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Magazine publishing post-Covid: How publishers are turning subscriptions into membership programmes — www.pressgazette.co.uk

The terms 'subscription' and 'membership' are often used interchangeably in the industry, but they shouldn't be. Membership schemes offer a two-way relationship with a publication beyond simply paying money to receive a product every month.

This from Charlotte Tobitt at Press Gazette looks at how magazine publishers are developing membership programmes to build on the growing subscription numbers, and perfectly illustrates the point. As subscriber numbers have surged during the pandemic, Bauer and Anthem have looked to membership schemes to enhance reader relationships with their titles, and build communities.

Anthem's Verity Travers said that readers felt part of their magazine and wanted to help it while the shops were shut. “We began a more collaborative dialogue with them about how to work together to keep giving them the magazine they love for years to come despite the impacts of Covid," she explained. "The new membership schemes create a sense of belonging with more reasons to commit to being part of each magazine’s community.”

Starting a newsroom TikTok? Read these tips. — ijnet.org

TikTok probably isn't high up the priority list of social media platforms for many publishers, but if you're thinking about giving it a try, this list of tips from IJNet is a great place to start. It focuses on understanding the app, the people you need in place to start posting content, and how you can recycle pieces from other platforms.

The American Spectator sues The Spectator for trademark infringement — www.axios.com

The Spectator has hit a roadblock in its US expansion as it is being sued by the American Spectator Foundation for trademark infringement around its name. The Spectator has been in print in the UK for over 100 years, and launched a US print version in 2019. The American Spectator is now just a digital magazine but has been published since 1967. Awks.

How The Texas Tribune aligns product and editorial for audience retention — digitalcontentnext.org

A local news success story, The Texas Tribune has built a sustainable business through a range of revenue sources. This video (full transcript provided) features Millie Tran, Chief Product Officer at The Texas Tribune, talking through how the publisher aligns editorial with the back-end processes to adapt content and coverage to what most readers find most useful.

This week's podcast:

Mr. Magazine Samir Husni on why magazines are new media — voices.media

This week Dr Samir Husni tells us why magazines are the ultimate new media. He explains the wild ride that was magazine publishing in 2020, his print evangelism, the benefits that digital brings and his favourite magazine.

Media Voices Conversations:

Pugpig’s Jonny Kaldor discusses the state of the digital publishing market — voices.media

In our latest Conversations episode, Peter was joined by Pugpig founder and CEO Jonny Kaldor to discuss what’s been happening in the world of digital publishing, and what to expect from 2021.