tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26541745144110259242024-03-08T00:19:36.405-08:00NewsstandThe online magazine retailerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-38106954084748190692020-03-28T06:28:00.001-07:002020-03-28T06:32:09.689-07:00The best of the worstDealing with a pandemic and the fear that comes with one is not something we ever thought we'd have to cope with at <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/" target="_blank">Newsstand</a>. The last few weeks have been surreal for everyone and we don't expect these twists and turns to stop anytime soon. We're still open and sending out your magazines to this point so, so far so good.<br />
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We are extremely aware of the fact that our services are pretty low down on the order of importance - and with that we must offer our utmost thanks and support to those battling this virus and helping those who are suffering from or because of it. Having said that, we do hope that we can keep ensuring that our little paper bundles of joy reach you all - especially those who are stuck at home, as relaxation and inspiration must be truly useful offerings at this time and if nothing else, we've plentiful access to these.<br />
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What is really interesting is how we come out of this depression and what changes it will have on us going forwards. I'd like to think we can channel the "best of the 1970s" and try to hang on to some of it once this storm has passed through.<br />
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For example, there are big upsides for the environment; with fewer pointless car journeys into town, the food saving refusal to bin those outer cabbage leaves and the reduction in the general consumption of unnecessary goods. We've seen the images of air quality improvement all over the world and under flight paths the lack of contrails has even improved the light.<br />
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In business, the winners and losers seem to stare across the fence of sustainability; travel services are decimated, staying at home is lauded. Supermarket sales may be high, but normality and plentiful stock is to be found at the local markets. Home working saves travel as well as ecological and financial overheads.<br />
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Home life is challenging yet fascinating. Time management and priorities evolve and although a return to external socialising will be welcomed with open arms, its the conversations with family that provide novel insight. Community spirit is most certainly alive and well. Keeping busy is essential but you might even start to notice the calories consumed vs burnt by your body as one eye is kept on the dwindling food cupboard - is this energy conservation in its purest form?<br />
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Some of these points are fanciful and pay little attention to an economy adversely affecting many good, hard working folk, nor to the casualties of the virus itself. Like us, I suspect you are saturated with these thoughts and we wanted to combat that by sending small, positive snippets to our wonderful customers.<br />
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And then it occurred to us, that is exactly our business...<br />
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Stay positive and look after yourselves x<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-60768804703450820612019-01-09T06:32:00.003-08:002019-01-09T06:32:57.651-08:00Notes on a pop up magazine shopIt was with some trepidation (and audible sniggering in the background) that we spoke of opening a retail magazine shop in the heart of Canterbury, last November. A pop up shop to showcase the very best of the 4,000 magazines that we offer on our main business and website, <a href="http://newsstand.co.uk/">newsstand.co.uk</a>.<br />
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We were not expecting to add to the business' bottom line but were keen to not make a huge hole in it either, opening the very day the UK news was full of the joys of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46142025" target="_blank">98 retail outlets closing every week</a>.<br />
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The citizens of Canterbury, a small but vibrant city, were about to find out about the independent magazine industry and we couldn't wait to see what they thought of it. Now we wouldn't want to bore you with sales figures and what not, but it started very well. In fact, it has continued to be very positive and we may well keep it open past its initial 3 month term and make it a part of the Canterbury landscape for as long as we can.<br />
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The purpose of this post, though, is to underline what an eye opening experience it has been to jump from distribution and online, to the face to face retail side of the industry. In our warehouse near Canterbury, we have the largest selection of magazines under one roof, possibly worldwide. We sell single copies and subscriptions all over the planet to wonderful folk we never meet and only very occasionally talk to. We don't see their facial expressions when they visit the website or browse the magazines on offer (not yet, anyway).<br />
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We serve publishers who are creating the most wonderful publications, earnestly despatching them across the globe - but we don't see the expressions of the readers opening the envelopes - and this has been a huge gap in our knowledge of late. Yes, we see the numbers and the growth and yes, we see the online appreciation of many publications, but it's very clearly only half of the story. Newsstand needed to keep in touch with its original vision of serving the customer; making sure it knows exactly what that customer likes and wants, and delivers it.<br />
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So, aside from the financial effects of the pop up shop, in a town that is far from cheap for retail space, we have seen the faces of folk entering the shop. We have heard the mutterings of "is it a book shop" turn into the "these magazines are amazing", the disbelief that so many are made to such a high standard. To use online retailers' jargon, the conversion rate in the shop is extremely impressive and customers who take the time to browse almost always find something they are willing and happy to buy.<br />
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Aside from the shop itself, this gives us huge hope for the future of the online business, we have seen the responses of the, to date, untapped market - those who just do not know these magazines exist. When we are feeling positive, we sense that the <a href="https://www.newsstand.co.uk/700-Indie-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx" target="_blank">independent magazine market</a> is at an increasingly exciting time. We've known for years about the quality of the products, it's just up to now they have been the preserve of a select, design conscious audience (honk generalisation klaxon at will...).<br />
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Having seen first hand what an uninitiated slice of the general public think of them, promotion to a wider audience is happening, and it works, and its very exciting for everyone involved. For Newsstand, the traditional shop has at least been the best market research that we have ever carried out - if you're in the area please pop in and tell us what you really think.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-51367878152490933522017-03-27T05:38:00.004-07:002017-03-27T05:38:55.920-07:00There is much more to magazine survival than simply digital vs print<div class="MsoNormal">
The magazine market is in decline. Evidently the internet
has had a part to play, but there are other influences that the wailing cries
of print’s demise often leave out. Two that stand out above all others are the
supply chain and the publishers’ faith in digital magazines.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JG Palmer (established in 1898 and the owner of <a href="http://newsstand.co.uk/">Newsstand.co.uk</a>),
used to be the wholesaler of newspapers and magazines in the Kent area and
beyond. They were one of many independent wholesalers, renowned for innovation
and at the cutting edge of distribution progress in the industry. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This healthy balance of the three multiple wholesalers plus
the many independents was slowly eroded over decades, but came to an abrupt end
in 2006 when Frontline (part owned by Emap), took the radical decision to award
all their vertical distribution contracts to the three multiple wholesalers
alone (Menzies Distribution, Smiths News and Dawson News). Other distributors
followed Frontline’s lead and independent wholesaling was removed from the
industry almost overnight and along with it a healthy chunk of competition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dawson News ran in to trouble not long after and the
industry is now served by just two multiple wholesalers. I am sure that it is
worth saying here that the remaining wholesalers carry out sterling work and
still provide an excellent distribution platform for all magazines (we would like to point out the superb relationship we have with our local wholesaler), but it
would be brave to assume that there has been no overall deterioration in service due to
the aforementioned reduction in competition and the subsequent centralisation
of services.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Alongside these distribution changes, the giant retailers
have been enjoying the pleasures of the fixed magazine range. To be displayed
in the supermarkets and WH Smiths can now cost the publisher no small amount of
money – and with total retail control of stock, access to the shelves of the
most visited shops in the country is no longer a luxury that most titles can
afford.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The result of these ranges was that, as magazines had to go
somewhere, the independent, non ranged newsagents would receive more and more
product. An excellent range of just about everything you may think – but these
very rarely fitted on the shelves. Displays suffered and management of the
stock became harder and harder to the point that many newsagents would either
give up magazines altogether or simply take a range of the top 40 bestsellers
and no more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eventually, this meant that the new launches (that didn’t
have six figure promotional budgets) were lost to the eyes of the consumer.
They either had nowhere to go or were literally stuffed into some shelving with
barely their spine on display. This environment makes it very hard to develop
circulation, and as the top sellers move on (or their readership does) there
are fewer visible magazines to fill their shoes. It also becomes a vicious
circle with the ranges in multiple retailers and the calamity on the indies’
shelf space – browsing for new magazines here became headache inducing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Subscriptions might seem like the obvious answer, but these
should always be sold as upselling to the casual reader. If the casual reader
and single copy sale is not there, subscription marketing becomes about price
and not quality – you’re selling to people who don’t know your product. This
price war eventually ensures that subscriptions are virtually given away and
the print magazine, as a product, is cheapened almost beyond repair. Discounts
are perfectly harmless in short bursts – but to flog something at a fraction of
its cost for years on end can only damage the image of the magazine in the eyes
of the wider public – as well as make the publishing business model
uneconomical.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is one of the main reasons that the new “indie”
magazine resurgence has been so strong. The industry was, almost unbeknown to
itself, crying out for some differentiation, allowing quality, tactile
publications to distance themselves from the mainstream 3 issues for £3 degradation.
In reality, it is this successful drive for a product to be valued that makes
it work – the care in copy, production and distribution are essential, otherwise
you do play, unnecessarily, into the hands of the internet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was this fear of the internet that drove many publishers
to put too many of their eggs into the digital basket, opening up the internet
media and bloggers as competition with the staggered development of digital
issues. Despite more recent attempts to progress, these digital issues were far
too much like websites – with the added silo nature of the offering only losing
it further marks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Younger generations love print, but they do not want to be
forced to commit nor have their horizons fixed. This has a detrimental effect
on both the subscription and digital models of magazine distribution.
Understandably, publishers have looked to additional services such as in app
purchasing and events; these may well earn them important income but they do
little to help the circulation numbers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Newsstand has looked at this from an altogether different
angle. Since 1995, it has taken the print offering and concentrated on two key
factors. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Firstly, the service to the consumer needed an overhaul.
Single copies, next day delivery and in house customer services were a must –
in these days of online purchasing, expecting customers to wait six weeks and
not be sure which issue or when it will arrive is not acceptable. Providing the
best service allows a respectable price to be asked and Newsstand has underlined
the adage that customers will pay for what they want, when they want it. This
results in an economically positive market for our publishers to operate in and
unique fulfilment systems ensure smooth operation. Holding stock on thousands
of magazines also allows the availability of each publication to be at 100%,
worldwide, always.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Secondly, Newsstand employs marketing techniques that
promote magazines as individual issues rather than so much the magazine brand
itself. Customers may design their own subscriptions across any number of
titles and keep abreast of their favourite people and topics. With excellent
response rates, this method allows for cross selling but also ensures the
products keep sight of what the customer wants. The art of cover design is back
in play, having been lost temporarily amongst the newsagents’ overcrowded
shelves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is still a long way to go. Newsstand has returned double
digit increases across the board for five years running, has signed up many
publishers to its fulfilment offering and has hundreds of thousands of
customers on its books, but can it ever replace the browsing experience?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The print magazine now has a wonderful
opportunity. The force of digital on individual lives is increasing
exponentially. Yes, it’s fast and efficient, but it is also overwhelming.
Print’s supposed weaknesses can become it’s driving strength – to reintroduce
slow reading, longer form articles, tactile experiences and top quality imagery;
become a modern day meditation against the endless information onslaught.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-84106029593989924722016-12-15T02:41:00.000-08:002016-12-15T02:41:00.290-08:00The Great Print Magazine Opportunity of 2017-19We are really quite excited at <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/" target="_blank">Newsstand</a> at the moment, because we see the coming years as the perfect opportunity for the print magazine industry.<br />
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It's supposed weaknesses are, in a reversal of business parlance (which can only be a good thing), surely it's strengths and opportunity. Isn't the digital age, now in full swing, becoming a burden on our lives and minds? It's efficient, fast and indefinite. It's everywhere, it's intangible, fleeting, easy....and all too often pointless (yes, yes, we know but at least we've kept it short).<br />
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This is manifesting itself across industries and lifestyles. Journalism is by some accounts on it's knees and advertising isn't far behind. Social interaction, especially important for the young, is probably plummeting. We could go on.<br />
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Well, we believe the tide is turning. The magazine has the ability to break the whirlwind cycle of brief consumption after brief consumption that we experience individually and almost daily - occasionally interrupted by putting the need to recharge the mobile above our own personal requirements.<br />
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We need to switch off, to actually read what we read and practice the art of concentration. The magazine has the <b>unique</b> opportunity to gently re introduce this important factor to our weekly existence. They have pictures if you are a little weary and the articles are not too long; you are safe from some threat of literary shock and holding a magazine open is perhaps the perfect start on the long road to recovery.<br />
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Market it so.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-70812875196983629192015-03-13T03:01:00.004-07:002023-08-09T03:02:13.708-07:00Print Magazines just need to clear their throatsWe think the Print Is(n't) Dead ping pong rhetoric is becoming a little stale. All magazines being grouped together in the same boat, sinking or otherwise, is both unfair and inaccurate. It takes quite a lot to make us at Newsstand pen a blog post - but this topic ticks all the right boxes and we strongly feel the need to assuage our twitching eyelid.<br />
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There are magazines and then there are magazines.<br />
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We are going to be a little crude here and group them in to two distinctive areas. There are mainstream, high print run, advert driven magazines and then there are <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/700-Indie-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx" target="_blank">independent</a>, low print run, copy sales driven publications.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It would be foolish and occasionally unfair to write that one group was of higher quality than the other, but they certainly work from different business models which influence strongly the final product that you would end up with on your coffee table/dustbin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The mainstream segment will always look to it's circulation numbers to fuel its advertising revenue, whereas the independent sector will generally look to producing a product that the customer will pay a sustainable price for. With extreme generalisation, we can say that the mainstream magazines are having a tough time - resorting to cheaper and cheaper subscription deals in order to keep those circulation numbers up; similarly we can say that the independents are experiencing a boom with new launches and increasing sales for those producing the "quality with love" products that typify the sector.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Readers can get the "advert driven, flippantly written" stuff all over the internet - it's free and plentiful. What readers still want - and are happy to pay well for - is the quality publication that the editor lives and breathes and that which feels wonderful in your hands. The fact that it is hard to come by and not shoved in front of us on every corner helps, too.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes there are huge challenges for the Indie sector, from availability to cost management - at Newsstand we provide them with a better <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/Publisher/" target="_blank">online sales and fulfilment service</a> than even the mainstream titles have access to - but they are still growing in numbers, increasing sales and bringing us back to a time when print was a joy to behold (that was a real time, right?)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.32px;">We also know there are also many mainstream titles that are of exceptionally high quality and that we have generalised horribly in this post, but it was means to highlight an important differentiation...that is, when discussing the future success of print magazines please do refer to the baby and the bathwater.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.32px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.32px;">The irony we suppose, is that it's the thought of becoming a successful, mainstream magazine that drives the indie sector on to produce such wonderful products - after all, few independent publishers can be found sequinned up and buying tables at the latest industry function. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.32px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.32px;">So print magazines aren't dying or booming, its just that the paying public is wising up. It's called evolution.</span></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-41542253703744775662014-12-11T05:16:00.000-08:002014-12-11T05:16:33.474-08:00Yes, yes, it is a gift that lasts all year.It has been ages since we went back to basics on our marketing here at <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/" target="_blank">Newsstand</a> (quiet at the back, please). Our concentration has been focused squarely at the development of our service to both customers and publishers over the last year or so. So now, stepping back, it might be worth jotting down the benefits of a good old magazine subscription as a gift.<br />
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Firstly, we would all love an antidote to the "opened before lunch and broken by tea" gift situation. It's wasteful and although it provides a rush of excitement, its a tenable situation neither for the recipient nor the giver....<br />
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A magazine subscription, on the other hand, is effectively indestructible and will last as long as you want it to...here at Newsstand you can choose subscription lengths from a single copy right up to one or two years' worth. They'll be reminded of your generosity long after pine needles are found in turkey sandwiches, not once, but 2, 5, 8 or 12 times!<br />
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Also, the sheer breadth of choice we have (the largest range online), means that you can broaden someone's horizons with a magazine that they hadn't even known existed, on a topic that you know they enjoy. Overseas magazines are especially useful for this, but we also have a large range of high quality <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/700-Indie-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx" target="_blank">independent publications</a> - very often with free post within the UK.<br />
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Yes, we do gift cards, but where we really excel is with our <a href="https://www.newsstand.co.uk/default.aspx?Module=GiftCredit" target="_blank">Gift Credit</a> offer. This can be viewed as a simple voucher for use at Newsstand. However, when you consider it against a subscription to one magazine for a year, it comes into its own.<br />
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The recipient can use the credit against any one of 3,500 magazines from around the world - a copy of this and a short subscription to that - it is totally up to them. They can even receive alerts for every new issue of their favourites and decide which ones to have delivered and which ones to leave.<br />
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For you, it is a simple process and we'll send the voucher on, either to you or the lucky person.<br />
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Heartfelt sales pitch over, all of us at Newsstand wish customers and everyone else a wonderful Christmas and/or holiday season.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-10189415297777432242014-10-28T01:59:00.000-07:002014-10-28T02:02:16.420-07:00Come back Derek....<div class="MsoNormal">
A bead of sweat ran halfway down his forehead, pausing
slightly at the last, great rift ordaining his twitching frown. Derek had been like
this for days, the last days of October; the days he both looked forward to and
hated the most. He’d considered another vocation, of course he had. The
dehydration, above all else, plagued his thoughts, his home life. He thought of
his wife and child, long since left on their annual Autumn get away (from
Derek). <o:p></o:p></div>
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That was Derek last year, folks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He was in charge of Christmas email sending here at
Newsstand – it was his decision when it should be sent to potentially hundreds
of thousands of Newsstand customers. For many years, he was THE man. Finger
hovering over the send button for days on end – never missing that golden moment
where weather, half terms, consumer optimism and an intangible whiff of
Christmas forethought collided to create that wondrous retailer’s dream, the
moment when the reader actually, vaguely appreciates a sales email.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This year, as Derek started displaying symptoms even early
in October, we sent him packing…. he’s currently on a trip to see the Northern
lights and Santa Claus in Scandinavia with his family. We told him it was far too
early, but he wouldn’t listen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Retailers up and down the country have their own fingers twitching
away as we speak – in fact, this post was inspired (yes, OK, we hear you) by a magazine retailer who’s
just caved in and sent theirs. We think they’ve bolted too soon, but we can
appreciate the stressful times and, quite frankly, if they don’t have a man like Derek in their
ranks, well, these things can happen.<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-91216197365849255432014-06-03T10:54:00.000-07:002014-06-04T09:42:21.226-07:00Stop Press...Attitude Magazine uses Newsstand’s unique online single copy sales service to create its largest UK retailer within 6 months, by adding one button to its website.<br />
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Attitude, the leading Gay Lifestyle magazine, is using Newsstand to enable its own website visitors to purchase single copies of the magazine for same day despatch, worldwide. Sales through the <a href="http://newsstand.co.uk/">Newsstand.co.uk</a> outlet have increased tenfold as a result, with the ability for customers to make impulse purchases online, cited as a key driver of sales.<br />
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Newsstand has been pioneering the single sales online service to its customers for over 4 years. Linking into the Newsstand service directly, <a href="http://www.attitude.co.uk/" target="_blank">Attitude’s website</a> has allowed customers to buy copies online easily, without having to subscribe.<br />
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“We are always looking at new ways to get Attitude in the hands of our loyal readers and as easily as possible. The service with Newsstand allows copies to be sent overnight to readers in the UK for the same cover price and with just a couple of clicks from our website” Mike Buckley, Managing Director, Attitude Media Ltd.<br />
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Customers need only click through from an image of the current issue on the publisher’s website and the payment, fulfilment and CRM is all taken care of by Newsstand, with a <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/fourfourtwo" target="_blank">white label microsite (see example here)</a> option also available.<br />
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“We don’t believe that online purchases should be restricted to subscriptions and the customer response supports this. The added advantage for Attitude was that it was so easy to introduce”, chortled a Newsstand spokesperson.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-23790138915033664762014-04-30T03:22:00.003-07:002014-04-30T03:24:42.884-07:00An alternative & flexible way to subscribe<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Gotham, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20.927000045776367px; padding: 0px;">
We'd like to let you know about our free <strong>Cover Alert</strong> service available on over 3,500 magazines. It'll remind you when new issues of your favourite titles hit the shops, as well as inform you of their cover and contents.</div>
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You can then decide to buy through us, anywhere else or of course, not at all.</div>
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We love this service - by using it wisely, you're saying to the publisher, "impress me with each and every issue you produce and if you do, I'll buy a copy". A great alternative to a subscription, which may unfortunately relieve the editor of some necessary pressure to perform!</div>
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Plus, the service allows you to pick and choose issues throughout the year, should you not get around to reading all of them - especially good for foreign language learning. There's nothing worse than a pile of unread magazines in plastic to remind us of our throwaway society.</div>
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Keeping up with the latest covers couldn't be simpler. Just visit the page for any title on our site and click on the 'Email me Cover Updates' button underneath the image. We'll not use your email for anything else and you can stop the alerts at any time.</div>
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Never miss your favourite magazines - wherever you choose to buy them from.</div>
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Thanks</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-60688867511439145332013-11-11T03:17:00.002-08:002013-11-11T03:17:17.885-08:00Chew on this<div _mce_style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11px; padding: 0px;">
We are feeling feisty. No flannel today folks - just straight talking, season sorting facts.</div>
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You need presents, you don't like crowds. You detest throwaway gifts, you know 3,000 people all with different interests (and some are, quite frankly, a little <strike>strange</strike> independent).</div>
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You like the fact a subscription can last all year, but you don't want to tie anyone in. You want to select a few different magazines, <span style="font-size: 8pt;">shorter subscriptions or </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">maybe single copies of top quality fashion publications. You love the great value publisher direct offers - but you don't want to have to wait two months for delivery.</span></div>
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You need to choose when your magazines are sent so they arrive on time, maybe you want to send abroad and you definitely need to add a pretty gift card with your own message. You might also want to email it as well, in case you've left it late.</div>
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You know exactly what you want to buy, or you have no idea at all - a magazine voucher would be great. You know real print junkies and you would like to send them a huge <strong><a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/715-Magazine-Stacks-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx">stack of quality magazines</a>.</strong></div>
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They might have a tablet computer and a fancy phone, but like us, you know they'd be secretly pleased to sit down and read something on paper....they just might not tell you out loud. Plus, it'll be good for them.</div>
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Welcome to Newsstand and surprise your friends and relatives with the extraordinary range of print magazines and service you could be giving them this Christmas. We'd be happy to have the chance to deliver a wonderfully personal gift.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-77222084088018575942013-06-14T15:09:00.002-07:002013-06-17T04:22:25.613-07:00The value of magazinesSo, we've been busy over the last few months, for a change.... We are working hard to drive prices down so that you - Dear reader, - can buy magazines by the copy for cover price or so. We envisage a magazine world where you can get timely info on all issues as they are published, to decide which ones you want and when. We aren't fans of overly cheap produce in return for habit and data that is so prevalent a mantra in this day and age. We think that just drives down quality in the longer term. Print magazines need to work hard at the moment - show the consumer what they have to offer - the very last tonic on the table is the one that calls for the cheap and cheerful. That's just our opinion - we live and die by them, of course.<br />
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That sounds simple enough, but I have to confess it's not as easy as it should be. We don't deal in data here at Newsstand. We try and provide an unbeatable service that is worth paying for. No hidden costs, no renewal, just a magazine and a price. We rely, to a certain extent, on the customer deciding what they want and then paying a reasonable price for it. I would have to say that in this train of thought we are not alone, as the tide of quality over quantity gathers momentum in the magazine world. Occasionally, though, it needs reinforcing, if only via a blog that few, in the grand scheme of things, will set eyes upon. Folk, quite understandably, yearn for economy in all areas - its just that economy often leads to quality issues, as sure as night follows day. <br />
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Anyway, to get to the point, things are moving and moving fast. There is now a posse...no, an army of online magazine retailers selling quality magazines that are being launched in extraordinary numbers across Europe and beyond. Many of them are simply labours of love; as far from the money making machines of the mainstream as you could encounter. The truth is, good (I mean really good) magazines don't make really good profits - it's not unlike good cars, or vegetables or even ideas.<br />
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You see, it is not a question of price. It is a question of value. The value of reading, owning or just knowing about a product that someone has put time, effort and love into - far outweighs a quick read amongst the ads. You don't even have to own it...if it wasn't out there somewhere things would look a lot more dismal. What we are trying to say is - support those publishers that are out there dedicating hours to a project...you may not always like what they produce but it has a quality, a quality that would be sorely missed if there was no sign of it.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-6735753338826323172013-03-04T03:44:00.001-08:002013-03-04T11:14:58.268-08:00Everybody is screaming for IndependentsPrint appears to be back in fashion before it had even left sloped off the catwalk, with independent publications heading the list of this year's must haves.<br />
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On the face of it, <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/700-Indie-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx">independent magazines</a> are absolutely wonderful creations. There is a real buzz about them at the moment, with new retail outlets sprouting up all the time and mainstream press waxing lyrically on a regular basis. The publications themselves are invariably done for the love over the money, with individuality, hunger and passion displayed by their editors that perhaps few mainstream magazines could even dream of. These are all extremely impressive foundations and when you add to the mix that they are almost universally acknowledged as key to the future of the printed magazine, things heat up even more.<br />
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At Newsstand, we've been stocking nearly all magazines for quite sometime now (and yes, since you're reading this, we're independent & family run since 1898). Our emphasis has always been on a level playing field, to assist the smaller magazines in getting seen and heard amongst the mainstream behemoths that can easily buy their way onto retail shelving. It has been our way of championing the niche magazine without actually giving anyone any special treatment. We've always felt it would be a little over confident to be telling our visitors what they should be liking.<br />
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Anyhow, the general consensus appears to be that independent magazines are always focussed on the "creatives". Whether it's the wonderful <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/240-Cooking-and-Food-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx">food magazines</a> that are currently prevalent, or the fashion and crafts titles that are also proving extremely popular; industry commentators rarely stray from these topics.<br />
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What then, do we think of <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/700-Indie-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx">independent magazines</a> that focus on less artistic subjects and are perhaps produced with lower production values? Despite their incredible subject knowledge, are these to be thrown out with the bathwater (aka future digital only), or still included in the independent gang (aka the magazines that will be printed in twenty years time)?<br />
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Suitably, we think we know the answer but it is you folk who will probably make this decision for us and the publishers in question. In the meantime, we are adding more independent magazines to our site than ever before and we've introduced a category that will develop (a great deal) as the year progresses...with such a lot at stake you will need to make sure you have all the information. Our job at Newsstand, if you will, is to give you the tools for the job in hand.<br />
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Exciting times in print - don't let anyone tell you iTherwise.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-60251482463112485662012-10-25T01:31:00.003-07:002012-10-25T07:09:17.720-07:00The gift of magazinesGood day to you, reader. Herewith some vagueness regarding our fine institution and the development of a more interesting gift system with which to impress your friends and families...<br />
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We've been accumulating a tremendous number of high quality fashion magazines here at Newsstand Hovels recently. Actually, not just fashion, but art, culture, literature and all the creative gaps in between have been covered superbly in 2012. Many of these magazines are things of beauty - how they can be compared to some sort of phone app is beyond us - clearly created with huge amounts of passion, innovation and dedication and we want our visitors to know about them.<br />
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All this has made us think about our customers (even) more and why they actually come to <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk">Newsstand</a>. <br />
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One major reason is to browse and crucially, <b>choose</b>; since we have been placing current covers on the site we've become a source of information for many and this is an honourable position to be in. We know the browsing isn't as good as it might have been in RD Franks of London - but it is a start and there is plenty more to come.<br />
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Browsing is an essential cog in the magazine industry. Consumers need to keep these publishers on their toes. Editors should be making you buy each copy on merit - working on the cover and contents each and every time. If everyone subscribes at tuppence a time, we think its inevitable that these standards will slip.<br />
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Furthermore, people want specifics, such as all the magazines with Robert Pattinson or Kate Moss on the cover. They want articles on, say, cheese and they don't care if its in Culture magazine or The Economist!<br />
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So, as one extension of this we thought we would develop an alternative to the traditional (and rather tired) "magazine gift subscription". Why buy someone the same magazine for a year when you can give them a budget and let them pick and choose?<br />
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Step forward our <a href="https://www.newsstand.co.uk/default.aspx?Module=GiftCredit">Newsstand Credit System</a>, where you can present anyone with automated account credits at Newsstand, allowing them to browse and buy single copies, subscriptions or whatever takes their fancy from us as and when they like. They can use up their online credit with no paper voucher or messing about, in little bits or all at once as they please. Simple, easy and unique in the magazine industry.<br />
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Yes, you can get vouchers and subscriptions all over the place, but nothing beats the flexibility and freedom of getting what you want and when you want it - without that excruciating waste of the copies you have no need for. <br />
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Compare this flexibility to the same magazine coming in every month and there is little contest in our view. For the magazine aficionado, is there a better offering?<br />
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Our mission across the site is to allow customers to be able to buy what they wish to buy, rather than end up with a whole load of magazines they may never have really wanted in the first place.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-20736459067651170712012-09-25T07:10:00.001-07:002012-10-25T00:32:07.639-07:00American Magazines in the UK<br />
We would like to talk to you if we may (don’t feel pressured to read this, you can always wander away and watch a video of a cat, after all that’s what the internet is there for) about America. And, more specifically American magazines.<br />
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Now, there are a lot of things that can be said about the good ol’ USA, both positive and not so positive. For the perfect example of both of these one need look no further than the cheeseburger, and its subsequent effect upon the world. Delicious yet deadly. We plan to stay away mostly from any contentious topics such as politics, though we definitely support that bloke in the upcoming elections, or maybe the other one. Well, definitely not the who is secretly a lizard-man from the darkest depths of the earth, or the fellow who is actually three midgets in a coat. Anyway, where were we… Ah yes, American magazines.<br />
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We pride ourselves on the vast range of magazines that we can stock. Fancy a Dubai based visual arts magazine? Well, <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/141-Visual-Arts-Magazines/17435-Subscribe-to-DESERT-FISH-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Desert Fish</a> may be just what you are looking for. Feel the need to know more about Scandinavian weaving? We’ve got you <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/651-Other-Crafts-Magazines/17327-Subscribe-to-VAV-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">covered</a>. However, a lot of you are going to come to our site wishing to purchase some excellent American publications. For some bizarre reason a great many of the august publications we stock don’t seem to have any interest in selling themselves overseas. Now this would be the point where we would interject a cruel joke suggesting that many Americans aren’t aware of overseas, if we weren’t such nice people. (to any Americans reading this, my sincerest apologies for such words, there is no malice behind them).<br />
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Quite why they don’t value the rest of the world’s custom is beyond us, but we are valiantly filling that breach by offering you a breathtaking array of excellent <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/680-US--American-Magazines/Subscriptions.aspx">American mags</a> (cunningly hidden in the foreign language category – not a snide comment, more just an amusing coincidence). No, no need to thank us.<br />
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We can boast the likes of <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/242-Home-Interiors-Magazines/2565-Subscribe-to-MARTHA-STEWART-LIVING-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Martha Stewart’s Living</a> – a home magazine covering food, interiors, crafts, home design and more, from perhaps the most lovable ex-con in the world - and <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/251-Glossy-Fashion-Magazines/2227-Subscribe-to-VOGUE-USA-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Vogue USA</a>, as well as the ever popular <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/256-Womens-Weekly-Magazines/8876-Subscribe-to-PEOPLE-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">People magazine</a> that has all the celeb gossip you could ever need – and probably quite a bit more besides. If you like your football of the ‘large men wearing padding and running at each other’ variety, then we’ve got <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/?Module=Search&Str=american%20football">several different titles</a> that may take your fancy.<br />
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<a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/140-TV-and-Film-Magazines/1872-Subscribe-to-ENTERTAINMENT-WEEKLY-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Entertainment Weekly</a> is perhaps one of the biggest titles we stock, and we love the glimpse it gives us into what is going on in the world over the other side of the pond. <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/658-Horror-Magazines/414-Subscribe-to-FANGORIA-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Fangoria</a> brings you the world of Horror as you have never seen before. Enjoy watching astonishingly tall men throwing balls into hoops? Hoop NBA and <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/614-Indoor-Sports-Magazines/1376-Subscribe-to-SLAM-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Slam magazine</a> might be your thing.<br />
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These are all good and well, and some of them are actually rather fantastic, but they pale in comparison to our favourites. And yes, that’s spelt favourites with a ‘u’, despite what my computer is amusingly trying to tell me.<br />
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Third place goes to the niche yet endearing <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/242-Home-Interiors-Magazines/16969-Subscribe-to-ATOMIC-RANCH-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Atomic Ranch</a>, a mag solely devoted to recapturing the retro-future vibes of the 50’s in interior design.<br />
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In second spot is <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/240-Cooking-and-Food-Magazines/16624-Subscribe-to-BEER-MAGAZINE-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Beer Magazine</a> (not to be confused with the Camra publication which is of course known on our site as <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/240-Cooking-and-Food-Magazines/14418-Subscribe-to-BEER-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Beer magazine</a>, with a little m), due in no large part to the subject matter; a look at the micro-breweries that are springing up across the states. Well worth a read.<br />
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The winner, however, by a distance, is the fantastically named <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/240-Cooking-and-Food-Magazines/17030-Subscribe-to-CULTURE-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Culture magazine</a>, an American publication all about cheese. We would say it was a title that really grows on you, but we don’t think we could forgive ourselves. Cheese from an American perspective, and in an exceedingly interesting (this is true, though amusing it is also a fascinating read) mag – perfect.<br />
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So, celebrities and cheese, beer and football. We reckon we’ve got America covered pretty well there. Perhaps though the thing we love the most about America, and US magazines as well, is the unbridled optimism found in every title. Perhaps this is the glorious weather - as I write this here in Canterbury it is actually raining so hard that I couldn’t hear someone speaking to me on the telephone just now – or maybe it’s the sheer beauty of the country itself. Whatever it is, we think a little American Sunshine every now and then helps cut through our cynicism and the perpetual British gloom. (Cor blimey Nick, its only September.)<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-60811493352788094422012-02-21T07:25:00.000-08:002012-02-21T07:40:09.338-08:00Clearer skies ahead?Thankfully, spring is on its way. We love spring for even more reasons than most, and not just because it lightens up Newsstand Hovels... <br /><br />
No, spring means sunshine and sunshine means no one will be able to read those troublesome digital magazines in the garden. Add that to the obvious perils of reading your tablet in the bath - and the good old print magazine is starting to regain the edge in various parts of the home.<br />
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There was an excellent article in The Observer the other day, detailing how print magazines that don’t invest heavily in digital editions are those leading the industry sales increases. This is common sense to us but is a point often lost in the constant clamour of those who insist that print is on its way out. Unfortunately many of the magazine publishers are contributing to this noise (and, as a result, contributing to falling sales). All we can do at Newsstand is keep ensuring we make as many print magazines as possible available to everyone.<br />
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There has been the usual highlighting of dropping sales over the last quarter amongst the popular titles (who are often spending obscene amounts of money on developing Android and other digital platform editions), but many magazines who take pride in their print editions are showing tremendous growth. These magazines do not grab the headlines as they are not the big sellers – but they often lead the industry in the more important areas of design and content quality. On this point, we've joined something called Pinterest, just to collate together all the best magazine cover designs we come across - please drop by, <a href="http://pinterest.com/newsstand/brilliant-magazine-covers/">I think we are here</a>.<br />
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At <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk">Newsstand</a> we know the younger generations still enjoy, even prefer, the print magazine. We just hope that the print doom mongers don’t instigate a self-fulfilling prophecy, where publishers feel they must invest in digital, give away print and end up finding it impossible to survive.<br />
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So please, keep browsing the smaller titles, get hold of something different and enjoy the sunshine in the garden. Let the others be distracted by the spot on the end of their nose – it won’t be long now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-4465638207025537942011-12-05T05:41:00.000-08:002011-12-14T08:07:05.902-08:00GordonThe world seems to be in a bit of a mess, or at least the capitalist swathe of it. With all the wealth increase over, say, the last 30 years in the UK – we are no happier despite the bigger television and the increase in takeaway meals. So why then does everything the government does, answer to the mantra of economic growth? Is it not time for a new breed of politician to step forward and declare this measurement outdated & defunct, perhaps replaced by a “smiles recorded per week index” on any of the trillion CCTV cameras we have in this country? <br />
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I am a bit lax on figures, but aren’t we caught on CCTV some ridiculously high number of times per week? Facial recognition software is now available and really, judging society by the number of grins recorded would be an all-encompassing measure of happiness and of course, progress.<br />
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There are flaws, granted, not least the ridiculously poor quality of footage available. Aside from this, there are those who smile incessantly for no reason and those who have trouble bearing their teeth at all, despite all that inner elation. That good old law of averages should see those two problems off, though. Babies with wind was a concern, but their toothless nature should ensure they don't trouble the scorers. Weather conditions and other overriding factors would also need consideration, such as World Cup fourth round defeats and without doubt, Shane Warne’s grin should be multiplied by 58 million and subtracted from the overall tally.<br />
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This “Grin Index” would be in harmony with the Government’s big society ideals, as local peaks and troughs could be ascertained and analysed. Instead of the state of livers in the North East, we would understand the happiness index of every county, city and even street with alarming precision. Twitter updates and live blogs could follow. This comparison does raise the issue of alcohol/drug induced grins, but I am assuming the face recognition software would cross check the smile against the eyelids and shut these out.<br />
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Of course the Government might look to massage these figures. Comedians with Sour gum sweets would be stationed under cameras in our high streets and any late trains would be counterbalanced by mobile dental technicians roaming the platforms. Perhaps even free magazines distributed to certified miserable areas, what with their proven ability to make people happy. All this would allow politics to continue unhindered, just as we know and love it.<br />
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So there you are, the Grin Index Network (GIN) Committee, would obviously need meet on a fortnightly basis to consider, consult, confer and ultimately confabulate the various variables and potential pitfalls of doing something, anything or nothing at all to improve a situation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-55827783534956103842011-11-23T03:33:00.000-08:002011-11-23T03:33:42.736-08:00Subscriptions for the clever kidsSometimes we worry that magazine subscriptions have developed a bad reputation. The automatic renewal and “pay us later” models used by some publishers can really upset the customer and give the industry a bad name. That’s why we have concentrated all our energy on providing the services that the customers want, without all the strings attached.<br />
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So, when it comes to buying magazines as a Christmas present, we think we have the offer just right. You don’t need to “subscribe”, you don’t need to subject the recipient or yourself to ongoing direct debits and constant renewal letters and associated offers. With Newsstand you simply buy the number of issues you would like to send - and that’s it (bar the odd email…but we keep these few and far between). So, whether it’s a single copy or a longer term gift, it’s your call.<br />
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What this also allows is much more flexibility and as a result, a much better present. Instead of getting someone a year to one magazine…why not add a bit of unpredictability and buy them 3 issues of four different magazines? There are so many to choose from, you’ll always find a great mixture for anyone you know – and with it the potential to surprise them a few times and show you’ve given the present that little bit more thought! Trust us when we say there are plenty of weird, wonderful and just plain brilliant magazines out there.<br />
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We are also always happy to give you some pointers over the phone or via email. We have a pretty good idea what’s hot and what’s not, plus some lovely shiny publications that you will not have heard of. Plus there are the usual offerings like gift cards start date selection.<br />
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We want to move this magazine industry on, come with us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-34149416229263296352011-05-11T03:25:00.000-07:002011-05-11T03:25:19.676-07:00Rare Newsstand newsletter slash email:In our quest to become a little more helpful without necessarily selling you something, we have added a few things to the Newsstand magazine website that may be of interest to you.<br />
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You can now sign up for cover alerts on any of the 3,500 magazines that we hold, meaning you'll receive a simple email with the latest cover of the magazine you've requested as soon as it is available in the shops in the UK. There's no requirement to purchase and you can stop the emails at any time. We think it serves as a great reminder that a new issue has been published, as well as an overview of the contents to help you decide if it's worth tracking down or not.<br />
We were planning to send you the next new issue based on your past purchases at Newsstand. If you would like not to recieve these cover emails, please click here.<br />
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You can now also request a particular magazine if it's out of stock. We'll try and get it for you and email you if it becomes available, with no obligation. As usual, all the onsale dates and recent covers on almost every magazine are available on the site. So if you like your magazines in print, we are the best resource there is online.<br />
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All the best,<br />
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NSUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-2201725942783475882011-03-08T06:50:00.000-08:002013-02-11T08:34:27.629-08:00Single magazine as a small gift...Someone at Newsstand recently turned 60 the other day, so, being the pleasant bunch that we are, we bought him a card and a little something. As it was a nice round number, we didn’t think any old card would quite do the job, so we got a large and lively number that set us back £2.99. The lucky recipient works in the office, but postage would have meant the cost of sending this birthday card – albeit a very snazzy one – would have spiralled upwards of £3.50. Now that’s quite a lot of money for something that takes all of 15 seconds to read and… hang on, don’t we send out single magazines with gift cards from around £1.20 upwards?<br />
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So, that is what we are peddling with this blog entry… We think sending a single magazine to a friend either as a small present or just a thank you is a really novel idea and seems much less wasteful than sending a, let’s face facts, boring card. <br />
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In fact it’s just a really good way of getting in touch these days – almost like a text message on steroids.<br />
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You can always find something topical to send, so if you’ve stayed at theirs for a weekend and they’ve admitted an unhealthy interest in poultry, then perhaps send them a copy of <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/159-Birds-Magazines/4308-Subscribe-to-FANCY-FOWL-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Fancy Fowl magazine</a> as a thank you? As you can see what’s in each issue by way of the front cover on the website, it makes it even easier to send them something topical…and we think it would be much appreciated.<br />
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The fact that there are hundreds of virtually unheard of magazines available at Newsstand just makes things even better. All budgets can be catered for as well. OK, so they may not appreciate a copy of Take a Break or <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/159-Birds-Magazines/179-Subscribe-to-BRITISH-HOMING-WORLD-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">British Homing World</a> (pigeons, lest you wonder), but there are art magazines and the like right up to £50 a go.<br />
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Are you seriously indebted to a keen flower arranger who happens to speak French? <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/123-French-Magazines/2982-Subscribe-to-ART-FLORAL-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Art Floral magazine</a> will certainly smooth things over. In any case, it’s not just a thank you or birthday present – but simply a “nice touch” for someone you haven’t seen for a while. It’s important to know that you can have all the ease without having to buy a subscription, that’s why we are here.<br />
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Just because we run a shop, doesn’t mean we’re good at sales…but hopefully you’ll agree with us that this has something going for it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-46708766828083275012011-02-23T03:31:00.000-08:002011-02-23T04:59:48.463-08:00ContentYou're always told as a website business, that providing unique and interesting content will encourage other sites to link to you and therefore increase your visibility on t'internet. Those folk at Google even have a sort of mantra for it.<br />
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Recently we've focused on magazine covers both current and recent, with the idea being that many blogs or websites might consider placing an automatically updating cover on their own pages. With around 3,500 different magazines available, there is always plenty of scope for finding a topical magazine that will ultimately provide interesting and self updating content for your own site. So, we have set up buttons on the website that make it simple to cut and paste the code anywhere. The backlinks help Newsstand, of course, but all in all we think it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. <br />
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Here is an example of the content...<br />
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<div class="nsMagCover"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/123-French-Magazines/329-Subscribe-to-ELLE-FRENCH-WEEKLY-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">More About Elle French</a><br />
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/Scripts/magazinecovers-1.1.js"></script><br />
</div>....the current front cover of Elle French is updated each week automatically - so that's what is displayed above. By clicking on the cover you SHOULD get a larger pop up version of the magazine and the ability to scroll through recent covers, which also allows you to read the contents. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this last bit is inexplicably not happening. Which brings us on to another mantra of our own: "The IT keeps going wrong, ohmmm", often used to relax tension or curb violence against the machines.<br />
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Whilst we're working on making that a little more snappy, and also fixing the zooming "malfunctionality", do consider using the content on your sites. Just copy the ready made code displayed when you click the "Live Cover Viewer" button under any of the magazines on the Newsstand site. <br />
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Plus let us know if there are additions we could make to enhance the offer further, we are all ears, as ever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-80546919313996930112011-02-18T02:51:00.000-08:002011-02-18T03:21:46.625-08:00DigitalitisApologies for the radio silence (like you've missed it...). We're so old fashioned here, we actually hibernate throughout January.<br />
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I tell a lie, it's actually not the weather that makes us go to sleep, it's more the incessant drone of online soothsayers predicting the end of print magazines that has this numbing effect. I don't know whether they have just been sacked by a magazine, or perhaps been given a new iSomething by their friend from London, but there seems to be an awful lot of it going around. <br />
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We've all been to a dinner party with those parents who insist that everything in their house runs like clockwork, kids behave like angels and they all have a group hug whilst singing songs from The Sound of Music each morning after breakfast. That's what I think is happening online, it's a kind of therapy where if you tell yourself and everyone else who's listening (anyone?) the same things over and over again, then it might become true. Well, let me tell you, my kids are naughty.<br />
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Which is why it's important for magazine readers to actually ask themselves a fundamental question, and to answer it honestly: Is it a more pleasant experience to read from paper or from a screen? I'm not going to continue with all the pros and cons as I'm quite sure you have a brain of your own.<br />
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Magazine sales since 2001 have fallen roughly 32% according to the latest sales figures, that's over a whole decade. The FTSE 100 and UK houseprice graphs can make that look insignificant over much shorter terms without too much trouble. I imagine, too, that the iPad Wired magazine sales have had an even more impressive drop since it's launch....? <br />
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Aside for the guesswork above, I can divulge that "a decent" percentage of our customers here at Newsstand are firmly from the digitally enhanced generation, (and by that I mean teenagers and not ageing models). So let's not listen to those on their digital devices, banging the drum for their digital devices. Make your own mind up, be assured that the printed magazine will be around for the rest of your life and perhaps consider this whole episode as more of a "rebirth" than the curtains coming down. We do, as it helps us get to sleep at night....<br />
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And crucially: Don't buy it just because it's shiny.<br />
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PS Any data cited above is cultivated from unhelpfully labelled graphs on dubious websites and therefore may not be at all accurate....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-67591518954525655982010-12-17T07:29:00.000-08:002011-12-14T08:00:52.901-08:00Suitably seasonally embarrassedI've just sent a Christmas email out to tens of thousands of people, that mentions that all time favourite story, The Parting of the Red Sea. <br />
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Only I, in my haste, decided that the star of the show was Jesus. <br />
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A huge seasonal apology to those affected, and of course to Moses.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-17715614884688502192010-12-02T02:29:00.000-08:002011-02-18T02:58:08.614-08:00Forcing the Christmas IssueIt's certainly that time of year again, the snow is piling down as the emails for this and that come flooding into the mailbox. 60% off, 70% off, one was even giving them away. You'd be forgiven for thinking that these emails were some kind of fraudulant spam, until you see the time and skill that has gone into the graphical explosions within them. There are no tell tale spelling mistakes; these then, are real businesses selling real products at 90% off the retail price...<br />
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At this point I'm going to tell you that there are no sales at Newsstand, you won't be getting anything for nuffink I'm afraid. We will excel in service levels, though, that's the way we play the game and we'll be sticking to our guns on this until the bitter end - when only George C Tibbet from Coventry still believes with us in the old adage "you get what you pay for", will we consider shutting up shop.<br />
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We find ourselves in this position because we don't align our offerings with any one magazine publisher and the exciting thing about it is that we can break the mould a little. <br />
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You could, for example, buy a subscription to a magazine as a Christmas gift for someone, or you could buy them 5 different single magazines that they've never heard of before. We have high quality magazines that are great gifts on their own, some costing well over £20 per copy as well as over 120 different categories that cater for all manner of interests. How about just sending your Gran a copy of this year's <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/149-Television-Magazines/12964-Subscribe-to-THE-CHRISTMAS-RADIO-TIMES-EDITION-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Christmas Radio Times</a>, for instance?<br />
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I've procrastinated enough this year already, so it'll be 2011 before we create an area for the magazines that we think have that X factor, brilliant content on great subjects. In the meantime, have a look at our new <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/virtualnewsagent.aspx">cover browsing area</a>, where we've recreated a newsagents shelf to help you skim across and close in on magazines that might interest you. <br />
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Despite all this, sometimes I wonder if we are actually going backwards. The Newsstand online site opened in 1995, way before its' time. Magazine publishers' hadn't really rolled out the subscriptions bandwagon back then and we were out there on our own for many years. If we'd been sharper business "objects" we would have capitalised on that and be sitting on the top table with Amazon.<br />
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Instead, this year we've opened a little shop to go with the website. It's in a Canterbury side street and it's completely jam packed full of every magazine you could wish to see. Whereas the Newsstand website is slick and easy - designed for maximum throughput of customers, the shop is exactly the opposite, and it's a joy. Selling a magazine takes at least 4 minutes and is utterly uneconomical, customers do well not to trip over bags and boxes (EDIT: Dear Health & Safety, this has been sorted out now...) - but when you feel like Arkwright the world can seem a wonderful place.<br />
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Come and find us, I can't tell you exactly where we are as that would spoil the fun. In any case, today's magazines have turned up - completely against expectations and the run of play - so I'll need to get stuck in with the only other person who managed to brave the 1 whole foot of snow and get into the office today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-1643348850668421992010-10-28T03:28:00.000-07:002010-10-28T03:28:51.208-07:00Free RangesThe UK has one of, if not the, most impressive range of consumer magazines in the world. I’d be guessing, but it would be in the region of 4,500 different titles that are available to buy in the shops around the country.<br />
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But when I say available, I have to use the term very loosely, as things have been getting a little crowded in the newsagents shelves recently and something had to give.<br />
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In order to try and make these ramblings seem just a little sensible, I’ll need to offer some background at this point, stick with me. You see, the wholesale distribution system in the UK is also pretty “special”. Publishers carve up the country into areas of around 500-1500 retailers in size, and the wholesalers complete a tender process for each area. The prize? A vertical agreement that creates “mini monopolies” across the country, where the retailers have no say in who supplies their magazines, but where the wholesalers can provide an extremely time efficient service for the publishers. <br />
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There are distinct pros and cons to this system. One downside is that customer service to retail suffers, you only have to pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.newsstand.co.uk/20-Professional-and-Trade-Magazines/237-Subscribe-to-RETAIL-NEWSAGENT-Magazine-Subscription.aspx">Retail Newsagent</a> magazine to see that things aren’t like any other industry. A plus side, however, is that all of these magazines had a level playing field when it came to distribution to retail. There was no real advantage to the magazines with higher circulation and titles that sold just a few thousand copies were able to piggy back.<br />
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However, over the last decade or more, supermarkets and large chain retailers have started to charge quite hefty fees to display magazines on their shelves, and publishers have started to take more of an interest in the number of copies each single retailer is sent. Without boring your socks off, this combination has meant that larger magazine retailers have taken the lion’s share of popular magazines and smaller newsagents have had everything else literally thrown at them, often without them wanting, needing or requesting it all.<br />
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Back to the point I was trying to make in the first place – Tesco et al only have the magazines you already know about and although the village newsagent often has all the more interesting stuff, you’ve no way of finding it as his shelves are just too crowded with all the magazines that cannot afford to get into the big boys’ shops. Added to this, the management of his stock is so difficult, that the virtually tireless newsagent gives up magazines or closes, creating even fewer shops for the 4,000 magazines to prize their way into. If he does stick with it, the actual customer (let’s not forget him) can’t find what he is looking for, and more importantly cannot possibly discover anything new to catch his interest as he can but see the spines of the magazines and no more.<br />
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Not good at all. In fact, current magazine sales overall are generally propped up by those publishers who can afford the TV advertising and/or a prominence in major retailers. Cue increasing gap between heavyweights (mainstream) and tiddlers (interesting niche mags). Niche publishers are hurling themselves at digital solutions and the print magazine market is suffering even more. We’re worried about how long this can last.<br />
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Brace yourselves for the TV listings analogy: <br />
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We all know there is a lot more, great quality programming available to us these days, yet you will consistently hear that “there is nothing good on the box anymore”. One theory goes that as programmes die out, viewers cannot find a replacement as there is just too much out there and the only good “introductory” systems are the trailers and ads on the telly that hook you into the next big thing. The other million and one programmes, as good as they may be, are surplus, unexplored and as a result “not worth watching”. Thus the viewer’s universe shrinks and shrinks and eventually he resorts to reruns of Bergerac, and Yes, Minister.<br />
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Back to the magazines and we’re trying hard to resurface the playing field at Newsstand. All magazines get the same airtime, we are adding more and more impartial information on magazines than ever before and we run, screaming from the notion that the best sellers list must contain all the quality. <br />
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As we add better browsing options to the site, we hope you’ll see more and more magazines that deserve to get discovered and that keep publishing as a result. The alternatives are grim for all magazine lovers; like the TV reruns, we really wouldn’t want to be selling dog eared back issues and not a lot else.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654174514411025924.post-27393934571408341692010-10-19T01:15:00.000-07:002010-10-19T01:31:46.151-07:00LandfillSometimes the world of marketing just depresses, especially as the sunshine fades away and the cold grey clouds settle in for the foreseeable future. Winter brings out the worst of our house - it's holes seem to treble in size and the cold wind comes through like it owns the place.<br />
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Today we’re talking free gifts on magazines, and they grate. On the face of it, a free gift is just a bit of a nuisance to us (and when I say us, I mean everyone involved in the distribution and retail of magazines). Noone likes a pointless cardboard box, whether you are an anti packaging warrior or a village newsagent (not mutually exclusive, by the way). Add to this Newsstand’s additional task of posting out each magazine individually, and you get the picture.<br />
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Having said that, our overwhelming dislike of covermounted gifts is not based around the logistics, but perhaps more the marketing behind it and the landfill that it leaves behind. <br />
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We like to think that if you make a magazine good enough, then it should sell based on its magazine qualities (design, editorial etc etc), not because you’ve strapped a football to the front of it. We’ve seen bicycle pumps, cereal bowls, mudguards, cat food, condoms, daffodil bulbs and all manner of other unwanted products stuck onto magazines over the years. The larger of which we always greet with cries of amazement, followed by tears of disbelief. BTW, when we upload a magazine front cover to the Newsstand site, we always remove the gift beforehand in a vain attempt to increase the focus on the magazine itself. We still send all free gifts out to customers, unless (and this is extremely rare) the publisher has excelled itself and attached something that wouldn't fit through a post box in a month of Sundays.<br />
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Then there are the children’s magazines, where the gift quality, if not size, plummets to new lows. I’m not going to pretend I know where these toys are manufactured, but I’m pretty sure their airmiles are going to be quite impressive. They are invariably plastic, poorly made and have a useable lifespan of less than a few hours. Certainly the clock is well and truly ticking by the time little Billy has got his mits on them. Marketing to the kids, they excite and then deflate in quick succession. They are often, in a word, crap. If you want to sell toys, please, go and sell toys.<br />
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So we don’t need to have looked at the numbers to know they must put sales figures up enormously, I mean it’s not all done for fun, surely? And with this one thought, so the onus is nudged fiendishly back to the consumer, who obviously thinks far better of these little sweeteners than we do. "As long as you continue buying them, we'll keep glueing them on…” is the cry.<br />
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So, everyone’s happy? China – tick, Publisher – tick, Distributors – whatever, Parent – tick, Billy – tick. Perhaps other industries are missing a turn on all of this – how can it be that only magazines and Kellogs have cottoned on to this unbelieveable success story? It’s so obvious we should be sticking toys to books, trousers, first class railway tickets and sandwiches at once. Plus let’s get that log fire alight and enjoy a wee dram now the cosy nights are drawing in ‘til Christmas..<br />
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(One mission for early 2011 at Newsstand, will be to allow our customers to abstain from receiving free gifts with their magazines as they purchase online - the thought being that we'll get a good idea of how "wanted" they actually are. What we'll be able to achieve with that information is not entirely clear, but we will make sure the gifts removed go to where they are wanted.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0