Rochester Woman Magazine

What Rochester Woman Magazine does

Rochester Women Magazine is a print and digital publication serving women in Rochester, Minnesota and the broader Southeast Minnesota region. Founded in 2000 and operating under the trade name RWM, the publication is led by Owner and Publisher Tawonda Burks and operates with 1–10 employees from its headquarters in Rochester, MN. The core product is a bimonthly print magazine (6 issues per year) distributed free of charge at pickup locations across Rochester, with paid mail subscriptions available at $36 per year for home delivery. Content spans business, education and entertainment, health and wellness, community, fashion and beauty, food and drink, and home and garden, with an emphasis on empowering women and supporting women-owned businesses.

The business model is anchored on three revenue streams: advertising (the dominant stream, sold across both print and digital platforms to advertisers seeking to reach women in Southeast Minnesota), mail subscriptions ($36/year for 6 issues), and event revenue from community programming and sponsorships. Supporting the print magazine is a multi-surface ecosystem including the rwmagazine.com website, a Women's Business Resource Directory connecting women-owned businesses with the community, the RWM Podcast, an email newsletter signup infrastructure at info.rwmagazine.com, and community events. Marketing and distribution rely on a hybrid of free print pickup locations, direct mail subscriptions, organic social media (Facebook and Instagram), email newsletters, and community events — a community-led go-to-market motion rather than paid acquisition.

The publication operates as an independent, privately held, bootstrapped business with no disclosed institutional investment, funding rounds, parent company, or M&A activity. In 2026, the magazine has expanded its editorial scope into new verticals including parenthood content, civic/political coverage of local election candidates, a reader Q&A series ("Confidential Chronicles with Caroline"), and an RWM Emergency Fund community program, indicating ongoing content-led diversification within its existing geographic footprint.

Name

Rochester Woman Magazine

Legal name

Rochester Women Magazine

Website

https://rwmagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rochester Women Magazine is a print and digital publication serving women in Southeast Minnesota with lifestyle, business, and community content, distributed free in Rochester and supported by mail subscriptions, advertising, and event revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Women's Lifestyle Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Women’s Interest & Parenting Magazines (MPAJAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

Keywords

• Women's lifestyle magazine
• Local print publication
• Digital editorial content
• Community events programming
• Women-owned business directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Mail subscriptions for home delivery of print magazine - $36 per year for 6 issues
2. Advertising: Revenue from advertisers who want to reach women in Southeast Minnesota through the magazine's print and digital platforms
3. Event Revenue: Events and community programs that engage readers and generate sponsorship or ticket revenue

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rochester Women Magazine publishes a local women's lifestyle print and digital magazine distributed free of charge throughout Rochester, Minnesota, with paid mail subscriptions for home delivery. The publication covers business, education, entertainment, health, wellness, community, fashion, beauty, food, drink, home, garden, and parenthood topics, and operates an accompanying website, a Women's Business Resource Directory, a podcast, a newsletter, and community events for women in Southeast Minnesota.

Product overview

Rochester Women Magazine is a print and digital publication empowering women by offering tools, resources and an authentic, supportive and inclusive community. The core offering is the Rochester Women Magazine print and digital publication distributed across Rochester, Minnesota, covering categories including Business, Education & Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Community, Fashion & Beauty, Food & Drink, Home & Garden. The publication operates alongside its website, a Women's Business Resource Directory, a podcast, a newsletter subscription service, and community events. The magazine is distributed free of charge in print, with paid subscriptions available via mail for $36/year for 6 issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rochester Women Magazine (Print Edition) Print edition of Rochester Women Magazine distributed free of charge at pickup locations around Rochester, Minnesota, with paid mail subscriptions for home delivery; covers lifestyle content for women including business, health, wellness, fashion, beauty, food, home, garden, and parenthood.
• Rochester Women Magazine Website The digital online presence of Rochester Women Magazine featuring articles across categories including Business, Education & Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Community, Fashion & Beauty, Food & Drink, Home & Garden, and Parenthood, along with archives and multimedia content.
• Women's Business Resource Directory An online directory section of the website connecting women-owned businesses with resources and community support in Southeast Minnesota.
• RWM Podcast A podcast under the RWM (Rochester Women Magazine) brand offering discussions on topics relevant to women in the Rochester community.
• Email Newsletter Subscription Email newsletter delivering updates on upcoming events, announcements, and latest articles from Rochester Women Magazine to subscribers.
• Community Events Community events organized or promoted by Rochester Women Magazine for women in the Rochester, Minnesota area, generating sponsorship or ticket revenue.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• StyleBlueprint: Digital-first women's lifestyle media brand with city-specific editions covering local businesses, food, home, and community. Highly comparable to RWM in audience (women), content verticals, local business directory, and events programming.
• The Scout Guide: Network of city-specific community guides featuring local businesses, lifestyle content, and curated directories. Closely mirrors RWM's model of free-distribution print guides, a women-owned business directory, and community-event-driven engagement in defined local markets.
• Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: Long-running regional lifestyle magazine covering Minneapolis-St. Paul. RWM serves a similar regional lifestyle/community role in Rochester, MN, with overlapping content verticals (dining, home, community) and a comparable print-plus-digital plus events monetization mix.

Emerging players

• SheKnows: Digital media brand for women covering parenting, lifestyle, entertainment, and community. Comparable to RWM in audience and editorial verticals (especially parenthood), with overlap in community- and event-driven monetization.
• Localista Magazine: Independent community lifestyle publication spotlighting local businesses, women entrepreneurs, and neighborhood stories. Highly comparable to RWM in mission (women-owned business visibility), free-distribution model, and community events.
• Magnolia Journal: Quarterly lifestyle magazine by Magnolia focused on home, food, garden, and community storytelling. Comparable to RWM's emphasis on lifestyle verticals, brand-driven curation, and a smaller, premium-feeling print cadence.

Broad incumbents

• Better Homes & Gardens: Established national women's lifestyle magazine covering home, garden, food, and wellness. Overlaps with RWM on home & garden and lifestyle content, but operates at national scale with a broad portfolio rather than a single local community.
• Real Simple: National women's lifestyle brand spanning print, digital, and podcasts across home, food, wellness, and beauty. Comparable in editorial verticals and multi-platform strategy to RWM, but at incumbent, national scale.

Regional players

• Edible Twin Cities: Local-edition magazine in the Edible Communities network covering food, drink, and lifestyle in the Twin Cities/southeast Minnesota region. Comparable to RWM's regional-community publication model and free-distribution-plus-events GTM, with adjacent rather than overlapping content focus.
• Midwest Home Magazine: Regional home and lifestyle magazine serving the Upper Midwest. Comparable to RWM in regional focus, print-plus-digital format, and overlapping home & garden content verticals, though with a more home-design orientation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rochwomenmag
• Instagraminstagram.com/rochesterwomenmagazine
• Xx.com/rochesterwomen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rochester-women-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rochester Woman Magazine