Content: Web vs Magazine and how they work together.

First let me begin by saying that Inc.com has so much free content on their site it’s hard to track and make sense of it all. The articles and stories on the homepage are different from those published in the print edition. But you can find some of them under the magazine tab on the site. The homepage contains about 20 short articles that average 350 words per topic. The article links include eye-catching photos as well as attention getting titles. The cover story in the November issue tops out at approximately 5000 words. It’s clear the printed articles provide more depth than those freebees on the homepage. These short articles, are written by Inc.’s editorial staff and hand-picked entrepreneurial experts. At the end of each one, the author’s picture appears along with a short bio. This brings credibility to the content.

Timely information appears on the homepage, everything on this page has been posted within the last week. Related articles scroll across the bottom, encouraging further investigation. The special section at the end of the homepage is very interesting. It contains links to all sorts of fascinating visually appealing media. Currently you’ll find, pictures of the world’s coolest offices, videos of 30 entrepreneurs under 30, and 50 top picks for business travel. The menu that runs below the Inc. logo is filled with business topics. Under each menu you’ll find several articles that have been written within the past two years. These articles have been pulled from the site, their e-newsletters and the physical magazines. Inc.com has a blogs tab and bloggers provide new content about once a week. Their Ask.Inc tab also creates a fair amount of new material through questions and answers. Tools, Guides and Inc.TV provide readers with additional information to help them on the road to small business ownership.

The content in the magazine is organized differently than online. They have sections like, Editors Letter, Content, Launch, Street Smarts, Get Real, Innovation, The Goods, Legacy, Case Study and Strategy. Each edition boasts 4 in-depth feature articles. Most of these sections are not available on their site. In many instances Inc. uses the magazine to drive traffic to Inc.com. Page 10, of each issue highlights the items on the website. It consists of 12 blurbs that encourage readers to log on. The November issue actually dedicated 2 pages to promote the web and their social media networks. Every 10 to 12 pages in the lower left hand corner the reader will see a •|com symbol along with a little prodding to check the website. Inc. Magazine and Inc.com distribute an enormous amount of timely, accurate, easily accessible content to their readership. I’m sure this is the key to their success.

Social Media and Visibility

For several weeks I’ve googled Inc.com and the top hit was a Google Ad for the Inc. Clothing Line on sale at Macy’s. Today the top hit is Inc. Magazine’s 82% off subscription fee, Google Advertisement. I clicked on the ad and it brought me right to their subscription order form.It appears that Inc. uses google ads from time to time to increase visibility and promote their products. The second hit was another Inc. Google Ad that directed me to a site called www. Magazines.com. This site operates like Amazon, but it’s mostly selling magazine subscriptions. Once I clicked through I found Inc.’s subscription promo front and center, recommendations and all. The third hit was actually the Inc.com’s regular URL, which takes you directly to the homepage. This publisher has a prime position and has found a way to reach the top spot of Google Search. Their presence on the web is huge.

Inc.com and Inc magazine use many forms of social media. At the top left hand corner of their homepage Inc. supplies links to 7 social networking sites. On the front cover of the magazine Facebook and Twitter are highlighted as well. Inc. has a robust Facebook page. They create a profile for each printed edition and event they host. There’s a “Like” button on the top portion of the page. Once the user pushes the button, they are giving Inc. access to publish information via their Facebook news feed. This opens up a huge marketing channel for the organization. Not only can they reach the original consumer; now they have access to all their friends. Facebook states, on average, each user is connected to 130 friends. I personally have some friends that have collected over 500 on their page. Inc.com is using our social connections to promote their content. They posts links to timely articles, which link you to their e-newsletter subscriber form. Along with the articles they post provocative questions to encourage viewers to engage in online conversations.

Inc. has a very healthy Twitter feed. They have over 300,000 followers, who receive anywhere from 2 to 10 tweets a day. All include a short catchy article title with a link to the story that leads the reader right to the Inc.’s website. This drive an enormous amount of traffic to their site on a daily bases. On the right hand side of each article the reader has several opportunities to share the content with friends and colleagues. Readers can tweet, e-mail or share the articles on Linked In and Facebook. They can also post it on a site called Stumbled Upon for greater visibility and distribution. Below each story you’ll find a comment box. Here readers are able to discuss opinions and ideas with others from all over the world.

A few other social media sites Inc. uses are Tumblr, YouTube, RSS Feeds, and Justin.tv. Inc.com offers 7 RSS Feeds, which differ by topic and an additional 20 Entrepreneural blogger feeds. Tumblr is a blogging site that Inc. uses to create social networking around entrepreneurship. What Inc. has done in partnership with YouTube is very interesting. They’ve created their own, free, Inc. Magazine channel readers can subscribe to. They have a personalized YouTube page that consists of many short 1 to 4 minute videos on business topics. These videos can be shared and commented on. Even more popular than Inc.’s YouTube sight is Justin.tv’s-- Inc. Live. They have been really building their presence on this site over the last few months. Inc. can broadcast live interactive video and chat live with their subscribers. This site offers all the social media bells and whistles discussed earlier.

The newest social media venture Inc. is rolling out is called Inc.Jobs and I think it’s a bright idea, especially in this economy. The jobs board ads value to the site and increases traffic. It was up yesterday and now has been taken down. Maybe there are a few glitches with the new page the publisher still needs to iron out. This jobs board will connect Inc.’s 5000 top entrepreneurs with thousands of subscribers seeking employment. Jobs and resumes will be posted on the board and the page will act as a virtual broker between employers and employees. What a great service Inc. is providing to its customer base.

Ways Inc. Magazine and Inc.com Make their Money

Inc. Magazine shares the typical business model of most magazines/journals on the market. They sell advertising space to cover the cost of production and distribution. The ad sizes range from full-page 4C covers to 1/3 of a page BW displays. Advertisers can purchase a 1, 3, 6, 9, or 12-month frequency; prices decrease as insertions increase. An advertisement with prime positioning on cover 2, with a 12x schedule, will run an advertiser $81,000 per month, reaching 700,000 viewers each print run. We can compare this to the online $70,000 monthly homepage banner ad, which reaches 500,000 visitors in a month’s time. As you can see the print and online pricing is comparable. The magazine and website are treated as two completely separate advertising mediums. It doesn’t appear that they group virtual and print advertisements for purchase. The magazine makes their money solely on advertising dollars.

In my last two blogs and in the paragraph above, I’ve discussed Inc.’s ability to generate revenue from subscriptions as well as from online and print advertising. Now, I’d like to take a look at other ways the website produces cash flow. Inc.com serves as a creative platform to increase profits for the publisher. From this project I’ve learned online banner ads are just one of many ways you can raise online advertising dollars. Inc.com has a slew of different options: Welcome Ads at the beginning of an article or landing page, Peel Aways at the center of the screen, and Floating Ad Units that float across the screen interrupting content for advertiser brand messaging. On top of that Inc.com sells advertising space on their e-newsletters, microsites, webinars, videos and sponsor polls.

Another big money maker for the website is their partnership with Resource Nation. Back in September they had a link to Resource Nation’s site on their homepage. In December, they are launching a Jobs Board and that promotional material is currently occupying that space. I assume the link will be available at a later date. Resource Nation connects small businesses with local and national pre-screened vendors. For every valid lead Inc.com sends to a Resource Nation vendor they earn 25% of the lead price, which usually equals about $43.00 per lead. This is a no-hassle, no-cost way for Inc.com to generate some additional revenue.

Inc. Advisor and Events have their own pages, which are accessible by the drop down menus above the homepage banner ad. These two pages have products that have been monetized by Inc.com. Inc. Advisor promotes 6-month video tutorial subscriptions on specific business topics for $9.95. The subscriber has access to the purchased video for the 6-month interval. There are over 30 tutorials available, which include: how-to guides, articles, tips, and video interviews with top entrepreneurs.

Inc Magazine along with Inc.com puts on 4 events throughout the year: Inc 500/5000 Conference and Award Ceremony, Inc. Women’s Summit, GROWCO, and the Inc. Leadership Conference. These conferences are very expensive to host but with the help of sponsors and high entrance fees I’m sure they breakeven if not pull in a profit. These events provide a great way for Inc. to establish themselves as an authority in the world of small business. They use the site and the magazine to promote their events. The Events page gives detailed information on each event and allows you to register on the spot. Average entrance fee is $1,600.00.

Inc.com & Inc Magazine Subscriptions

Inc. has a few different pricing options. The newsstand price of a single issue costs the reader $4.99. They have created their own online archival system. They offer issues as far back as January 2001. Each archived print edition has a price tag of $4.99. I thought maybe the older issues would be available at a discount but, that is not the case. Inc. offers a one-year subscription, which includes 10 printed issues for $12.97. When readers subscribe their credit card is held on file. The annual subscription is renewed automatically by the Circulation Department, unless otherwise notified. I assume this practice has a positive affect on renewal rates.

Recently, Inc. partnered with Amazon to sell subscriptions. For Cyber Monday I found Inc.’s listing on the Amazon site promoting their 2012 subscription for $12.00. A presence on Amazon increases their visibility and it gives word-of-mouth recommendations an opportunity to work their magic. Forty-six people reviewed the publication and its average rating was 4 out of 5 stars. Inc. is also offering a holiday subscription deal for the month of December. It’s an enticing promotion and a smart way to increase readership; keeps the advertising dollars flowing. The promo headline is, “Give a Gift that Gives Back”. Entrepreneurs who subscribe in December will receive a one-year subscription along with a free gift subscription for just $10.00. The magazine’s subscription card directs you to Inc.com. There you can register and take advantage of the special.

After perusing all the subscription options, I realized I hadn’t come across any online subscriptions offers. I thought, maybe the fee is bundled with the print editions. As I canvassed their website it became apparent that almost all their online content is free, not a single pay wall to speak of. Today they are even giving away the top three stories in the November print issue. This magazine is still on the newsstands. This site is loaded with free articles, blogs, tips, advise, slide shows, podcasts and e-newsletters on topics such as leadership and marketing. Free is fabulous but the big question is…how does this affect the circulation of the print editions?

According to Wikipedia Inc. Magazine’s 2007 circulation was, 690,000 with 20,000 single copies purchased off newsstands per month. The Audit Bureau of Circulation reported that Inc. had approx 682,000 subscribers with 27,000 single copy sales in 2011. Its circulation was 73% men with an average household income of $160,000. Looking at these numbers I think it’s safe to conclude, over the past four years, gobs of free online content has not slowed or stunted Inc.’s subscriber base. Customers still find value in the physical editions. In fact, it just dawned on me that Inc. Magazine is not an e-publication. It’s a paper magazine sold from the Inc.com website. Inc. does not currently offer an e-version to its subscribers. Therefore, if entrepreneurs want the full edition they have no choice but to subscribe to the physical magazine.

My First Observations INC.com

The first thing I noticed about this site is it has incredible brand recognition. The Inc. logo is placed in the upper left hand corner, it’s a 50pt Bold Serif and it grabs your attention immediately. The home page is well organized. They have seven buttons, which gives users access to Inc.’s social media sites, which I will discuss in a later blog. The top menu allows folks to navigate to many of their products such as: the magazine, the newsletter, blogs, ask.com, entrepreneurship tools and more. The menu below the logo allows users to search by business topics such as finance and technology.

I’ve been tracking the site for several months now and I must say they do a great job keeping it current. Directly under the logo they always have a nice 3x4 color photo, which either highlights an articles or serves as a navigation point to an interesting video. They have six feature articles they rotate throughout the day underneath in this position. The current date appears on the home page, which gives the reader a feeling that this is the most up-to-date information on entrepreneurship. As a reader I assumed all the articles on the site were written within the last month. But to my surprise, as I started digging around, I found that much of the content had been written over the course of the last few years. It’s interesting because when I google articles I always check the date. On the other hand, when I searched for articles on Inc. I assumed they had all been written recently, but that was not always the case. It leads me to ask, do most consumers monitor the publication dates of online publishers closely? Maybe not, if content is free and relevant.

According to Quantcast.com, a web-based analytical site, Inc.com received 1.7 million US hits this month and 2.3 globally. Based on these numbers, it appears that Inc. readers are satisfied with the substance and timeliness of the site. In my opinion, their immense popularity can be attributed to their ability to keep the site innovative and fresh. It draws readers in and encourages them to return on a regular basis. What a boon for online publishers. The Internet has extended the shelf life of Inc.’s articles. Below each piece a grouping of additional related links are available. This enriches the text and allows the reader to delve deeper into the subject matter. This site has helped Inc. become a trusted authority in the business world.

The last thing that caught my eye on the first visit was the banner ad. This ad sits right next to the Inc. logo in a prime location. Oddly enough it’s not overwhelming and it doesn’t distract from the content. This homepage Leaderboard generates $140 CPM (Cost Per Mille) meaning $140 per 1,000 viewers. So lets say the advertiser shares the Leaderboard with 3 others for the month of November. Inc. projects 2 million viewers; divide that by 4, which would be 500,000 viewers each. Then we have 500,000/1000 = 500 x $140.00 = $70,000 per advertiser. If my projections are correct Inc.com makes approximately $280,000 a month on that single advertising space. That is just the tip of the ice burg. Amazing.

My Mission Statement

My ultimate long-term goal is to develop an e-pub or e-zine that is interactive. My hope is to create a publication that is the leading source of accurate information for wounded warriors and their families. So in support of my goal, I’ve decided to track Inc. Magazine. I think it will be a fabulous case study and will give me a better understanding of how an e-publication is organized, marketed and updated.

Inc. is the perfect publication for me to analyze because I can compare and contrast the print and electronic version. It will allow me to pin point how the printed version draws traffic to the website and vise versa. Just at first glance it appears that Inc. Magazine has taken their printed publication, which to tell you the truth is not that visually appealing, and converted it into a stimulating online interactive experience.

There are many things I’d like to track. The biggest being, how do all these moving parts support each other? How does the print version, the e-zine, the blog, ask inc., guides, Inc. TV, the newsletter, subscriber and inc. advisor all fit together. Are all these products being used? Which are the most popular or hold the most value to the reader?

Other areas I’d like to track are:

1. Marketing, how do they bring traffic to the site and to the readership of the print version? Are the campaigns evolving? Or static?
2. Revenue, I’d like to track the revenue source on the site. What are readers paying for? Do they make most of their money through ads or subscriptions? Or other products on the site?
3. Content Management, how do they organize all this information, some if it is updated daily, the e-zine is updated monthly along with the print edition.

I do plan to use Evernote to track Inc. I’ve already generated a notebook for it. I hope it will prove to be a valuable tool.