Our print strategy: London Review of Books

Q: What is your print strategy?

A: Digital has undoubtedly opened up exciting possibilities — for expanding our audience and providing more flexible ways for people to read. But what continues to stand out is the enduring strength of print. The LRB is known for its long-form essays on politics, history, literature and the arts, and that depth of engagement is especially well-suited to the printed page. While we always expected print to remain important, we were struck by just how important it still is: in a recent survey, 97% of our subscribers said they read the print magazine, compared to 68% who use the website and 39% who read via the app. Even among our most digitally engaged readers, the print edition is not seen as a legacy format, it remains the cornerstone of our relationship with them — and central to our business overall.

Print also serves as a reminder to the reader of what they are paying for. Even if they engage with it mostly on alternative platforms, the fact that it drops regularly on their door mat reminds them that they are paying for a real thing, made by real people. That tangibility reinforces value and contributes to subscriber retention.

And it’s not only our readers who value print: our advertisers still favour promotion in the physical paper through page ads and inserts. The quality of a print reader is clear to our clients, and it’s the print format that still works best for reaching our highly-engaged readership and still garners the most engaged attention for their brands.

Q: How are you ensuring print’s longevity?

A: Investing in the quality of the print magazine (and its timely delivery) is always an important part of our planning.

At the LRB, we work closely with our distribution partners and are always looking for the most expedient way to get the magazine into the hands of our readers as efficiently as possible. For example, when we realised how long it was taking to get the magazine to Australia a few years ago, we moved some of our print and distribution to Sydney, ensuring better delivery to our subscribers in Australia and New Zealand. And we listen to the feedback of our customers. If there are some far-flung addresses that have trouble getting issues, we work closely with our partners to come up with alternatives in packaging, routes or providers to do everything we can to get the magazine delivered.

We are also currently working on the subscription packages we offer subscribers based on their needs and usage. The first part of this research was a deep dive into our audience so that we understood them better (both demographically and motivationally). We did this partially so that we could better market the magazine, but also so that we could develop our digital strategy accordingly. And the research proved very useful to that end! Initially, we thought it would be our younger readers who wanted digital based on their daily habits. But in fact, in our audience research, we were surprised to learn that our youngest audiences highly value the print product. They feel that sitting down with a physical copy of the LRB offers them a welcome break from screen fatigue, and they use it as an escape from their (mostly-digital) lives.

Q: What are your three top tips?

1. Model your data: Understand the lifetime value of your subscribers, so that you manage your subs strategy and pricing. This will tell you your projected circulation and revenue so that you can plan your business strategy accordingly.

2. Do some audience research: Be it qualitative or quantitative, take time to understand who your subscribers are and what they value about your product. Tailor your plans according to their needs, not your own.

3. Don’t skimp on quality: We invest in great content, but it should also arrive in a great package: invest in good paper, quality inks, strong distribution channels... put a good product in the hands of your readers and they will value what is in it even more.