10 Questions for Magazine Publishers in Survival Mode

There are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers to how magazines can survive COVID-19 and the resulting recession. But asking the right questions can help you navigate your magazine through these rough waters. Here are 10 that may help you retool your publication for a not-so-brave new world: 1. What are your readers’ current wants or needs that you are uniquely able to fulfill via a magazine format? The answer to that question has probably changed drastically in the past two months. It’s a key to making so many of the important decisions you’re probably facing, such as whether you should alter your editorial coverage, scale back or skip issues, change frequency, recruit and renew subscribers differently, or overhaul your business model. What your readers don’t need is a rehash of news that they’ve already gotten from digital or broadcast media a week or more ago. But they might want help understanding what the pandemic means for the industry, topic, or special interest your magazine serves. Maybe you can help them figure out how to work, run a business, or manage a family while sheltered in place. Or maybe they want an escape – to hold something that transports them to a place not ruled by viruses or recessions. Or maybe they don’t want to hear from you at all until the crisis ends. 2. Do you have to fulfill your distribution commitments? For the next few months, and perhaps longer, many publishers will not be able to serve some subscribers or to meet their circulation guarantees as planned. After an initial pre-lockdown surge, newsstand sales are nearly non-existent. Subscriber lists consisting of work addresses are mostly meaningless. Your advertising people, who know only revenues but not costs, will tell you that the circulation guarantees have to be met. But would the world really end if your circulation fell 10% short and you offered pro-rated credits to your advertisers? And do you really think they’d prefer that you meet your circulation targets by mailing copies to closed hair salons and empty waiting rooms? 3. Can your digital edition help fill the gaps? The magazine format still works better in print than on a screen. But in times of crisis people become more forgiving, meaning they are likely to tolerate a temporary switch to digital editions if you explain that a sudden lack of advertising has forced you to decide between employee layoffs and printing copies. B2B publishers will find it easier to get subscribers reading the digital edition than to provide home addresses. And the traffic surge that many magazine-media websites are experiencing provides an opportunity to expose new people to magazines via their digital editions. You could temporarily give free digital-edition access to your former magazine subscribers or to current newsletter subscribers. That could help fill immediate circulation gaps, boost your newsletters’ sign-ups, and get more people into the pipeline for paid subscriptions down the road. 4. What is the incremental cost of a typical subscriber copy? In other words, if your mailing list would normally have 90,000 copies, how much more would it cost (for postage, paper, press time, bindery time, and ink) to mail 90,001 copies? If cash is tight, now’s a good time to focus on that “magic number.” 5. How much are you losing on subscribers who don’t meet “the magic number?” Do you have any subscription programs that net you less per subscriber copy than the magic number? For example, if your magic number is 80 cents and you publish 10 times per year, you need $8 (net of acquisition or renewal costs) to break even on an annual subscription. Unprofitable subscriptions may be needed to fulfill advertising commitments. And they may eventually be profitable if you can renew people at a higher price. (Is there any other industry that charges the highest price to its most loyal customers?) But can you afford them right now? If ad pages drop 50%, as no doubt they will for some titles during the next few months, will you have enough ad revenue to subsidize those unprofitable subscriptions? 6. How will your magazine survive long term if most of its advertising doesn’t bounce back after the pandemic? Rather than being just a short-term fix, avoiding unprofitable circulation might be the right long-term strategy. Even prior to the pandemic, consumer magazines were shifting to greater reliance on consumer revenues and less on advertising. Start thinking now about lower circulation, higher-priced subscriptions, and reduced frequency. And take a close look at your newsstand program: Was it really profitable, even in “normal” times. 7. Are your readers willing to help you? Sending renewal notices when cash is running low is an age-old trick in the magazine industry. But you can step it up a notch by explaining to subscribers that you need to know whether you have their long-term support. If your magazine provides an important service, subscribers are likely to be unusually willing to pitch in these days. Daily newspapers and some other publishers are seeing some success soliciting donations. It may be an especially good time to offer a premium subscription that includes special reports, exclusive discussions or presentations involving your journalists, access to a closed LinkedIn or Facebook group, and membership on a subscriber advisory board. Readers now may also be especially eager, and able, to provide content for your magazine (and website). Tapping your readers’ knowledge and experience may be the best way to tell the multi-faceted story of how COVID-19 is affecting the niche you cover. Post questions on your website or create contests that stir up responses. Maybe even get subscribers’ children involved. It doesn’t have to be serious: See the hilarious results from the Getty Museum asking people to re-create famous paintings using everyday household items. 8. Are there any suddenly thriving companies that might find your audience an especially promising target for advertising? Many direct-to-consumer providers are seeing exponential sales growth. Online learning, telemedicine, streaming services, internet service providers, delivery services, and take-out restaurants are also top of mind. And even businesses that aren’t booming may want to demonstrate their community spirit by speaking to your audience or by simply sponsoring your journalism. 9. Would some of your employees jump at the chance to work fewer hours – or none at all? That may seem like a crazy question in a time of skyrocketing employment, but think about the folks who are married to hospital employees or delivery drivers. Right now, they may need time more than money – to take care of child care, homeschooling, and other unexpected needs. They might volunteer to go part-time, especially if that came with the flexibility to work around their partners’ schedules. Or they might be willing to take leave without pay, to be furloughed, or even to be laid off. Plenty of freelance and unemployed publishing professionals are available to fill any resulting gaps in skills or experience. 10. Is there another publication’s subscription list that you wouldn’t mind owning? Let’s face it: Some magazines will not survive this recession. There may come opportunities to obtain additional subscribers, perhaps at no cost, from a publication that serves a similar audience. You may need to act quickly, so think ahead of time about how you would analyze the potential risks and rewards of such an opportunity. And, while you’re at it, consider whether now’s the time to put out feelers about merging with a competitor.

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10 Questions for Magazine Publishers in Survival Mode

1. What are your readers’ current wants or needs that you are uniquely able to fulfill via a magazine format?

D. Eadward Tree

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1. What are your readers’ current wants or needs that you are uniquely able to fulfill via a magazine format?

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D. Eadward Tree