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Welcome to The Niche Fix. Each week, we will share insights from experts and professionals in the niche publishing industry. Have questions or thoughts about the industry? Reply to this email, and let’s chat!

But first…

Don’t forget to include Niche Media Events into your 2026 budget.

Here’s what’s locked in so far:

Niche Media Conference — April 8–10, Orlando, Florida
Niche Leadership Summit — September 2–4, New Orleans, Louisiana

We’re making 2026 our best year yet. Hope to see you there!

Ryan Dohrn’s Sales Corner: Why Cold Calling Stinks (and How to Make It Suck Less)

Let’s be honest, cold calling really stinks. If you love it, you’re either a rare sales unicorn or you’ve developed a callus where your soul used to be.

But it still remains an effective way to sell in 2025, according to billion-dollar sales coach Ryan Dohrn. The truth is, cold calling isn’t what it used to be. In a digital-first world, getting people to answer a call from a stranger is harder than ever.

That’s because “stranger danger” is real. Since we were kids, we’ve been told not to talk to strangers. So when you cold call someone who’s never heard of you, you’re fighting against a lifetime of conditioning.

The solution? Warm them up first. “People always respond better to a known entity,” Ryan says. Before you ever pick up the phone, follow them on LinkedIn, comment on their company’s posts, or share their content. Send an email that adds value without asking for a meeting. Little touches like that make your name familiar before the call.

Next, be relevant and respect their time. Nobody wants to sit through a 60-minute sales pitch, yet that’s what most people expect when they agree to a “meeting.” Ryan’s advice: ask for less.

“When I request a five- or ten-minute call, I almost always get further faster,” he says. “It’s not a gimmick. It just shows respect.”

So the new cold-calling formula is simple:

1. Acknowledge stranger danger.

2. Warm them up.

3. Be specific and brief.

Cold calling doesn’t have to suck — it just has to be smarter. Stop dialing for dollars and start building small moments of recognition and relevance. Because in sales, Ryan reminds us, “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.”

Now, let’s talk Omaha…

Inside the 45-Year Evolution of Omaha Magazine

By Zach O’Brien

When Todd Lemke launched Omaha Magazine in 1983, he didn’t have an investor, a newsroom, or even an office. He had a $100 check and a borrowed name.

“The name Omaha Magazine actually dates back to 1895,” Lemke said. “It went out of business, so I paid $100 to the state to acquire it. That was my start. I literally started in my garage.”

Forty-five years later, his company publishes seven titles, produces custom magazines for 20 more, and employs nearly 30 full-time staff. The secret, he says, isn’t any one product. It’s adaptability.

Think Bigger Than One Title

When Lemke started, publishing was capital-intensive. “You needed a typesetting machine that cost $150,000,” he said. “That was a barrier to entry. Now, anyone with a laptop can be in the business.”

But while technology has lowered the cost to start, he believes the business model is still the hurdle. “You can’t just think about one magazine,” Lemke said. “From day one, we started doing custom publishing to help with cash flow and justify having full-time staff.”

That diversity has turned Omaha Magazine into a small but steady media group, with lifestyle, business, family, and hospitality titles alongside custom work for associations and local partners.

He calls those hidden income streams his “meth lab in the back room” — the projects that don’t show up on the newsstand but keep the lights on.

From Product to Audience

Lemke has watched the entire industry pivot from print-first to platform-agnostic. He believes the next phase is audience curation; understanding exactly who engages with what and selling smarter because of it.

“We’re no longer just a product,” he said. “We’re an audience. It’s not enough to sell digital ads. You have to know your audience and segment it.”

His goal is to serve both sides: readers who crave personalization and advertisers who crave precision. “If someone reads all our home and food content, we can show them more of that and align the advertisers who care about it,” he said. “We’ll charge a higher rate per thousand, but it’s worth more because it’s targeted.”

That future, personalized issues and niche segments inside the niche, is what he calls “niching down your niche.”

The Power of the Page

Despite a strong digital presence, Lemke hasn’t turned his back on print. In fact, he’s doubled down. Omaha Magazine invests heavily in photography, layout, and design to make every page feel premium.

“About 15 years ago, we decided to separate ourselves from the one-person franchise titles popping up everywhere,” he said. “We wanted big visuals, two-page spreads, local faces, beautiful scenery. It stops people. It makes them read.”

That investment pays off in attention. “If you can stop them with a great photo, get them to read the headline, then a quote. Pretty soon they’ve spent five or ten minutes with that story.”

Always Keep Moving

For all his optimism, Lemke is realistic about the pressures of publishing today — rising print costs, fragmented audiences, and ROI-obsessed advertisers. But his philosophy is simple: never get comfortable.

He ends every staff meeting with a mantra he borrowed years ago:
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.”

It’s how he’s kept a garage startup alive for 45 years, and why he still believes local magazines have a “bright, bright future.”

“We can’t keep doing things the way we used to,” Lemke said. “But people still crave local stories, beautiful design, and that touch-and-feel experience. The more everything goes digital, the more valuable that becomes.”

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