User:Vanclark/Free-zines

A Free-zine is a publication that is distributed for free to the reader. It generates its income from advertising rather than a cover price. Examples of free distribution publications are community newspapers such as Tabletalk and the Atlantic Sun in Cape Town and magazines such as MyWeek and Getit.

Subject matter can be general news or around a specialised interest, such as music Free-zines BPM Mag and Muse Magazine. Generally however the subject matter centres on a specific community: whether geographical e.g. Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, special interest e.g. dance music DJs, the coffee shops people frequent, the shops they buy clothes from.

Because Free-zines take this targeted approach and often build a dedicated community of followers, it is generally true to say that their value per reader for advertisers is far higher than that of a traditional paid for publication.

In addition, Free-zines neatly bridge the gap between the Internet generation’s expectation for free, quality information; while still harnessing the reading and advertising benefits of a well-produced print publication.

Why do people read Free-zines?

Free-zines find particular favour with the youth market and Internet generation who are used to getting quality information for free, thanks to the Web and mobile phone technology. They also are part of the “on-demand” generation, cynical of brands and corporates; looking for what they want, when they want it, in the format they want it. This applies especially to information and advertising messages. “When I want to hear what you have got to say to me I will come to you, otherwise leave me alone!”

In addition, in tougher economic times, Free-zines that provide quality content are fast replacing paid for publications. People still want their news/gossip/entertainment information, but will look for it from a more cost effective source. Free-zines provide a complete package: an easy way to get informed and/or be entertained.

Finally ultra-niche or community publications tap into a broader global trend that is seeing people retreat into their communities and homes, surrounding themselves with people with the same values and interests. Queen of trend forecasting, Faith Popcorn, calls this uber-cocooning.

Look at the rise in popularity of local produce, neighbourhood markets and the return to bartering for goods and services. This certainly applies to the current South Africa music scene where fans of local music have grown exponentially in the 21st Century.

Doesn't free = Cheap/low value/poor quality?

Not in this case. Take a publication such as BPM Mag. It is printed on quality paper, to high standards, which it consistently maintains.

Inside the magazine the content is cutting edge, well respected and leading its field. It brings the latest international trends to South Africa before anyone else, raises issues pertinent to the South African music industry and provides relevant and informed technical information to readers.

In terms of the value to readers, because of the ultra-niche nature of Free-zines, typically the value per reader is far higher than general publications. For instance, a consumer column in Tabletalk or the Randburg Sun will refer to a customer and a business in Tableview or Randburg respectively, and so be of more relevance and interest to the reader than a one-size fits all example.

Likewise, a technical review of music equipment in BPM Mag will appeal to the majority of its readers, and not just a small sub-set.

But hasn't digital killed print as a medium?

Not likely. Did the advent of television mean the death of cinema? Instead what happened is each medium played to its specific strengths, and the public got more choice.

This is backed up by the stats in PricewaterhouseCoopers' most recent forecast of media growth to 2012. Print advertising will grow to US$123.3 billion worldwide in 2012, while digital advertising will grow to US$13.4 billion. While the growth rate for digital advertising is forecast at around 19%, the total digital advertising revenue in 2012 will represent only 10% of total newspaper advertising revenue.Biz-community.

“We hear a lot about user generated content from the ‘net generation'. It's very, very, very important. But premium content is still really valuable. Even the ‘net generation' values premium content. They're tired of watching videos of a dog running up a tree,” said Marcel Fenez, global leader for the Entertainment & Media Practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers.Biz-community

As long as print media produces quality, targeted and relevant information, there will be a market for it – even more so if it’s free to the reader. Essentially Free-zines take the best from both models.

Why should a company advertise in a Free-zine?

As explained above, Free-zines attract a far higher value per reader than many other publications thanks to the fact that they are ultra-niched. Because the readers have shared interest, whether it is the suburb they live in, their taste in music, or choice of coffee shop, it is far easier to target your advertising to a specific audience with a pre-identified interest in your product.

The Free-zine concept also builds a far greater sense of community amongst readers due to the nature of the niche it addresses, which generally translates into a far higher trust and acceptance factor from its reader-base.

In addition, there is a range of other reasons to advertise in a Free-zine:

• 98% of the magazines are collected and read – in fact, readers often even ask the distributing outlets ahead of time when the next edition will be available.
• Distribution outlets are chosen carefully to appeal to the reader community, in order to reach as many possible potential readers.
• 75% of the copies are claimed within two weeks.
• Free-zines see almost no returned copies – especially in tougher economic times.
• Readers don’t pay a premium to read about your products.
• No cover price means no barrier to entry for target readership.
• Free-zines reach more readers as they are more likely to be passed on: the 14,000 copies of BPM Mag get read by up to 40,000 readers.
• This also means they stay in circulation for longer.
• The free nature of the publication appeals to a target audience that has grown up with the Internet.

Surely Free-zines are suffering in the current economic climate?

Quite the contrary. Yes it is true that companies are cutting their advertising spend, and we have seen a number of paid for publications contract over the last few months.

But, what is happening is that the advertising budget available is being made to work harder for a living. One way to make your ad budget go further, is to focus your message as narrowly as possible to reach your key target markets.

Ultra-niche publications bring this focus, as well as a high penetration rate into these key audiences. So in fact, many Free-zines have benefitted from the current conditions.

This is a good opportunity for free distribution publications to prove the concept to advertisers and become an important part of the advertising mix going forward.