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Post by husky44 on Feb 20, 2011 21:14:54 GMT -6
For those of you who have a current subscription with American Football Monthly how would you rate the current product/service? I had a subscription and let it expire because of poor service and quality. Has it improved of late? If not, are there any other suggestions for some good football coaching magazine subscriptions?
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Post by CoachCP on Feb 20, 2011 21:36:34 GMT -6
I am a Brand Specialist for a magazine publishing company. Basically, that means I am in charge of circulation and marketing for 2 publications, both of which are in a tight niche Business to Business (B2B) market. So... I'm not an expert in magazines, but I feel I can speak about quality, content, and the topic in general.
I subscribed to AFM. I find it awful. Their issues come in 2 months later than the date on the cover. Their customer service department gives me the same response every time. The content is watered down, and they make simple editorial mistakes. I will not resubscribe.
For the record, most quality magazine companies ship their product out several days BEFORE the new month. For instance, we are scheduled to send out the March issues tomorrow or Tuesday (holiday may push it back). They sent me the October issue in November. I still have not received January or February, and I've contacted the equivalent to my position in their company 3 times, and it's the same response, and I'm done with it.
Sorry about the rant, I'm half hoping someone at American Football Monthly sees this and makes a stink. They've basically got this market cornered and if someone with enough cash was willing to reach out to our market with a decent quality and decently dependable product, AFM would have major problems competing if they kept up with the status quo.
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Post by amikell on Feb 20, 2011 21:42:31 GMT -6
I got so fed up with them, that I'm letting my subscription lapse. Since I began subscribing in 2002, the magazine has gotten smaller and has had more ads. Some of the articles and sections aren't bad, but it's not worth the money in my opinion. My AFCA membership gives me the same amount of information, it's better information and it doesn't cost that much more a year.
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Post by lnueva32 on Feb 21, 2011 0:59:24 GMT -6
I used to love AFM but lately like you rest of you have mentioned, content watered down and horrible customer service=No subscription.
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Post by leighty on Feb 21, 2011 9:35:31 GMT -6
I won't be resubscribing either.
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Post by highball007 on Feb 21, 2011 10:10:23 GMT -6
I stopped my subscription for the same reasons, I am a PE/Weights guy and I don't catch a whole lot of grammatical errors but I did in the later articles.
Does anyone know anything about the Coaches Choice website and why their online magazine stopped publishing in June of 2010, I really liked their articles.
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Post by blb on Feb 21, 2011 10:31:26 GMT -6
i am not renewing either AFM or Gridiron Strategies for the reasons mentioned.
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Post by kboyd on Feb 21, 2011 10:37:42 GMT -6
I let my subscription go as well. It's too bad because I used to really enjoy the mag but I had all the same problems listed above. That and the fact that they charged us Canadians double the subscription rate when our dollar is at par with US$.
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rock85
Sophomore Member
Posts: 125
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Post by rock85 on Feb 21, 2011 16:51:31 GMT -6
I thought that Coaches Choice online magazine was really good, too.....what are some good options to Gridiron Strategies and AFM?
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Post by CoachCP on Feb 21, 2011 16:56:22 GMT -6
I think the Coaches Choice magazine, which I liked too, dwindled probably because advertising for online publications is really hard to come-by. Because it was free, it depended on ad revenue. Advertisers can get click statistics, and we (as an industry) probably didn't click enough ads or stay on them long enough. Essentially, their was no direct return on their investment.
I think in a year or so we may see it comeback. I think right now though, online publications, for the most part, are having a real hard time with online advertising.
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Post by CoachFetty on Feb 21, 2011 17:07:12 GMT -6
I let mine go , too.
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Post by stone65 on Feb 21, 2011 17:10:24 GMT -6
i agree with those above. i let mine go.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2011 8:32:09 GMT -6
It is too bad. When it first came out as American Football Quarterly in the 1990's it was by far the best football magazine on the market. I have not subscribed for several years. Once they moved it to a monthly it really started to slip.
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Post by Chris Clement on Feb 22, 2011 8:50:59 GMT -6
I guess it's for the best that I never bothered to subscribe then. I wasn't impressed with the teaser content on their site.
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Post by M4 on Feb 22, 2011 11:09:30 GMT -6
It's real expensive to get it in Canada, double the price.
The online content sucks, the magazine isn't great but it isn't terrible, too much ad's.
Does anyone have a membership to AFCA, what does that give you?
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Post by unc31 on Feb 22, 2011 11:17:53 GMT -6
Ditto, AFM has become watered down and not worth the money. I did not renew either. There is a lot better info on this site and on some of the blogs out there.
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Post by dacoachmo on Feb 23, 2011 19:55:53 GMT -6
I did not renew when it seemed like all the articles were trying to promote the new DVD series!
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Post by coachks on Feb 25, 2011 9:22:17 GMT -6
Same as above. Had it, enjoyed it a little, then it stopped coming regularly, and when it did come, it was about half the size with more ads. There might be 3 articles in the actual magazine, about 3-5 pages apiece. 15 pages of football, including diagrams, is really nothing.
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Post by wirelessmike on Feb 25, 2011 9:31:59 GMT -6
I guess I'm in the minority, but it seems like they have been getting better recently. I enjoyed the recent issue articles about the coaches of the year.
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Post by coachnichols on Feb 25, 2011 16:39:21 GMT -6
I have thought it was getting better recently too. It does seem to have a lot of ads and there is usually at least one weak article, but overall I figure it's worth the $30 something a year I pay.
Wanted to ask, does anyone know of a better magazine? If there's a better choice out there with more/better content, I'd rather pay for it, I just don't know of any other magazines. Thought it would be worth asking.
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Post by coachmoore42 on Feb 25, 2011 16:56:33 GMT -6
Same here. It might need some tweaking, but it's worth $30 for a year. Coach Huey's site is still better though. I have thought it was getting better recently too. It does seem to have a lot of ads and there is usually at least one weak article, but overall I figure it's worth the $30 something a year I pay. Wanted to ask, does anyone know of a better magazine? If there's a better choice out there with more/better content, I'd rather pay for it, I just don't know of any other magazines. Thought it would be worth asking.
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Post by emptybackfield on Feb 25, 2011 20:11:24 GMT -6
I learn more on here for free than I learn reading that magazine.
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Post by terrygordy on Feb 26, 2011 6:40:22 GMT -6
same here, used to look foward to it every month but I am also letting it go
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Post by tigeroption on Feb 28, 2011 9:50:34 GMT -6
It has improved a lot lately, went through a real rough patch when they went about 4 months without a magazine, I think it was an ownership change. Has started coming regularly recently and it worth the $30 a month (not a bad price, considering they have the market cornered) I get real annoyed with the the Dale Baskett speed & strength articles where he spends 2 pages talking about nothing, trying to tease you into buying his stuff where you could get some tangible information. Everything is loose theory that is already accepted by most coaches anyway.
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Post by wirelessmike on Feb 28, 2011 10:58:48 GMT -6
I have thought it was getting better recently too. It does seem to have a lot of ads and there is usually at least one weak article, but overall I figure it's worth the $30 something a year I pay. Wanted to ask, does anyone know of a better magazine? If there's a better choice out there with more/better content, I'd rather pay for it, I just don't know of any other magazines. Thought it would be worth asking. Coach and Athletic Director
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Post by zach3wr on Mar 4, 2011 0:13:01 GMT -6
I'm a young coach and just subscribed 2 months ago and have found really nothing new or detailed. I was excited to read about UCF's top KO and KReturn units only to find basic, generalized goals and philosophies that everyone employs. Then there was approximately a 6-7 page article on FieldTurf??? Hopefully it picks up for the remainder of my subscription or I will not be renewing.
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Post by hsrose on Mar 4, 2011 8:42:30 GMT -6
It seems like the general thought is that it's time to drop the subscriptions, drive a stake through the heart of the printing press and bury the publication - there are just too many ads and too little content for the price. Given a seemingly lack of alternatives, should there be an effort to contribute to the publication, see if it can be improved?
I've liked the publication and website (though it does need a lot better navigation and QC on the content) for all these years, yeah, it has had a tough time, but so have we all, and I'm going to stay with it. Its like going to the clinics, most of the time I don’t get anything really new other than reinforcing that I’m already doing the right thing. But sometimes I get some really good nuggets that help me with something.
I don't have the experience/expertise to contribute to the magazine, but if you want better content, how about contacting them and offering to write some articles? How about doing a “From the HueyBoard…” section each month? Offer to do it for no compensation, just the offer of a helping hand and good press for the site? If just two coaches a month on this board would submit an article that was of value (good content, no DVD's to sell), would that make a difference in the value? An additional 6-8 pages of good content? Is that enough to get it off the crash cart? I can think that the "why double-wing" thread here would make a good topic for an article, same as the double-dive thread. Maybe the 4-2-5 Discussion in the Defense section? How about the favorite sayings and how that can help/hinder the team - practice and games and such? Take the top 10 threads in terms of responses (top 3 from each section?) and see if they are a good source for an article.
If this publication is worth saving, and that’s a personal decision, then how about trying to help the thing survive? Anybody can grumble about stuff (“Hey idiot, why don’t you pass more”), how about doing something?
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Coach H
Sophomore Member
Posts: 146
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Post by Coach H on Mar 4, 2011 14:20:05 GMT -6
Coaches, I agree with some of you. I learn more from this website then the American Football Monthly. Even though I still read it.
Coach H.
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Post by skiplee4 on Mar 6, 2011 16:12:46 GMT -6
I havent had the magazine for a few years now but really enjoyed it for the 4 that i did!! i am looking too sign up again but all the negative feedback makes me wonder if i should . I do wish there were other magazine options or a way too get them too improve as is such a good resource !!
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Post by fbcoachfb on Mar 8, 2011 22:17:38 GMT -6
I used to get American Football Monthly, too, but, not anymore.
It just got too watered down for me. Young coaches, youth coaches or guys trying to get into the coaching profession might find it helpful.
For me, I'll stick with my three favorite (and FREE) coaching sites: CoachHuey.com, SmartFootball.com and XandOLabs.com.
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