The world of magazine media is a big one. Between internationally syndicated published materials, local niche magazines and the explosion of new material available through the Internet, the average reader has never had so many choices available.
This great plethora of information relevant to reader’s interests is a wonderful thing, but not every dedicated magazine is doing perfectly well. But let us see what the different types of magazines are, which are most successful, and why:
International Magazines, the Best of the Bunch
A few of the major names that come into mind, such as Time, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone are magazines with wide coverage over a global audience. These magazines tend to keep their readers longest through a combination of consistently good writing, interesting and timely articles, and a thorough journalistic review process.
Magazines like these ones are highly successful because they are open-ended in scope and appeal to a wide audience, without losing the edge and boldness that separates them from a traditional news publication. In the past, all that took was color pictures, but newspapers have caught up with the times since then.
Specialty Magazines, Small but Highly Dedicated Audience
Professional trade magazines go into this category: Business Insider for investors and brokers, Sound on Sound for audio engineers, and other field-specific publications that engender a smaller audience. It is not uncommon for multiple competing magazines to exist in the same category and to effectively share their pull of that small market.
It should be noted, however, that these magazines generally keep their subscriptions longer than any other. The reason behind this is largely due to the fact that most readers use the information contained in these publications for their professional career, and are much more reluctant to give them up.
Hobby Magazines, Larger Audience but Less Dedication
The tone of these magazines set them apart from the others. These are hobby magazines meant for those who pursue a passion of theirs that is not directly related to their career. Examples would include PC Gamer, Fishing World or Cigar Aficionado.
These magazines tend to keep a core audience made up of truly passionate advocates alongside a revolving door of individuals who are interested in the subject matter for only a while before fading out. Statistically, they still manage nearly as well as the specialty magazines, and some publications far outshine others in quality, depth, and readership.
If there is a subject about which you are truly passionate, perhaps even one through which you make your living, you probably have already gathered a number of magazine subscriptions dedicated to the subject in question. Reading a single publication is, in many fields, too restricting and biased for the average reader to get a clear and objective idea about the subjects of the articles contained therein.
Getting the Best Deal on Your Subscriptions
You have likely already subscribed to a few reputable magazines, trades journals and other publications in your field. You may read a few choice blogs on the subject and use these information sources to make your own judgments on the fields at large. Have you, however, made all of these subscriptions separately?
Many people, when interested in a subject, begin subscribing to magazines in a slow, meandering manner. They start with one in which they saw an interesting article, move to another after a few months out of curiosity, and so on. Publishers recognize this and have begun to offer group subscriptions for magazines in the same or related fields.
Now, if you make your subscriptions all at once and all with the same publisher (chances are that publisher will have at least two or three magazines of interest to you), you can get a great deal and save money on the long term. Often, these come with digital print editions, apps, and other great bonuses that help you get the most out of your trade, interest, or hobby.
Benefits to Subscribing to Multiple Magazines through a Single Publisher
- Magazines you want to read are delivered, often all at once, through a single consistent route.
- Deals offered by publishers save you money in return for more subscriptions.
- It is possible to switch magazines with the publisher, for instance by keeping 3 of the 4 to which you have subscribed and changing the last one to a different, related publication.
- All of your magazine subscription information and issues are centrally located with a single business, rather than being distributed among several.
When making a subscription deal with a magazine publisher, it always helps to ask if they have any special promotional packages or deals available. They often do, and, since you are contracting their services for timely and accurate information about a field you are passionate about, they should be happy to help you get the most out of your deal.
A weekly or monthly magazine subscription is often very important for professionals, tradesmen, aficionados and hobbyists in a wide range of fields. While scores of magazines exist dedicated to any subject you could likely imagine, finding the best deal of getting them delivered to you is not always such an easy task.
The magazine market has modernized in comparison to the airport newsstand culture of the past, and there are more ways than ever to get timely, relevant articles written by knowledgeable individuals concerning a subject you care about. We’ll look at a few of the options here.
Number One: Paper and Print Magazines
The simplest and most common magazine subscription is an agreement made with the publisher to send you each latest copy of the magazine in question directly to your home. This is the time-honored way of getting things done, but it no is longer the only way.
Magazines in Digital Print Are Here
The next most popular option is digital magazines. These are downloaded directly into your PC, laptop, tablet or smart phone and made available immediately after publication. For mobile devices, they often come in the form of applications. These digital magazines have a number of benefits, including:
- Zero delivery time;
- Often much cheaper than paper and print;
- Links in articles can be immediately looked up for further reading;
- Article content can be shared, forwarded and otherwise digitally communicated with others.
Digital subscriptions are simple to sign up for, with many publishers offering discounted rates in exchange for longer subscription terms. It is not uncommon for publishers to group together multiple magazines under a single group subscription either. This particular offer can help you stay far ahead of the game in the field that you are interested in.
An Alternative to the Commercial Magazine: Blogs
Depending on the subject you are interested in, blogs may or may not make a great, free source of information that matters to you. The clearest benefit of subscribing to blogs is the fact that they are completely free. Fact-checking and expertise, however, are common problems when dealing with semi-professional writers who do not need to prove any credentials to begin working.