B2B publishing has quietly become one of the healthier parts of the industry. The trade press that once lived on display and recruitment advertising now earns more of its money from subscriptions, data, events and membership, and private equity has noticed.
The shift meant giving up some old habits. Controlled circulation made sense in print, but open websites gave away what the magazine kept for qualified readers, and the publishers doing best have taken back control of their audiences through registration and paywalls. The Lawyer moved from an advertising-led business to one where paid content brings in over 40 per cent of revenue.
Don’t delude yourself because the barriers to entry in publishing are now non-existent.
Amanda Barnes B2B media
Specialist knowledge is the defence. AI makes generic information close to worthless, so the value lies in proprietary data, tools readers rely on in their daily work and journalism only a specialist could produce, as Computer Weekly's Post Office investigation showed. Print hasn't vanished either. Some publishers now sell it alongside digital at the same price and let readers choose.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on B2B and trade media, from subscriptions and data products to events, print, consolidation and specialist journalism, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
We asked Amanda Barnes, chief executive of Faversham House, what does best practice publishing look like in B2B media? This is what she said…
Rory Brown has enjoyed great success in business media. Having last year sold AgriBriefing and now following new paths in the B2B space, he takes some time out to tell us what he has learned on his journey so far…
Print is certainly not dead, says Chairman Mark Allen. However, you need to offer readers choice and be neutral and agnostic about the outcome.
The Lawyer has been on quite a journey, successfully transitioning from a controlled circulation ad-driven model to a high value enterprise subs one. Andy Baker talks Meg Carter through the key stages and what they’ve learnt along the way.
In the first of our new ‘Digital Horizons’ series, Tom Lake, director of product and technology at Infopro Digital, looks at the tech opportunities and challenges facing his company and the wider B2B sector.
The future of B2B lies in serving your sector in three connected ways: information, intelligence and events.
John Barnes, chief digital officer, William Reed Business Media, tells Ciar Byrne about how the B2B media sector is managing the digital transformation journey.
Computer Weekly deserves much credit for its role in investigating the Horizon IT scandal. Dickon Ross looks at what lessons other B2B journalists can take from their work.
The general expectation is that the buying and selling of media brands is going to increase significantly in 2025. A number of companies have been quietly building up their war-chests during a wobbly 2024, reports Jim Bilton.
If you’re thinking of setting up a membership scheme, be prepared to play the long game because success doesn’t come overnight.
Using social media for sourcing and researching stories has become an essential weapon in the journalist’s armoury. Peter Sands talks to national newspaper journalists about how they use social media … and the perils that they face.
In our age of mass-produced cheap furniture, there’s still a market for exquisite hand-crafted pieces. Alan Geere looks at what reading material’s available for those fine woodworkers beavering away in workshops, garages and sheds.
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye over the last couple of months.
The Lawyer has launched Horizon, an email newsletter exclusively available to subscribers and forming a core part of its subscription product.
The Association for Online Publishing this week released the results of a six-month analysis into ad discrepancy levels among its members.
The Printing Charity has announced that John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg, has accepted its invitation to be the charity’s 2020 President.
The Guards Magazine, the official journal of the Household Division, has digitised its complete 150-year history with the help of the British Library and in collaboration with Exact Editions.
Centaur Media has launched a major overhaul of its Econsultancy platform, which is now live.
Dennis Publishing has launched Nowse, which it describes as a “next level Demand Generation service”.
In early January, the shortlist was announced for the inaugural Publisher Podcast Awards.
At November’s PPA Independent Publisher Conference, Laura Jenner, product director at Immediate Media, advocated a product management approach to publishing.
How are other media businesses innovating successfully, and what can you learn from their experiences? Carolyn Morgan, conference chair of the upcoming Making Publishing Pay conference, has nine inspirational stories to tell.
Incisive Media has opened another chapter on its journey to becoming a fully sustainable business by partnering with green energy provider Bulb for its office electricity requirements.
Mash Media has announced the speaker line-up for Making Publishing Pay, a 2-day conference for independent and specialist media businesses, taking place 25/26 February in London.
In December, Nineteen Group announced that it has divested the magazines it acquired in 2018 as part of the purchase of the events and magazine business Western Business Exhibitions.
