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.
Creating a personalised experience for users is a top priority. Global’s Steve Wilson-Beales, is chairing the ‘Experience Tech Talk’, part of the upcoming AOP Publishing Tech Talk event. We grab 5 minutes with him to talk through some of the issues.
BPA Worldwide has announced the acquisition of digital events data standards group, VSef.
Future plc, a global platform for specialist media, has announced the appointment of Claire Blunt as chief operating officer.
Filmmaker, a publication of The Gotham Film & Media Institute, has digitised its archive of print issues in collaboration with publisher services company, Exact Editions.
The World Media Group, an alliance of global media organisations united in championing trusted journalism, has announced its 2022 World Media Awards winners, including Johnnie Walker as the Grand Prix winner.
GumGum have announced that SAP has increased brand awareness using GumGum’s ad formats and Verity, GumGum’s contextual targeting solution.
Poool and Edisound have established a product partnership which aims to convert podcast listeners into members and subscribers.
EMJ say that their partnership with the World Telehealth Initiative supports their mission to provide worldwide sustainable medical expertise.
Dubai World Trade Centre and dmg events have announced a partnership to create a new portfolio of global events for the food and hospitality sectors.
In mid-August, Infopro Digital opened its new US and Americas headquarters at 80 Pine Street in New York’s downtown financial district.
Nobody likes to be interrupted, so why is that so many online articles come full of, err, interruptions.
Digital advertising makes a large part of the publishing world go round, yet market complexities prevent the system working optimally. We grab five minutes with multilocal’s Tom Bowman to ask how digital advertising could be made to work better.
The investment is designed to accelerate Adnami’s growth as it continues its aim to improve the effectiveness of digital advertising.
Paper wastage remains a significant cost in magazine printing. We grab five minutes with Paperman’s Nick Stevens to see what publishers and printers can do to reduce it.
CPL have announced that they are combining with content marketing agency Century One to form CPL One Group.
