Printing Press, Munich Museum, Germany, 1811
Why do so many magazines fail?
That’s not just me asking the question. That’s an oft-quoted query in the magazine publishing world. And yet, examples abound of start-ups in the old media. Catchy titles and glossy graphics can be all that’s needed for success in today’s multimedia environment.
( “10 Commandments for Custom Magazine Failure” )
The latest example to run across my eyeballs is Ideas and Discoveries magazine.
I bought this on a whim from while on recent business trip. As I said, awesome graphics and catchy subject matter. How food cooks. The deteriorating mental condition of historical figures. Brain neuro-parasites. Entertaining and educating enough to keep throughout the whole trip and bring home to the kids.
But one visit to the magazine website, and I knew right away that this dog won’t hunt.
HUGELY disappointed.
Zero free content to lure readers, just brief article summaries. No Twitter handle, no Stumbleupon, Digg or Google Plus buttons (standard fare on most blogs). No RSS feed subscription button. Just a lame Facebook page. No blog link. A lame Alexa score of over 3 million.
Printing Press, woodcut by George Baxter, 1829
Any Yakezie blogger would give their eyeteeth for a fraction of this magazine’s operating budget, and probably double ad sales within 12 months. Not too hard to do, seeing as how there were only four (!) full page ads out of the 82 pages of the April issue.
If that’s not evidence that I&D editors are still stuck in the 90′s, I don’t know what is. Yep, stick with the printed distribution business plan, and see how that works for you.
Ideas and Discoveries magazine has allegedly been around for a year. I give them another year, if that. By that time, the cash burn will have emptied the operating budget, and they will have joined ranks of dead magazines.
( “Failing Economy Shutters 525 Magazines in 2008” — “Magazines That Folded in 2009 – Which One Will You Miss?” )
Readers, what do you think? Why do so many magazines fail? Am I right, dead on arrival for I&D? Totally lame prediction? Do PF blogs fail at the same rate? Why does good money get thrown at a bad strategies? Are people incompetent? Why am I asking so many questions?
I think print magazines can fail because a) they are overpriced and b) technology is where it’s at! I think PF blogs fail at an alarming rate because it costs SO MUCH time to build a blog, and even then, it’s not as fruitful as we all would love to hope for.
Daisy recently posted..Six Annoying Work Personalities We Could All Do Without
Hi Daisy – in September I’ll hit two years with this blog. Even in this limited PF niche, there’s been a few who have come and gone.
Hey Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be offering print versions and is going all digital. Better late than never!
Some magazines like the one you mention need a wake up call.
MoneyCone recently posted..Companies I Won’t Do Business With
Hi MC – probably the same kind of money that bankrolled “Gigli”.
I think a lot of PF blogs fail, probably more than we know of. How many do you think create the blog, put up one post, and then never write again? Those are ones that you would never hear of and I’m guessing is a lot, on top of those who quit after a time. I personally remove blogs from my reader that haven’t posted in three months or more, and I usually delete at least 1-2 a week, many of which had previously been around for months or even years.
Money Beagle recently posted..Go Look It Up In The Encyclopedia
I’m guessing that some bloggers eventually run out of things to say/write. Permanent writer’s block.
I think magazines can succeed if they ask the question: do you really want to read everything on a eye-burning screen? I like the experience of reading a magazine and being confined to the words between the covers.
John @ Married (with Debt) recently posted..Best Personal Finance Writing – Week 11
Second the thought, John. There’s a few magazines that I still subscribe to. The model isn’t necessarily defunct, it’s that upstarts need more than just quality content to succeed.
It is interesting how many mags don’t understand the internets as Average Joe calls it….With all the emphasis on social media it seems as if it would be hard to miss that part.
Dr Dean recently posted..Financial Follies: Famous Podcast Panel Edition!
Hey Doc – writing this post made me wonder at what the average age of the staff at I&D.
I don’t really pay for magazines so I guess I’m not the best judge. We reuse other people’s magazines from the laundry room or I just go read at the library. I think you’re right about this one.
I think PF blogs fail because people ran out of idea/time and gave up.
Joe @ Retire By 40 recently posted..Increasing Our Dividend Income
A truly frugal practice, Joe. I was struck by the lack of advertising. Few ads and limited eyeballs? Sign me up!
Yeah, not exactly a good decade to start a print magazine anyway. Maybe it’s a tax dodge.
Maggie@SquarePennies recently posted..Parenting: Just Say Yes
Good point, Maggie. There is at least one company on the Nasdaq that I’ve written about, and which has lost money for decades.
It a shame really that so many magazines fail, as many are put together with a lot of good ideas and skills in their areas, but most are probably not business savvy enough in the publishing and advertising areas. So they burn through their capital and poof. Same thing probably happens with blogs. Many don’t have the patience to see traffic build over time, and end up not making as much as they expected.
CultOfMoney recently posted..Grouped – the book review
Hi CoM – we could feel a tiny smidgen of pity for the investors, but on the bright side, maybe someone will learn something from the failure.
I love magazines, reading for that matter, and spent my career in the business.
the printed word, in all its forms, has taken a huge hit from the digital age, mostly in lost revenue.
as to why most magazines start-ups fail: they tend to be started by folks on the editorial side rather than the business side. they tend to underestimate just how hard it is to generate revenue for their great idea. Indeed, I’ve consulted on start-ups where the founders had no idea where the revenue would come from.
the also tend to create gorgeous products with a cost structure that is unsustainable.
Still, I hope we will always have magazines and that new ones will always be launched.
jlcollinsnh recently posted..How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive.
Great observation and comment, JL. Much like in the mining industry. Brilliant field geologists, eternal optimists that they are, make lousy CEOs.
I just don’t understand why so many media companies are desperately grasping at old business models and refuse to change.
They think that somehow their medium is different than the others who have nearly killed their businesses because they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to be innovators- like newspapers, the Music industry, Publishing, TV Networks, Movie studios and others.
People want content available in multiple formats- print, online, Kindle/iPad/Nook, smartphone apps, etc. I&D seems to be holding on to the idea that offering one form of content is enough. But I agree with you- their ignorance will likely prove fatal.
Even in my industry- Radio- many executives & companies almost waited too long to adapt. They kept trying to do things the same old way- forcing people to come to us (on the radio or our website or our live broadcasts) instead of going where they are. Luckily, the media company I work for didn’t make those mistakes. Our programming is available in multiple formats and has been for several years.
Hi Dave – the music industry is another dinosaur that has been thankfully gored by the intarwebz. I’ve bought music directly from artists (not even in iTunes) for 99 cents a song, and not been forced to buy 10 other songs on a CD. Let’s call call that market efficiency.
Broadcast radio is another format that is shape-shifting dramatically. I don’t hardly listen to it anymore. I plug in the iPod and listen to downloaded podcasts and music while on the road.
Not only magazines, but also good many newpapers seem to be in their last stage of life. I think this mainly happens because of adamant attitude of management to ignore new media and its power, i.e. Internet. I also think that bloggers fail at even faster rate as most start without clear objective since barrier to entry is so low. After a while, they can’t consistently spend time that most successful blogs require.
Shilpan recently posted..10 Frugal Habits to Help You Look Younger and Live Longer
I think blogs/magazines fail is because there is only so much demand and supply. There are a TON of magazines our there, and now with mags competing with online articles and blogs, there are more options now than ever before.
With that said, there are also only so many things to write about. You have a ton of overlap and redundancy when 100 different financial blogs talk about the same things every couple of weeks. Knowing this, I think it makes it tough for new magazines and new blogs. The popular blogs/magazines have the brand and name recognition…it’s tough for the little guys to get started.
WorkSaveLive recently posted..Save Money Saturday March 2012 #2
Frankly the cost of paper and ink makes the price of most magazines prohibitive. On top of that, most of them can’t compete with the instant force that is the internet. I’m constantly irked by the errors I find even in online newspapers because they are so quick to send a story to “print” that they don’t bother to fully check the details. I had to stop reading two of them.
Andi @ MealPlanRescue recently posted..4 Reasons Your Kids Hate Vegetables
That’s the thing, isn’t it? All the cost of materials and printing and delivery. Huge embedded energy cost, when (at least some of it ) could be delivered for a fraction of the cost online. I have errors on the posts as well after publishing, but I find I catch most of them afterwards the next day. Maybe eyeball fatigue causes some of the small typos.
Cost is a big one, and the number of magazines out there is crazy high. I wouldn’t be surprised if printed magazines don’t exist in 10 years. Everyone is going digital and the only time I see people reading magazines these days is when they’re at the doctor’s office! -Sydney
Untemplater recently posted..Interview With The Founder of Jade Chocolates: A Prosperous Career Change
Could be, Sydney. Maybe it’s a buggy-whip-style transition for printed media.
I think it is the same as with blogging: no readership because of the crappy content, a lot of investment and no return, not keeping up with technology. Some magazines manage su survive centuries, some cannot survive six months. You would think by now a lot of small press and on-line magazines would learn from each other.
Aloysa@My Broken Coin recently posted..The Cost Of Being A Mail-Order Bride
Good point, Aloysa. With knowledge so widely available these days, surprising to see business operators cling to old strategies. Stay informed!