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.