Archive for the ‘Publishing’ Category

How to sell magazine subscriptions online —
THE WEEK Magazine example

CASE HISTORY
A tornado creates a blizzard…

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How to build circulation by hundreds and thousands of subscribers at a time

CASE HISTORY
How The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Chronicle of Higher Education are re-defining the idea of a professional site license with innovative circulation marketing…

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How to turn a magazine into a subscription-selling machine

CASE HISTORY

What happened when the irresistible force of Felix met the immutable laws of marketing…

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New magazine idea: “Sunday Politics” – a “Parade” of debate

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In with the old, out with the new.

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Harvard Business Review redesign = regrettable reinvention

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What do you think? I say it’s a mistake…

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“Free – The Future of a Radical Price”

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Most magazines have three prices. The cover price. The subscription price. And free – the web price. In his new book, Chris Anderson of Long Tail fame argues that free may well be the most profitable price point of the three. He makes an interesting, instinctively counterintuitive, and yet often persuasive case for disruptive, game-changing zero.

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“5 key reasons why newspapers are failing”

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A brilliant and unsparing appraisal in two parts by Bill Wyman for Splice Today. If you survive the tour-de-force that is part one, the more proscriptive part two is even better.

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Make your magazine the free gift with a purchase

Would you find subscriber love in an arranged marriage?
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An idea for selling subscriptions and raising money in an anxiety economy


A do-it-yourself, pas-de-deux, mash-up marketing strategy that borrows and combines best practices learned from the likes of Smithsonian, National Geographic, and Audubon magazines.

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Are you developing an audience? Or more telling: Is your audience developing you?


The secret to circulation management? It’s all in your point of view.

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Why I cut my rates to FREE — again

OPEN LETTER

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How to sell magazine subscriptions online – the Vanity Fair example


This idea works even better than I first imagined.

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A new magazine with snob appeal

The publisher is the “24th richest person in the world.” And he resisted the urge to call it “Prokhorov.”

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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

A new book by Dan Ariely. Useful if true.

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The launch of Condé Nast Portfolio


Condé Nast, the man, “was noted for his innovative publishing theories and flair for nurturing readers and advertisers…one of the most powerful purveyors of popular culture.” He started a magazine empire later made legendary by brilliant, billionaire publisher S.I. Newhouse. Proving again the rich are different from you and me. Which brings us to the launch of Condé Nast Portfolio…

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Why it’s important – Part 1

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An ad campaign on behalf of junk mail … ah, circulation marketing … make that “audience development.”

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Google sneezes, magazine world gets the chills

Google: Grim reaper? Or savior of a dying industry? Let the fear, loathing and speculation begin.

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49-Point Checklist for Beating Your Control

OPEN LETTER

What do you need to know to beat your control? The answers to this list of questions will provide a good start when working with outside creatives. Or—and especially—if you attempt to do it yourself.

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Marc Andresseen on the future of the magazine business…

…in a manner of speaking. If you substitute “publishing” for “Hollywood,” and “magazines” for “studios,” you’ll get the idea.

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Green Death

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Do you like this award-winning cover? It was famous and infamous all at the same time. Raising contentious issues about what works best on newsstands. And who best to create — and control — the covers. I have some strong opinions of my own. But you make the call for yourself.

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