"Hobby" magazines have become the "darlings of the struggling magazine industry," The New York Times recently reported. The lucky niche publishers can thank especially loyal subscribers for immunity from the circulation erosion that has afflicted general-interest publications. An example is the toy train fanatic who spends about $120 a year on subscriptions to Model Railroader, Classic Trains and Classic Toy Trains and declares to The Times, "I would probably give up my train club before I would give up my train magazines." Some high-end niche publications even boast circulation growth. For example, Wine Spectator's circulation has grown by 11% in the last 10 years. And while Cycle World and Hot Bike magazines have seen slight declines in circulation, both have been able to successfully raise subscription rates to offset the drop and have such strong renewal rates that they have expanded editorial staff. Food magazines are among those benefiting from subscriber loyalty--and the fact that advertisers value that loyalty: Bon Appetit's ad dollars were up by 27% in the third quarter of 2013 from the same period a year earlier and Saveur's ad take was up about 11%, compared with the publishing industry growth rate of just 4%. And hobby magazines are now making a profitable transition to the digital world. When the big brands began to offer free Internet content, the niche players held back. Now they are introducing paid subscriber-only websites and digital apps. Wine Spectator subscribers pay both $2.99 a month for an app and $49.95 annually paid website, which has attracted 10,000 sign-ups since its debut eight months ago. See the whole story at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/business/media/loyal-subscribers-keep-hobby-magazines-afloat.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
No comments:
Post a Comment