Our expert panel gave their tips for running a successful magazine

This week in Protein Studios we’ve been hosting the Five to Nine, a ‘good news’ paper created in collaboration with Microsoft Lumia, and curated by a new guest each day. On Monday it was our turn, and to make your lunchtime more fulfilling we gathered three experts for a workshop on creating a magazine that stands out from the crowd.

Stack Magazines is a subscription service that brings a selection of the best publications around to your door every month. So its founder Steven Watson really knows what he’s talking about – his advice to first timers is to have content you really believe in: "when you read a magazine from people who utterly love what they're doing, it jumps off the page."

Founder of Document Studios and fashion features editor of Port Magazine David Hellqvist agrees that great ideas should lead the way. "Content is what defines you, you are not defined by your format", he told our audience.

Alexandra Gordienko, founder of Marfa Journal – a magazine for artists, by artists and created as part of her CSM degree – admitted that true creative freedom still has to account for practicalities. Advertisers are a necessity if you want to be at the top of your game: "they allow me to create content more freely and not worry about money."