeah, we broughtin the full team and you know we
(10:36):
had Jacqueline Rice, we hadJosh Johnson, we had, you know,
danny Kerr from our team.
You know we had a full staffteam and we wanted to really do
everything that we could tocreatively bring this first
cover to life and do somethingthat maybe hasn't really been
done before, and so I meanpicking the location, what they
(11:02):
were wearing.
Everything was very intentionalin this first cover and and
it's also, you know, imaginingus going from not having a
magazine to this is our firstcover we wanted to make
something that was truly acoffee table.
You know, we what is that, itpiques interest and and somebody
wanted to pick that up, and sothat was kind of the how do we
create something that ismeaningful, intentional,
(11:23):
beautiful?
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And you know this is the result.
And then the storytellingbehind the cover was awesome too
.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Thank you.
Yeah, I really love the storyof how the flag came to be,
because the person who designedit, like so many Idahoans,
actually was not born and raisedhere.
She was someone who had movedhere from somewhere else.
She, like so many people whomove here, came to visit friends
, really liked the area, stuckaround and ended up designing
(11:52):
our state flag.
So it's kind of a cool storythat I think is really
reflective of so many peoplethat come here, of the great
variety of of people that makeup our state, and we want to
celebrate all of those people,and I think that cover image was
a really good way to sort ofintroduce that to everyone.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It was just awesome, yeah, fantastic, uh.
The second one was tamarackyeah and, uh, and, and a boat on
the cover.
That, I think was just anotherphenomenal one.
And then the one that just cameout was the Boise Balloon.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, the Spirit of Boise.
The Spirit of Boise deal.
Yeah, it's been kind of fun todefinitely.
I mean the covers definitely dodrive, you know, a lot of what
people initially see with themagazine.
So that first impression ofshould I stop to care basically
about what this magazine is andI think a lot of the ways that's
why that, yeah, that coverdefinitely drives a bulk of it.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Talk about distribution.
So the magazines are everywhere.
I've seen them everywhere.
But specifically talk a littlebit about where you can find the
magazines and how that's beenand how that's been.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah.
So first I'll shout out Doris,who is our main point of
distribution.
She's got an incredible story.
She's been in the TreasureValley forever and in the
advertising world but she too is70 plus and she loads her car
up every month, actuallymultiple times a month, and she
(13:19):
distributes all throughout theTreasure Valley.
So we also distribute,primarily in the Boise Airport,
like you said.
So we go through about 5,000copies every month in the Boise
Airport alone and then outsideof that it's about 300 or, sorry
, 3,000 copies distributed,distributed, excuse me, and
(13:41):
other places, primarily in theAlbertsons, in the Treasure
Valley.
So there's about 27 locationsthere that is distributed.
And then there's also WholeFoods, natural grocers, there's
media boxes in downtown Boiseand then there's a variety of
different businesses and youknow companies that are here
(14:02):
locally that they either requesta box or they're an advertiser
in the magazine, so they want todistribute in their place of
business.
And then, as we've looked togrow, so our second cover, as an
example, with Tamarack, youknow, we said how do we
distribute where your place ofbusiness is as a way to grow?
(14:24):
You know exposure with Tamarack, and so we took, you know,
about a thousand copies of our8,000.
We distribute and you know,distributed those in Valley
County and so we're on all themain spots that you can think of
around McCall and Cascade andDonnelly and so grocery stores
up there, hotels, you know allthe main points where people
(14:45):
there's traffic, and so as welook to grow the magazine, look
for different businesses arehere.
I think we'll look to do thesame thing with distribution and
say how do we, you know, growour footprint here in the state
and look for ways, grow ourfootprint here in the state and
look for ways, uh, places wherepeople live and work and play
and and uh want to pick up thispiece of uh, uh, this
(15:06):
publication that we've beenputting together.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
So it's super positive too.
I like the.
I mean the stories you'retelling um.
Every one of them are just.
They're like awesome, they'relike I want to read more.
I want give me more of thisbecause it's so good.
Do you enjoy that part of it?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I love that part of it.
I think what I have, what Iloved about IDA Home, what I
love about ID Guide is that Iget to talk to people who are
really passionate about thething that they're doing, and
maybe it's the business thatthey founded, maybe it is a new
dish that they're cooking intheir restaurant, maybe it is a
(15:42):
comic they've drawn or a new artform they're taking on.
It's really fun to talk topeople about the things that
they care about the most and Iwill never, ever get tired of
that.
You know I write I don't knowfour to five stories every issue
and it's always so fun to havethose conversations about the
(16:04):
things people care about.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
It's awesome, um, so it's not just storytelling, it's
kind of it's inspirational,right.
And then talk a little bitabout you.
You feature companies in here,right?
So that's the other thing.
So, like Tamarack was on thelast issue, but the opportunity
for companies out therelistening is a great way to get
your brand out to themarketplace in a time when you
(16:27):
know people are honestly tryingto figure out okay, how do I get
customers, how do I getawareness of my business and
what do I do?
And I and that's the businessmodel behind it, right.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, so obviously we talked a lot about the covers
themselves, but then inside ofthere, with the a hundred other
pages that we have full is, youknow, like we said, primarily
story, but then with companiesthat we're looking to also bring
to the magazine, because we area free publication and you can
grab it off the shelf at no cost, that means we're fully backed
(16:56):
by ad dollars.
So, yeah, companies that are inthe Treasure Valley or that are
statewide, they're looking forexposure in a print publication
but then also in the digitalopportunities that we have.
Absolutely it's a place forthose companies to come in and
look for those exposureopportunities.
And it's been really cool tosee how people that are believe
(17:20):
in what we have and see how it'sa match for their company and
they can say, oh yeah, we lovethis place, Like this is how it
fits for us and so, yeah,definitely open for, for
advertisers.
You know would love any and allpeople to, to, to reach out.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, what's the URL?
So people that want to get moreinformation.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, so idguidecom, and you know we have our media
kit online um for people to askabout advertising, but then also
just to read these stories andto understand what we have to
offer as a publication.
It's awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Uh, what's, what are you looking forward to in the
upcoming issues, Heather?
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Oh gosh, we've got a lot of really fun stories.
We have a great story about uhtreasure Valley roller Derby.
That's a lot of fun.
I'm writing something aboutskydiving, which I did, but it
was 20 years ago.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Those roller derbies.
You don't mess around withthose folks.
It's a funny story.
It's a funny story but I don'teven know if she's around
anymore.
But I used to have a nurse inthe ER with me.
She was in the ER very quietand unassuming and great, great
professional nurse.
She was awesome.
But one day we're just sittingthere chit-chatting and she's
like oh, I'm doing my rollerderby this weekend.
(18:33):
I'm like do roller derby.
And so she like pulls outpictures.
And she's like, oh, yeah, yeah,she starts showing me pictures
and her nickname was nursenaughty.
I'll never forget it because itjust was like so out of
character.
I'm like what she's like?
Oh yeah, she's like thissemi-pro roller derby person.
So I look forward to that one,because I did not know this
(18:56):
thing existed and it's a bigdeal.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
They've got a whole culture around it.
That's pretty interesting, butwe're also.
Can we talk about our coverstory?
Yeah, of course yeah, we're, um, we're doing a cool story with
teton valley brands and crannyfarms, so, uh, looking at the
launch of a new potato chip someof the chips that they have out
(19:19):
um, we were eating them thismorning.
They were extremely delicious,so we're really looking forward
to that.
That'll be a cool partnership.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
And then, yeah, I mean it's hard not to talk
covers because they're soexciting.
But yeah, we'll also have someoutdoor brands, some very
prominent outdoor brands comingthis fall and you know, that's
cool because we're trying to saywho's right here in the
Treasure Valley that people maynot know are from the Treasure
Valley but have internationalbrands, and so there's some
(19:52):
really exciting things that willcome in these next few issues.
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, it's been fun.
You know, I guess when you dosomething new, it's always a
little harder than you thinkit's going to be, and it always
takes more work, more time, moreeffort.
It's been fun to watch you guysrally and just like completely
kill it at this, because it'sbeen fun to watch these things
pop out.
They're beautiful.
I mean, they're just likethey're beautiful magazines.
(20:19):
In fact, shanna was like weneed a third copy.
She's keeping them all on hercoffee table at home because
they are.
I mean, they speak to Idaho,what Idaho is.
So if anyone hasn't seen them,those are all the locations
they're at, or look onlineContact.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Matthew or Heather for any information and any
closing thoughts.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Heather, can you go first?
I'm just happy to be doing this.
This is cool.
You know, it's really fun totell these stories and to get to
know our community even better.
I've grown up here, lived heremy whole life and I still learn
about new things, new people,new experiences in the state I'm
so happy to share that we havesuch great people, don't we?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Such great people and so many stories to tell, and
it's just fun to especially theones that never would get
recognized or a story told.
I love that part of it.
Do a great job.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Thank you, Matthew, do have a story, you'd have a
story to tell and you know wehope that we can help in the
ways that we're capable of tohelp you share that story.
So we just, you know, I justencourage everybody to start,
you know, telling their story orlooking for ways to get it out
(21:37):
there, and we'd love to help inthat way by using what we have
as a tool, hopefully for thebetterment of the state, at the
end of the day, it's really thecommunity, right?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I mean, it's a way of expressing art and the beauty
of our community in a way thatit gets exposure.
And we live in the best placeon the planet, just the very
best place.
There's nowhere like thisTreasure Valley in Idaho and
what it means, and just to bepart of that's cool, but to
(22:10):
celebrate it monthly, it trulyis a blessing to do that.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah, and I would, I mean I would add into this I
wanted to make sure we said thistoday because print is not dead
.
No, you know, it's very muchlike a vinyl record or like a
potato, I mean it's.
You know, there is still, youknow, this foundation of people
like real.
You know, we say we always saypeople like authentic people and
(22:32):
we like this authentic realthing.
And you know, for us, I think,a print magazine is that in a
different way.
You know, for us it's sayingyou can tangibly grab this thing
, flip through and learn aboutthe people that are here, learn
about the businesses that arehere.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
And you still can consume the other way, which is
laying in bed scrolling.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You can still doom scroll all day, you can still
doom scroll all day.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
In the middle of doom , scrolling about whatever cruds
out there, you can always clickon an inspiring ID guide story,
but there is something to besaid to just looking through a
magazine.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Yep All day.
You can read it on the airport.
You don't have to have aninternet connection.
You're good to go.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Amen, all right.
Thanks for coming on, you guys.
Thank you Thanks everybody.
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