Tech giant, Amazon might want out of the publishing industry, but the industry itself is in the midst of a resurgence.
And, despite popular narratives that print is “on its way out” or even “dead,” new surveys show that when it comes to both magazines and books, print is very much alive and kicking.
For over 20 years, we’ve been publishing ‘Your Local Link’ magazine, which is delivered to every home and business in York and its surrounding villages. We also publish ‘The Best Pages’, which are delivered to 87,419 letterboxes in North and East Yorkshire and the ‘What’s On York Guide’, the publication that people pick up at hotels and many tourist attractions in York City Centre.
For much of our time in the print industry, we’ve had doom-mongers tell us to stop putting so much focus into our printed copies, since “digital is everything”.
In a way, the idea that digital is overtaking print among readers has always been a bit overblown.
For publishers, the total number of people who access a publication in print versus digital is only one measure. The time they spend reading can be just as important, or even more so. Surveys suggest that many readers commit more minutes to reading print than scrolling through information online.
This helps explain why you keep hearing about new, niche magazines being launched.
While some people instinctively think of print as being almost exclusively for older people, about two-thirds of adults aged 18 to 34 said they love the touch and feel of printed magazines. When we surveyed our readers, we found that they run the gamut in age, with half under 45 years old and pretty evenly split between men and women.
By not giving up on print, local publishers are also keeping more people employed. Magazines provide about 55,000 jobs directly in the UK and support countless others through their support of local businesses through their advertising and marketing platforms.
We’re also making sure to serve the all-too-often forgotten people who don’t have access to the internet.
Print is also well positioned to take advantage of a growing phenomenon: “digital detox” time. More people are beginning to schedule time away from devices and notifications, and many of them are looking for the look and feel of good old-fashioned reading and information material. It is also there when you need it, month in, month out.
Another reason printed advertising is growing
Advertisers are showing interest, based on research about the impact of print, and how it interacts with parts of the brain.
Consumers often find magazine adverts less intrusive and say they dislike this type of advertising the least.
So don’t discount print. There are literally thousands of local magazines in the UK with hundreds of thousands of readers. And, since the demise of the Yellow Pages in print, these have become a vital and reliable resource of local information, business directory, and so much more.
The local publications you see through your letterbox, in hotels, doctors’ offices and shops have a long life ahead of them, with or without Amazon. They are a vital, local conduit between customers and businesses, ignore using them at your peril.
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