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 Specialist Media Show ran its first fully online event in November, bringing together publishing and media experts from both sides of the Atlantic to share practical ideas. Carolyn Morgan listened in.
Have you heard of marketing automation software? If not, you soon will. It’s possibly the answer to the challenges facing marketers who are trying to carry out multi-channel marketing in a complex data environment and business is booming for these ve
This is a strange interregnum in the closing years of the 350 year reign of the Gutenberg dynasty, writes David Worlock. While most observers are convinced of a digital future (even Clark Kent has left the Daily Planet to run a blog) there has been h
The PPA held its annual Customer Direct conference and awards at The Brewery on Wednesday. Martin Maynard was there, taking notes.
As yet, mobile is still a small part of magazine circulation. It is tempting for some publishers to claim that their audience don't buy iPads, or their advertisers won't pay, or it's still all too complicated and they're going to wait until the lands
On 11 October, iSUBSCRiBE invited some of the UK’s leading subscriptions marketers to a round table event looking at how subscriptions departments were coping with the transition to digital. James Evelegh took notes…
The AOP has recently published its Content and Trends Census 2012. As always, the Census provides a great deal of valuable insight into digital publishing trends. Tim Cain, head of research and insight at the AOP, summarises the main findings.
As publishers, we either sit on, or have access to, vast data sets, which, if manipulated efficiently and imaginatively, present considerable commercial opportunity. Yet, the size and complexity of the data pool and the shortcomings of existing platf
On 12 October, the AOP held their 2012 digital publishing summit at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza hotel in London. The theme of the day was ‘unleashing your inner startup’. James Evelegh went along to find out more.
If ALL your correspondence is electronic, then this article is not for you. But if, like many publishers, you still print and mail a proportion of your correspondence direct from the office, then read this very carefully – considerable savings could
Over the last eighteen months, writes Mark Edwards, two black-and-white creatures have emerged from Mountainview, California like a pair of movie monsters – and the effect on many websites was similar to that of Godzilla and King Kong rampaging throu
Duncan Painter, CEO at the Top Right Group, was interviewed by the PPA’s Barry McIlheney at the Digital Publishing Conference on Wednesday and gave some interesting insights into his business philosophy, writes James Evelegh.
What are the best DM copywriting techniques, and how do they translate to the digital domain? asks copywriter, Andy Maslen. The answers may surprise you.
Ad ops are the unsung heroes of successful online ad campaigns. Yet, if online publishers are to grow ad revenue and market share, writes Tim Faircliff, then they are going to have to completely reassess their approach to ad ops and the people who wo
Data is the fuel that drives the modern B2B publisher. Through intelligent development and use of must-have data, some B2B publishers have succeeded in embedding themselves into the workflow of their key clients and becoming integral parts of the mar
