Don’t Think Too Big Too Soon!

The independent press is booming in the UK – despite the challenges from digital media. But independent magazines are often hidden and lost with small or invisible newsstand circulations. Diplo magazine launched in July 2004, and our roller coaster journey of newsstand circulation perhaps epitomises all of the joys, tears and fears of achieving optimum newsstand circulation for an independent magazine. I have learned, through a very steep learning curve, the best and worst ways of getting the maximum number of people to read an independent magazine each month.

Our journey began, perhaps, with a little bit of naivety. The circulation of the magazine, as we were building our first issue, was one of the last things on our mind: we were destined to fail. The truth is that circulation is as critical (even for a small magazine) as any other part of a well functioning publication. Many independent publishers create fantastic masterpieces, but spare little thought to who will actually read the magazine or how they will make it available. Such thoughts can slip very quickly down their lists and so too, as a result, does the survival of their magazine.

The UK newsstand

The UK enjoys a vast number of magazine newsstand outlets – 52,000 at the last count, including newsagents, independent bookshops, supermarkets, petrol stations, airports, train stations, music stores and many others. The theory and economics for a consumer magazine are immensely appealing. Crudely speaking, if just one copy of each publisher’s magazine reached each of the 52,000 outlets and only half of them sold, they would immediately have a very attractive circulation figure. And these statistics, at first, do not seem beyond the realms of possibility.

The UK has a sophisticated distribution network for newspapers and magazines with a healthy mix of mainstream and independent distributors. The network is one of the most highly developed in the world. Within 24 hours of a newspaper being printed and distributed to points of sale across the country, a circulation manager can have at his finger tips a final set of sales figures. Independent magazines are able to piggyback on this newstrade network. And for just one copy of the magazine to reach each of these 52,000 outlets should not be impossible. Should it? Well, in fact, it is very difficult and it is an issue that independent magazine publishers must prepare themselves for.

Start small

Fundamentally, a small magazine must follow a simple rule for long term success. Bluntly, small magazines are small. They should behave small, operate small and think small and suitable growth will follow. If a magazine tries to think too big too quickly, it will quickly get caught up in a spiral of expenses and demands that it cannot meet. For the first ever issue of Diplo we printed just 70 copies. I have since met independent start up magazines which have printed up to 30,000 copies for their first issue and who, subsequently, crash and burn as quickly as they started. No independent magazine has an audience of 30,000 people waiting for its first issue and no independent magazine has the resources or knowledge available to initially move tens of thousands of copies. Small magazines should keep to what they are, at least in the short term: SMALL. Initial energy should be concentrated on establishing a core audience, refining and polishing early issues and establishing survival. On first approaching an adviser at Business Link - the government’s business start up agency – they informed me that 30,000 new titles are proposed each year, from fanzines-to-magazines-to-trade publications, but only 3,000 survive their first issue and only 300 their first year. Magazine publishing is incredibly punishing and unforgiving, but if a small magazine can refrain from trying to grow too quickly too soon, its chances of survival will increase significantly. And this means forecasting sensible print runs, however small and humble they may seem at first, and reaching maturely thought out circulation figures.

Get to know the retailers

Independent magazines, despite traditionally being horrendously under funded, are in a luxurious position compared to larger titles. They can nurture intimate and knowledgeable working relationships with retail outlets on an individual basis. They can get to understand, first hand, customer’s trends and habits, the positioning of their magazine in the market and its place amongst the rest of the magazine world. Crucially, they can learn about the demands and opportunities that stores are looking for from their magazine sales. Larger magazines, with so many individual outlets to service and often with a large distributor between the publisher and the point of sale, can never (or it seems in some cases, never care to) explore the retail environment, which is fundamental to magazine success.

Magazines need to know the market place – smaller magazines are much closer to the beating heart of the retail giants. Consequently, they can be much more in tune with the market place than larger magazines. An understanding of the retail environment can often do much for a magazine’s survival. Diplo spent eight months, each month, through wind, rain and snow, cycling rucksacks bursting with magazines to retailers individually – as well as invoicing, administering and managing each relationship. It was a test of our loyalty to the magazine, but it offered us an unparalleled view into the retail environment – an opportunity we would have lost if we had been a bigger magazine. After a point through, a magazine distributor is critical to the next step of growth for any magazine.

A step change

I work from a fascinating London space that accommodates five independent magazines. When I asked them about distributors, they all recommended east London based Central Books as the most prolific of distributors for the small independent magazine. "Central Books deliver magazines to the stores on time, quickly and efficiently. We never have to chase them for payment either", mentioned one of the publishers.

Quite quickly, distributors can accelerate a publisher’s distribution from a handful of shops to 60-70 different retail outlets. Having graduated from DIY distribution to Central Books, Diplo was propelled into more sustainable growth. Suddenly we were introduced to an oasis of new, UK based newsstand distribution opportunities. Within twelve months of beginning newsstand distribution with Central Books, we now employ the expertise and resources of four different distributors to meet the different newsstand requirements that we have in the UK, including airport, newsagent, music shop and boutique store distribution. Consequently Diplo today enjoys very good newsstand coverage. A mix of distributors for an independent to meet its different requirements is a good thing.

But a publisher should never ever rest on his distribution laurels. Indeed, John Micklethwait, the new editor of the Economist, has stated that he wishes to quickly raise the formidable worldwide circulation of the Economist "from one million, to two million … a week." Independent magazine publishers should follow suit: you can never be big enough in the magazine world.

Overseas opportunities

UK distribution is but one part of the total circulation available to a consumer magazine. As Tyler Brule, founder of Wallpaper*, notes, "whether you’re at a newsstand in Naples, in an elegantly designed living room in Bel Air, on a JAL flight to Osaka or in a dentist’s waiting room in Eindhoven, there’s a good chance you’ll find a British magazine." International coverage can help catapult newsstand growth for the independent publisher; and affordably. Taking a proactive approach is imperative however. It shows a keenness and determination for a title, and few foreign distributors will ever directly approach a title.

I approached twenty foreign distributors and introduced Diplo, its concept and its potential. Without exception, all of them agreed to stock the magazine on their domestic newsstands, but on the condition that I found a credible UK distributor to fulfil their orders. I approached COMAG Specialist who have provided an unbelievably accurate and sophisticated service. I often pass airport and train station newsstands today and discover Diplo sitting on the shelves in prime positions and still in excellent condition – despite the thousands of miles and hands the magazines have been through.

Effective and efficient newsstand distribution is as important to a magazine as any other element of production. Without sufficient distribution, a magazine will never have proper visibility or proper readership, and it defeats the purpose of having a magazine. If no one can read it, what is the point of publishing it? Some magazines, such as the Week, have sworn never to appear on the newsstand, relying solely on subscriptions, only to have to retreat from this position later. Newsstand circulation, both domestic and international, will always be massively appealing and it is not beyond the reach of even the smallest magazine.