At Exact Editions, we specialise in assisting publishers with breaking into the institutional market. In recent years, we have proved that there is a broad and exciting landscape for academically relevant magazines to explore. Selling site-wide subscriptions to universities, research institutions and corporations opens up a path for increasing annual revenue.

Additional revenue aside, the institutional market represents a real opportunity to establish a new, young readership that will be responsible for the future longevity of the magazine. Students who have had a positive experience of a publication whilst studying are far more likely to take up a personal subscription after graduating. They will talk to people they know who share similar interests and spread the word.

Organic marketing techniques are some of the most effective:

  • Realising how much you miss something when you don’t have it.
  • The recommendation of a friend.
  • The validation of the title being recommended by an academic institution.

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Not only are we talking about new readers here, but we are also talking about eyes for advertisements, which are still an important part of the magazine industry. Young, educated readers with a registered interest (they subscribe) in a specific topic, who are moving into societal positions where they will have purchasing power, constitute the perfect target market. This is particularly effective for magazines such as Dazed who draw a lot of their sales from a youthful demographic who are interested in fashion and modern culture.

Finally, the next generation of readers are digital natives and having an intuitive, accessible digital version shows a modern outlook that will resonate with this audience. Many academic journals become ‘locked’ after university, either by price, or the fact they only sell to institutions, or they are not adapted for personal digital use. Magazines are perfect for bridging that gap between academic study and a strong interest in a topic post-study. To conclude, by establishing a presence in institutions, publishers can strengthen and broaden their brand, finding new readers and increasing revenue.