Advertising and Marketing trends have shown us that our industry has been changing over the past several years and in the last 2 years these changes have been dramatic. Consumers are constantly searching all forms of media for products and information; to keep pace with the broader array of media, magazines have to go far beyond the printing business to engage our readership and provide them with an interactive venue and with the immediacy that they have come to expect. For our advertisers we can take advantage of electronic media to get news of their products and services out to as wide an audience as possible and much more quickly than print media allows.

We've come up with fantastic new directions that truly give our readership new and exciting resources.

Phase 1:
- Last spring we standardized a balance for advertisers and their online benefits presence.
- Banner advertisements on our web site augment the presence of our magazine display advertisers.
- Classified ads are now available online.
- An advertising directory that includes both display and resource advertisers provides readers with better access to all of our advertisers.
- Our print advertisers now have comprehensive online exposure and our website has become a much more interactive resource for our readers.

Phase 2:
- With the creation of the SK Online Forum, our readers can now communicate with each other and with the staff and contributors of Sea Kayaker magazine.
- The registration process for the SK Online Forum and its code of conduct assures a respectful and intelligent dialogue about sea kayaking and Sea Kayaker related discussions. The decision to make this registration as accurate as possible has caused our sign-up rates to be a little slower than we would like, but we’ve been successful in attracting a group devoted to constructive dialogue.
- The SK Online Forum is becoming a place for people to come to with serious questions about sea kayaking, as well as a place to discuss topics that have been covered in our publication. In the very near future we will be expanding the use for this area in very interesting ways.

Phase 3:
- Starting with our February 2007 issue we expanded our online advertising opportunities by creating space for ads in our online articles. There will only be one ad per page and the ad will stay online for the duration of the article’s online availability. Examples of these ads will be found online in our "New for 2007" article now posted on our website.

Phase 4:
- The Newsletter you are now reading is our latest addition. It is designed to reinforce and expand the print publication.
- Technique articles can be linked to an online video to help illustrate the actions described in the text of the article. Our readers will be able to see and hear our contributors and kayaking experts in action.
- The newsletter also provides us with a way to address specific groups of people within the kayaking community. The newsletter and online articles can serve the needs of those new to the sport or those interested in specialized aspects of kayaking.
- Informative articles in the advertising section of the newsletter can introduce readers to activities like Mothership Touring or joining a tour group in a remote kayaking destination.
- We can now directly communicate with our readers on what new products we have in, sample videos for them to view, etc.
- We have been able to significantly expand our sweepstakes to our readers and are actively promoting them in the magazine, at events and on our web site.
- We’ve raised topics in the magazine that invite readers to participate in real time conversations in the SK Online Forum.

This SK Newsletter will be sent out to a comprehensive list of all of our subscribers and companies with whom we have been doing business over the past few years. We hope you will choose to continue receiving future issues of the SK Newsletter.

In the coming year we will be working toward creating a product listing for every advertiser in our advertising directory. Our readers will be able to search the site for particular products and find links to take them to the advertiser’s site.

Thank you all for your past support and we hope you keep coming back.