POLL - Fourteener Motoring Magazine, Print vs. PDF Options

[stevegm]

Sorry for the second thread. Once a thread is started, it doesn't appear that a poll can be added.


Poll Question - would you prefer a print magazine or digital PDF magazine? And if you prefer print, would you be willing to pay a yearly subscription of $15 to $20? Anyone that chose the option of the print version would also receive the digital PDF.


Long story:
Thank you to everyone for their support and encouragement. Your suggestions have been very helpful. And the number of subscriptions has exceeded our expectations. Thank you. We are reconsidering our model based on your comments. We have also received quite a few emails both from people wiling to write for the magazine, as well as potential story ideas. I think you will like what we have planned. Let me give you a little of the logic behind the decision to make the magazine free.

Magazines live and die based on subscription base. The number of people that subscribe is the first, second, and third priority. The 914 niche is not large enough to support a traditional magazine, which typically enjoys well in excess of 20,000 subscribers, even for the small auto magazines. Based on research, it appears that only about 20,000 914s are left, worldwide, in total. And many of those are owned by people who own multiple cars. We truly are a small community.

In other words, we need every last 914 enthusiast to be a subscriber (please share the link with every 914 enthusiast you know). If we charge any fee at all associated with a subscription, even $1 per year, we won't get everyone to subscribe. It isn't just the $1 itself that will cause people to not subscribe. Many people don't bother if they have to send in money, or don't use Paypal, etc. Charging a subscription hurts subscriptions, and I don't want to impede subscriptions in any way.

I still believe print has value in certain situations, and cars is one of those. But, I hear your comments regarding the potential interactive benefits of a digital magazine. Those suggestions are the ones that really got me to reconsider the model. What I have been working on this week to determine if it will work is this:

Free PDF version of the magazine delivered via email;
Optional paid print magazine delivered via snail mail (all print subscribers could also receive the PDF version).


The risk of this model is that the number of paid print subscribers will be so low that it will drive up the printing costs per unit, and make it impossible to continue the print version. This is not something I want to see happen, as I believe the print version has value. And I further believe that when you see the quality that I think we can put out you will agree.

I need to know from you how many of you would be willing to pay for the print version, over the free PDF, in this model? I suspect that the paid subscription, for the quarterly publication, would be $15 to $20/year. This feedback will help us further evaluate the best way to set this up.

[dudzy's914]

From the other thread it looks like there are people who want PDF and some that want the print. Is it possible to do both? I have no idea what the work needed is, my .2

[stevegm]

From the other thread it looks like there are people who want PDF and some that want the print. Is it possible to do both? I have no idea what the work needed is, my .2

Yes. Under the model we are working on now we would offer a free PDF and a paid print as an option. I am trying to gauge how many people would be willing to pay for the print copy, even though a free PDF version is available.

[Mueller]

I like the PDF version, it would seem enough people these days own a decent printer at home or have access to one at work so they should be able to print it themselves if one needs a hardcopy.

[JRust]

I like getting it old school in the mail! I get almost everything electronically these days. Could I print one up? Sure but will it look as good as the one Steve will send out? No & odds are I wouldn't bother printing it. So I'd look at it as a PDF & that would be that. I like the idea of a coffee table 914 magazine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif) " I LIKE IT ALOT" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

So I would gladly pay or donate each year for it

[stevegm]

I like getting it old school in the mail! I get almost everything electronically these days. Could I print one up? Sure but will it look as good as the one Steve will send out? No & odds are I wouldn't bother printing it. So I'd look at it as a PDF & that would be that. I like the idea of a coffee table 914 magazine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif) " I LIKE IT ALOT" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

So I would gladly pay or donate each year for it

My thoughts exactly. And the good print ones tend to get saved. I think someone in the other thread said - they become history.

[mepstein]

I like reading print but i don't think Steve will be able to make a print version work year after year. Print as a media is dying. So I'm voting pdf because I would like this to be more than a one or 2 year effort. pdf will also have a quick turn around time.

[stevegm]

I like reading print but i don't think Steve will be able to make a print version work year after year. Print as a media is dying. So I'm voting pdf because I would like this to be more than a one or 2 year effort. pdf will also have a quick turn around time.

Mark, I respect your opinion. Turnaround, however, will be the same for PDF and print. They are both just output files from InDesign. No difference there. The only differences between print and PDF is printing and distribution. Print copies are fulfilled directly from the printer to subscriber. We never touch them. PDF has to be emailed. In the end, print is no more difficult to distribute. It really simply comes down to cost. If the subscribers value print and are willing to pay for the cost to print and mail it to them, it doesn't make my job any harder. My time is my most valuable resource, and something I guard carefully. But in this case, there isn't a difference.

EDIT: I am just trying to determine if the preference for print (if there is such a preference) is strong enough to induce a subscriber to pay for the print copy over receiving just a PDF for free. So I can understand what proportion of people want print vs. PDF.

[mepstein]

I like reading print but i don't think Steve will be able to make a print version work year after year. Print as a media is dying. So I'm voting pdf because I would like this to be more than a one or 2 year effort. pdf will also have a quick turn around time.

Mark, I respect your opinion. Turnaround, however, will be the same for PDF and print. They are both just output files from InDesign. No difference there. The only differences between print and PDF is printing and distribution. Print copies are fulfilled directly from the printer to subscriber. We never touch them. PDF has to be emailed. In the end, print is no more difficult to distribute. It really simply comes down to cost. If the subscribers value print and are willing to pay for the cost to print and mail it to them, it doesn't make my job any harder. My time is my most valuable resource, and something I guard carefully. But in this case, there isn't a difference.

I did not know that. very cool.

[stevegm]

I like reading print but i don't think Steve will be able to make a print version work year after year. Print as a media is dying. So I'm voting pdf because I would like this to be more than a one or 2 year effort. pdf will also have a quick turn around time.

Mark, I respect your opinion. Turnaround, however, will be the same for PDF and print. They are both just output files from InDesign. No difference there. The only differences between print and PDF is printing and distribution. Print copies are fulfilled directly from the printer to subscriber. We never touch them. PDF has to be emailed. In the end, print is no more difficult to distribute. It really simply comes down to cost. If the subscribers value print and are willing to pay for the cost to print and mail it to them, it doesn't make my job any harder. My time is my most valuable resource, and something I guard carefully. But in this case, there isn't a difference.

I did not know that. very cool.

Technology blows my mind. The process of getting the calendars done, printed, and mailed, in a tight time-frame, and on time down to the day, was so seamless, it was amazing. And, we even mailed those by hand, which isn't something I'd prefer with a magazine. It wasn't me, I assure you. It was technology and the print company. They just make it happen, seemingly effortlessly. It is a world of difference from when we were starting the last magazine I founded, just 10 years ago.

[Mueller]

If you wanted to, with pdf version you can include 3D files that allows one to view and rotate , zoom 3D files all within Adobe acrobat reader. Not sure what you'd want to show off, but I know there are few 3D CAD/graphic guys on board here...me included.

[shane]

I like digital but because this would be special being the only 914 magazine out there I would pay for a printed version, and be glad to do so.

[bandjoey]

PDF and offer a coffee table year end print. For a nice annual print id probably go the $20 route.

[75-914]

PDF and offer a coffee table year end print. For a nice annual print id probably go the $20 route.

Both PDF and PRINT

[stevegm]

PDF and offer a coffee table year end print. For a nice annual print id probably go the $20 route.

Yes. I have considered that. Annually print all four issues, and perfect bind them together. It may be something we do regardless of how we handle the quarterly subscriptions. At this point, I am focusing on content. Without good content, the rest doesn't really matter. :-)

[tumamilhem]

PRINT THAT SHIT! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[fixer34]

I'll put my money where my mouth is for a print version. I deal with PDF manuals (technical) all the time. They have their place, but there is still something about having it on paper. Plus it's a lot easier to make notes/highlights on a page if I want to.

[PanelBilly]

A good friend of mine has a son who has done very well with a web base forum site. Over the years it grew to the point where the money started rolling in, big time. Along with other ventures, he decided to publish a magazine that would compliment the web site. The publication was beautiful. Tons of color, great articles and the initial printings were pre-sold. A little more than a year later, it was gone. I'm not sure of the issues that cause him to close down, but I thought it was a sure thing. He's a smart businessman, so I'm guessing that its a difficult industry.

[stevegm]

A good friend of mine has a son who has done very well with a web base forum site. Over the years it grew to the point where the money started rolling in, big time. Along with other ventures, he decided to publish a magazine that would compliment the web site. The publication was beautiful. Tons of color, great articles and the initial printings were pre-sold. A little more than a year later, it was gone. I'm not sure of the issues that cause him to close down, but I thought it was a sure thing. He's a smart businessman, so I'm guessing that its a difficult industry.

Very difficult industry indeed. Unless it isn't viewed as an industry in itself, but rather, a publication for an industry, which is our approach. Still tough. But doable if the content is good and provides value to its readers. We will see if we can meet that challenge.

[Cuda911]

I like getting it old school in the mail! I get almost everything electronically these days. Could I print one up? Sure but will it look as good as the one Steve will send out? No & odds are I wouldn't bother printing it. So I'd look at it as a PDF & that would be that. I like the idea of a coffee table 914 magazine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif) " I LIKE IT ALOT" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

So I would gladly pay or donate each year for it

100% agree with every statement in this post.