Hang on a minute! Just to be clear on this..... there's a magazine?
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Posted 4 months ago #
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By going into a bikeshop to buy the mag, the bike shop benefits from you being there.
The cycle industry as a whole would rather you were standing in a bike shop flicking through the mag, than the middle of WHSmiths.
Sounds like ST is moving in the right direction - best of luck with it
Posted 4 months ago # -
What's a magazine?
Posted 4 months ago # -
What's a magazine?
Can we just back up a bit?There's a forum?
Posted 4 months ago # -
The thicker paper is because that's now an option for us since we are not focussed primarily on wasteful distribution into the newstrade.
here's an example of the newstrade game we and every other mag has to play..
A N Other branch of WHSmith (tesco or any other high street mag seller) puts in a request for how many copies of Singletrack they want next issue. This figure is based on a number of factors but mainly on how many they sold last time. Now shops have limited shelf space and so they order copies based on not only how many they think will sell but also on how many they can physically fit on the shelf.
If Singletrack is printed on thinner paper they can fit say 20 copies on the shelf and we can hope that they will sell 10 (the rest go in the bin). We've sold 10 but printed 20 to do so.
If we print it on the paper stock we woudl like to the shop will only be able to fit 15 on the shelf and we will only sell 7.
Now that sounds daft at first... surely the number we sell should stay the same at 10? Well it doesn't.
Mag sales in the high street are in the main impulse buys. Impulse buying is a bit of an odd thing it turns out and is influenced by lots of silly things like keywords you put on the cover (FREE, WIN, SEX, XXX are recognised as the most effective keywords you can splash on the cover of a magazine if you want to attract sales). But the most strange buying influence of all is the relationship between the number of items stacked on the shelf and the sales thereof. Stack 20 mags and you will sell 10. Stack ten and you'll sell around 6/7. Buying behaviour of impulse buyers is influenced by the quantity of stock in front of them.
This is why supermarket shelves are always extremely well stocked. A half empty shelf won't sell as well as a full shelf.So, back to us then. If we make the mag thicker (which we all want to do cos we love our mag and want to make it look and feel as good as we can afford it to) then we will reduce the amount we can fit on shelves and in doing so we will reduce our sales.
Now that we are refocussing our distribution towards subscribers and not the high street we can look to make the mag thicker as the high street is no longer our main concern when it comes to sales. The money we save in reduced sales on the high street and ergo the huge reduction in waste we can invest back into the content and the paper stock of the magazine. A fat, super gorgeous and lovely feeling magazine is much more attractive to the subscriber market. We've been printing second covers without all the commercial high street shelf oriented cover lines for years just for bike shops and subscribers. Now we are gpoing one step further and making the magazine a subscribers' mag throughout instead of a newsagents standard model version.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I've gone to subscribe a few times now but never quite made it.
Just give me a ******* page where I can enter my card details (you don't need my address as I only want digital and I don't want a direct ******* debit) or paypal and give me access!
It can't be that hard! Take my money!!!Posted 4 months ago # -
I subscribed a few years back. Was such a ball ache, actually getting the magazine on time, I gave up.
Not sure why I am relating that piece of information.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Everything you need to subscribe is a a click of the 'Subscribe' option on the main menu at the top of this page. No DD... just card.
We need your address as that's where we send you your members card and any free gifts we may include in your sub package.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Did you say FREE GIFT?!?!
Posted 4 months ago # -
Just to clarify something about how magazines to subscribers are despatched. We use the Royal mail's Presstream service. What this means in simple terms is that ALL subscriber copies are collected by the RM AT THE SAME TIME. they enter the system all together. Once in there there's nothing we can do to influence how quickly RM deal with them and what this means is that some are delivered before others and some take a lot longer. At the moment there is just no alternative to this system. Even competitors of RM currently have to use RM at the point of delivery for standard post items so using another provider would still not solve the delivery range.
Subscriber copies are collected the day they come off the press. newstrade copies are deliberately held back by two days in order to give subscriber copies priority. In the main that works. Sometimes it doesn't and that's frustrating.
That said, part of the advantages of subscribing go far beyond just having the mag delivered. It's a lot cheaper for starters and there's a lot of extra benefits that only subscribers get. However, I appreciate if all you want is Singletrack delivered before the shop copies and none of the other benefits are important to you then having the mag arrive after the shops get it is really annoying.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Mark - That's all really interesting*. Where did you get all the sales info from? Is that research you've conducted yourselves, general industry stuff, or a bit of both?
* for a sad old git who used to design magazines
Posted 4 months ago # -
We aren't pulling out of high street retailers completely but we will be scaling back availability in shops other than bike shops where we will be increasing availability. That's for no other reason than simple economics. The high street is hugely expensive and massively wasteful - we simply can't sustain that.
Thanks for sharing this and so much more of the thinking behind this Mark, it's fascinating and I think you're making a brave and entirely justified move.
I hope that people who spend so many (presumably enjoyable) hours on this forum will choose to support it by subscribing to the mag rather than whinging about not being able to buy the mag in Smiths any more or offering their own egg-sucking tips instead.
It's good to see a publication I like has a firm strategy for dealing with the challenges of the modern media landscape and the ever-increasing expectations of readers/users for free content.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Bit of both. general industry wide data is easily to get hold of from the distribution networks. The numbers I've quoted come directly from market share numbers available to all distributors from the WHS Wholesale market which represents about 65% of the uk newstrade market.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Thanks for the expalnation of how shops work , really interesting, and so very wasteful if so many mags go to recycling, without being sold or read.
And it should get us into the bike shops to buy, or to purchase a sub, which will give you a guaranteed income and youll not have so much mag wastage.
Best of luck.
Posted 4 months ago # -
2 final things, will the mag still be bi monthly, and what mags are going to disapear,by the end of the year.
Posted 4 months ago # -
So just write WIN FREE SEX across the front page of each issue and you'll sell loads more copies!!
Can I please put in a request for a fashion section on the new site!!! Or one where we can talk about other hobbies without getting a ban
Posted 4 months ago # -
HELLO!
Posted 4 months ago # -
So just write WIN FREE SEX across the front page of each issue and you'll loads more copies!!
Surely just offering free sex, rather than a slim chance of winning it, would sell more copies?
Posted 4 months ago # -
We aren't pulling out of high street retailers completely but we will be scaling back availability in shops other than bike shops where we will be increasing availability
Bold move.
I'm sure I'm not alone here, but I rarely go to a bike shop but I visit WH Smith regularly to buy magazines.
I appreciate the benefits the new setup could bring to bike shops, but it's s bold move for ST. I do hope it works for you though.
Posted 4 months ago # -
v. interesting.
from my perspective, and I'm sure that this is shared by many others, I don't really care when my magazine drops through the letterbox as long as it does, or if it reaches the shops before it reaches me. I read it when I have the time/ inclination. maybe those who are really bothered about getting it ASAP could pay an extra sub, to get it sent direct rather than through RM Presstream.Posted 4 months ago # -
Perhaps they can offer up forumites, first up Jamie, followed by yeti, elfin, tj etc etc
Posted 4 months ago # -
I'm sure I'm not alone here, but I rarely go to a bike shop but I visit WH Smith regularly to buy magazines
You are certainly not alone but fewer people like you are actually buying mags in shops now.
You will still be able to buy Singletrack in WHS. In fact later in the second half of the year we will be looking at possible introduction of Singletrack in WHS supplied airports. That's hugely expensive but it's possible that the new format will work very well there.
Oh and HELLO! Wrecker. Have you clicked the 'subscribe' button on the menu?
Posted 4 months ago # -
Posted 4 months ago # -
I don't really care when my magazine drops through the letterbox as long as it does, or if it reaches the shops before it reaches me. I read it when I have the time/ inclination.
+1
Posted 4 months ago # -
Will it have email notification of replies to posts back again? I miss those days.
Posted 4 months ago # -
so very wasteful if so many mags go to recycling, without being sold or read.
Surely they'll have been read, WHsmiths is just like a library isn't it? Actually with all the council cutbacks WHS is our library.Interesting stuff on the economics of shelf space/mag sales, I tell you humans are freaking weirdos
Posted 4 months ago # -
Oh and HELLO! Wrecker. Have you clicked the 'subscribe' button on the menu?
Notice anything different about me?Cant help but wonder if you get a ban for being a premier member called rick.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Mark, are you still going to be sticking to 8 mags a year with the move?
Will you expand the editorial team, or buy more stuff in?
Posted 4 months ago # -
Very interesting the comments from Mark, as a paper magazine subscriber I never realised how the mags were sold via the shops and the wastage.
I think that the changes sound like they are needed and are a good idea and best of luck to all at ST, still the best magazine by far.
(still only ever got one discount card when i first subsrcibed 3 years ago, never received one since..)
Posted 4 months ago # -
Yay Wrecker! Welcome to the club
Vinnyeh, we will still be 8 issues a year. Quality not quantity. Editorially we've already added Jenn to our team and we will hopefully have another designer on board in the next few months too. Editorial budget is being increased so long as the economics work. ie.. waste reduction plans need to generate the money that we will invest back into the content.
In short we intend to make the distribution and presentation of everything we do much more efficient and economic. The savings that will bring will be ploughed back into the content.
Posted 4 months ago # -
coffeeking » Will it have email notification of replies to posts back again? I miss those days.
But when you come back to the site and browse to find your threads.... STW gets ad impressions
Posted 4 months ago # -
The members card revamp has already started. Originally the system was geared around providing a single card at the start of a subscription that simply remained valid for as long as your subscription existed.
We've now invested in some proper high quality plastic credit card style members cards that expire and are replaced annually. The cost difference is minimal since we've invested in a lot of cards at once.
Many recent subscribers and renewers will have already had theirs. It will be a gradual process to roll out to everyone as the card generation is now tied into the renewal date of your subscription. everyone should have their new cards by the end of the year.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Thanks Mark!
It's about time really, I feel dreadful putting all those mags in the recycling. The ipad allows me to read mags so easily and the archive was very attractive too.
Not a criticism, but could we have more articles not based around todmorden please?Posted 4 months ago # -
Yeah lets have articles based arounds Nice or Cannes or paris
Nae only joking nothign to see or ride down here Posted 4 months ago # -
Maybe we could have some pre/during/post-ride food reviews? I've heard the bacon quiche at the cafe in Peaslake, Surrey is to die for. I'd like an independent opinion though
Posted 4 months ago #
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