Small Magazines are Taking a Big Financial Hit
July 9, 2007 by J.C. Hewitt
These aren’t good times to be a small magazine publisher. Web-based publications have already started to eat away at subscription totals, and now the United States Post Office is dramatically raising the price of sending a magazine through the mail. The hike in postal rates will hit all magazines, but the brunt of the costs will be born by smaller publications. The new postal rate, negotiated for the most part by publishing giant Time-Warner, will give bulk discounts to larger publishers that are able to take on part of the processing tasks normally assigned to the post office. Smaller magazines without this capability with pay a much higher rate.
The bottom line is that many smaller magazine publishers are just scraping by as it is, and will need to make cuts in staff and content in order to stay afloat. Many magazines will simply cease publication. Running an independent magazine is quickly becoming a fool’s errand. Between the ease and immediacy of web-based niche blogs and publications, the enormous clout of the mega-publishers and the increasingly inefficient and overpriced United States Postal Service, it is just too difficult to stay afloat. Look for an increasing number of independent magazines to fold over the next couple years, and for those that do stay in business to start cutting staff and lowering their freelance rates.
I came across this article while searching the internet for small publishers. Our company offers discounts on international postage (IPA and ISAL services thru the USPS)and since the rate increase in May (and the loss of the “Publishers Periodical”)we have heard from many small publishers that needed to find a cheaper way to mail their publications internationally. I’d just like to offer us up as a resource if needed. While we can’t help with domestic rates, we do offer great discounts on international and we do not have a minimum volume requirement or require you to sign any contracts.