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.
If the secret of effective marketing and distribution is being where your prospective readers are, then don’t ignore Instagram. With 500 million users worldwide, there are opportunities aplenty for publishers, writes Amanda MacArthur.
UBM, one of the world’s leading business-to-business event organisers, has renewed its partnership with digital marketing solutions provider Adestra.
Marcus Rich, CEO of Time Inc UK, has been officially confirmed as the new Deputy Chairman of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA).
Headley, the 135-year old Kent based magazine printer, has been put up for sale.
Banipal, a leading publication on contemporary Arab culture and literature, has partnered with Exact Editions to launch its complete 19-year archive.
Dennis Publishing and Immediate Media Co – joint-owners of subscriptions bureau Dovetail Services – have decided not to renew their joint venture agreement when it expires in April this year.
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international business information and events group, this week issued a trading update for the period from October 1, 2016 to January 25, 2017.
In its Trading Update released yesterday, DMGT announced a “resilient performance” with underlying revenue in line with last year.
Officially announced as one of the first signatories of the Vision for Literacy Business Pledge 2017, the Air Business Group has positioned itself at the forefront of businesses committed to literacy and social mobility.
This week, Carolyn Morgan presented one of our Top Tips Webinars – entitled ‘Building a valuable media business - 7 ideas for 2017’. The webinar generated a variety of questions from publishers in the audience. Here are the answers, including those w
Incisive Media has signed a co-operation agreement with SharingAlpha that will facilitate publishing of ratings data on funds and providers, and most popular funds and providers as allocated in virtual funds of funds, identified through SharingAlpha’
Air Business has demonstrated its commitment to keeping its customers’ data secure through gaining BSI ISO 27001 certification for all three distribution sites.
Haymarket, the international media group, has filed annual accounts showing a 26 per cent rise in operating profits to £4.3m.
Abacus has helped client Law Society Gazette re-launch their weekly society magazine website with a fully responsive design. Mobile traffic is reported to be up 15% in the first week.
Incisive Media, a leader in business media, information and events, has chosen to once again renew its partnership with digital marketing solutions provider Adestra.
