Man Is The Media.
Print Run vs. Digital Readership
March 10th, 2009 by Martin
Check this out. It’s from Develop Magazine‘s latest email newsletter. It’s mentioned in the list of benefits to potential advertisers. It’s a great story to tell advertisers, and one that more magazines and newspapers should remember to tell.
My favorite part of the story is that while the print run must be a major entry on Develop’s budget (think of all that paper, print, storage, distribution etc.), the digital distribution is free. Yet the value it creates for advertisers is almost invaluable, as digital ads are equipped with direct links to their websites. Links that can be tracked and reported back to the advertisers. How many ‘clicked’ on the ad in the printed edition? We’ll never know.
It may be that the conversion rate (from ad to sale) still is much higher in the printed magazine, which would justify higher ad rates, but the sheer volume made possible by online distribution (in this case 1:1.9), combined with the reporting options made available, still makes the online ads pretty attractive, and thus the option for a digital edition.
It’s still a possibility that online sales will never be a goldmine for publishers, that’s still being debated and tried, but the added value for advertisers makes a strong argument alone. So strong, in fact, that I expect more and more magazine advertisers will simply demand a digital edition. And I think many advertisers will find it contrary to their interests, that the digital edition comes at a (high) price.
That’s another fine line publishers will have to learn to walk in the digital age.
Martin – Great post. i agree wholeheartedly. Publishers have to be creative about adding value for advertisers ( vis-a-vis messaging and traffic) if they are going to make online editions become a strong revenue source while migrating from traditional print. I have some ideas I’d like to share with you via email – watch your Linkedin Inbox for my note.
Marc Fors
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marcfors