For magazine publishers, finding your rabid fans (and the resulting profit that comes with them) means tapping into the right audience with the right content. Increasingly, niche markets and highly specialized interest groups are generating growth and new interest, according to Herb Scribner of the Deseret News.
“Anyone with a special hobby, interest or value might be helping the magazine industry,” Scribner writes. “Though digital media seems to be on the rise throughout the country in multiple spots, there’s been some growing interest in the magazine industry as of late — specifically around niche interests.”
He cites soccer as one niche that is seeing strong growth, quoting a New York Times article that reported on the new glossies being published for the sport’s fans.
According to the article, Major League Soccer in the States came of age in 2013, turning 18. Broadcast rights are going for record high amounts, and professional soccer seems to have achieved solid footing in the U.S.
And the magazine industry is catching on, with new titles and professional sports journalists dedicating their efforts to covering the market.
With the ubiquitous nature of information in this digital age, having a specialty niche with narrower, but fanatical, appeal may be a very good thing. And publishers can cater to that niche for more than business reasons.
According to soccer mag Howler editor George Quraishi, it is more about love than money.
“When we started (the magazine), we didn’t think ‘Here’s a market we could exploit,” Quraishi explained to the New York Times. “We wanted to make a magazine about something we love.”
Publishers would be wise to take note – find a niche you love, staff your title with pros and deliver the content your fans dream about. That’s the way to secure rabid fans.
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