Posts Tagged ‘subscriptions’
The wild digital frontier of subs marketing: pioneers required
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010In the last couple of years subscriptions have been a safe haven for publishers from the volatility of the newsstand, and the unpredictability of advertising. The world of traditional print subs hasn’t changed that much; the tried and tested principles of pricing, payment method, acquisition and renewal techniques still apply; the universal truths of DD and number of renewal efforts still hold and change comes only slowly. However there is a new digital frontier emerging which doesn’t respect the old rules. Many subs marketers are less comfortable with the more experimental, wild west of digital editions, single issue pricing, bundling with online content subs and mobile apps. Here’s some insights from the recent Wessenden report on subs marketing (sponsored by CDS Global and in partnership with InPublishing) that may guide pioneering digital subs marketers: (more…)
Tags: digital editions, mobile apps, online subs, paid-for content, subs bundling, subscriber packages, subscriptions
Posted in b2b, consumer, content, marketing
How to find new readers through specialist retailers
Thursday, September 30th, 2010A big challenge for specialist magazine publishers is reaching a niche audience - newsstand is expensive and wasteful, search is time-consuming, and direct mail can be costly. So I’m impressed with the solution of Songlines magazine, the latest winner of the Media Pioneer awards, who have developed partnerships with retailers to find new readers through what they buy. Songlines is a guide for world music fans, and the print edition includes a sample CD of new artists. Their masterstroke was creating a digital sampler edition with highlights from the latest issue, which includes sample audio tracks of featured music and links to buy on Amazon. They also get links back to the sampler from Amazon from all their world music pages, which is a great way to introduce new world music fans to the magazine, and expand internationally. Read more about the Songlines story on the Specialist Media Show website. I believe this approach could work for other specialist publishers: here are the key questions to ask and steps to take: (more…)
Tags: Amazon, digital editions, Media Pioneers, partnerships, Songlines, specialist retail, subscriptions
Posted in consumer, content, marketing
The quiet digital revolution in magazine subscriptions
Thursday, December 10th, 2009For most print-based publishers, subscriptions have felt like a safe haven in the current economic and technology storm. A survey recently commissioned by InPublishing from Wessenden marketing and sponsored by CDS Global confirms that for most consumer publishers, subs are growing both in absolute terms, and relative to newstand sales. Life is tougher for b2b publishers, subs are steady or shrinking, and renewals are a weak point, but newsstand is declining more rapidly. The detail of this survey, covering 132 companies, large and small, and over 900 titles, shows how digital acquisition sources, delivery methods, communication channels and servicing are quietly revolutionising how publishers are growing their subscription base. These are five key trends I have spotted: (more…)
Tags: acquisition, digital editions, paid-for content, publishers, renewals, self-service, subscriptions, surveys
Posted in b2b, consumer, marketing
Paid for mobile apps for publishers
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009There’s been a media feeding frenzy these last few months about mobile apps, specifically on the iphone, largely driven by the high numbers of free games and gimmicks. But when the fuss has died down, and the number of smartphones owned by the general consumer grows, can mobile apps provide a new revenue source for more “serious” content publishers? I’ve been collecting examples of paid for mobile apps that look like they might actually make money for publishers. Very few can make the free-app/ ad-funded model work on mobile, so these are all paid-for. They seem to fall into five separate categories: (more…)
Tags: apps, content, iphone, mobile, mobile subs, paid-for content, subscriptions
Posted in b2b, consumer, content, marketing
How to build an online paid content strategy
Friday, October 9th, 2009At the AOP summit earlier this week, online publishers were debating paid content strategies, with a particular focus on news organisations. There are a growing number of examples of publishers building successful subscription bases: the FT, Wall St Journal, Which, Racing post (see my earlier blog on niche paid content) and many b2b publishers. All now accept that general, nice to have news is not chargeable, but what is? Here’s my road map for online publishers: (more…)
Tags: consumers, ft.com, intelligent content, operational implementation, paid-for content, price tiers, subscriptions, Times club
Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content