146: Why would anyone publish a magazine in the modern world?

The idea of publishing a magazine in the modern world seems crazy to some people. In many ways … it is.

Last night at poker I thought I’d try something new and ask my friends (none of whom are in publishing) what topic they would suggest for my daily podcast for publishers. There were some very interesting suggestions, but I chose this one. “In this day and age, why in the world would you make a magazine? Why not create a website?”

It’s a good question. I particularly like the assumption that the word “magazine” means print. I don’t like it when people call their digital efforts a magazine. It’s simply the wrong use of the word.

A magazine does seem like a bad bargain. Printing and mailing is expensive. Paper has a bad rap in environmental circles. And when you look around, you see everybody with their nose in their smart phone, and very, very few people reading magazines.

The question reminded me of Peter Houston’s recent question, “why won’t print just lie down and die?”

In addition to all these problems, fierce price competition has pushed the price of a magazine down to ridiculous levels. Publishers struggle to get people to subscribe at just a few dollars a year.

It sounds like a bad deal all around. And it is.

But let’s address this from two angles. First, is there a market for magazines in this digital world? Second, is it possible to make money with a magazine?

In the past, print was the only option. But now, when people have the choice between print and digital, there’s still a sizable group of people who prefer print. Unfortunately, they won’t pay a decent price for it. But they do prefer it.

Some publishers who had gone all digital are realizing this and going back into print. As reported in an article recently distributed by Bo Sacks, Saveur magazine is returning to print, and there are many other examples. If you have a print magazine and try to force your subscribers into a digital edition, you’ll lose the majority of them — mostly because digital versions of magazines are pretty uniformly bad.

Here are some advantages of print.

* It’s relaxing. It’s a laid back experience.
* The ads are an enjoyable part of the experience rather than an annoying distraction.
* The images are much more vibrant.
* It’s easier to skim.
* It looks nice on a coffee table.

I could go on, but I try to keep these podcasts short.

But can you make money selling a magazine?

It’s very hard if that’s your only business. As I mentioned above, costs are going up and subscription revenue is going down.

The smarter thing to do is use the magazine as the face of the brand, and monetize your audience in other ways. Sell products. Do affiliate deals. Upsell subscribers to more expensive memberships, or to events. And so on. Again, there are a lot of options here, but I need to keep it brief.

So the bottom line is this.

1. Don’t be fooled by the “everything is going digital” talk. Many things — most things — are going digital. But there is a still a strong market for print.

2. The concept of the “digital magazine” is an idea that’s failed. Digital magazines are awful. If you’re going to go digital, go digital, but don’t try to make it a “magazine.” Make the best digital product you can, free from any association with magazines.

3. Unless you’re selling a premium product to a market that’s willing to pay a reasonable price — say, more than $75 for an annual subscription — don’t think you’re going to make much of a profit on a print magazine. The numbers are not in your favor.

Resources

'Saveur' Magazine Returns To Print
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/391222/saveur-magazine-returns-to-print.html?edition=132371

Peter Houston: Why won’t print just lie down and die?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-wont-print-just-lie-down-die-peter-houston-3ak5e/