FOLIO: Section Blogs by Association and Non-Profit

‘Virtual Trade Shows are Like Virtual Sex’

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:37:40 -0400

[Photo by FOLIO: publisher Tony Silber]

CHICAGO—Before most people could finish their morning coffee on Day One of the Circulation Management show here, Don Pazour, CEO of Access Intelligence, delivered this perhaps-too-much-information line during his breakfast keynote:

“I hate virtual trade shows. Virtual trade shows are like virtual sex—you need the touch.”

Hey-oh!!! Everybody awake now?!?!

Pazour’s point, though, was that despite soaring gas prices and economic downturn threatening attendance, face-to-face events are still a thriving part of the publishing business, and publishers shouldn’t overlook the importance of live interaction in an increasingly electronic world.

But perhaps what should’ve been more viscerally jaw-dropping was Pazour’s admission that “flat is the new up” in magazine publishing. While everybody knows this, hearing it spoken nonchalantly, amplified, is no less troubling.

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The 2008 FOLIO: 40 Unveiled!

Dylan Stableford — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:31:27 -0400

The FOLIO: 40—our annual list of industry innovators and influencers—was officially unveiled today. We call it the oldest, most comprehensive and most distinguished compilation of its kind. Because it is. Obviously, it’s not an all-inclusive affair; rather, it’s roughly the result of two months of meetings, scouring notes, archives, old issues of FOLIO:, Wiki-researching, more meetings, spirited reply-all emails, paring down, another meeting, some brushing up on profile writing, then the actual profile writing, editing, copyediting. And, then, at some point, we get to this.
And, unlike other industry lists—perhaps unfairly—ours is Adam Moss free! (Though I’d admit that not including someone from New York magazine or its nymag.com juggernaut was one of our biggest oversights this year).
But, as every magazine editor knows, that’s the beauty of lists. They’re a jumping off point for a nuanced and overarching reflection on a particular slice of an industry. Or something.
So, let the commenting—and requisite arguing—begin!
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'Resumes From Craigslist Make My Skin Crawl'

Dylan Stableford — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:26:19 -0500

FOLIO:'s annual, much-anticipated Magazine Job Report is out, and it's a great read (I should know—I co-wrote it!). It's choc-full of interesting, if not surprising, anecdotes.

Like this one:
Craigslist is a deplorable resource, according to ZweigWhite’s [Dick] Ryan. “Resumes from Craigslist make my skin crawl. Some have worked out but many have been unmitigated disasters,” he says. For entry level positions, however, he admits it can be useful, as people under the age of 30 are relying on social sites such as Craigslist and even Facebook and MySpace.
For the full PDF version—including charts—click here.

Click here for the online version.
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A Case for the Generalist—Specifically

Joanna Pettas — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 07:13:36 -0500

When I was kicking around the Manhattan in the 1990s, I was stupefied by some of the attitudes of the folks doing the hiring. For example, let's say I had an interview with the trade magazine Recliner Retailer Monthly.* The editor-in-chief or whoever was interviewing me would be concerned that I didn't have enough "recliner editorial experience" but was impressed by my freelance articles for Armchair Enthusiast* and Couch Aficionado.* I would do my best at convincing the interviewer that as a generalist, I could easily adapt to whatever subject I was dealing with. However, the mechanics of the ins and outs of a magazine were the same.
This attitude was not as prevalent in the world of not-for-profit or association publishing. After a two-year stint with a medical association working on its monthly and quarterly medical journals, I was deemed A-okay to be the associate editor for another publication at a trade association. In this case, the executive director had the foresight to know that there weren't that many people in the market with association experience, despite the fact that my experience wasn't exactly the same, topic-wise. Yet he knew that I could adapt to the environment within a not-for-profit a bit easier than someone from a strictly trade or even consumer background. (P.S. I got the associate editor job and became the magazine's editor eight months later.)

This is all to say that the efforts of the generalist should be praised, not buried. The first article I ever published in my professional career—while still in college—was with Marching Bands & Corps.-how's that for a specialty publication? I wrote another article for them before the magazine went belly up, but those first pieces (along with articles in Delta SKY, Alabama Alumni magazine, and Convenience Store People) got me interviews when I landed in New York City in 1990. In fact, I had more interviews my first month in the Big Apple than I did my entire life up to that point.

When I was hiring recently at Southern Breeze, the candidate at the top of my list had similar experience with another regional publication. She interviewed well and did great on the editorial tests (see my previous post, "Hiring—and Feeding—Competent Editors"). Guess what? She quit after four days because it wasn't EXACTLY what she had in mind even though I vetted all the interviewees better than Congress does with a Supreme Court nominee. But it worked out for the better because she did not exactly function well under pressure, a must-have ability as we juggle 40+ annual publications here!

So for those of you paying attention, I did not take my own advice, but live and learn.

In 2001, I became the managing editor of a trade publication published by one of the big New York trade companies. The EIC was smart, sharp as a tack, funny, and knew her industry backwards and forwards. Almost her entire work experience, however, had been at this one trade publication—an internship in college, hired as editorial assistant upon graduation, then progressed to associate editor, managing editor, executive editor and, finally, editor-in-chief. This rise took place over 15+ years or so and there was no denying she was one of the experts in her field.

Then, guess what happened? Exactly: The company folded the magazine after almost 30 years in print. Three editors were out of work. (By the way, the company—which had openings throughout—made NO effort to place us at other magazines. Some gratitude considering we received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Business Journalism the previous year. But I'm not bitter ... much.) I went on to work as managing editor with a website that is now a highly-revered monthly business magazine before moving back to the trade realm as the ME of two monthly design magazines. My former EIC is now a consultant, and from what I understand, doing pretty well.

The point is that since I had a varied and sundry background, I was never out of work in the magazine world. Others whose experience was concentrated in a single industry more or less left publishing completely. Is it survival of the fittest? Not necessarily. But it helps if you have clips/experience from as many different fields as possible. Plus, you get the chance to learn and prove yourself time and time again and believe me, that is a very good thing no matter how old you are!

* All magazine titles are made up. If they exist, I apologize ... and am very surprised.
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The New Yorker of Health Insurance Underwriter Magazines

Joanna Pettas — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:29:18 -0500

Baseball is the cover theme of HIU (Health Insurance Underwriter) magazine for no reason other than that October is a big month for the sport.
"There's no deep meaning behind the cover," says freelance illustrator Bruce MacPherson. "It may be the only light part of the whole thing."
Since MacPherson started working with HIU, which serves the National Association of Health Underwriters, the magazine's covers have had very little to do with its content. "I don't read it. I flip through it," he says. It's an intentionally light-hearted approach.
"The magazine is about health insurance," says managing editor Martin Carr. "Sometimes that just doesn't translate well into art. How many times can you see people sitting around a conference room on a cover?"
When we passed this cover along for commentary, we got mixed response. "I like seeing illustration on the cover. It adds personality to a topic," said Brian Taylor, design director for National Defense magazine. Donathan Salkaln, art director at Successful Meetings, said the illustration was wonderful.
But, aesthetics aside, the cover has issues. "The concept is out of left field, unless it's just trying to be self-promoting," said Salkaln.
The image of someone reading HIU while he or she is supposed to be working-in this case, the umpire-is an ongoing, inside joke. "Readers are distracted by their own magazine in the midst of other tasks. People appreciate that, for better or worse," says MacPherson.
MacPherson says readers are "in on" the concept, partly because it's an association mag. "It's a closed audience," he says. "There's kind of a ‘homey' feel."
Association or not, Taylor says, "There should be a connection. I find it misleading if the cover isn't representational of the editorial content inside."
Still, when your readers are members, not just subscribers or purchasers at newsstand, that might imply a sort of dedication that allows for a little more fun. It seems to work for HIU; Carr says readers are vocal about how much they like the new approach to covers since they started with it a few years ago.
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Association Publishers Keeping Score

mtownsley — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:30:14 -0500

At the SNAP conference today in Chicago, Richard Creighton, principal and co-founder of The Magazine Group, said that association publishers need to look to models "from the other side" in order to create a 360-degree platform to surround members with relevant, authoritative information in the same way that custom publishing surrounds customers.

Creighton suggested association publishers rate themselves in ten categories heavily drawn upon by successful custom publishers to communicate with their target audiences:

1. Print
2. Web site
3. E-newsletter
4. Blog
5. Podcast
6. TV/Video
7. Wikis
8. Mobile
9. Webinars
10. Multiple Languages

A 360-degree platform will widen the reach of an association publisher's content, which can help bring in new and retain existing members. If monetized, these channels can provide new revenue sources for the association and possibly help increase dues and donations as well as brand awareness. According to Creighton, many associations are already drawing on Webinars and podcasts, but less on more advanced technologies, as in the mobile arena.
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Are Association Magazines Just Flashier Custom Pubs?

Tony Silber — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:00:00 -0500

Last week at the SNAP conference in Chicago, keynote speaker, Roper Public Affairs & Media’s Justin Greeves, cited a 2005 study done by Roper on behalf of the Custom Publishing Council that reveals information about the custom publication reading habits of Americans. Greeves gave the impression that the results of the study, which reflected a generally positive attitude toward custom publications, could easily be allied to association magazines, as both types of publications are produced by a sponsoring company toward a targeted audience.
I questioned Greeves’ references and their relevance, wondering if the association publishing audience around me was doing the same thing. Finally an attendee asked Greeves if he thought of association magazines as passive member benefits. The audience stirred, and Greeves was caught in a pickle, answering the question to the best of his ability by trying to show the correlation between the results of the study and association titles.
While some associations work with custom publishers to produce their magazines, the publications they create are not marketing-based vehicles for a particular brand. To use a custom publishing study to explain habits of association magazine readers seems like a stretch. It’s comparable to a keynote at an ABM meeting presenting a research study done on the habits Conde Nast readers. I was surprised SNAP did not choose a more relevant topic for a session that sets the tone for the entire conference.
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More On Snap Keynote

Tony Silber — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:00:00 -0500

Ever since my last blog post, I've been trying to find out who asked Justin Greeves the tricky question at the SNAP conference. I discovered that it was Peter Banks, founder of Banks Publishing and former publisher of the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Forecast. Here's what Banks had to say about his question:

"I asked the question because I thought Greeves' talk had the unfortunate effect of lumping together association membership magazines with giveaway custom publications from companies. The distinction is important in how we think about accountability and return on investment in association publications. If we think of them as custom publications meant to enhance member loyalty—and many associations do seem to see their publications in this way—then the publication is seen as a cost center and there’s little attention paid to leveraging its impact. The only discussion tends to be about cutting costs. If, on the other hand, we see the magazine as a subscription-based product, then we often treat the publication as a potential profit center and begin to manage finances and operations to maximize return to the association. Greeves tended to reinforce the notion that association publications are member giveaways. They are not. They can be the most important strategic assets associations have, and they need to managed as such. They should be managed as profit centers, not dismissed as cost centers. "
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