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 do you price your magazine so that subscribers stay loyal? Knowing what keeps them awake at night will, says Michael Smith, enable you to deliver real value, and knowing the dynamics of your market sector will help you ensure that your price is r
Though less than two years old, Nuts is already one of the UK’s best known magazines. Its huge profile and clearly defined proposition have given rise to a large number of licensing opportunities. Andrew Horton explains how IPC has sought to capitali
Making more money is what most publishers strive for each year. Often the best source of new money is your existing customers – people you already have a relationship with. Jess Burney looks at the secrets of successful cross-sell.
Mailing houses could be forgiven for being heartily sick of all things online. All they ever hear is “online this” and “email that”. Aaaaaaagh!!!!!!! Well, they are putting a brave face on it and, for the most part, successfully adapting their offeri
As with most marketing disciplines, thorough planning is central to successful subscriptions copy writing. The starting point, says Jennifer Menten, is to do some serious thinking about your magazine and your prospects. The more time spent thinking,
Did you know that, until recently, the Aland Islands were a major exporter of magazines to Denmark? Strange but true, and one of a number of anomalies created by varying VAT rates across the EU. Kevin Smith looks at the opportunities, and threats, pr
US publishers would dearly love to ditch the rate base system, but media buyers are unwilling to let them. Furthermore, recent developments are, says Karlene Lukovitz, piling further pressure on publishers.
Does variety still exist on our newsstand? Is one women’s weekly much like the next and can the customer, or the retailer for that matter, tell the difference? … and does it matter? David Hepworth looks at the publishing industry’s drive to sameness.
For an industry that was once starved of easily accessible information, the newstrade is now awash with data. Used properly, this enables publishers to refine their marketing and compete effectively. Used ineffectively, or ignored, and it can come ba
Take the promise of lots of scantily clad girls and a target market of young men, and you have a fairly simple marketing proposition. Don’t you? Well, not necessarily. Tight budgetary controls, an over crowded category and increasingly censorious ret
Subscription management systems have come a long way in the last ten years, as software developers have raced to stay abreast of changing technologies and increased publisher expectation. James Evelegh looks at how subscription software has evolved a
A stand at an exhibition can be a great way of acquiring new subscribers. Yet, despite its potential, publishers rarely apply the same rigorous planning to their presence at a show that they do to other areas of their marketing activity. In this, the
How many subscriptions do you want? Peter Hobday explains why that is a trick question, and reveals why most publishers find their subscriptions marketing just never seems to take off.
With the help of their own recent research, Opt-4’s Rosemary Smith explores the role of circulation professionals in obtaining and managing marketing permissions.
Brevity is the soul of wit, said William Shakespeare. (And of lingerie, according to Dorothy Parker.) It’s also not bad for good copywriting, says Andy Maslen.
