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.
The publishing industry’s readership isn’t just moving online, it’s moving to mobile, and if consumers can more easily access content from a rival publication that displays more effectively on a handheld device, they will, writes Fiona Salmon.
Carolyn Morgan previews the presentations at next Wednesday’s conference at the British Library.
Last week, Rebekah Billingsley presented a webinar for InPublishing, entitled ‘How to Measure the Success of Your Digital Magazine - the main KPIs and how to measure them.’ In the Q&A session that followed, we ran out of time. Here, Rebekah provides
The PPA’s Publishing Futures survey is an annual bellwether of the health of consumer magazine and business information publishers. Here, PPA CEO Barry McIlheney delves into the data to pull out the key trends.
Carolyn Morgan applauds the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist – Big Data Republic; the successful launch of a B2B specialist community into a global growth sector.
As specialist publishing becomes more and more about reaching an audience across digital, live, social and print channels, so niche consumer and B2B publishers must rethink where their revenue comes from and how they grow their business. Carolyn Morg
Most media conferences these days tend to focus on describing the problems facing publishers and media businesses, rather than actually providing ideas on how their leaders can deal with it all. The Digital Media Strategies summit, organised by the M
Publishers are closing down or selling off marginal magazines as part of the continuing cost cutting drive. Are we risking throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Ross Sturley thinks we might be.
RBI’s data services division has grown exponentially in the past six years, and now accounts for almost half the company’s total revenues. Meg Carter talks to MD Jim Muttram about the past, present and future of data services.
Web visitors are like horses, says copywriter Andy Maslen. You can lead them to water but you can’t (always) get them to drink. Here are his 25 top tips to convert visitors into customers.
Given that the iPad is only just approaching its third birthday, it comes as no surprise that a lack of data about tablet usage is one of the main inhibitors to commercial growth for publishers. Jo Bowman talks to leading commercial executives about
Let’s face it; UK publishers have had a challenging four years. What can publishers do to improve their chances in a multi-media world? Invest in training to give their journalists the tools they need to become their strongest brand ambassadors, writ
Estates Gazette won the Outstanding Achievement of the Year award at the 2012 PPA Digital Publishing event in September. The secret of their success, writes Trevor Goodman, has been their clear focus on market needs and refusal to be distracted by ea
The publishing industry is going through a revolution. The old order – the world of printed matter – is giving way to the new. Some heads will roll and some already have. But, writes Lorraine Ruckstuhl, those companies that see the limitless possibil
Publishing has always been associated with thought-provoking sentences, attention-grabbing headlines and heart-tugging photographs. Social media should have been a natural transition for marketers in the publishing industry, but, writes Amanda MacArt
