A New View of Magazine Cost Control

Cost control is a way of life in today’s publishing environment. Yet cost-saving efforts virtually always carry an element of bad news. And the worst news stems from cuts that make a publication less viable over the longer term. It’s especially painful when we’re experiencing a resurgence in magazines—particularly print versions.

According to a May 25, 2023, Fortune article by David Miller, “Tech Giants Have Gutted Publishing. Now Digital Fatigue Is Giving Print a New Lease on Life,” overall magazine readership has been increasing for the past 10 years. There was a temporary dip in pass-along readership during the pandemic, but magazines are regaining that ground.

As the article also points out, readers still prefer print. A YouGov survey indicates only 29% of readers in the United States said they prefer reading magazines online. Print is poised to further take advantage of a phenomenon Miller calls “digital detox,” where people schedule time away from devices.

Most readers (including groups of all ages) love the tactile qualities of print. They simply love the touch and feel of print and even the act of turning pages. They also spend more time reading print publications vs. digital.

What’s more, advertisers have taken notice of the research on print and how it interacts with parts of the brain that impact buying decisions. The fact that readers find print advertising less intrusive is another feather in its cap. With more than 7,000 U.S. magazines in print reaching an audience of 220 million readers, print magazine publishing has a strong future.

Special-Interest Magazine Printing: A Tough Business

Believe us. We understand. In fact, within our world of special-interest magazine printing, we see two main challenges facing our customers:

• Developing compelling content that attracts and retains readers, which, in turn, attracts advertisers.
• Managing the business operations to remain competitive and financially sound.

The latter means sometimes even the best-run publications need to reduce costs. There is always a balancing act between enhancing revenue streams and trimming costs. But what can you cut from the budget without sacrificing quality?

Perhaps it’s worth stepping outside the publishing box and looking at the broader business world. A recent study by Orgvue suggests executives at large companies often regret the snap decisions they make when trying to cut costs. This survey of 500 leaders from global organizations with over 3,000 employees shows 93 percent admitted to making snap decisions aimed at combating rising inflation, sluggish consumer confidence and the increased cost of goods.

Thirty-eight percent of those business leaders already regret it. Why? The cuts resulted in low levels of employee engagement, operational efficiency, and productivity. And in the case of layoffs, the organizations lost valuable talent. Most leaders also felt they suffered reputational damage.

Beware of the Typical Cost-Cutting Plan

From our observations, magazine publishers tend to gravitate toward page and/or frequency reductions, as well as personnel cuts. The problem is any of these actions, either taken individually or in some combination, can weaken the product. Most businesses – magazine publishing or otherwise – don’t soar by lessening their product. And in the case of many small- and medium-sized publishers, the elimination of even one position can have a big impact–often in a negative way.

How To Cut Magazine Costs the Right Way

Closely examining your circulation list can be a good starting point. Advertisers don’t care as much about sheer numbers today. They are more interested in an engaged, well-targeted audience. Many publishers are investing in acquiring more profitable subscribers and changing them out for less engaged, less profitable readers. Show advertisers data you fine-tuned your circulation list, and they likely won’t squawk about lower numbers.

Clean Up Your Subscriber List

While it may sound basic, practicing good subscriber list hygiene can help you optimize your list for the greatest postal savings and delivery speed. At Walsworth, CASS-certified software helps ensure every subscriber address is current, duplicate-free and sorted and grouped properly for the lowest possible postage rate.

Consider Co-Mailing

You should also consider co-mailing your special-interest magazine if you are not currently doing so. Co-mailing creates “pools” that may consist of 30 or more titles from different publishers. After combining pieces into one presorted pool, mailers gain the benefits of higher, volume-based presort discounts as well as work-share discounts provided by the USPS.

Customers who switch to Walsworth often save on magazine mailing costs with our intelligent, streamlined Co-Mailing strategies. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help cut your magazine costs!

Two (Or Three Or Four Or Five) Heads Can Be Better Than One

Looking at expenses across the enterprise can pay dividends. Even minor expenses like catered lunches and office supplies, as well as larger items like healthcare, travel, and entertainment, can add up. She notes some publishers find success with a committee-based approach to cost decisions.

In this scenario, representatives from sales and marketing, editorial, accounting and other departments look for areas in which the organization can lower costs. It’s less top-down and incorporates a broader perspective.

Automate Wherever Practical

While automation does carry the potential to eliminate jobs, it can also free up staff for better uses, increasing overall productivity and success. Automating anything from production workflows to ways of reaching potential subscribers, processing subscription renewals and accounting tasks like payroll are good targets. Associations and other member-based publishing organizations that also fulfill print material requests would benefit from adding automated, customized, and demand-based digital storefronts.

Save on Magazine Costs with Walsworth

We have decades of experience serving special-interest magazine publishers—and saving them money. In fact, meeting the needs of small- and mid-market publishers enabled Walsworth to become North America’s third-largest magazine printer. You can lower your costs through our collaborative workflow tools, choice of multiple print platforms, efficient paper sourcing, and expert mailing, distribution and fulfillment services.

Our customer-first, “easy-to-do-business-with” approach also saves you time and money. You spend less time managing the production process and more time focusing on your readers. To start saving money now, simply submit your information and a friendly Walsworth associate will be in touch within 24 hours. You’ll be glad you did. And so will your readers, advertisers and financial stakeholders.