Consumer magazines spent most of the past two decades managing decline. The more confident publishers have stopped doing that. Newsstand sales and print advertising are still shrinking, but well-made titles with loyal readers are raising cover prices and growing.
Scale matters less than it did. Bauer has made Grazia a more premium product and charged more for it, while independents such as Anthem have put print back at the centre of the business and grown their export sales. Stylist has changed format several times without losing its readers. Others have gone the other way, and Gay Times dropped print entirely to build a global audience online.
For most consumer publishers, print is our USP. It’s the anchor that makes advertisers trust us and the very thing that readers want from us.
Jon Bickley Our print strategy: Anthem
Behind the confidence sits some hard arithmetic. Newstrade is now a small share of revenue and events and ecommerce are growing from a low base. Trust has become a selling point as AI fills the web with content of uncertain origin, but the paid-for consumer model that works at scale is still being worked out.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on consumer magazines, from premium print and cover pricing to brand extensions, membership and the future of specialist titles, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
For a while now, magazine publishers have been on the defensive, unsure about the viability of their traditional business model in a fast-changing world. Katie Vanneck-Smith wants to change all that.
We asked Tamar Riley, portfolio managing director at Immediate, what does best practice publishing look like in consumer media? This is what she said…
For premium titles like Grazia, Mojo and Empire, growth is increasingly coming not from extending reach but from deepening engagement with existing passionate audiences, as Lauren Holleyoake tells Ciar Byrne.
The printed magazine will be a cherished part of people’s lives for years to come, says Jon Bickley, co-founder and CEO. That is why it’s the key component in Anthem’s publishing strategy.
With the arrival of AI and the widespread availability of unattributable content, specialist publishers need to ensure that their titles are the trusted go-to brands in their sectors, Our Media’s Andy Marshall tells Ciar Byrne.
Stylist’s mission has been clear from day one: to engage with its female audience in an intelligent, positive and non-exploitative way. 16 years on, and current PPA Media Brand of the Year, they are staying true to those values, says Lisa Smosarski.
Gay Times was stuck in a rut, tied to its traditional publishing model and reaching only a small part of the LGBTQ+ community. Under the editorship of Lewis Corner, that began to change, as he explains to Ciar Byrne.
Whatever the rest of 2024 holds, two things are certain. Firstly, the bumpy economic ride will continue. Secondly, the need for media companies to have a broad base of revenue streams has never been more important or more challenging to achieve.
How do you create a specialist consumer media business that is fit for the future? What steps do you need to take to be resilient and flexible as audiences and technology evolve? Carolyn Morgan researched 20 innovators from across Europe to find out.
For many publishers, circulation is all about chasing volume, but they would be much better off chasing profitability, says Natalie Smith, client relationship manager at Warners.
How can you tell if your ad management system is up to the job? The answer, do a clicks-audit on each of your commonly performed tasks. The higher the number of clicks, the less effective your system. James Evelegh talks ad management with Publishing
Jim Foster’s publishing world…
David Hepworth on magazines and beyond
Family – Shortlist Media’s content studio – has made a big impact on the publisher since it launched in 2016. Meg Carter talks to CMO Sophie Robinson about how it is driving growth across the business and even creating brand work to run on third part
There’s a revolution going on in publishing, writes Peter Houston: we’re making readers pay for content again.
James Evelegh's comment piece from the May / June 2018 issue of InPublishing magazine.
Sophie Clark has been appointed Fashion Market Editor at GQ and GQ Style and Ben Schofield has been appointed Fashion Editor at GQ Style with immediate effect, it was announced on Friday.
Today, Future plc publishes results for the six months ended 31 March 2018.
Cosmopolitan has partnered with Instagram on a project aimed at changing the conversation around LGBTQ+ issues.
Shortlist Media yesterday announced that its Creative Director Matt Phare will be broadening his remit to include creative control and management of design of Shortlist Media Family, its content studio.
James Evelegh's editorial from this week's edition of InPubWeekly.
IPSO yesterday announced a full response to the recommendations made by Lord Kerslake in his report on the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack.
Gold Key Media’s digital entertainment platform has received BPA Worldwide Accreditation.
Future plc yesterday announced the appointment of James Marchington as Editor-in-Chief of its Field Sports portfolio.
Time Inc UK announced yesterday the closure of Look. The issue on sale from 29 May will be the final edition of the weekly magazine.
