I received an email earlier this week from the publisher of Australian Property Investor with good news about their plans for subscriptions and newsagency sales.
Remember, this is the magazine I have written about several times – their cover stories get positive coverage on TV shows – most recently Today Tonight – driving sales.
Here’s the good news from the publisher:
As part of API’s growth strategy for 2013 and beyond, we’re moving our focus away from subscription-building and are putting our major marketing efforts into growing our newsagent sales channel. A few ways we’re doing this include:
— In the past, like nearly all magazines, we’ve had in-house magazine ads promoting subscriptions. As of a few issues ago these ads have been completely phased out. The only remaining sub offer in the magazine now is the small tear-off subscription card that all magazines have. While we don’t want to neglect our subscriber base, our goal now is to strengthen and build up our newsagent distribution.
— We have over 7,700 Twitter followers, and regularly tweet comments advising people to “grab a copy of API at their local newsagent.” An example is http://www.twitter.com/apimagazine
— We’ve increased our marketing spend with our distributor Gordon & Gotch in terms of merchandising and POS promotions in newsagents.
These are good reasons for us to support Australian Property Investor.
I think it would be an advantage to everyone if a subscription rates were available to those who have weekly orders in store. It would reward loyal customers and drive more customers into newsagencies once a week or month to pick up their mags.
I don’t want such a margin reduction Carol. I launched what has gone on to become the industry’s biggest magazine loyalty program in 2004 and this works a treat at rewarding loyalty and driving sales.
I don’t think they need to be the same price as being offered now but a new subscription type offered taht would see our income remain much the same. Just like any special offer we expect to get higher sales from it to compensate for
lower price. The aim is to drive more regular customers into our shops on a regular bassis. Just where did you launch your loyalty scheme?
Carol, check out \http://www.newsxpress.com.au/
My store has only benefited from this site and I recommend you apply for full access.
Good news from the publisher? Or just another sucker for Gotch to fleece? I’d warn the publisher against falling for the “sales are increasing so you need to increase supply” tactic myself.
Ask to see the full list of sales per outlet before you go along with their very effective sales tactics. All they are trying to go is increase their own profits by increasing the fees they charge the publisher and newsagents and decrease the remittance paid the the publisher.
If a customer wants to subscribe they will do so no matter how big or small your subscription form in the magazine is (I know because we’ve tried both, left it out, made each issue only available online AFTER it has been on sale in the newsagents for a month – and we still have many customer who just prefer to get each issue at the newsagent for a variety of reasons. I’d say sales in each area per issue are about equal for us.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t make any difference how much the publishers and newsagents attempt to work together, we are ALL up against it when it comes to the distributors and they are the only winners here. What they get away with should be illegal!
As for the “publishers should be taking the the distributors with a big stick” comment in a previous entry.
I tried to. I told them I’d had enough. I asked for draft allocations & all sales per agency lists and took control of allocations and remedied obvious oversupply… and then they fired me.
Apparently we’re “too niche” for Network, yet we have over 10,000 Facebook followers and have just been accepted by one of America’s largest distributors – not bad for a “niche” Aussie mag!
But you’re talking about a property investment mag here so I’m guessing that they’re probably making so much money on ads that sales efficiencies probably have very little to do with their bottom line anyway, and the distributors just love a title like that!