News
Factory Media acquires Boards
Factory Media, a leading extreme sports media owner, has announced the acquisition of Boards windsurfing magazine and boards.co.uk
B2B & Trade Media
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.
Essential Resources
Best Practice in Publishing
B2B media
We asked Amanda Barnes, chief executive of Faversham House, what does best practice publishing look like in B2B media? This is what she said…
FEATURE
Riches in niches
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…
A Celebration of Print
Our print strategy: Mark Allen Group
Print is certainly not dead, says Chairman Mark Allen. However, you need to offer readers choice and be neutral and agnostic about the outcome.
INTERVIEW
From controlled circ to enterprise subs
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.
Digital Horizons
What the ‘Intelligent Age’ means for B2B media
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.
COMMENT
Opportunities & Threats: B2B Media
The future of B2B lies in serving your sector in three connected ways: information, intelligence and events.
The Digital Transformation Journey
B2B media
John Barnes, chief digital officer, William Reed Business Media, tells Ciar Byrne about how the B2B media sector is managing the digital transformation journey.
Dickon Ross’s publishing world
The Post Office Scandal – 10 takeaways for B2B journalists
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.
MEDIA FUTURES
Gambling on M&A in 2025
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.
COLUMN
Keep iterating
If you’re thinking of setting up a membership scheme, be prepared to play the long game because success doesn’t come overnight.
All Articles
News
Amazon.com customers to pick best US cover
The Magazine Publishers of America has kicked off the 2009 Best Magazine Cover of the Year award. The award, formerly judged by members of the American Society of Magazine Editors, is this year being hosted by Amazon.com where customers can vote for
FEATURE
Evelyn Webster - interview
Evelyn Webster took over as chief executive of IPC Media in January amidst the toughest trading conditions magazine publishers have had to face in living memory. Evelyn tells Meg Carter about the measures she took to weather the storm and also about
FEATURE
Delivering Extra Value
Recessionista handbags, frugal food – and more words on the page. Peter Genower looks at how magazines are weathering hard times…
FEATURE
Are marketers shooting themselves in the foot?
After more than a year of a steady diet of bad news, items that once would’ve been treated by the media trades as harbingers of the apocalypse now create a brief flurry of coverage and gallows humour on blogs for a day or two. Then, says Karlene Luko
FEATURE
Jan-June 2009 ABCs: a media buyer’s view
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s a recession on. And recessions have a nasty habit of depressing sales. Recessions are like that. Throw in the ongoing media upheaval, and you have the recipe for, ... well ... err, a satisfactory set of figur
FEATURE
What is the future of print?
That’s easy – it’s digital! Close the presses and head online. But, are we being too hasty? After all, the advertising downturn has hit online too, and with the notable exceptions on niche and B2B, we haven’t got our online charging mechanisms right.
FEATURE
Signed, sealed ... delivered?
Publishers might like to moan about domestic UK postal provision, but the likelihood is that it doesn’t keep them awake at night. The same can’t always be said of the black hole that is sometimes international distribution. But things are changing. N
FEATURE
How to cut costs – without damaging your business
With meaningful economic improvement unlikely to be evident before Spring 2010, many publishers now face having to make third, fourth or even fifth rounds of cost savings. How to do this without losing or demotivating key talent, reducing product qua
FEATURE
Off-the-page promotions
The credit crunch continues to bite; ad revenue is still depressed; the publisher is itching to reduce pagination. What should a subs manager do? Ask for more subscription pages! And Jenny Moseley has fifteen tips to help you maximise their effective
FEATURE
Price Promotion Strategies – How to Maximise Your ROI
Price is one of the most effective weapons in the subscription marketer’s armoury, but it needs to be used with finesse. Market knowledge, audience segmentation and wider business objectives all need to be factored in. Jess Burney outlines some of th
FEATURE
You need a great opener to grab a busy reader
A brilliant headline will only keep your readers’ attention for a split second. What you say next is what will keep them reading... right through to your order form, says Jennifer Menten.
News
A decade in style
28 designers who define the decade and 28 women who define style - from Kate Moss to Kylie Minogue - are brought together by Another Magazine for a special collectors’ edition to mark the end of the decade. There are four separate front covers to col
News
Resilient rich keep spending!
While most in the UK eagerly await the end of the recession, a group identified as the ‘resilient rich’ are remaining positive, continuing to spend and turning the economic situation to their advantage.
News
NME unveils 13 Beatles covers
To coincide with the release of the re-mastered versions of the Beatles’ original studio albums, NME is publishing a special Beatles issue featuring 13 souvenir covers plus an exclusive interview with Paul McCartney.
