While magazine publishers in the US are still determining how to make money from online advertising, there's no question that they have succeeded in establishing online sales channels for print magazine subscriptions, according to a new survey from the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA).
Specifically, the MPA found that online sales now account for 24 per cent of all new magazine subscription sales. That's almost double the 2006 figure of 13 per cent, and up from 17 per cent in 2007, 21 per cent in 2008 and 22 per cent in 2009. Overall, online sales channels account for 13 per cent of all subscriptions -- both new and renewed -- this year.
Among the survey's other findings: magazine-branded websites accounted for 43 per cent of all new subscription sales, and 93 per cent of Internet subscriptions come directly to magazine publishers, as opposed to through an intermediary.
The April MPA survey of 14 companies tracked subscription sales channels for 62 magazines, comparing year-over-year sales figures from the first quarter with the same period in 2009. MPA President and CEO Nina Link remarked: ""Magazine publishers are being smart about leveraging online marketing opportunities to expand their audience, grow readership and increase subscription revenues."
However, it's worth noting that the total number of magazine subscriptions appears to be in decline. According to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the total number of paid subscriptions to consumer magazines rose slightly from 322 million paid subscriptions in 2007 to 325 million paid subscriptions in 2008, but then tumbled to 279 million in 2009.
