FEATURE
Selling Lines
Magazine covers used to look like arty posters. Now, says Peter Genower, the sometimes undervalued art of the coverline has turned the front page into a multi-faceted marketing tool…
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
FEATURE
July-Dec 2006 ABCs: a media buyer’s view
Despite some horror stories, mainly in the men’s sector where some high profile titles are seemingly in circulation freefall, there is lots to savour in the latest ABCs. MediaCom’s Lucy Brunning looks at the many positives.
FEATURE
The Future for the Subscriptions Marketeer
The internet has enabled consumers to be more discerning in their choices, to know more about us, and our loyalty-penalising marketing techniques, and has opened up lines of communication with fellow consumers allowing them to talk … about us! All of
FEATURE
Control Freak
Fulfilment is at the heart of the subscriptions model. Traditionally, a publisher’s approach to it has either been to do it themselves or to outsource to a bureau. But, asks Ross Sturley, might there be a third, more flexible way – one which draws fr
FEATURE
The right moment
In subs marketing, as in life, getting what you want often depends on when you ask for it. Ask too soon, too late or at an inappropriate time and you’ll get nothing. But, get your timing right, says Sophia Dempsey, and things will start to look up.
FEATURE
“Darling, you seem different somehow”
Husbands and wives get used to each other’s voice. Your subscribers feel the same way about you, says Andy Maslen, which is why it pays to use appropriate language.
FEATURE
Billing strategies to boost response
When devising your new subscriber acquisition strategies, the presentation of the offer is critically important. Offer types range from the hard, money-up-front to the soft risk-free, bill-me-later, with multiple variations in between. Greg Harris ta
FEATURE
Bubble, Bubble…
Overall circulation data for last year’s second half looks almost upbeat … until one stirs the cauldron to look beneath the surface. Karlene Lukovitz lifts the lid on some mixed figures at the US newsstand.
FEATURE
The Canadian Market
The Canadian magazine industry has always been treated by publishers as part of the much bigger North American market and in equal measures has suffered and benefited from the influences its much bigger neighbour has had on it. This is not surprising
FEATURE
The Loyalty Challenge: How Magazine Subscriptions Work
With retail sales becoming increasingly volatile, where does subscribing fit into consumer purchasing patterns for magazines? That question lies at the centre of a research project commissioned by the PPA in association with Royal Mail. Brandlab ran
FEATURE
DMA Census 2005
For the past eleven years, the DMA has conducted an annual census of the direct marketing industry. The most recent, for 2005, was published last July. Here, Victoria Bytel, summarises its key findings.
FEATURE
Researching the redesign: getting it right
Sooner or later every publisher comes face to face with the realisation that the formula doesn’t work as well as it used to and needs to be overhauled. Yet, despite the fact that this is a common activity in the publishing world, it can be a lonely a
FEATURE
Subs – the battlefield of tomorrow?
Traditionally, the big consumer publishers have slugged it out at the newsstand, yet the signs are that the conflict zone is widening. Jess Burney looks at the increasing use of subscriptions in consumer circulation wars and what the future has in st
FEATURE
How to use greed and fear
What are the response triggers? What in your copy will prompt your prospect to take up your offer? Peter Hobday reveals how to motivate prospects and how a well crafted ‘long letter’ can even send us to war.
FEATURE
A Question of Frequency
The dawn of the information age, in general, and the rise of the celebrity weekly, in particular, have challenged many long held assumptions about magazine publishing and publishing frequency. David Hepworth looks at some of the challenges facing pub
