Priorty Interrupt by Steve Ciarcia Which Numbers Count

When it gets too deep around here, I start threatening to turn this rag into a controlled-circulation trade journal! Well, not really. In truth, it's not where I want to go, but even I get to rant and rave once in a while.

Being a trade magazine would have some definite advantages. I wouldn't have to worry about editorial direction-PR/marketing-generated vaporware is readily available. I wouldn't have to worry about advertising-PR submissions typically include an advertising contract and at least one or two power lunches. I wouldn't have to worry about circulation-heck, when the magazine is free, what's the jeopardy in subscribing to a hundred of them? The worst that could happen is getting caught in a magazine avalanche.

All levity aside, the one ingredient that I didn't mention was readers. I think that if you focus a magazine on attracting loyal readers, it can't use the formula approach represented by traditional trade magazines. In an off-the-record conversation at a recent trade show, the editor-in-chief of a major trade magazine said that he envied our readership loyalty. He also lamented about the continuous solicitation process necessary to maintain high circulation numbers in support of advertising revenues. We both laughed about the typical pile of unread trade magazines on every engineer's desk.

When he volunteered that the real readership of a typical issue probably wasn't more than 20% of the distribution, I was floored. Of course, he didn't have to worry about his "stats." He was audited on how many they mailed, not on how many were read. Wow. I guess that wishing I was in his business meant it was time for a reality check.

When it comes to advertising, big-company PR departments always want solid stats. Certainly, the agencies have to justify their commissions, but I believe that the lack of these stats is frequently an excuse to avoid making decisions. If the editor I talked to is accurate, the value of circulation audits is not only questionable, it's pure advertising extravagance.

I think the only real measure of a magazine is the active readership. Traditional auditing methods monitor potential, not performance. When we get past the PR department obstacles, INK is always a proven performer. Want solid stats? Go ask your embedded system designers what they read.

Ultimately, the traditional commercial clique is in for a jolt. The Internet has proven to be a valuable resource for extending the reach of print magazines. But, like all things digital these days, Internet pathways are an accounting expos‚. Virtually all servers include statistical packages that register things like user sessions, total hits, page views, and advertiser click-throughs.

Web stats offer a representative demonstration of real performance and perhaps a new undeniable truth. The readership of a small targeted magazine can easily equal the significant value of a larger controlled-circulation audience (in spite of its overwhelming potential) when real reader activity is the measure. The bombshell is in the numbers.

One electronic trade magazine recently went public with their Web stats. They claimed an astounding 350,000 hits per month. Ordinarily I wouldn't care, but I was on our Web stat page at the time-I was looking at 1000 user sessions and 30,000 hits just for the day! Admittedly, that day was above average, but it offers an interesting comparison. Overall, our documented Web traffic with 30,000 circulation easily equals and often exceeds that of the large trade magazine with 150,000 circulation. If you factor in the opinion that only 20% of their 150,000 distribution are active anyway, you coincidentally arrive at 30,000!

You'd think somebody would read the fine print by now. A Web-advertising executive recently told me that big companies think nothing of spending hundreds of dollars for each click-through. Obviously, that PR department isn't walking down to engineering again.

Truth be told, I wouldn't want to do this magazine any other way. Describe us however you want. My goal is to continue publishing a magazine that nurtures an active, involved readership. Occasionally, I have to rant and rave about the obvious insanity of the people and companies in the business. Controlled-circulation offers a wealth of potential, but I believe it comes up short in performance. Of course, when you get right down to it, there's a bit more incentive to read a magazine you're willing to pay for. We certainly appreciate your support.

steve.ciarcia@circuitcellar.com

Published: September-1998