In an era where many people would say print media is dying, magazine publishers strives to find new ways to make money online. While it is known that print circulation is on a declining trend across the industry, the question is whether the increase in online circulation can make up for that lost.
In 2013, BBC History, has a record increase in digital circulation of 693% YOY. Leading fashion magazine, Vogue, has rocketed 463% from previous year. Mens magazine popular titles such as GQ and Esquire has experienced the same trend. However, these figures might be misleading, we should draw our attention towards the base of such increase, or simply, what portion does online contribute the total circulation.
Even with over 400% in online circulation (H2 2012), Vogue digital circulation actually grown by 3,898 copies, total online onlie accounts for 3.8%. With the fall of 10,349 in print copies, total circulation has decline by 2.8%. Other publishers are doing a little better, the leading men's lifestyle magazine GQ sold a monthly average of 12,231 copies on digital, but still only contributed to 9.4% of the total monthly circulation. The success stories are actually from the smaller titles such as How It Works (21.8%), Total Film (14.8%) and Wired (14.1%). Not surprisingly, the titles breaking the two digits barrier seem to have a more masculine and geeker audience.
It still seems like a struggle for the magazine publishers to stay profitable. Their main income are still from advertising, whether in the print or digital form. Using advance digital analytics would help the magazines understand their online target audience. Social media is also crucial channel in developing reader's base and increase circulation. Lastly, some data points toward the growth of readership through ipad and tablets, thus, it is important to make sure the magazine and all of the content are available across platforms.
Source: The guardian
In 2013, BBC History, has a record increase in digital circulation of 693% YOY. Leading fashion magazine, Vogue, has rocketed 463% from previous year. Mens magazine popular titles such as GQ and Esquire has experienced the same trend. However, these figures might be misleading, we should draw our attention towards the base of such increase, or simply, what portion does online contribute the total circulation.
Even with over 400% in online circulation (H2 2012), Vogue digital circulation actually grown by 3,898 copies, total online onlie accounts for 3.8%. With the fall of 10,349 in print copies, total circulation has decline by 2.8%. Other publishers are doing a little better, the leading men's lifestyle magazine GQ sold a monthly average of 12,231 copies on digital, but still only contributed to 9.4% of the total monthly circulation. The success stories are actually from the smaller titles such as How It Works (21.8%), Total Film (14.8%) and Wired (14.1%). Not surprisingly, the titles breaking the two digits barrier seem to have a more masculine and geeker audience.
*H1 2013 figures
It still seems like a struggle for the magazine publishers to stay profitable. Their main income are still from advertising, whether in the print or digital form. Using advance digital analytics would help the magazines understand their online target audience. Social media is also crucial channel in developing reader's base and increase circulation. Lastly, some data points toward the growth of readership through ipad and tablets, thus, it is important to make sure the magazine and all of the content are available across platforms.
Source: The guardian
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