There’s a lot of bad news around, but some things are going right in Britain.
Sales of The Spectator are on the rise again, for the first time in four years. Pretty soon, if the trend (and our luck) holds, more people will be buying the magazine than at any point in our 183-year history. I thought CoffeeHousers might like to know a bit more about the forces behind this, and what we at The Spectator are up too.
The market for print is murderous right now. We’re mid-way through what is, for the media, an industrial revolution. A massive migration is underway, from print to online. Like many organisations, we cut costs – but what we cut was the free copies, which newspapers and magazines have given out for years to boost their numbers and their ABC figure (used by advertisers). But over the years, advertisers have started to discount the ‘bulks’ and care less about the headline ABC figure, focusing instead on the paid-for circulation. So we cut back on the bulks, and spent money on digital development instead.
I’m pleased to say that, so far at least, our strategy is paying off. We are now joined by thousands of new readers, who access (and pay for) The Spectator on Kindle or iPad. They now make up 8 per cent of our sales, a figure that is growing fast: two years ago, it was zero. We were one of the first magazines to launch on the iPad and have been with Kindle for almost two years. Soon, we’ll be launching a new App. And, yes, Coffee House will be given a lick of paint too. We charge for the magazine but have no intention of charging for the blogs. Coffee House, the best posts and most intelligent comments online, will remain free.
While digital sales are driving our growth, the magazine is also doing pretty well. We redesigned the magazine last autumn, and subscriptions are now growing. Our newsagent sales have softened, in line with other magazines. But total print sales have stabilised. Best of all, we’ve been picking up up two (paying) digital readers for every one news-stand reader lost. And this ratio is improving all the time. When you include our blogs, the number of Spectator readers has never been higher.
Many newspapers and magazines are having a hard time right now. Some very old and famous names are biting the dust. I like to think there is something timeless about The Spectator. When Matthew d’Ancona set up Coffee House, he wanted to capture the spirit of the Addison & Steele Spectator from 1711: gossip, forthright opinions, intelligence and irreverence. As for the magazine, we’re in the business of commissioning the best writing from the brightest thinkers around, and we aim to deliver elegance of thought and independence of opinion. I’m pleased to say that there does seem to be a growing market for this, especially on Kindle, which is mainly bought by book lovers.
People read The Spectator in many ways and for different reasons. But the important thing is that more people are reading us than ever before. Soon, I hope, more people will be buying us than ever before. The new-look Coffee House is still a few months away. So if you have suggestions, please leave them below.
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