• Sportsgirl: Hey Marnie! Can you tell us a about pagesdigital, how did it all start? 

• Marnie: it started in January 2004 - here’s our first ever issue! I had been working in print publishing for five years and felt very limited by the opportunities print was offering in terms of distribution, advertising potentials, editorial, content layout etc so I came up with the online magazine concept. My Creative Director - and backbone - Seli Inthavong was working for an agency in Singapore at the time, so together we created the template you see today. It has come a long way from the first issue as you can see!

• SG: What was your background before you started pagesdigital?

• Marnie: I was in print publishing and event management. I had never run my own company, so it was a huge leap into the unknown at twenty seven. Nothing can truly prepare you for the roller coaster!

• SG: You were recently voted as a Creative Catalyst by Creative Sydney, who describe you as a “pioneer of publishing”, how did it feel to have that kind of recognition?

• Marnie: It was fantastic and was the first public recognition (outside of business magazines) I had received for creating something that has now been copied by many, many individuals and companies. I have always been a ‘behind the scenes’ person (I have my editors to be the faces of the magazines!) so to be named and recognised was a greatly appreciated honour.

• SG: We love the idea of a paperless fashion magazine! What are the advantages of web publishing versus print?

• Marnie: They are endless! We are quite unique though as we walk the line between print publishing and standard online sites. We have the best of both worlds! Of course there are the environmental benefits of publishing online, our readership truly comes from every corner of the globe and the flash programming and unique layout allows for interaction and creativity unparalleled in print or other online sites. However we also still have the benefits of being able to produce premium, exclusive content as we release monthly and are not just throwing content up by the minute.

• SG: What is the best part of your job?

• Marnie: So many things! I love, love my team. Everyone that works on pages and Groupie are truly amazing, creative individuals.

Seeing what Ryan Lobo is going to wear into the office everyday. Watching our head designer Faizal Reza come up with a new art direction for pages that is truly inspiring every month for five years! Watching Brooke Jury turn around fifteen jobs overnight! Working with Mish on Groupie and uncovering new bands, and just working so hard together to make Pagesdigital the best it can be. Seli yelling ‘Error’ from the other side of the office. Lucinda telling me she DJ’ed dressed as a hamburger on the weekend. Working with Al Light to come up with bespoke creative campaigns for the people who support Pagesdigital and allow us to deliver exclusive content for free.

The passion that goes into this company is truly unique. That would be the best part of my job. Creating something so unique in this country is very rewarding.

• You’ve achieved quite a lot in the last 5 years, what’s next for pagesdigital?

• Marnie: If only you knew how much more I’ve wanted to achieve, and how much bigger we would be given money was no object! It is very difficult with a small business as growth takes a lot longer and one step can sometimes take six months. At the moment we have to plan what is next carefully and make sure we have a revenue stream that is going to support that growth. This includes, one more magazine title, many updates for the site, a strong in house agency arm to cater for the bespoke creative executions and campaigns we deliver and developing our custom publishing arm of the business as well.

• SG: As the publisher of three major online magazines, what would you say makes a great online read?

• Marnie: It is a very interesting time at the moment, as everyone see’s themselves as their own online publisher! This makes media companies work harder to produce exclusive content that is well written and researched and also published before anyone else. You cannot rest for a minute! Exclusive content and writers that are qualified industry afficionado’s is really the only way to compete.

• SG: What in the new media world gets you really excited right now?

• Marnie: Everything is moving and changing so fast, what’s going to come next is what really excites me!

• SG: What advice can you give young Sportsgirls on how to hit the big time with their career goals?

Focused Intention! These are the two words I live by. If you want something you cannot lose focus. Also have a strong network of mentors around you, people who have lived through your experience are an invaluable resource.

http://www.pagesdigital.it