When Phyllis Hoffman started her first magazine, Just Cross Stitch, in 1983, she knew a lot about needlework, but next to nothing about the magazine business. As it turns out, that lack of publishing knowledge may have been a good thing. While her background is in numbers (she is a trained CPA), Hoffman has never focused on the magazine numbers game. Instead, her approach has centered around knowing an audience and bringing an enthusiast's passion to the business of magazine publishing.
"Our success in publishing is basically, 'Would I want to read that magazine? Is it applicable to me? Does it benefit my life and where I am today?'" she says. "We don't bargain-basement our magazine [prices] … because if people love your magazines, they will pay for good editorial. Our magazine numbers that we deliver to advertisers are real numbers, and they are premium numbers. They are paid, and there is nothing gimmicky about it. So if you buy an ad in one of our publications, your ad goes to readers that have paid for that magazine and are excited about it."
Hoffman believes her products are successful because they reflect an understanding of the needs, joys and desires of their audiences, such as the challenge of maintaining a traditional home amid the pressures of modern life. "You are selling a dream, but [the dream] also [has] to be achievable," she says.
Revenue in Balance
Having a balanced revenue stream of advertising, subscriptions and newsstand sales has helped the company through the downturn, as has the fact that its base of core advertisers from nonvolatile industries—such as cookware and food—has weathered the recession relatively well. The company also has been successful in rallying its loyal reader base around new revenue products such as live events.
Expansion into digital products has mainly come in relation to the craft and needlework publications, where the company is experimenting with downloadable instructional materials and patterns. Online social networking also has proven a natural extension of the type of enthusiast community spirit cultivated by Hoffman's magazines and events. The company is testing digital editions for those who prefer online magazines, though it expects to keep the primary focus on its print products for the time being.
Cautious Growth
Hoffman says staying in touch with trends and customer desires requires a certain approach to running the business, epitomized by an open office environment that encourages individual initiative and the trickling up of ideas from editors.
It also requires staying focused. "We've had a lot of opportunities to get outside of our box, but when we stay in that box with what we do best, that's where our strength is," Hoffman says. "With all the financial ups and downs we're seeing in the marketplace right now, we are very conservative in that regard. We build solid rather than just build."
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