Digital Media Buzz > Hybrid Solutions May Save the Magazine Industry

Hybrid Solutions May Save the Magazine Industry

By Thursday Bram

Newspapers hoard most discussions regarding how the internet is changing publishing models, but more than a few magazines are closely considering their options and even creating new alternatives to traditional printing and advertising. With different niches and readerships, magazine publishers are finding a number of approaches that work for individual projects.

For Alive Magazine, embracing online distribution has made a phenomenal difference in the magazine’s reach. Co-founder Jennifer Dotson described the publication’s transition, “Alive Magazine just celebrated its five year anniversary, having begun as a print magazine distributed directly to subscribers. In 2007 we transitioned to an online format, but were very hesitant to make the switch, as our content is made up of original art and writing by young women, and we wanted to maintain the integrity of design that accompanies traditional magazine layouts. Our temporary solution to this was to produce the magazine quarterly as a PDF download from the website; in spring of 2008 we integrated a flash-based online viewer, and in fall of 2008 we began offering a print-on-demand solution to our readers instead of the download option.”

When Alive Magazine offered a purely print product, it had a circulation under 1,000 paid subscribers. The online model, however, has allowed the magazine to reach more than 25,000 readers — as well as develop a vibrant community that constantly promotes the magazine. Alive Magazine incorporates significant amounts of user-generated content — primarily first-person narratives from its readers — which has, in turn, led the community to work hard to promote the magazine. “The community that surrounds our publication is very active in promoting the magazine, publicizing submission deadlines and sharing stories and issues with friends and family,” Dotson says.

Dotson supports a hybrid model for magazine publication: Alive Magazine has readers interested in both print and online products, and offering both increases the magazine’s reach and has allowed it to grow. “Starting a magazine in this economic environment would be next to impossible without some sort of hybrid solution of digital and print,” she says.

While Alive Magazine is relatively young, it’s already clear that online revenue will make the difference for it. “Our revenue nearly doubled after going online,” Dotson says.

Toni Mehling, the editor of Shenandoah Living, has also pursued a hybrid approach. The magazine is published both online and in print, but there has been a split between the readership of each publication. Mehling reports the differences: “Our print audience is primarily regional, heavy female, 35+. Our online readership would be younger, more balanced gender-wise, mobile and international. Our online analytics support this supposition by us.” The magazine has reacted by creating a more interactive online version of the magazine that allows readers to flip through pages as if they were reading the print version. The content online isn’t restricted to that of the print product, incorporating events information and blogs that appeal to the broader online demographic. For Shenandoah Living, the print publication remains the more lucrative source of income, although Mehling notes that subscription sales through the website are not insignificant.

Mehling’s career has also included stints instructing students on print media at James Madison University and editing daily and community newspapers, and she sees the future of magazines as quite healthy: “I believe magazines have a future whether they have a Web presence or not. And I believe I would say that if I were not a magazine publisher. The nature of the magazine as a source of entertainment or information is different from the newspaper. Even as a source of information, I still place it in the leisure category. It’s the type of information we want to use when we sit down and take a break. I’m as much of a digital junkie as a 21-year-old, and I’m 42; but I want to get my eyes off the computer screen, even if I’m still gathering information, and sit down and flip through a magazine.”

While many publications continue to pursue print as an avenue, a few magazines have begun to operate purely online. Just Cause partnered with Zinio for its recent launch, though print copies are available through MagCloud. The editor-in-chief, Alyssa Royse, found that such an approach made starting a new publication much easier. While Just Cause did rely on angel investors to put together its website and begin production, the amount necessary was far less than is required for the first run of a new print magazine. She says, “We had to find a way to get great circulation but save money, and digital was the answer. Not only did we get massive distribution, but we are not facing the massive costs — and environmental waste — of printing millions of magazines each month. What’s best about that is that we are not supporting an expensive infrastructure — financial burn — that has to be dealt with each month. So as we grow and advertising revenue comes in, we will not be digging ourselves out of the big hole that many startups have. It’s been a gift.”

It’s rare to find a magazine that only exists in print these days — most have at least a website where prospective readers can purchase a subscription, if not read some portion of the publication’s articles as well. But that doesn’t mean that print editions are going to disappear any time soon. For now, magazines are evolving: publishers are exploring online opportuinities and even finding a few ways to bring elements back to the print product.