Women's Mags Empower Online Readership

According to digital strategists at leading women's magazines, it's a brave new world for online editorial.

Speaking at a recent panel sponsored by mediabistro, several key editors noted the journalistic changes wrought by Internet publishing.

On a magazine Web site, "you know immediately if your story didn't perform well," said Elayne Fluker, Brides.com managing editor, adding she's "totally addicted to monitoring traffic."

But Erin Dailey, managing editor, Hearst Magazines Digital Media, warned: "The second writers start thinking they have to write for page views," they get into trouble. There are benefits to immediate feedback, she admits, such as "a chance to know readers in a much more expansive way."

How are editors taking steps to build community online?

Hearst sites first tried reader forums, said Dailey. But that tactic fell flat, producing a few frequent commenters but failing to create a dynamic community. Now, each publication solicits reader feedback on online articles. For example, a short piece on president-elect Barack Obama on the Cosmopolitan site ended by asking readers what they wanted Obama to do for women's rights. The result? A slew of comments, where "we got a dialogue going, " said Dailey.

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The new format at Real Simple, which is relaunching its Web site early next year, will allow nested comments--responses to one particular comment--all posted in their own separate area.

When it comes to page views, "you can't get too crazy," added Real Simple.com Executive Director Tanya Singer. "I don't change the quality of the experience to give more impressions to advertisers. I could take one [picture] gallery and [make it] 14 pages, but that would be just annoying. You have to be advocates for the consumer and guardians of good experience."

Essence is using its Web site to "start the conversations that everybody's excited about" faster than with the print edition. A magazine's advance lead time means you can miss things, said Angela Burt-Murray, editor in chief.

Lately, posts about the TV show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" have been "gold for us, driving page views." That's thanks, in part, to interview videos of cast members and photos from one housewife's wedding, said Burt-Murray.

Panel moderator Lisa Belkin asked how editors handled the dark side of reader comments. Belkin is actually moderating reader comments on Motherlode, her new blog on NYTimes.com, although the assignment took her by surprise. "I thought it would be somebody higher-up ordained to do it," she said.

Essence has noticed that "coverage of certain actresses incite a flurry of nasty emails, so we don't include a comments space when we cover them," added Burt-Murray.

Hearst reserves the right to take offensive comments off, said Dailey--but overall, its sites are less regulated than at Television Without Pity, a previous post. "We could shut someone down if they spelled a word wrong," said Dailey. Such tactics made for highly literate comments, but "some people hated us and called us fascists," she noted.

1 comment about "Women's Mags Empower Online Readership ".
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  1. Mitchell Fox, December 9, 2008 at 9:20 a.m.

    This is all very interesting, however it remains top down editorial...that is....one way communication...they speak to you, then they comment, and it's over... to traditional editors this feels like a community, but just like in a real (offline) community...people like to speak to each other..adn collaborate on subjects, ideas, experiences, even projects....magazines have such a massive opportunity with a pre - existing group already positively pre - disposed to a subject (e.g. readers)...why aren't any magazines permitting readers to speak to each other?...or even better, have a voice in creating the magazine? That's at the core of community...collaboration...and you'd be surprised to find out that a well organized, well managed community is capable of great things.

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