It’s not secret that the print publishing industry is in trouble: several newspaper have recently gone bust. But the magazine industry might be in even worst shape. Like newspapers, circulation and advertising are down, but even moreso because magazines are seen more as a luxury purchase than are newspapers. But is it possible that magazines (and newspapers) should be considering affiliate marketing as a way to boost their ad revenues and maybe even their subscriptions?
Granted, it would considerably unconventional for a print reliant industry to turn to affiliate marketing. But as AdAge reports, marketers are warning magazines to innovate before it’s too late:
LONDON (AdAge.com)–Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Simon Clift and Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy gave a stark warning to an international gathering of magazine publishing executives today, urging the industry to innovate and to be more creative.
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Mr. Levy [told the audience] that magazines must “shatter traditional standpoints” if they are to escape the current cycle of “despair, doom and demise.”
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For Mr. Clift, the selling point of magazines is the opportunity for “symbiotic editorial.” “If the [marketer] information is useful, relevant and interesting there’s no reason why it should be inconsistent with the magazine brand. It can build the magazine’s brand equity rather than compromising it,” he said.
Between offline affilaite marketing and traditional online offers, affiliate marketing may just allow the print-based publishing industry to “shatter” those “traditional standpoints,” and offer advertisers a more “symbiotic editorial.”
First, whatever adspace that print-based operations are unable to sell could be filled in with affiliate offers. In fact, print-based operations may find that they can maximize their ad revenues by regularly featuring a blend of the two — especially on their online properties.
Second, by runing affiliate offers based on the kinds of products that their readers are actually likely to buy (rather than waiting for advertisers to come to them), and producing better-targeted content around that demographic, print-based publications can offer a kind of “symbiotic editorial.”
Third, print-based publications may even consider a kind of “hot deals” section or newsletter around that demographic. If properly targeted, this might not only boost their conversions, but actually help generate and retain subscriptions as readers start wanting access to such attractive offers.
Of course, affiliate marketing isn’t going to save the print-based publishing industry. It’s facing several challenges, of which only one is falling ad revenues. It must, therefore, innovate in a number of areas.
Affiliate marketing, however, could help it innovate in the ad-sales department. By diversifying its ad-model to include sponsorships, impressions, and performance-based ads, print-based publishing might just be able to bolster its revenues long enough to innovate in other critical areas, and weather the storm that’s pounding it right now.
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[...] last week I was asking whether magazines should consider affiliate marketing. The benefits included (1) monetizing un-sold ad-space, (2) targeting products based on their [...]
I think this could be an excellent idea. Not only could the affiliate marketing boost revenue for the magazines, it’s probable that their target audience would enjoy their subscriptions more. After personally targeting mostly women with my own affiliate marketing, I’m beginning to see what they respond to and how they appreciate and purchase based upon the ads they see and the content presented to them. Of course, my wife helps substantially with this! Most print magazines are enjoyed by women for aesthetics as well as their content. I think incorporating affiliate marketing can only enhance a magazine’s enjoyment for most of their readers, especially if they are targeted to women.
I’m writing a diary of my affiliate experiences, and recently about my first ad buy and how my original goal of $10k monthly is swiftly seeming far too small a goal. http://dangerbrown.com/my-first-ad-buy-just-began/