Jancis Robinson, the famous wine expert and writer, has over the last ten years, quietly built up an impressive online content business. The several thousand members of her “Purple pages” are an international crowd, some from the wine trade but many enthusiastic amateurs, who visit her site at least weekly and contribute to a convivial, civilised and intelligent forum. All this with minimal marketing, and no artificial boost from discounts and offers – just pure content.
So what is the secret of the success of the Purple pages, the subscription part of www.JancisRobinson.com – which cost members £69pa? Jancis is a prolific and natural writer, and members get two of her articles a day (with one extra article for the free part of the site) providing an insider’s view of the wine world. They can also search an archive of 45,000 tasting notes, which are linked to popular cellar management service CellarTracker. Plus there’s the exclusive online searchable database for the Oxford Companion to Wine and the World Atlas of Wine – both edited by Jancis and whose hard copy versions would cost c£60. Jancis regularly adds podcasts and video clips to the Purple pages. Members, 65% of whom are from outside the UK, value the independent, opinionated comment, and the topical, frequent updates to the articles. They also love the forum; with half the members of more than 2 years standing. This has created a friendly community, and they don’t want to open it to non-members. Renewal rates are over 50%.
Marketing is low key, with Jancis mentioning the site in her own articles, and adding daily articles to the free part of the site, which attracts 60,000 unique visitors a month with average length of visit being over four minutes. She also regularly emails her database of c20,000 current visitors and lapsed members. A great example of how providing a genuinely useful resource to wine enthusiasts can build an online content subscription business.
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