Our mission in life is to get more people to read magazines online, so this round of recent news is well received
Your goal and our goal? Make it irresistible for people to read magazines online … specifically the one you’re producing, pivoting, or redesigning right now. Simple on paper – er, make that on screen – but such a challenge to execute. It’s a challenge we take on with a passion each and every day, right alongside our Mequoda Members, of course.
Turns out our efforts are paying off. Readership and revenue are up across the industry, because digital publishers like you are deploying multiplatform strategy with an emphasis on repurposing content, distributing it skillfully, and utilizing tried and true best practices to expand audience.
minOnline.com has the stories behind the upward trend. Let’s take a look!
Those Who Read Magazines Online in FY 2016 Up for AMI
AMI has some great news to share about consumers who read magazines online: They’re doing so in increased numbers, minOnline.com reports. For starters, AMI had 50 million monthly uniques on average in fiscal year 2016, which represented a 29% jump from FY 2015.
“AMI’s digital growth is the result of a coordinated strategic effort centered on strong editorial content and taking advantage of new formats and distribution platforms. Across all of our digital properties, whether celebrity or fitness, we’ve been very deliberate in creating content that resonates with our readers. We pay close attention to the data and actively listen to our readers on social media, and endeavor to give them something special that they want to read or watch,” AMI Chief Digital Officer Brian Kroski tells Caysey Welton.
“We see digital revenue continuing to grow at a healthy rate,” he says. “There are definitely market forces out there which are challenging right now for ‘traditional’ digital media, but we’ve proactively diversified and continue to grow revenue in some of the newer spaces like header bidding and native advertising.”
Study Shows Tribute Issue Can Push Magazine Readership
The around-the-clock real-time social media cycle has given celebrity passings a whole new grip on the consumption habits of readers, and a new study shows the effect has carried over to magazines, minOnline.com reports.
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“Brand new research from GfK MRI notes the passing of Robin Williams(29% above average), Muhammad Ali (28% above average) and Prince (25% above average) drove the highest readership averages, when compared to other issues. The research examined 112 magazine issues over the past eight years and focused on celebrities that were featured on at least three covers,” Welton writes.
“The highest level of single-issue readership average were noted for People’s Dec. 29, 2014 Robin Williams issue; Sports Illustrated’s June 13, 2016 Mohammad Ali issue; and Rolling Stone’s May 19, 2016 Prince issue. All three achieved a readership levels that was 40% above each brand’s average. Also notable was People’s September 28, 2009 Patrick Swayze tribute, which had a readership increase of 32%.”
Native Advertising Content Needs Better Labels, Exec Says
There’s no shortage of concerns about native ads as they become more and more popular, and a clamoring for clearer definitions is at the head of the pack. Men’s Health National Digital Ad Director Cory Rotkel agrees, as he writes for minOnline.com.
“By now most people know what native advertising is: It’s an ad unit or piece of content that mimics the look and feel of something appearing on a publisher’s website. We’ve seen several approaches to the labeling of native advertising, and as an industry we’re still trying to come up with the most appropriate term. The FTC is encouraging publishers to agree on a term that clearly conveys to the user that the content he or she is reading is indeed advertising,” Rotkel writes.
“Although this push from the FTC is a challenge that may be troublesome to some publishers, it’s driving media in the right direction. We all respect that publishers would prefer to brand their native advertising in their own way, but as an industry serving a uniquely engaged audience, having a common labeling convention is critical and clarifying the term ‘native advertising’ is essential.”
We help publishers get people to read magazines online. To talk with us about how to do that, get in touch today!
Read magazines online? Visit minOnline.com for industry coverage of those magazines.
