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.
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