By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Many of us love magazines, just as much as (if not more than) we love books. But economic woes combined with new media’s impact on these industries, the future of magazines has seemed dire at times. However, I recently found some positive facts about magazines in the 2010/11 MPA Magazine Handbook:
Magazine audiences are growing – and young adults read heavily:
The number of magazine readers has grown more than 4 percent over the past five years. Ninety-three percent of adults overall and 96 percent of adults under age thirty-five read magazines.
Magazine audiences are expanding across platforms:
The number of magazine websites and mobile apps is increasing; e-readers are projected to grow rapidly – and consumers want to see magazine content on them.
Magazines contribute most throughout the purchase funnel:
Magazines are the most consistent performer in the purchase funnel, with particular strength in the key stages of brand favorability and purchase intent.
Magazines build buzz:
Magazine readers are more likely than users of other media to influence friends and family on products across a variety of categories. Magazines complement the web in reaching social networkers, whom marketers increasingly favor to generate word-of-mouth.
Magazines spur web traffic and search:
Magazines lead other media in influencing consumers to start a search for merchandise online, ranking at or near the top by gender as well as across all age groups. Also, magazine ads boost web traffic, and magazine readers are more likely than non-readers to buy online.
Magazine audiences accumulate faster than you think:
More than three-quarters of readers read their copy within the first three days. The average monthly magazine accumulates approximately 60% of its audience within a month’s time, and the average weekly magazine accumulates nearly 80% of its audience in two weeks.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Living, Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.
He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.