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magazines

Commando magazine is more likely to drive newsagency traffic than a weekly title

Commando is a low volume magazine that is much-loved by those who read it. Once a fan knows you syopck it, they come back again, and again. This is something to love about Commando and the many other special interest titles.

While niche titles may be small in sales volume, the returning customer traffic assists in their efficiency. They are good titles, too, to pitch on social media.

It’s in this special interest space where our channel has growth opportunity. The challenge is the poor tech platform rom distributor Are Direct for growing in-store range of niche titles.

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magazines

Thank you Golf Australia magazine for promoting Aussie newsagents

We need more magazine publishers doing this:

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magazines

The Australian Cars The Collection launch has been a hit

Newsagents are selling out of the launch issue of Australian Cars The Collection. The distributor does have some stock and newsagents needing stock are urged to contact the call centre.

I said this would be a hit when first writing about it here. The new shopper traffic being generated is most welcome.

The success of the launch is a reminder to newsagents that shoppers will spend money on what they love.

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magazines

Australian Cars The Collection set to drive traffic to Aussie newsagents

Newsagents are tagged in the TV commercial for Australian Cars The Collection, a new partwork series launching June 10. Newsagents are the exclusive retailers of this title.

I am grateful to have seen part 1 of Australian Cars The Collection. It’s a terrific product. It feels good. We already know how much car lovers like buying magazines. This new series is sure to appeal to to current car lovers, those who appreciate nostalgia, those who love collecting and people collecting for young kids.

Each issue in Australian Cars The Collection comes with an authentic 1:43 scale die-cast metal car model. The series will feature of some of the most iconic Australian cars from the 60’ to the ‘90’s.

My advice to newsagents is to display each issue of Australian Cars The Collection in prime position at the front of the shop, to leverage the considerable spend on the TV commercial, which tags newsagents. If there is room, put it at the counter. I am confident this will be a traffic driver for our channel.

And, yes, I hear the argument about the paltry margin. We have to suck it up while we do everything we can to leverage the traffic boost. If you are tempted to early return the title, my advice is don’t. Get behind it and sell out. The launch of Australian Cars The Collection is an opportunity for us to show what our channel can do. I suspect people will be watching us to see how we handle the opportunity. It’s up to all newsagents receiving the title to not let the channel down.

Use your newsagency software to offer a putaway service, to lock those early shoppers for this title into buying future issues from you. Good newsagency software makes putaways easy with the result being a personalised label for each cutaway customer. It’s the best approach to managing any partwork series as it provide you with control and the customer with a good experience.

This launch has been almost 2 years in the planning with a company in the UK and a company based in Asia that produces diecast cars for the world market. I know that the folks at Are Direct have used their own sales data to develop the allocation model for the title. This has taken considerable planning.

It’s been a long time since we have seen a partwork launch like this. Many newsagents in the channel today would not have experienced it before. That’s one reason I am writing this post – to share that this is a good opportunity. The TV commercial alone tagging newsagents is an opportunity for us to leverage. It should land people in your shop who are not regulars. This is the opportunity.

We should use our socials to talk about the launch, leverage the front of the store as I have already noted and ensured that everyone in the business is aware of the launch and the broader opportunity for the business.

If you are one of the 1,800+ newsagents using the Tower Systems newsagency software, please click here to access to knowledge base articles on managing cutaways.

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magazines

AFL Record promotes newsagents

While I’d prefer them to list newsagents ahead of the supermarket giants, it is good to see the channel pitched. If only other publishers would do this.

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magazines

Well done to those behind the 50% discount off some magazines at Coles

There is a deal at Coles at the moment offering 50% off selected magazine titles, making Coles far more attractive for purchasing these titles than local newsagency businesses. Clearly, those behind the promotion preference the supermarket giant over local newsagency businesses.

While I am sure those behind the promotion will have their reasons, their justifications, this promotion is a boost for Coles and a slap in the face to our channel. Well done.

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magazines

Relaying magazines in your newsagency is the easiest way to increase sales

Before I get into my revised advice on how to do a magazine relay in your newsagency I remind magazine publishers and our only magazine distributor that newsagents are treated poorly by you – poor margin, out of date management practices and no ability for us to reasonably control the titles we have. We are time-poor because of your out of date practices.

I first shared advice on how to relay magazines to drive growth in sales back in 2006. Over the years I have shared updated advice here. The advice below is considerably modified.

How to do a magazine relay in your newsagency

A magazine relay is the process of recasting, improving, the layout of magazines in your business, with the main goal of increasing sales and a secondary goal of improving retail space efficiency.

Take all the titles off and put them on the floor. Clean the fixtures.

Start at the end closest to the front of the shop and rebuild, making careful choices as to what titles go with what as you go along. Try and not place as they were placed before. Change is important. Don’t overthink it because no layout is permanent. Don’t consult your data. Rio with your gut.

At the top of a column have the title people will recognise the most. Consider allocating two pockets to this same title. This is what they call beacon branding.

Adjacency placement is where you can make editorial decisions, business decisions to guide your shoppers. What works best with what. You don’t know, not for sure at least, how can you. Ok, there is basket data you could read … but that only tells you what is happening. What about what could happen? Who knows. Experiment!

For example, should you put model plane magazines next to flying magazines? Or, should model plane magazines be in a distinct section of all model titles? Do puzzle shoppers shop by brand or puzzle type. Publishers want you to layout based on their brand whereas your shoppers are, in our opinion, more likely to shop by interest. For example, all sudoku titles could work better together, or all large print titles could work better together.

Here are some adjacency suggestions.

  • Cricket, golf and swimming go well together. Wrestling, boxing and buff-type fitness go well together.
  • Soccer is not rugby or AFL. Don’t mix them together.
  • Classic car titles need to be distinctly separated from regular car titles.
  • Classic car titles work well with classic trucks.
  • Car lovers do shop by brand. Place branded magazine titles together.
  • People interested in home renovation could be interested in any renovation title.
  • Creative arts go well together: painting, writing, craft.

Once you have completed the relay, walk staff through it so they know what’s what.

Next, watch shoppers and listen for feedback and, after a couple of weeks, look at the sales results. The results could guide adjustments, or not.

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magazines

The British relationship with magazines is so different to ours

Check out this video from Twitter a few days ago showing magazines featuring Doctor Who and (5) TV related titles in a UK newsagent.

I’m not pining for change. Rather, the difference fascinates me. I think it reflects a different relationship with print over all.

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magazines

Scandal at Sports Illustrated magazine over AI content and fake reporters

Futurism has this most incredible story. Here’s part of it:

Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers

We asked them about it — and they deleted everything.

There was nothing in Drew Ortiz’s author biography at Sports Illustrated to suggest that he was anything other than human.

“Drew has spent much of his life outdoors, and is excited to guide you through his never-ending list of the best products to keep you from falling to the perils of nature,” it read. “Nowadays, there is rarely a weekend that goes by where Drew isn’t out camping, hiking, or just back on his parents’ farm.”

The only problem? Outside of Sports Illustrated, Drew Ortiz doesn’t seem to exist. He has no social media presence and no publishing history. And even more strangely, his profile photo on Sports Illustrated is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, where he’s described as “neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes.”

Ortiz isn’t the only AI-generated author published by Sports Illustrated, according to a person involved with the creation of the content who asked to be kept anonymous to protect them from professional repercussions.

Read the rest of the article if you’re interested in magazines, AI, journalism and business ethics.

This is brazen stuff being reported from making up fake AI journalists / writers, claiming they are real and then deleting them when asked and offering no comment, editorial note, or other response.

All publishers should follow this story.

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Ethics

If only Aussie magazine publishers more actively prom owed newsagents like this

But without the all good newsagents bit, since we don’t control what we get.

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magazine distribution

Magazines shoppers will seek out

Make: is one of those magazines shoppers will seek out. Not every issue, but certainly a special interest issue, like this one featuring cosplay inspiration, designs and tips.

This issue drew our attention because of other engagement in-store applied to cosplay. It’s always good value when we can leverage two or three suppliers or categories in a social media post.

While the 25% margin on the magazine is poor, it’s the hope of add-on allied to there topic that interests.

What we know from shopper tracking is that shoppers for this niche title will travel across town to purchase.

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magazines

The Editor of People’s Friend magazine explains the importance of newsagents to them

In a recent issue of RN magazine in the UK, the editor of The People’s Friend magazine explained the importance of newsagents to their success when talking about their 8,000th issue. While written for UK readers of the news and convenience retailing magazine, The People’s Friend is a vital weekly title for many Aussie newsagents. It outsells other weeklies in some local shops. The People’s Friend shoppers are regular, loyal, and valuable.

The People’s Friend is a title we regularly pitch on social media as people love reading about it and being reminded about it. It’s a magazine that has stayed true to itself.

Reading this terrific coverage from RN, I wish Aussie magazine publishers felt the same way about our channel and we as focussed as folks at The People’s Friend are.

In practical terms, I use The People’s Friend as a beacon brand in my shops. By beacon brand, I mean a title to put in prime position at the top of a column, to draw eyeballs to a section. It fills the first 2 or 3 pockets, as a beacon. This encourages purchases of other titles with it.

I am grateful to Steve Denham for sharing this.

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magazines

Special interest magazine titles continue drive traffic

Vintage Made is an Aussie magazine for lovers of all things Vintage. It comes out twice a year. It’s a good magazine for newsagents as it reflects a point of difference. It’s not a magazine for petrol stations or supermarkets.

It’s also a magazine around which you can sell other items, which is a good way of nurturing value from a low margin low unit sale product. It’s a way to make the product more valuable.

I use Vintage Made as a title through which to reach out beyond the shop and attract new shoppers. It works for us by doing this, on Facebook especially.

Vintage is a popular keyword in Australia with more than 50,000 searches each month specifically related to vintage clothing.

Sometimes, something that can feel niche or fringe to us is big, sought after by plenty of others. This is where we can play, and find new shoppers, who will easily purchase more than a single magazine.

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magazines

Which magazine publishers are pitching newsagents on Twitter right now?

This is all I could find on Twitter from the last few weeks.

For sure Twitter is less relevant today than last week, last month and last year. But, it takes nothing to pitch on there.

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magazines

Jennifer Coolidge and Harper’s Bazaar magazine

Jennifer Coolidge is in Sydney for the Vivid Festival. I got to see and hear her last night which was a treat. She is also getting plenty of media coverage, in part because The White Lotus is such a hit. Anyway, right now is a good time to promote Harper’s Bazaar as people are more likely to purchase it on impulse.

SUper=markets and other competitors are unlikely to promote based on newsworthiness. It’s an opportunity for us.

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magazines

A newsagent without newspapers and magazines

This tweet by Harry Wallop is interesting to me in that it is happening here too – not in big or significant numbers, but it is happening. The challenge, of course, is the shingle and the expectations it carries.

Not that it’s my business but this shop in the photo appears focussed on convenience lines. To me, that would include newspapers at least.

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magazines

Magazine range a key factor in sales growth

While I get that many newsagents are reducing space commitment to magazines on the back of declining sales, at my Malvern store sales are growing. I think this is in part due to our out of store promotions like the video below that we released yesterday.

In one of my other newsagencies we have no magazines while in may third we have 250 pockets, which is under review.

This video shows part of the Malvern range.

This video is part of a weekly promotion outside the shop of magazines, designed to attract new shoppers – and it’s working for us.

It took me all of ten minutes to shoot the video on my phone, strip out shop sounds using iMovie, load it to promo.com, enter the text and lay a music track over iot. Now I have a video that I will use in several places several times over the next couple of weeks.

No other retailer anywhere near our malvern shop is promoting magazine range.

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magazines

The publishers of Artlink magazine show it’s not that hard to pitch local Aussie newsagents

This tweet from the folks behind Artlink magazine would have taken a minute or two and cost nothing. Here they are pitching to their community that the new issue of their magazine is out and available at newsagents.

I wish other Aussie magazine publishers would be this engaged.

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magazines
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