Magazines Use Web for New Print Readers and New Online Audience The International Federation of the Periodical Press, in their 2005 survey about successful consumer magazine websites,
reports that 84% of sites want to expand the publication's audience beyond the print audience base by creating a new online audience, and 81% of the sites want to use the website to attract new
readers for the printed magazine.
In this international study, success is defined in whatever terms the publisher considers relevant - online branding, profit, new revenue streams, new
products, new audiences, or any other relevant defined objective, but the survey's objectives are
- To examine good practice online, among successful websites
- To learn about the ways in which these publishers measured and achieved online success
- To share some of the lessons about using the new
medium in conjunction with printed magazines
With greater optimism and investment than was found in FIPP's equivalent survey in 2003, additional magazine website
objectives and development considerations reported are that:
- 76% want to create new revenue streams and profits in the long term
- 67% plan
to build a community around the brand
- 40% expect to create revenue and profits in the short term
- 55% have increased the man-hours devoted to the
website compared with 12 months ago
- 82% expect to expand their online efforts in the next 12 months
Websites are not trying to attract new kinds of
audience, but rather the existing print audience and consumers similar to the print audience who happen not to read the printed magazine. The overwhelming experience of these websites is that they
have attracted significant numbers of new audiences who do not read the brand in print. The new audiences are believed to be attracted by time-critical information, interactive content, searchable
databases and archives, and personalized content. 72% of these successful websites are updated daily, including in some cases continuous updating during the day.
The most important
difficulty faced in developing the websites is insufficient funds, a significant factor for half the sites. Other common obstacles are:
- Resistance by
existing employees who work on the print products
- Pressure to focus on the print products
- Initial low or negative return on investment in the website,
by a third of these sites.
Please access this link for the complete study in PDF format.