Missouri Press Insider: Evan Wood

Evan Wood is publisher of Missouri Life Magazine, which publishes eight times a year and is distributed to almost every state.

Provided

Missouri Life magazine will share content with your newspaper

Missouri Life magazine became a member of Missouri Press Association earlier this year. The statewide magazine offers MPA members a free digital or print edition subscription and standing permission to republish up to two stories per Missouri Life edition (eight editions per year) in their newspaper, provided they credit Missouri Life magazine.

Members can easily check our “Content by Location” listing, typically on page 6 of each magazine, which gives page numbers for stories in their coverage areas.

In return, participating members agree to join a group email to serve as occasional “scouts” for Missouri Life magazine, responding to occasional requests we may make for ideas on specific subjects within their coverage area.

A couple of examples: we might ask members to nominate a hometown hero or let us know about any treehouse B&Bs in their coverage area. We will credit members for any ideas used in the magazine. We are unlikely to make more than eight of these requests annually.

To get started, simply fill out the form at bit.ly/MPAMissouriLife

Missouri Life Magazine
208 Columbia St
Rocheport, MO 65279
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Who owns the magazine?
My parents, Danita Allen Wood and Greg Wood, and I.

In addition to publishing a magazine, what other services do you/it provide?
We provide custom publishing services, content development, and print ad design, in addition to a full suite of digital marketing solutions.

Number of full-time and part-time staff: 10.

Circulation/distribution area of magazine:
About 24,000 copies per issue, all across Missouri and in almost every U.S. state.

Number of issues per year: Eight.

Is readership growing, declining, or holding steady? Growing.

What is your target reader demographic?
We say our target audience is anyone who wants to form a closer connection with Missouri by learning more about it, and this tends to be readers in the 45-65 age range with a college degree and a high household income.

Your greatest challenge:
Keeping up with everything going on across our state.

Publication’s biggest strength:
Our devoted readers and the team of people who put it together from the editorial side to ad sales.

Publication’s biggest weakness or obstacle to overcome:
Overcoming the notion that digital advertising is more effective than print (spoiler alert: it isn’t).

Your family: My wife and I met five years ago and just got married in April! We have a rescue pup named Bruce, who we adopted in 2022.

Your hobbies/interests: Bicycling the trails and gravel roads of mid-Missouri, playing and listening to music and cooking.

List something that is interesting or unusual about you:
I have cross-dexterity. I write with my left hand but I play sports and instruments right-handed.

What is your favorite industry accomplishment?
Winning an IRMA (International Regional Media Association) award for best cover. We got the award for a photo I helped stage at the Moberly drive-in theater with a friend’s vintage cars. Another friend of mine was the photographer.

If you weren’t an editor or a publisher, what do you think you would be doing?
Ideally writing novels, but more likely bartending.