What Forbes Has to Say About Print’s New Golden Age

forbes-magForbes just saw their highest print readership ever. “We’ve never hit these numbers before,” editor says.

A century in, Forbes Magazine has seen it all. And now, as they prepare to celebrate their centennial next year, they’ve got a whole lot to celebrate.

“We just got our new MRI numbers a few weeks ago. Forbes magazine is at the highest print readership in its 99-year history; print readership,” notes editor Randall Lane in an interview with Mr. Magazine. “Not online, but print… and we’ve never hit those numbers before.”

So, print’s looking pretty good, it seems? If you’re smart about it, notes Lane.

“So, when you do it right, the market for print magazines is as big as it’s ever been, maybe bigger than it’s ever been, as shown by the numbers. Our newsstand sales over the last five years have crept up, while our draw has gone down and our average price point has gone up. It’s a hard balance, but we’re able to do it because we’re putting out a more focused product and being smart about it.”

One of their ways of getting it right is by remaining true to their core.

“Forbes is all about entrepreneurship and it’s been that way for 99 years. And entrepreneurship is all about problem-solving and taking advantage of opportunities,” Lane continues, saying it’s all about asking “how do we take that reputation that we have, one that’s almost a century old, where you have people like Bruno Mars singing ‘I want to be on the cover of Forbes magazine,’ we’re one of those iconic brands that means something, and everybody knows what it means.”

The brand definitely delivers on their brand promise in good style, by not trying to compete with the massive amount of information online.

“What the magazine is meant to do is, in a world where there is so much information, we curate a package that’s inspiring and teaches lessons; it reveals things that you’ve never seen or read before, and thus it becomes kind of a beacon in a world where information is everywhere,” Lane explains.

And the print title looks to be relevant for a very long time, with Lane adding “Magazines are inherently, if produced correctly, a form that humans love consuming.” He notes that their readership is getting younger and richer, an admittedly tricky thing to accomplish, “but if you’re focused on the product, this can be a glorious time for print.”

Congratulations to the team and the entire Forbes brand for creating an enduring and iconic legacy – in glorious print.