Posts Tagged ‘specialist media show’

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Paid content: new research on what publishers can charge

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

With all the speculation about paid content, we’ve been missing some hard facts about exactly what publishers are managing to charge for and the type of business models they are testing out. Recent research commissioned for the Specialist Media Show polled the views of around 200 publishers, split between consumer and b2b, and with a bias towards independent businesses with under £10m turnover, typically operating in specialist markets.  They show active experimentation with a range of paid content models and pricing approaches. (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, marketing

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Publishers poised to adopt mobile, but readers still want print

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

Adoption of mobile editions of magazines is at a tipping point, finds a recent survey of 200 niche publishers commissioned by the Specialist Media Show.  The sample was biased towards smaller companies, but still 19% stated they already have mobile app versions of their publications, showing that they are approaching a tipping point.  Prof Barrie Gunter of the Dept of Media and Communications at University of Leicester weighs up the statistics and advises publishers to hedge their bets, combining print and digital editions.  Here are the main insights: (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, news

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Why live and online events are a priority for specialist publishers

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Specialist publishers are increasingly realising that their business is more about gathering together a like-minded community than about creating niche content.  So it comes as little surprise to see the emphasis placed on live and online events and networking in the research recently commissioned by the Specialist Media Show among 200 publishers, with a bias towards smaller, independent specialist markets.  Below are my top five insights. (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, events, news

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Specialist publishers lead the way in digital media; still bullish on print

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Early results from a survey of specialist media businesses show that independent publishers are actively experimenting with digital, but believe printed magazines will be around for the next decade.  The InPublishing/Specialist Media Show research polled the views of around 200 specialist publishers on paid online content, live events, apps, digital editions and social media.  It measured what they were doing right now, and what their plans were for the next 2 years to extend their media brands across print, events and digital.  The respondents were primarily MDs and publishers in consumer and b2b specialist markets, typically under £10m turnover.  However, what they lacked in resources they are making up in ambition  and innovation.  Confidence is good, with an attitude of experimentation that more mainstream media businesses would do well to watch.  Here’s the highlights of their digital expansion: (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, marketing, news

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How a small publisher launched a global virtual event

Sunday, March 27th, 2011

Live trade events are great - and essential for cementing new business relationships, but for small media owners, they can be high risk, and in today’s busy world, getting people physically in one space on one day can be challenging.  I’ve written previously on how virtual events can complement live exhibitions and conferences, and the extent to which they can provide inspiration, discovery of new suppliers, networking and peer learning, in “Can a virtual trade show replace a live event?“  This article prompted a very lively debate on the Specialist Media Network on Linked-in, with contributions from Ben Greenish, James Ormiston, Graham Ruddick and Ben Heald.  The conclusion seemed to be that a multi-channel approach was  the answer, with virtual events sitting somewhere between a good b2b website and face to face meetings.   So I was very interested to chat to Neil Fagg at Confex about his recent innovative launch, Virtual Event World, and what he has learnt in its first few weeks: invaluable to any other media owners planning to test the virtual event waters: (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, events

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Top tips for teamwork under pressure

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

This weekend I crewed in a yacht race in the Solent, invited by some of the people featuring in the pics on this website, and it taught me some valuable lessons about teamwork under pressure that can be applied to many business situations.  I knew half the crew quite well, having sailed on a range of boats with them, but the others were complete strangers before meeting up on the Friday night.  By the end of the weekend we had achieved a creditable third place in the regatta on a 40-foot yacht none of us had sailed before.  Yacht racing involves mastering complex maneouvres with heavy loads, highly variable winds and tides, plus the actions of competing boats, all under time pressure, and with the added stress of a hefty damage deposit in event of a collision.  We made many mistakes, but there were a few factors that helped us, and these are the ones that I believe can be applied to any team working under pressure: (more…)

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Posted in events, implementation, people and culture

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Five tips for editing a digital magazine

Monday, February 7th, 2011

A digital magazine is a very different beast to its print equivalent, demanding a new editorial approach.  I’ve just learnt this the hard way, having just created a digital magazine for the Specialist Media Show, using Pagesuite’s technology.  There’s a sampler at the bottom of this post: click here to register for your free copy.  It’s packed with practical tips and inspiration for niche publishers. But here are my thoughts on the process of creating a digital edition that isn’t a print replica: (more…)

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Posted in b2b, consumer, content, news

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The practicalities of publisher paywalls

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

There’s been much coverage of the ideology of paywalls for online content, particularly for newspapers, but less has been written about the practicalities of making a paywall work and how a publisher can create a winning strategy.  So congratulations to Pete Kirwan of the Media Briefing for the first thorough attempt at a paywall handbook.  Here’s my abridged version of the practical issues for publishers. (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, implementation

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Media Pioneers: luxury publisher reinvents business model

Monday, December 6th, 2010

For many niche publishers, organising distribution of printed magazines to reach a specialist audience is one of the biggest headaches, expecially if they have international ambitions.  The latest Media Pioneer, Five Star Magazine, has developed a clever way to reach their well-heeled, well-travelled target audience, by establishing partnerships with luxury travel providers who place complimentary copies of their classy travel magazine in first class lounges, hotels, spas and luxury yachts and marinas worldwide.   The editor of the magazine, Renata Parolari Fernandes, has taken a similarly revolutionary approach to the rest of her publishing business model.  Here I have sketched out the main elements - which I believe could be applied to other specialist media businesses: (more…)

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Posted in business strategy, consumer, content, marketing

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Building a global specialist community - Media Pioneer awards

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

In a niche discipline, people are interested in the opinions of their international counterparts.  Smart publishers recognise this and create opportunities for peers to share and collaborate and for key suppliers to reach an international audience.  The latest Media Pioneer, Advanstars’ publications in the global chromatography market,  has built a mix of integrated media and services to engage their audience of 140,000 chromatographers worldwide.  I believe there are interesting lessons for other publishers targeting niche specialist audiences.  Here’s how they put it all together: (more…)

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Posted in b2b, business strategy, events

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