April 1, 2025 • 36 mins
Michael Stefanelli, the New Jersey division leader for Best Version Media, reveals how hyperlocal publishing is thriving while building community connections through positive storytelling and neighborhood focus.
• Hyperlocal print media is experiencing significant growth
• Magazines focus on positive local stories about neighbors, families, and community events
• Each magazine is free to residents and financially supported by local business advertising
• Local businesses benefit from consistent brand awareness that builds trust with potential customers
• Content comes from various sources including content coordinators, community submissions, and neighbor recommendations
• BVM's acquisition by HIG Capital aims to expand services to become full-service marketing agencies for small businesses
• The ideal publisher candidate doesn't need sales experience—many people have become successful by following the model
If you're interested in submitting a story to your local BVM magazine, check page three of your local magazine for publisher and content coordinator contact information. Business owners looking for marketing advice can reach out even if they don't plan to advertise.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Janette Afsharian (00:00):
Hi Rachel.
We just got off that interviewwith the person, the publisher
behind our local magazine thatwe get called Montclair
Neighbors.
Yes, michael Stefanelli, right,okay, so Michael Stefanelli, he
is the publisher of this, buthe's also the New Jersey
division leader for a bunch ofthese magazines.
Rachel Martens (00:21):
He's the New Jersey leader of it's over 40
titles.
Janette Afsharian (00:24):
Over 40 towns have this beautiful local
magazine that comes andhighlights these wonderful
stories kind of like we do, ofpeople in your neighborhood
Telling nice stories about yourcommunity and we talk about how
it is a very successful businessmodel and people really love
getting it because and I thinkyou know if you get one, why you
(00:48):
love it and the stories withinare all local based and it's
supported by the advertisingthat's in it.
He tells us about this and thisis a big company called best
version media that owns it.
It's it.
Rachel Martens (01:01):
They have 1400 publications and they started in
Wisconsin, right, I thoughtthat was a good tidbit.
Janette Afsharian (01:09):
I think they're Canadian, us owned.
Now they keep growing, growing,growing growing, growing and
they've been acquired recentlyand they're going to grow even
bigger and take it to the nextlevel.
So he comes on and tells usabout it.
He's a local New Jersey, fromNutley, and he takes us on the
story about the back end ofwhat's going on.
Enjoy, michael.
(01:32):
Welcome to Lost in Jersey.
It's nice to have you.
Mike Stefanelli (01:35):
It's great.
It's great to be on, and youknow I haven't been on too many
things like this before, and soyou know getting invited is
certainly something that I'mhumbled about.
You know that you want to talkto me, so that's great.
Janette Afsharian (01:48):
Well, I have your magazine right here.
The latest edition came out andI was like, oh, I'm so glad I
got the latest edition, becauseI was like it's perfect, because
we're about to talk Perfecttiming.
And you know, the reason Ireached out to you was because
I'm always curious about thingsthat are around our lives and
like how they're, who they areand what's going on behind them.
(02:09):
And I was like what's going onwith this magazine?
Nobody's publishing magazinesanymore, but this is still
coming out.
What's the backstory?
And then it led me to you.
Rachel Martens (02:19):
And also it's something that we I always loved
.
When we moved here, I thoughthow cool we have our own
magazine and I always lookforward to getting it and seeing
who's on the cover and readingabout our neighbors.
It, I love it.
I look forward to it.
Yeah, yeah, Um well, you know.
Mike Stefanelli (02:36):
First, like you know, it's something you said
that was interesting.
There was about nobody'spublishing magazines anymore and
, to be honest, I got to tellyou that's actually not the
reality, right.
Janette Afsharian (02:47):
We're learning that, yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (02:49):
So it's pretty interesting because when we meet
with, you know, maybe abusiness owner for advertising,
whether it be in Montclair orone of our other markets in New
Jersey, you know, one of thethings we hear is, oh is imprint
dead?
And it really couldn't be anyfurther from the truth, because
not only with our company doingthese magazines in New Jersey
(03:10):
and around North America, butthey're popping up everywhere,
this niche neighborhood printmedia is thriving.
County, for instance, where wehave 10 publications.
There are hosts of othercompanies doing kind of the same
thing.
They teeter on, you know, acouple of different philosophies
(03:32):
in terms of their content andtheir distribution, but they're
still looking to giveneighborhoods their voice, you
know, and a break from onlinemedia.
So it's actually a thrivingindustry right now.
Now look, there's some aspectsof print media that are
certainly fallen by the wayside.
You know more of a, you know acommodity product.
(03:54):
You know news because of a 24-7news cycle, but for, like what
we do, it really works wellbecause it's not about news,
it's about just, you know,bringing out the best of what's
in the community.
Rachel Martens (04:04):
Yeah, I used to work at Time Inc.
I have a huge soft spot formagazines because I just
remember even the excitement Iwould get when you'd know that
in the lobby, like people instyle, all the magazines would
come out that week and you'd godownstairs and get a copy of the
titles that you were eitherworking on or not working on.
I still even think that my kidswill open that Montclair
(04:28):
magazine that comes and take alook through it.
It's nice to have something inyour hands.
I don't think that is going tocompletely go away and I like to
see that it's just becomingmore hyperlocal and niche, like
you're saying.
Yeah, listen.
Mike Stefanelli (04:43):
I mean we'll get into more of the nuts and
bolts of it, but I did want tosay something.
You know for having me on,obviously, and congratulations
on doing 100 episodes.
Thank you, you know, I'm alwaysinterested, you know, especially
when you know we're independentand I deal with independent
contractors and a lot of peoplewho are, you know, very
entrepreneurial, and so when Isee people that are doing
(05:03):
something, you know fromentrepreneurial, and so when I
see people that are doingsomething, you know from a
creative standpoint and aproduction standpoint, I know
the type of work that goes intoit.
How, long before your firstepisode, did you kick around the
idea and like, you know, beforeyou cause, like we're always
talking about, like takingaction, and sometimes you have
these ideas and you sit on themfor a while, but like, or did
you take action and like putthis into into motion?
Rachel Martens (05:31):
And we're just like brainstorming about ideas
of wanting to do a podcast andthen, once Jeanette and I said
we should, we should just dothis, it probably took us what?
Janette Afsharian (05:36):
Two months three months for me.
I for me, I don't.
I don't think it took very longat all because I it wasn't on
my radar at all to do a podcastuntil I was talking to Rachel
and she was wanting to dosomething in voice and I said
why don't we do a podcast?
And it was like within, I think, two months of that.
Yeah, kicked it off because I'mI'm a project.
Rachel Martens (05:58):
And that's a doer.
So she's like Rachel.
You know you can't keepthinking about it, you need to
actually do it.
Mike Stefanelli (06:05):
So let's just do it.
Rachel Martens (06:06):
So it was great that she did that, because she
lit the fire and I wasruminating, which I'm really
good at.
Mike Stefanelli (06:14):
And I'm a big like, I take in a lot of
podcasts, you know, for salesand personal development and
leadership and so and I'm alwayssharing them with my team.
But is there any particularpodcast that you guys have
listened to that inspired you todo this?
Janette Afsharian (06:30):
Well, yeah, Rachel listens to a lot of
podcasts.
Why don't you tell what acouple of yours were?
Rachel Martens (06:36):
Um, so it's an Australian podcast and it's um
this woman, mia Friedman um, myfriend, I'll give her a shout
out Daniela Minz.
She lives in Sydney, australia,and she recommended a podcast
by Mia Friedman.
She has her own media companynow called Mama Mia Media and
(06:57):
they have a ton of podcasts.
But she started with no Filter,where it was an interview
format and she's a greatinterviewer.
No Filter, where it was aninterview format, and she's a
great interviewer.
She used to be in magazines inAustralia, like all the top
magazines, women's magazines, soshe has that kind of
conversational interview stylebut it's rigorous.
She'll do a lot of research.
And then she started this MammaMia Out Loud podcast.
(07:21):
That also is about what theysay is what women are talking
about this week.
So it's niche and that is whatwomen are talking about this
week, but it's about currenttopics and they do two episodes
a week now where it's three ofthem and it's conversational,
but it's about hot topics of theweek and I just I love it also
(07:42):
probably because I love theAustralian accent, to be fair,
and it makes me feel like I'msomewhere else a little bit.
But it just is that it sort ofhad a similar format and idea of
what I thought Jeanette and Icould bring with our own
friendship to a podcast format.
I'd say that is probably one ofthe top ones, but I listened to
(08:04):
a lot, jeanette.
What about you?
Janette Afsharian (08:08):
Well, I'm, I'm not a I'm not a big podcast
listener.
I I basically um, I had thoselistening to like snap judgment
and I listened to like a smartlist and, every once in a while,
listen to the news, podcastsand stuff, but I, you know, I'm
not as much into it, so I dothink we come about it a little
bit differently.
We have, you know, differentstrengths, different kinds of
(08:29):
things.
Which I think compliments us alot is that we have different
yes, coming at it from differentangles.
Rachel Martens (08:34):
Yeah, for sure, what about you?
What are your?
What are your podcasts?
Mike Stefanelli (08:38):
I mean, I, I listened to everything from um,
you know, like kind of hardcoresales podcast, sales training
podcast.
Also like kind of like you know, motivational personal
development, like like myfavorite motivational guys that
do podcasts are like Ed Miletand Lewis Howes.
I listen to Gary Vee a lot.
I listen to golf.
(08:58):
I'm a big golfer so I listen togolf podcasts a lot.
You know, just, I got into anew podcast recently just about
the mental game of golf.
Uh-huh, not like totally, notabout like fixing your swing or
anything like that, but justmore about how you think about
the game out there, because it'sa very mental game.
So, um, and then I'll listen to, I'll occasionally listen to
some new.
I try to avoid news.
(09:18):
Um, yeah, I, I do listen tolike um, I'll listen to Pivot,
scott Galloway, kara Swisher, alittle bit, you know, for a
little bit of a news fill.
And then Mark Manson.
I listen to him.
Janette Afsharian (09:33):
I'll drop one that I've gotten a little bit
of addicted to, but more on thevideo.
It's become very video based.
Is that is the diary of a CEO?
Rachel Martens (09:41):
That is yeah, you do love that and that is
very cool.
Janette Afsharian (09:45):
It's very in depth and they get really
impressive people on to tell yousome stuff.
So you know there's so much outthere when it comes to that.
That area of of you know medianow.
But I love how you were sayingsomething about the difference
in publishing, how it's changedthat it's not news anymore, it's
(10:06):
more about storytelling, andyou definitely I mean I was
looking at your background andyou've been in this for a while
I'd like for you to tell us alittle bit about.
You probably have seen thisevolution come about with you
being in it, so tell us a littlebit.
You went to Nutley high schoolfrom what I could see.
Mike Stefanelli (10:23):
Yeah, so as far as, like you know, being lost
in Jersey, I don't feel lost inJersey ever because I've been
here my whole life.
I've been in Essex County themajority of my life.
The only time I actually feltlost in Jersey was when I wasn't
in New Jersey last week becauseI was in Orlando with my son
playing golf for his springbreak and we, you know, we just
(10:44):
took a golf trip and, um,sometimes, when I'm in the in
that environment, I love golf somuch that, um, I'm like why do
I live in New Jersey where I,you know, five months off from
playing golf?
Yeah, I need it year round andthat's the only time.
But I I soon bring myself backbecause I go to some of these
(11:07):
other places and they just don'thave the character of New
Jersey, I mean.
Orlando is.
I'm not trying to rip on it,but it's like nothing but big
box franchises I mean any chainfranchise you want you can find
in Orlando and it's like it kindof lacks that like neighborhood
character, like New Jersey has.
So, um, so that's the only timeI ever feel lost in Jersey.
(11:30):
But yeah, I am originally fromNutley.
I went to Nutley High Schooland I lived in Nutley all the
way up to about two and a halfyears ago and I now live in
Morristown.
But I've always been prettymuch an Essex County guy.
Janette Afsharian (11:41):
How did you get yourself into the publishing
game?
Mike Stefanelli (11:45):
So I think when you talk about an evolution my
age, my age, you know,graduating college late 90s,
early 2000s you know the way ofgoing about it was.
You know, you go to college,you get a job, you try to work
your way up and that was it andthat, like that, was kind of
like the way right.
Nobody talked about beingindependent.
And now what you're seeing nowis like kind of this shift
(12:06):
towards independence and I thinkby 2027, they're going to be
saying something like 52% of alllike earned income is going to
be from an independent or afreelance basis, and that's kind
of the way it's gone.
But what led me to that is kindof what leads a lot of people
into like our company, which is,you know, they had a corporate
America job and they were eitherlet go, which I was.
(12:31):
I worked for two Fortune 500companies and I, you know, in
financial services and I was letgo from the company and at that
moment I just said I'm done, Idon't want to do this anymore, I
don't want to be a number in acompany, I don't want to be let
go.
I didn't know what I was goingto do next.
I kind of knew, like what Iwanted and when I saw BVM and
(12:53):
BVM was sort of early stageswhen I came to them in late
2014,.
They hit the scene in 2007, butthey took a while in an
incubation period to really getgoing, but I was pretty early in
in in 2014,.
But when I saw it and I saw theconcept and and and living in
(13:14):
Nutley I mean Nutley's a veryprideful town about the you know
, they, you know they'll,they'll defend Nutley till no
end.
And I'm like, and they lovetheir town and you know it's
plant, we call it planet, planetNutley and I'm like, wow, this
concept could really work inNutley.
And I went and I went andstarted with BVM and then I
(13:35):
brought the concept to Nutleyand and I got it off the ground
and running and launched ourfirst publication in New Jersey
was in Nutley and I you knowshortly- after I became the you
know I was the first one and I,you know, shortly after I became
the, you know I was the firstone here so I became for BVM, at
least, I became the leader ofNew Jersey and then since then
I've grown our New Jerseyterritory to 42 of these
(14:00):
publications Montclair, bergenCounty.
You know 42, actually we'reabout to launch two more, um in
Kinnelon and one in Lincroft inthe next month.
So we're growing.
But yeah, 10 years ago that wasmy foray into kind of
independent work because I justI didn't want that lifestyle
(14:21):
anymore.
So when people come to us theycome to us because, you know,
I'm done with corporate Americaor I need a change.
I want to work for myself, Iwant to have more time for my
family and, you know, friendsand leisure and things like that
.
So you work for yourself.
I mean it's not easy, but youwork for yourself.
Rachel Martens (14:37):
How did you determine how to put a team
together and what the visionwould be for the first issue?
I mean, I know just, you knowfrom my own experience in
publishing.
You know just you know from myown experience in publishing,
you know, having the publisher,the editor, the writers, the
graphic designers, the ad sales,there's so much that goes into
putting.
Mike Stefanelli (14:57):
So why you know , and we don't need like born
and bred publishers to do wellat this, because it's really
like a turnkey model.
So it's basically you know, aspublisher you're really the
chief revenue officer.
Your job is to kind of go outand generate the revenue to
support the magazine, to put itout.
But you know BVM as yourpartner.
That's why I liked it when Iwas looking for what I wanted
(15:17):
next.
You know, instead of launchingyour own business by yourself
with no support behind you,you're sort of like an
entrepreneur with BVM becausethey're doing the production,
the design, the layout, thedistribution, your collections,
your accounting.
You know all those things goingon so you can concentrate on the
business development in yourcommunity.
And then, as far as your teambuilding it out, you know you do
(15:40):
have a local writer who'sgenerally in the community.
A local photographer designercould be local, but we have a
team of designers that arefreelance.
You know that live around thecountry.
Our designer of Montclairhappens to be a montclair woman
and, um uh, she came to us along time ago when, you know,
she picked up the magazine.
She was a fan of it and shewanted to.
She wanted to design it.
(16:00):
But but most of our designersare freelance from around the
country.
So it's really a turnkey model,someone that wants to come in
and bring this to theircommunity.
Our thing is that is, that webring the community together
through the, through the highquality content and the family,
family nature of it the baseballteam that went to the Little
(16:30):
League World Series, thecrossing guard that's been in
town for 30 years, therestaurant owner that's down the
block from you.
So it's really a magazine ofthe people, by the people and
for the people.
We encourage people to writeinto us and bring the content to
us, so we don't need this bigeditorial team on the ground
covering events Cause again notnews Right.
(16:51):
But at the end of the day,we've become so disconnected in
society by being connected thatour mission is to bring
neighbors closer together.
We don't know our next doorneighbors anymore when a
magazine comes in your mailboxwith people that might walk
their dog in front of your house.
You want to know who they areand that's why it becomes so
yeah, that's why we are that'swhy we all love it.
Yeah, yeah so, so and that's andthat's what I can't take the
(17:14):
credit for that.
Yeah, ppm created this thing in2007 in wisconsin and they saw
that opportunity gap right associal media online was starting
.
They said, well, we're going tokind of create a social media,
but in print form, and peoplethought they were crazy at the
time.
But it's turned into such asuch a great success that when I
(17:36):
started with the company, wehad 200 publications around the
country.
Now we have 1400.
Right, wow.
Rachel Martens (17:42):
Yeah, just in 10 years.
What's the hardest thing thatyou find when you're launching a
new town?
Just getting the advertisingcommitments.
Mike Stefanelli (17:50):
Yeah, Like people love it.
They think the idea is greatbut like putting the dollars
down to because it's a freemagazine.
Rachel Martens (17:57):
Right, so is it a door to door kind of thing?
You know door to door saleslike hey, do you want to be in
this?
This is how many eyeballsyou're going to get.
Mike Stefanelli (18:07):
It's sort of door to door.
There is a door to door aspectof it, but a lot of our
prototypical advertising clientsare service-based businesses
that you might not be able towalk into.
On the main app.
Rachel Martens (18:18):
Like offices.
Mike Stefanelli (18:19):
It's it's landscapers and insurance agents
and roofing companies and uh,you know plastic surgeons and um
, you know realtors, you knowthings like that dentists.
So you can't always walk intothose businesses.
So, to be honest with you, alot of it is, you know, reaching
out by email or cold callingand doing it the old fashioned
(18:40):
way.
So that's always the hardestpart, because some business
owners think, you know, I don'tneed to advertise, Everybody
knows me.
But what we, our approach, isbranding.
We think that every smallbusiness really should think of
themselves as a brand.
Even if you're the localplumber, you should think of
yourself as a brand.
(19:01):
And so we try to take the sameapproach that the big global
brands use put themselves outthere all the time in front of
their target audience and givethat to the small business owner
.
And we do that throughfrequency and consistency being
in front of your target audienceall the time and being in
something that people areviewing.
(19:21):
Because you could advertiseyour business in a million
places, yeah, right, but are yougoing to reach a relevant
audience to your business and isthere attention on that?
And we know our magazines getattention because they're about
the people that get them Right.
Yeah, that's why it works.
Janette Afsharian (19:36):
Are you asked by your potential advertisers
what is the return on investment?
Rachel Martens (19:40):
You know what I was going to ask that what?
Mike Stefanelli (19:43):
is your.
Janette Afsharian (19:44):
What is your response on that?
Mike Stefanelli (19:46):
If you're reading the magazine every month
for the content and you see thelocal plumber in the magazine
when your water heater breaksright, you don't run to the
magazine to see who to use.
You know who to use becauseyou've recognized the local
plumber each and every time.
So the trust and awareness isgetting built up all the time
with the repetition each andevery month.
(20:08):
Getting built up all the time,with a repetition each and every
month.
So when people are asking aboutROI, they don't quite
understand how consumer behavioractually works, because 95% of
consumer behavior and purchaseintent comes from the
subconscious.
So someone might have finallypurchased your goods and
services from you, but theymight have been thinking about
(20:28):
it for a while and now they'reready and guess what they do.
Next.
They go to Google, find thephone number and then call the
business and then guess who getsthe credit for it.
Right, google.
But that doesn't mean themagazine didn't have an impact
on that, because it built up theawareness and trust.
Janette Afsharian (20:43):
It's like a billboard.
How do you know what the returnon investment is on a billboard
?
Mike Stefanelli (20:53):
We have a number of households that it
goes to and you can kind ofassume probably one and a half
readers per copy per household.
So you can come up with anumber by that.
But it's more about and I'm nottrying to be anecdotal about it
, but it's more about like hey,listen, is this a market that
you want to reach with yourbusiness?
Because this goes here?
And you know, if you got amagazine like this in the mail
and it was about yourneighborhood, you would read it
right.
So when people understand theconcept of the content, they
(21:15):
understand why people'sattention is going to be there.
And that's all you want withmarketing I have to put my
business where there's attentionand so when you have that
attention, you're putting yourbusiness there.
People are going to find itmore trustworthy.
And then when you're pairedwith the type of content the
feel-good, positive,family-friendly content it makes
(21:38):
people feel good about thebusinesses that they're seeing
the connections are all positive.
They want to reciprocate withthat and they want to kind of
support that business.
That's why it works so well forbusinesses.
Not every business owner gets.
People you know have been ledto believe, hey, I gotta put a
dollar in and I gotta get adollar out.
And they want to kind ofmeasure that and and, like you,
know that at the end of the daythat that might not be our
(21:59):
prototypical advertising clientbecause they're looking for that
, but for the person that gets,building trust and awareness,
you know what we do.
Rachel Martens (22:08):
Especially consistency over time.
You know to see a brand nameover time in the magazine, so
that's what we try to do bestand listen.
Mike Stefanelli (22:16):
We do digital advertising too.
We've gotten into meta ads andInstagram ads and Google ads,
and you know Google listingservice, you know services for
business, and so we do a fullarray of digital advertising
along with our print advertising.
But the print is what reallybuilds the awareness first.
They both work better togetherthan separate on their own.
Janette Afsharian (22:39):
Do you have someone that's out there looking
for a story?
Mike Stefanelli (22:43):
So our content coordinator, our current content
coordinator, grace, she, youknow, curates a lot of the
stories, whether she finds themor, you know, people write into
us.
I mean, they generally comeabout a couple of ways.
Grace will find them and youknow, she knows, you know she's
a local woman and she knowsstories.
But, like you know, otherresidents will recommend hey, I
(23:04):
have a great neighbor, neighbor,you should feature in this.
Some people write in themselveshey, I'd like to be featured,
I'd like to put my story outthere.
It's a memento for them to keeptheir family, you know, forever
.
So and then you know somebusiness owners hey, I have a
great client that I think youshould feature.
So that's the way it comesabout.
Janette Afsharian (23:22):
What this magazine and I think this type
of podcast really thrives on istelling people's stories instead
of telling news.
It's like ever it's somewhatevergreen you know, and it is,
it's that same mission.
Mike Stefanelli (23:34):
It's funny when we we ask some people to to be
on it and some people are like,well, I don't, there's nothing
unique about me.
And I often say, like, listen,whether you landed on the moon
or whether you, you know, justgraduated college and married
your high school sweetheart andyou work a normal nine to five
job, it doesn't matter Again,it's just about people getting
to know each other.
Rachel Martens (23:55):
There's a story that was our whole thing is
there's always.
Everybody has a story worthtelling, and that's interesting.
Mike Stefanelli (24:00):
I mean, I want to ask you about that Are there
any memorable stories that stickout for you, that you know
where?
When you reflect on your workit kind of brings you back to
the one story.
Janette Afsharian (24:11):
I'll tell you an overarching theme that.
I think actually was possiblythe impetus for me or my
thinking of what the wholepremise of the podcast was,
besides being lost in Jersey, isthat it was resilience and life
.
It's just realizing that we gothrough ups and downs and
hearing people's stories of howwhat is their trajectory to
(24:32):
getting to New Jersey and whathappened and where are you?
You know, and almost inevitablyI knew that people would say
they had a hard time somewhereor they had a difficult you know
arc but have either are stillin it or going through it or
whatever.
But sharing that kind of arc oflife was really important to me
because I felt like it was.
(24:52):
It was an honest story thateveryone has.
Rachel Martens (24:55):
I don't know, but perfectly, perfectly, said
Jeanette, both of us are alwaysinspired by who we meet and I
think that was for sure.
Like cats have nine lives, andI felt like, okay, everybody has
nine lives.
Like I've lived I don't knowhow many lives already, a lot.
Mike Stefanelli (25:11):
Yeah, I mean and that's what we love to bring
out in the publication to see,you know, some of the challenges
people have gone through andhow they overcame it.
Lift up the community.
Janette Afsharian (25:20):
And you get those testimonials all the time.
Mike Stefanelli (25:23):
Well, just for this one, you know you have a
popular local resident.
Janette Afsharian (25:25):
You have a popular local resident.
He talks about his autism andhow he functions with society
and how he feels really blessedin his life.
You are the publisher, and thecontent coordinator for this
magazine is Grace L Williams,and the designer is Marty Golan.
And then Neil Grabowski is aphotographer who he's been on
(25:46):
this podcast.
Rachel Martens (25:46):
We've interviewed him.
Janette Afsharian (25:47):
Yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (25:48):
And he talked about taking excellent
photographer.
Rachel Martens (25:51):
I know so good.
Janette Afsharian (25:52):
Well, I want to ask you about something about
bvm.
Best version media is that itrecently was acquired by hig.
Is that correct?
Okay and um, and I read thatit's aiming to expand the range
of products and services byenhancing the ability to serve
clients and publishers moreeffectively.
(26:12):
What does that mean?
What does that look like foryou?
Mike Stefanelli (26:15):
Well, you know it's a private company.
I obviously wasn't in theboardroom when these decisions?
were being made.
But it's not the first time BVMwas actually acquired.
We were acquired by anotherprivate equity firm a couple of
years back and that privateequity firm took us to one level
that they kind of specialize inand taking companies to, and we
(26:36):
outgrew it and so HIG Capitalhas the capabilities of taking
BVM to a whole other level, andthat's what it's really about.
I can tell you that, you know,from like kind of like an
outsider perspective, or youknow kind of just from a, you
know, independent publisherperspective.
We have people that come fromthe newspaper industry and you
know different industries thathave been taking over by private
(26:58):
equity before, and there wassome nervousness about it when
they hear things like this,because they think, oh, private
equity is going to come in andtear this and cut everybody out,
and sell it off as a shell.
They're going to get rid of theprint and you know our whole
thing is going to go down here,and that's not how this would
have ever worked, because thefounders of our company are
(27:20):
still very involved with theboard and the executives that
have been here for a long time.
What they do is going to affordus the opportunity, like you
said, to expand the products andservices.
Now we've already been expanding.
Since I started, we were justprint magazines and now we've
gone into digital advertisingand online services and we're
getting into more things as wego forward here, where we, you
(27:43):
know, like for me on the groundwe're a publisher on the ground
in New Jersey.
Like for me on the ground,we're a publisher on the ground
in New Jersey we will sort of bea local marketing, full suite,
full service marketing agencyfor a small business, where not
only can we offer them you knowthe, the, the Cadillac of it,
which is the print magazine, theluxury magazine because we can.
That's what differentiates usfrom a, from just a digital
(28:06):
marketing agency, becausedigital marketing agency can
offer all the things that we canoffer as well, and they might
do some different things from aperformance marketing standpoint
online, but they can't offerthe luxury magazine that hits
the mailboxes every month foreach of these towns.
We will be able, in not sodistant future, be able to offer
things like SEO and websitedevelopment for businesses and
(28:30):
really generate a lot ofbusiness services where we can
become a one-stop shop for them,and that will be due to the
resources that will be affordedto us by having this partner.
Our entire editorial philosophyis based on positivity.
There's so much negativity andnoise out there, so we, like you
said, we want to be thatrefresher for people Right and
(28:51):
highlighting the good people andthe uplifting stories and
families and the businesses.
And that doesn't mean we ignorereal life, you know, but we
choose to focus of politics andcontroversy and hot button
issues and the divisiveness.
(29:13):
And you know, our goal is not toprovoke, it's really to connect
people.
Rachel Martens (29:19):
And that's really what you're doing it.
Mike Stefanelli (29:21):
I'll give a shout out to one of our sponsors
, american Roofing Insider.
Yes, it seems like they doevery roof in Montclair, but
they've been in the publicationand they've had billboards in
the area and they've been in thepublication for a long time.
But you know, that's what.
That's what awareness and trustlooks like when you're, when
you're embedded, when you'reembedded somewhere for a long
(29:45):
time, you become a householdname like a Nike or a Verizon or
a Geico or a Rolex.
You become a household namelike a Nike or a Verizon or a
Geico or a Rolex.
You become a household name.
And I'm telling you, I seetheir Instagram all the time.
They're always on a roof inMontclair.
Janette Afsharian (29:57):
Yep, shout out to American roofing and
siding.
Well, I'm curious also, as wewrap up, two things that I
wanted to quickly ask you isthat is there a particular like
trend or something stories thatyou get really positive feedback
on?
Like in the in the?
You kind of like food like.
I remember we spoke toMontclair local and they were
(30:18):
saying that their food storiesget a lot of traction.
Mike Stefanelli (30:21):
I mean, I'm just speaking, you know, from.
You know some of our otherpublications and some of them
are, you know, bigger uh, andhave more pages than Montclair
neighbors.
But I think you know some ofthe eat local stuff uh, the home
and garden section, some of thesections that people create in
their magazines.
I think those get a lot offanfare.
Uh, the positive feedback thatwe always get is uh, you know,
(30:43):
just you know, oh, wow, that wassuch an interesting story about
so-and-so on the cover.
That's you know we.
Rachel Martens (30:52):
We get those a lot Um.
I love how you feature localfamilies.
How should people um getinvolved?
So if they want to like, submita story to their local town.
They have a BBM magazine.
Mike Stefanelli (31:01):
Oh yeah, simply simply go and uh, right on page
three, you'll have thepublisher email there.
You'll have a contentcoordinator email there.
So if you're listening to thisand you have a BBM magazine in
your community, you can simplyreach out that way.
Generally there's a phonenumber in there.
You have Grace or myself.
Okay, we have contactinformation in there.
And if any business owners arelistening to this and, yes, they
(31:22):
want, they want us.
You know, not even in Montclair, but elsewhere.
Rachel Martens (31:25):
Anywhere yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (31:31):
They want a second set of eyes on how
they're reaching their marketmore effectively.
I'd be happy to talk with them.
I'll talk all day with businessowners about what effective
marketing is and what it isn't,and whether they do a
partnership with us or not, Ialways like meeting business
owners and being able to helpthem market their business
better.
Excellent, thank you, great.
We have a final question thatwe ask everyone and you know
being able to help them, youknow, market their business
better Excellent.
Janette Afsharian (31:50):
Thank you Great.
We have a final question thatwe ask everyone that comes on is
tell us something that you loveabout New Jersey.
A person, place, thing or, youknow, concept.
Mike Stefanelli (32:04):
Yeah, I'll give you, I'll give you a place and
I'll give you a concept.
So the thing I probably lovethe most about New Jersey is
Long Beach Island.
Rachel Martens (32:13):
Oh awesome.
Mike Stefanelli (32:14):
The Jersey shore there's just.
I grew up going there, you know, we had a house there as as, as
you know, up until I was about27,.
There's just a vibe there whereit's like kind of like time
stops, yeah, so and and some ofthe best sunsets I've ever seen
in the country, that's nice.
And so my favorite place wouldbe there.
But the thing I love the mostabout New Jersey is, you know,
(32:38):
although I don't enjoy winterthat much, because I'm a golfer,
I do enjoy having the true fourseasons here.
But when I think about NewJersey, you really do have
everything in one place.
You have, you know, yoursuburbs and your metropolitan
area, you have your mountains,you have farms, you have forests
(32:58):
and you have your Jersey Shore,and it's hard to really get all
that in one place in thiscountry.
California probably has it, butit's hard to really get that,
that all that in one place, andNew Jersey, for how small it is,
is able to boast that.
Janette Afsharian (33:13):
And you have New York City, and you have New
York City like the biggest cityacross.
Rachel Martens (33:17):
I mean I guess if we have to talk about New
York City it could throw it inthere.
Janette Afsharian (33:21):
That's what makes it so incredible.
I was trying to keep it to just.
New.
Mike Stefanelli (33:25):
Jersey.
Of course, living up in NorthJersey, like we do, being able
to access that, is certainly ahuge advantage.
Rachel Martens (33:33):
It's great to access it and come home yeah
exactly, exactly it, it.
Janette Afsharian (33:38):
I mean I think that you know people who
live here completely agree withwhat you're saying and well it's
, it's great to meet you andit's great to have you know, got
the backstory on this magazinethat we've been getting in our
mailbox for years and understand, because you know you just
don't know.
Rachel Martens (33:54):
It's so impressive that you grew it from
Nutley to all those other towns.
It's really impressive, Michael.
Janette Afsharian (34:01):
Wow, just one .
Do you?
Are you in charge of all ofthese other 40?
Are you the publisher for all40?
Mike Stefanelli (34:08):
I'm not the publisher for any of these other
40?
Are you the publisher for all40?
I'm not the publisher for anyof the other ones.
I'm more of the leader, thesales leader, so to speak, of
them.
So each individual that islisted in their publication some
of them do more than onepublication they would be in
charge of their editorial andtheir staff and their
advertising and I'm just kind ofoversee them as a support
(34:32):
liaison where, you know, fortraining and coaching and
mentorship, and you know, partof my role as leader is doing
that and being more of a salescoach to people.
So I'm always looking for peoplethat want to kind of break free
from, you know, maybe thatcorporate rat race and they want
to kind of build something forthemselves and not be tied to,
(34:55):
you know, kind of a nine tofives and no day is ever the
same.
So I'm always looking forpeople that have that
entrepreneurial spirit.
We can probably be in at least100 markets total in New Jersey
and and that's what I'm lookingto do is bring people in for the
additional areas that don'thave one of these.
But, we've had publishers cometo us with zero sales experience
(35:16):
, nurses and teachers andrestaurant servers and just
people that I have a vision forit and if people don't get my
vision, that's okay, I'll moveon to the next one and they just
follow the program and theybecome successful here.
Janette Afsharian (35:29):
So we don't need born and bred salespeople.
That's very cool, that's cool.
Well, Michael, thank you somuch for taking the time to tell
us about the magazine and allyou do and the backstory and
everything.
It's been a pleasure to talkwith you and learn and see you
around.
Mike Stefanelli (35:46):
Yeah, I thank you for having me on and it's
been a very nice conversation tohave and a refresher, I hope,
for the audience and let's haveyou featured in the magazine oh
gosh.
Rachel Martens (35:59):
Thank you, I guess.
Mike Stefanelli (36:00):
Thank you though.
Janette Afsharian (36:01):
So much Thank you, that's an honor also.
Yeah, it would be an honor,appreciate it.
Thanks, michael.
Yeah, it would be an honor,appreciate it, thanks.
Rachel Martens (36:09):
Michael, this podcast was produced by Rachel
Martens and Jeanette Afsharian.
You can find us on Spotify,iTunes and Buzzsprout.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Hi Rachel.
We just got off that interviewwith the person, the publisher
behind our local magazine thatwe get called Montclair
Neighbors.
Yes, michael Stefanelli, right,okay, so Michael Stefanelli, he
is the publisher of this, buthe's also the New Jersey
division leader for a bunch ofthese magazines.
Rachel Martens (00:21):
He's the New Jersey leader of it's over 40
titles.
Janette Afsharian (00:24):
Over 40 towns have this beautiful local
magazine that comes andhighlights these wonderful
stories kind of like we do, ofpeople in your neighborhood
Telling nice stories about yourcommunity and we talk about how
it is a very successful businessmodel and people really love
getting it because and I thinkyou know if you get one, why you
(00:48):
love it and the stories withinare all local based and it's
supported by the advertisingthat's in it.
He tells us about this and thisis a big company called best
version media that owns it.
It's it.
Rachel Martens (01:01):
They have 1400 publications and they started in
Wisconsin, right, I thoughtthat was a good tidbit.
Janette Afsharian (01:09):
I think they're Canadian, us owned.
Now they keep growing, growing,growing growing, growing and
they've been acquired recentlyand they're going to grow even
bigger and take it to the nextlevel.
So he comes on and tells usabout it.
He's a local New Jersey, fromNutley, and he takes us on the
story about the back end ofwhat's going on.
Enjoy, michael.
(01:32):
Welcome to Lost in Jersey.
It's nice to have you.
Mike Stefanelli (01:35):
It's great.
It's great to be on, and youknow I haven't been on too many
things like this before, and soyou know getting invited is
certainly something that I'mhumbled about.
You know that you want to talkto me, so that's great.
Janette Afsharian (01:48):
Well, I have your magazine right here.
The latest edition came out andI was like, oh, I'm so glad I
got the latest edition, becauseI was like it's perfect, because
we're about to talk Perfecttiming.
And you know, the reason Ireached out to you was because
I'm always curious about thingsthat are around our lives and
like how they're, who they areand what's going on behind them.
(02:09):
And I was like what's going onwith this magazine?
Nobody's publishing magazinesanymore, but this is still
coming out.
What's the backstory?
And then it led me to you.
Rachel Martens (02:19):
And also it's something that we I always loved
.
When we moved here, I thoughthow cool we have our own
magazine and I always lookforward to getting it and seeing
who's on the cover and readingabout our neighbors.
It, I love it.
I look forward to it.
Yeah, yeah, Um well, you know.
Mike Stefanelli (02:36):
First, like you know, it's something you said
that was interesting.
There was about nobody'spublishing magazines anymore and
, to be honest, I got to tellyou that's actually not the
reality, right.
Janette Afsharian (02:47):
We're learning that, yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (02:49):
So it's pretty interesting because when we meet
with, you know, maybe abusiness owner for advertising,
whether it be in Montclair orone of our other markets in New
Jersey, you know, one of thethings we hear is, oh is imprint
dead?
And it really couldn't be anyfurther from the truth, because
not only with our company doingthese magazines in New Jersey
(03:10):
and around North America, butthey're popping up everywhere,
this niche neighborhood printmedia is thriving.
County, for instance, where wehave 10 publications.
There are hosts of othercompanies doing kind of the same
thing.
They teeter on, you know, acouple of different philosophies
(03:32):
in terms of their content andtheir distribution, but they're
still looking to giveneighborhoods their voice, you
know, and a break from onlinemedia.
So it's actually a thrivingindustry right now.
Now look, there's some aspectsof print media that are
certainly fallen by the wayside.
You know more of a, you know acommodity product.
(03:54):
You know news because of a 24-7news cycle, but for, like what
we do, it really works wellbecause it's not about news,
it's about just, you know,bringing out the best of what's
in the community.
Rachel Martens (04:04):
Yeah, I used to work at Time Inc.
I have a huge soft spot formagazines because I just
remember even the excitement Iwould get when you'd know that
in the lobby, like people instyle, all the magazines would
come out that week and you'd godownstairs and get a copy of the
titles that you were eitherworking on or not working on.
I still even think that my kidswill open that Montclair
(04:28):
magazine that comes and take alook through it.
It's nice to have something inyour hands.
I don't think that is going tocompletely go away and I like to
see that it's just becomingmore hyperlocal and niche, like
you're saying.
Yeah, listen.
Mike Stefanelli (04:43):
I mean we'll get into more of the nuts and
bolts of it, but I did want tosay something.
You know for having me on,obviously, and congratulations
on doing 100 episodes.
Thank you, you know, I'm alwaysinterested, you know, especially
when you know we're independentand I deal with independent
contractors and a lot of peoplewho are, you know, very
entrepreneurial, and so when Isee people that are doing
(05:03):
something, you know fromentrepreneurial, and so when I
see people that are doingsomething, you know from a
creative standpoint and aproduction standpoint, I know
the type of work that goes intoit.
How, long before your firstepisode, did you kick around the
idea and like, you know, beforeyou cause, like we're always
talking about, like takingaction, and sometimes you have
these ideas and you sit on themfor a while, but like, or did
you take action and like putthis into into motion?
Rachel Martens (05:31):
And we're just like brainstorming about ideas
of wanting to do a podcast andthen, once Jeanette and I said
we should, we should just dothis, it probably took us what?
Janette Afsharian (05:36):
Two months three months for me.
I for me, I don't.
I don't think it took very longat all because I it wasn't on
my radar at all to do a podcastuntil I was talking to Rachel
and she was wanting to dosomething in voice and I said
why don't we do a podcast?
And it was like within, I think, two months of that.
Yeah, kicked it off because I'mI'm a project.
Rachel Martens (05:58):
And that's a doer.
So she's like Rachel.
You know you can't keepthinking about it, you need to
actually do it.
Mike Stefanelli (06:05):
So let's just do it.
Rachel Martens (06:06):
So it was great that she did that, because she
lit the fire and I wasruminating, which I'm really
good at.
Mike Stefanelli (06:14):
And I'm a big like, I take in a lot of
podcasts, you know, for salesand personal development and
leadership and so and I'm alwayssharing them with my team.
But is there any particularpodcast that you guys have
listened to that inspired you todo this?
Janette Afsharian (06:30):
Well, yeah, Rachel listens to a lot of
podcasts.
Why don't you tell what acouple of yours were?
Rachel Martens (06:36):
Um, so it's an Australian podcast and it's um
this woman, mia Friedman um, myfriend, I'll give her a shout
out Daniela Minz.
She lives in Sydney, australia,and she recommended a podcast
by Mia Friedman.
She has her own media companynow called Mama Mia Media and
(06:57):
they have a ton of podcasts.
But she started with no Filter,where it was an interview
format and she's a greatinterviewer.
No Filter, where it was aninterview format, and she's a
great interviewer.
She used to be in magazines inAustralia, like all the top
magazines, women's magazines, soshe has that kind of
conversational interview stylebut it's rigorous.
She'll do a lot of research.
And then she started this MammaMia Out Loud podcast.
(07:21):
That also is about what theysay is what women are talking
about this week.
So it's niche and that is whatwomen are talking about this
week, but it's about currenttopics and they do two episodes
a week now where it's three ofthem and it's conversational,
but it's about hot topics of theweek and I just I love it also
(07:42):
probably because I love theAustralian accent, to be fair,
and it makes me feel like I'msomewhere else a little bit.
But it just is that it sort ofhad a similar format and idea of
what I thought Jeanette and Icould bring with our own
friendship to a podcast format.
I'd say that is probably one ofthe top ones, but I listened to
(08:04):
a lot, jeanette.
What about you?
Janette Afsharian (08:08):
Well, I'm, I'm not a I'm not a big podcast
listener.
I I basically um, I had thoselistening to like snap judgment
and I listened to like a smartlist and, every once in a while,
listen to the news, podcastsand stuff, but I, you know, I'm
not as much into it, so I dothink we come about it a little
bit differently.
We have, you know, differentstrengths, different kinds of
(08:29):
things.
Which I think compliments us alot is that we have different
yes, coming at it from differentangles.
Rachel Martens (08:34):
Yeah, for sure, what about you?
What are your?
What are your podcasts?
Mike Stefanelli (08:38):
I mean, I, I listened to everything from um,
you know, like kind of hardcoresales podcast, sales training
podcast.
Also like kind of like you know, motivational personal
development, like like myfavorite motivational guys that
do podcasts are like Ed Miletand Lewis Howes.
I listen to Gary Vee a lot.
I listen to golf.
(08:58):
I'm a big golfer so I listen togolf podcasts a lot.
You know, just, I got into anew podcast recently just about
the mental game of golf.
Uh-huh, not like totally, notabout like fixing your swing or
anything like that, but justmore about how you think about
the game out there, because it'sa very mental game.
So, um, and then I'll listen to, I'll occasionally listen to
some new.
I try to avoid news.
(09:18):
Um, yeah, I, I do listen tolike um, I'll listen to Pivot,
scott Galloway, kara Swisher, alittle bit, you know, for a
little bit of a news fill.
And then Mark Manson.
I listen to him.
Janette Afsharian (09:33):
I'll drop one that I've gotten a little bit
of addicted to, but more on thevideo.
It's become very video based.
Is that is the diary of a CEO?
Rachel Martens (09:41):
That is yeah, you do love that and that is
very cool.
Janette Afsharian (09:45):
It's very in depth and they get really
impressive people on to tell yousome stuff.
So you know there's so much outthere when it comes to that.
That area of of you know medianow.
But I love how you were sayingsomething about the difference
in publishing, how it's changedthat it's not news anymore, it's
(10:06):
more about storytelling, andyou definitely I mean I was
looking at your background andyou've been in this for a while
I'd like for you to tell us alittle bit about.
You probably have seen thisevolution come about with you
being in it, so tell us a littlebit.
You went to Nutley high schoolfrom what I could see.
Mike Stefanelli (10:23):
Yeah, so as far as, like you know, being lost
in Jersey, I don't feel lost inJersey ever because I've been
here my whole life.
I've been in Essex County themajority of my life.
The only time I actually feltlost in Jersey was when I wasn't
in New Jersey last week becauseI was in Orlando with my son
playing golf for his springbreak and we, you know, we just
(10:44):
took a golf trip and, um,sometimes, when I'm in the in
that environment, I love golf somuch that, um, I'm like why do
I live in New Jersey where I,you know, five months off from
playing golf?
Yeah, I need it year round andthat's the only time.
But I I soon bring myself backbecause I go to some of these
(11:07):
other places and they just don'thave the character of New
Jersey, I mean.
Orlando is.
I'm not trying to rip on it,but it's like nothing but big
box franchises I mean any chainfranchise you want you can find
in Orlando and it's like it kindof lacks that like neighborhood
character, like New Jersey has.
So, um, so that's the only timeI ever feel lost in Jersey.
(11:30):
But yeah, I am originally fromNutley.
I went to Nutley High Schooland I lived in Nutley all the
way up to about two and a halfyears ago and I now live in
Morristown.
But I've always been prettymuch an Essex County guy.
Janette Afsharian (11:41):
How did you get yourself into the publishing
game?
Mike Stefanelli (11:45):
So I think when you talk about an evolution my
age, my age, you know,graduating college late 90s,
early 2000s you know the way ofgoing about it was.
You know, you go to college,you get a job, you try to work
your way up and that was it andthat, like that, was kind of
like the way right.
Nobody talked about beingindependent.
And now what you're seeing nowis like kind of this shift
(12:06):
towards independence and I thinkby 2027, they're going to be
saying something like 52% of alllike earned income is going to
be from an independent or afreelance basis, and that's kind
of the way it's gone.
But what led me to that is kindof what leads a lot of people
into like our company, which is,you know, they had a corporate
America job and they were eitherlet go, which I was.
(12:31):
I worked for two Fortune 500companies and I, you know, in
financial services and I was letgo from the company and at that
moment I just said I'm done, Idon't want to do this anymore, I
don't want to be a number in acompany, I don't want to be let
go.
I didn't know what I was goingto do next.
I kind of knew, like what Iwanted and when I saw BVM and
(12:53):
BVM was sort of early stageswhen I came to them in late
2014,.
They hit the scene in 2007, butthey took a while in an
incubation period to really getgoing, but I was pretty early in
in in 2014,.
But when I saw it and I saw theconcept and and and living in
(13:14):
Nutley I mean Nutley's a veryprideful town about the you know
, they, you know they'll,they'll defend Nutley till no
end.
And I'm like, and they lovetheir town and you know it's
plant, we call it planet, planetNutley and I'm like, wow, this
concept could really work inNutley.
And I went and I went andstarted with BVM and then I
(13:35):
brought the concept to Nutleyand and I got it off the ground
and running and launched ourfirst publication in New Jersey
was in Nutley and I you knowshortly- after I became the you
know I was the first one and I,you know, shortly after I became
the, you know I was the firstone here so I became for BVM, at
least, I became the leader ofNew Jersey and then since then
I've grown our New Jerseyterritory to 42 of these
(14:00):
publications Montclair, bergenCounty.
You know 42, actually we'reabout to launch two more, um in
Kinnelon and one in Lincroft inthe next month.
So we're growing.
But yeah, 10 years ago that wasmy foray into kind of
independent work because I justI didn't want that lifestyle
(14:21):
anymore.
So when people come to us theycome to us because, you know,
I'm done with corporate Americaor I need a change.
I want to work for myself, Iwant to have more time for my
family and, you know, friendsand leisure and things like that
.
So you work for yourself.
I mean it's not easy, but youwork for yourself.
Rachel Martens (14:37):
How did you determine how to put a team
together and what the visionwould be for the first issue?
I mean, I know just, you knowfrom my own experience in
publishing.
You know just you know from myown experience in publishing,
you know, having the publisher,the editor, the writers, the
graphic designers, the ad sales,there's so much that goes into
putting.
Mike Stefanelli (14:57):
So why you know , and we don't need like born
and bred publishers to do wellat this, because it's really
like a turnkey model.
So it's basically you know, aspublisher you're really the
chief revenue officer.
Your job is to kind of go outand generate the revenue to
support the magazine, to put itout.
But you know BVM as yourpartner.
That's why I liked it when Iwas looking for what I wanted
(15:17):
next.
You know, instead of launchingyour own business by yourself
with no support behind you,you're sort of like an
entrepreneur with BVM becausethey're doing the production,
the design, the layout, thedistribution, your collections,
your accounting.
You know all those things goingon so you can concentrate on the
business development in yourcommunity.
And then, as far as your teambuilding it out, you know you do
(15:40):
have a local writer who'sgenerally in the community.
A local photographer designercould be local, but we have a
team of designers that arefreelance.
You know that live around thecountry.
Our designer of Montclairhappens to be a montclair woman
and, um uh, she came to us along time ago when, you know,
she picked up the magazine.
She was a fan of it and shewanted to.
She wanted to design it.
(16:00):
But but most of our designersare freelance from around the
country.
So it's really a turnkey model,someone that wants to come in
and bring this to theircommunity.
Our thing is that is, that webring the community together
through the, through the highquality content and the family,
family nature of it the baseballteam that went to the Little
(16:30):
League World Series, thecrossing guard that's been in
town for 30 years, therestaurant owner that's down the
block from you.
So it's really a magazine ofthe people, by the people and
for the people.
We encourage people to writeinto us and bring the content to
us, so we don't need this bigeditorial team on the ground
covering events Cause again notnews Right.
(16:51):
But at the end of the day,we've become so disconnected in
society by being connected thatour mission is to bring
neighbors closer together.
We don't know our next doorneighbors anymore when a
magazine comes in your mailboxwith people that might walk
their dog in front of your house.
You want to know who they areand that's why it becomes so
yeah, that's why we are that'swhy we all love it.
Yeah, yeah so, so and that's andthat's what I can't take the
(17:14):
credit for that.
Yeah, ppm created this thing in2007 in wisconsin and they saw
that opportunity gap right associal media online was starting
.
They said, well, we're going tokind of create a social media,
but in print form, and peoplethought they were crazy at the
time.
But it's turned into such asuch a great success that when I
(17:36):
started with the company, wehad 200 publications around the
country.
Now we have 1400.
Right, wow.
Rachel Martens (17:42):
Yeah, just in 10 years.
What's the hardest thing thatyou find when you're launching a
new town?
Just getting the advertisingcommitments.
Mike Stefanelli (17:50):
Yeah, Like people love it.
They think the idea is greatbut like putting the dollars
down to because it's a freemagazine.
Rachel Martens (17:57):
Right, so is it a door to door kind of thing?
You know door to door saleslike hey, do you want to be in
this?
This is how many eyeballsyou're going to get.
Mike Stefanelli (18:07):
It's sort of door to door.
There is a door to door aspectof it, but a lot of our
prototypical advertising clientsare service-based businesses
that you might not be able towalk into.
On the main app.
Rachel Martens (18:18):
Like offices.
Mike Stefanelli (18:19):
It's it's landscapers and insurance agents
and roofing companies and uh,you know plastic surgeons and um
, you know realtors, you knowthings like that dentists.
So you can't always walk intothose businesses.
So, to be honest with you, alot of it is, you know, reaching
out by email or cold callingand doing it the old fashioned
(18:40):
way.
So that's always the hardestpart, because some business
owners think, you know, I don'tneed to advertise, Everybody
knows me.
But what we, our approach, isbranding.
We think that every smallbusiness really should think of
themselves as a brand.
Even if you're the localplumber, you should think of
yourself as a brand.
(19:01):
And so we try to take the sameapproach that the big global
brands use put themselves outthere all the time in front of
their target audience and givethat to the small business owner
.
And we do that throughfrequency and consistency being
in front of your target audienceall the time and being in
something that people areviewing.
(19:21):
Because you could advertiseyour business in a million
places, yeah, right, but are yougoing to reach a relevant
audience to your business and isthere attention on that?
And we know our magazines getattention because they're about
the people that get them Right.
Yeah, that's why it works.
Janette Afsharian (19:36):
Are you asked by your potential advertisers
what is the return on investment?
Rachel Martens (19:40):
You know what I was going to ask that what?
Mike Stefanelli (19:43):
is your.
Janette Afsharian (19:44):
What is your response on that?
Mike Stefanelli (19:46):
If you're reading the magazine every month
for the content and you see thelocal plumber in the magazine
when your water heater breaksright, you don't run to the
magazine to see who to use.
You know who to use becauseyou've recognized the local
plumber each and every time.
So the trust and awareness isgetting built up all the time
with the repetition each andevery month.
(20:08):
Getting built up all the time,with a repetition each and every
month.
So when people are asking aboutROI, they don't quite
understand how consumer behavioractually works, because 95% of
consumer behavior and purchaseintent comes from the
subconscious.
So someone might have finallypurchased your goods and
services from you, but theymight have been thinking about
(20:28):
it for a while and now they'reready and guess what they do.
Next.
They go to Google, find thephone number and then call the
business and then guess who getsthe credit for it.
Right, google.
But that doesn't mean themagazine didn't have an impact
on that, because it built up theawareness and trust.
Janette Afsharian (20:43):
It's like a billboard.
How do you know what the returnon investment is on a billboard
?
Mike Stefanelli (20:53):
We have a number of households that it
goes to and you can kind ofassume probably one and a half
readers per copy per household.
So you can come up with anumber by that.
But it's more about and I'm nottrying to be anecdotal about it
, but it's more about like hey,listen, is this a market that
you want to reach with yourbusiness?
Because this goes here?
And you know, if you got amagazine like this in the mail
and it was about yourneighborhood, you would read it
right.
So when people understand theconcept of the content, they
(21:15):
understand why people'sattention is going to be there.
And that's all you want withmarketing I have to put my
business where there's attentionand so when you have that
attention, you're putting yourbusiness there.
People are going to find itmore trustworthy.
And then when you're pairedwith the type of content the
feel-good, positive,family-friendly content it makes
(21:38):
people feel good about thebusinesses that they're seeing
the connections are all positive.
They want to reciprocate withthat and they want to kind of
support that business.
That's why it works so well forbusinesses.
Not every business owner gets.
People you know have been ledto believe, hey, I gotta put a
dollar in and I gotta get adollar out.
And they want to kind ofmeasure that and and, like you,
know that at the end of the daythat that might not be our
(21:59):
prototypical advertising clientbecause they're looking for that
, but for the person that gets,building trust and awareness,
you know what we do.
Rachel Martens (22:08):
Especially consistency over time.
You know to see a brand nameover time in the magazine, so
that's what we try to do bestand listen.
Mike Stefanelli (22:16):
We do digital advertising too.
We've gotten into meta ads andInstagram ads and Google ads,
and you know Google listingservice, you know services for
business, and so we do a fullarray of digital advertising
along with our print advertising.
But the print is what reallybuilds the awareness first.
They both work better togetherthan separate on their own.
Janette Afsharian (22:39):
Do you have someone that's out there looking
for a story?
Mike Stefanelli (22:43):
So our content coordinator, our current content
coordinator, grace, she, youknow, curates a lot of the
stories, whether she finds themor, you know, people write into
us.
I mean, they generally comeabout a couple of ways.
Grace will find them and youknow, she knows, you know she's
a local woman and she knowsstories.
But, like you know, otherresidents will recommend hey, I
(23:04):
have a great neighbor, neighbor,you should feature in this.
Some people write in themselveshey, I'd like to be featured,
I'd like to put my story outthere.
It's a memento for them to keeptheir family, you know, forever
.
So and then you know somebusiness owners hey, I have a
great client that I think youshould feature.
So that's the way it comesabout.
Janette Afsharian (23:22):
What this magazine and I think this type
of podcast really thrives on istelling people's stories instead
of telling news.
It's like ever it's somewhatevergreen you know, and it is,
it's that same mission.
Mike Stefanelli (23:34):
It's funny when we we ask some people to to be
on it and some people are like,well, I don't, there's nothing
unique about me.
And I often say, like, listen,whether you landed on the moon
or whether you, you know, justgraduated college and married
your high school sweetheart andyou work a normal nine to five
job, it doesn't matter Again,it's just about people getting
to know each other.
Rachel Martens (23:55):
There's a story that was our whole thing is
there's always.
Everybody has a story worthtelling, and that's interesting.
Mike Stefanelli (24:00):
I mean, I want to ask you about that Are there
any memorable stories that stickout for you, that you know
where?
When you reflect on your workit kind of brings you back to
the one story.
Janette Afsharian (24:11):
I'll tell you an overarching theme that.
I think actually was possiblythe impetus for me or my
thinking of what the wholepremise of the podcast was,
besides being lost in Jersey, isthat it was resilience and life
.
It's just realizing that we gothrough ups and downs and
hearing people's stories of howwhat is their trajectory to
(24:32):
getting to New Jersey and whathappened and where are you?
You know, and almost inevitablyI knew that people would say
they had a hard time somewhereor they had a difficult you know
arc but have either are stillin it or going through it or
whatever.
But sharing that kind of arc oflife was really important to me
because I felt like it was.
(24:52):
It was an honest story thateveryone has.
Rachel Martens (24:55):
I don't know, but perfectly, perfectly, said
Jeanette, both of us are alwaysinspired by who we meet and I
think that was for sure.
Like cats have nine lives, andI felt like, okay, everybody has
nine lives.
Like I've lived I don't knowhow many lives already, a lot.
Mike Stefanelli (25:11):
Yeah, I mean and that's what we love to bring
out in the publication to see,you know, some of the challenges
people have gone through andhow they overcame it.
Lift up the community.
Janette Afsharian (25:20):
And you get those testimonials all the time.
Mike Stefanelli (25:23):
Well, just for this one, you know you have a
popular local resident.
Janette Afsharian (25:25):
You have a popular local resident.
He talks about his autism andhow he functions with society
and how he feels really blessedin his life.
You are the publisher, and thecontent coordinator for this
magazine is Grace L Williams,and the designer is Marty Golan.
And then Neil Grabowski is aphotographer who he's been on
(25:46):
this podcast.
Rachel Martens (25:46):
We've interviewed him.
Janette Afsharian (25:47):
Yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (25:48):
And he talked about taking excellent
photographer.
Rachel Martens (25:51):
I know so good.
Janette Afsharian (25:52):
Well, I want to ask you about something about
bvm.
Best version media is that itrecently was acquired by hig.
Is that correct?
Okay and um, and I read thatit's aiming to expand the range
of products and services byenhancing the ability to serve
clients and publishers moreeffectively.
(26:12):
What does that mean?
What does that look like foryou?
Mike Stefanelli (26:15):
Well, you know it's a private company.
I obviously wasn't in theboardroom when these decisions?
were being made.
But it's not the first time BVMwas actually acquired.
We were acquired by anotherprivate equity firm a couple of
years back and that privateequity firm took us to one level
that they kind of specialize inand taking companies to, and we
(26:36):
outgrew it and so HIG Capitalhas the capabilities of taking
BVM to a whole other level, andthat's what it's really about.
I can tell you that, you know,from like kind of like an
outsider perspective, or youknow kind of just from a, you
know, independent publisherperspective.
We have people that come fromthe newspaper industry and you
know different industries thathave been taking over by private
(26:58):
equity before, and there wassome nervousness about it when
they hear things like this,because they think, oh, private
equity is going to come in andtear this and cut everybody out,
and sell it off as a shell.
They're going to get rid of theprint and you know our whole
thing is going to go down here,and that's not how this would
have ever worked, because thefounders of our company are
(27:20):
still very involved with theboard and the executives that
have been here for a long time.
What they do is going to affordus the opportunity, like you
said, to expand the products andservices.
Now we've already been expanding.
Since I started, we were justprint magazines and now we've
gone into digital advertisingand online services and we're
getting into more things as wego forward here, where we, you
(27:43):
know, like for me on the groundwe're a publisher on the ground
in New Jersey.
Like for me on the ground,we're a publisher on the ground
in New Jersey we will sort of bea local marketing, full suite,
full service marketing agencyfor a small business, where not
only can we offer them you knowthe, the, the Cadillac of it,
which is the print magazine, theluxury magazine because we can.
That's what differentiates usfrom a, from just a digital
(28:06):
marketing agency, becausedigital marketing agency can
offer all the things that we canoffer as well, and they might
do some different things from aperformance marketing standpoint
online, but they can't offerthe luxury magazine that hits
the mailboxes every month foreach of these towns.
We will be able, in not sodistant future, be able to offer
things like SEO and websitedevelopment for businesses and
(28:30):
really generate a lot ofbusiness services where we can
become a one-stop shop for them,and that will be due to the
resources that will be affordedto us by having this partner.
Our entire editorial philosophyis based on positivity.
There's so much negativity andnoise out there, so we, like you
said, we want to be thatrefresher for people Right and
(28:51):
highlighting the good people andthe uplifting stories and
families and the businesses.
And that doesn't mean we ignorereal life, you know, but we
choose to focus of politics andcontroversy and hot button
issues and the divisiveness.
(29:13):
And you know, our goal is not toprovoke, it's really to connect
people.
Rachel Martens (29:19):
And that's really what you're doing it.
Mike Stefanelli (29:21):
I'll give a shout out to one of our sponsors
, american Roofing Insider.
Yes, it seems like they doevery roof in Montclair, but
they've been in the publicationand they've had billboards in
the area and they've been in thepublication for a long time.
But you know, that's what.
That's what awareness and trustlooks like when you're, when
you're embedded, when you'reembedded somewhere for a long
(29:45):
time, you become a householdname like a Nike or a Verizon or
a Geico or a Rolex.
You become a household namelike a Nike or a Verizon or a
Geico or a Rolex.
You become a household name.
And I'm telling you, I seetheir Instagram all the time.
They're always on a roof inMontclair.
Janette Afsharian (29:57):
Yep, shout out to American roofing and
siding.
Well, I'm curious also, as wewrap up, two things that I
wanted to quickly ask you isthat is there a particular like
trend or something stories thatyou get really positive feedback
on?
Like in the in the?
You kind of like food like.
I remember we spoke toMontclair local and they were
(30:18):
saying that their food storiesget a lot of traction.
Mike Stefanelli (30:21):
I mean, I'm just speaking, you know, from.
You know some of our otherpublications and some of them
are, you know, bigger uh, andhave more pages than Montclair
neighbors.
But I think you know some ofthe eat local stuff uh, the home
and garden section, some of thesections that people create in
their magazines.
I think those get a lot offanfare.
Uh, the positive feedback thatwe always get is uh, you know,
(30:43):
just you know, oh, wow, that wassuch an interesting story about
so-and-so on the cover.
That's you know we.
Rachel Martens (30:52):
We get those a lot Um.
I love how you feature localfamilies.
How should people um getinvolved?
So if they want to like, submita story to their local town.
They have a BBM magazine.
Mike Stefanelli (31:01):
Oh yeah, simply simply go and uh, right on page
three, you'll have thepublisher email there.
You'll have a contentcoordinator email there.
So if you're listening to thisand you have a BBM magazine in
your community, you can simplyreach out that way.
Generally there's a phonenumber in there.
You have Grace or myself.
Okay, we have contactinformation in there.
And if any business owners arelistening to this and, yes, they
(31:22):
want, they want us.
You know, not even in Montclair, but elsewhere.
Rachel Martens (31:25):
Anywhere yeah.
Mike Stefanelli (31:31):
They want a second set of eyes on how
they're reaching their marketmore effectively.
I'd be happy to talk with them.
I'll talk all day with businessowners about what effective
marketing is and what it isn't,and whether they do a
partnership with us or not, Ialways like meeting business
owners and being able to helpthem market their business
better.
Excellent, thank you, great.
We have a final question thatwe ask everyone and you know
being able to help them, youknow, market their business
better Excellent.
Janette Afsharian (31:50):
Thank you Great.
We have a final question thatwe ask everyone that comes on is
tell us something that you loveabout New Jersey.
A person, place, thing or, youknow, concept.
Mike Stefanelli (32:04):
Yeah, I'll give you, I'll give you a place and
I'll give you a concept.
So the thing I probably lovethe most about New Jersey is
Long Beach Island.
Rachel Martens (32:13):
Oh awesome.
Mike Stefanelli (32:14):
The Jersey shore there's just.
I grew up going there, you know, we had a house there as as, as
you know, up until I was about27,.
There's just a vibe there whereit's like kind of like time
stops, yeah, so and and some ofthe best sunsets I've ever seen
in the country, that's nice.
And so my favorite place wouldbe there.
But the thing I love the mostabout New Jersey is, you know,
(32:38):
although I don't enjoy winterthat much, because I'm a golfer,
I do enjoy having the true fourseasons here.
But when I think about NewJersey, you really do have
everything in one place.
You have, you know, yoursuburbs and your metropolitan
area, you have your mountains,you have farms, you have forests
(32:58):
and you have your Jersey Shore,and it's hard to really get all
that in one place in thiscountry.
California probably has it, butit's hard to really get that,
that all that in one place, andNew Jersey, for how small it is,
is able to boast that.
Janette Afsharian (33:13):
And you have New York City, and you have New
York City like the biggest cityacross.
Rachel Martens (33:17):
I mean I guess if we have to talk about New
York City it could throw it inthere.
Janette Afsharian (33:21):
That's what makes it so incredible.
I was trying to keep it to just.
New.
Mike Stefanelli (33:25):
Jersey.
Of course, living up in NorthJersey, like we do, being able
to access that, is certainly ahuge advantage.
Rachel Martens (33:33):
It's great to access it and come home yeah
exactly, exactly it, it.
Janette Afsharian (33:38):
I mean I think that you know people who
live here completely agree withwhat you're saying and well it's
, it's great to meet you andit's great to have you know, got
the backstory on this magazinethat we've been getting in our
mailbox for years and understand, because you know you just
don't know.
Rachel Martens (33:54):
It's so impressive that you grew it from
Nutley to all those other towns.
It's really impressive, Michael.
Janette Afsharian (34:01):
Wow, just one .
Do you?
Are you in charge of all ofthese other 40?
Are you the publisher for all40?
Mike Stefanelli (34:08):
I'm not the publisher for any of these other
40?
Are you the publisher for all40?
I'm not the publisher for anyof the other ones.
I'm more of the leader, thesales leader, so to speak, of
them.
So each individual that islisted in their publication some
of them do more than onepublication they would be in
charge of their editorial andtheir staff and their
advertising and I'm just kind ofoversee them as a support
(34:32):
liaison where, you know, fortraining and coaching and
mentorship, and you know, partof my role as leader is doing
that and being more of a salescoach to people.
So I'm always looking for peoplethat want to kind of break free
from, you know, maybe thatcorporate rat race and they want
to kind of build something forthemselves and not be tied to,
(34:55):
you know, kind of a nine tofives and no day is ever the
same.
So I'm always looking forpeople that have that
entrepreneurial spirit.
We can probably be in at least100 markets total in New Jersey
and and that's what I'm lookingto do is bring people in for the
additional areas that don'thave one of these.
But, we've had publishers cometo us with zero sales experience
(35:16):
, nurses and teachers andrestaurant servers and just
people that I have a vision forit and if people don't get my
vision, that's okay, I'll moveon to the next one and they just
follow the program and theybecome successful here.
Janette Afsharian (35:29):
So we don't need born and bred salespeople.
That's very cool, that's cool.
Well, Michael, thank you somuch for taking the time to tell
us about the magazine and allyou do and the backstory and
everything.
It's been a pleasure to talkwith you and learn and see you
around.
Mike Stefanelli (35:46):
Yeah, I thank you for having me on and it's
been a very nice conversation tohave and a refresher, I hope,
for the audience and let's haveyou featured in the magazine oh
gosh.
Rachel Martens (35:59):
Thank you, I guess.
Mike Stefanelli (36:00):
Thank you though.
Janette Afsharian (36:01):
So much Thank you, that's an honor also.
Yeah, it would be an honor,appreciate it.
Thanks, michael.
Yeah, it would be an honor,appreciate it, thanks.
Rachel Martens (36:09):
Michael, this podcast was produced by Rachel
Martens and Jeanette Afsharian.
You can find us on Spotify,iTunes and Buzzsprout.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
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