deanna

1/ No overhead - no need to warehouse or ship products. By only dealing in information, all of the heavy lifting is done by the vendors when the consumers contact them.

2/ Diversity - They don't rely on any given vendors for their revenue stream. Remember, they don't actually team with any companies, so their integrity rermains in tact. Vendors get exposure through ads and stories done on them. This integrity is part of what makes the magazine popular. Consumers know they aren't being conned. They also know the footwork in finding these vendors is done for them and accessible at any time on the web site.

3/ Niche marketing - by not trying to satisfy every last reader, like many magazines and web sites do, content doesn't get watered down to lowest common denominator. This means you might get a smaller audience (not everyone is looking for a $4000 sofa or a top end designer), but you'll also get a more loyal one because you are feeding that audience consistently interesting material.

4/ Diversity 2 - they have the relative stability of not just being a web entity. The methodolgy is simple. The magazine gives them brand recognition in the real world, and disseminates the latest info. Now consumers have a physical thing in their hands that doesn't need to be plugged in and they can flip through as they see fit. It doesn't provide all the infornation, so it leads to the web site where the details are filled in. (The corollary is that people see the web site and go to the magazine to get the original content). Now they have revenue streams from ads in the maazine and unit sales and ads on the web site. If one falters, the other is still in place to support it.


I'm a freelancer mainly doing 3D and motion graphic design. Mostly for television, though sometimes I do corporate work and film.

see ya!

Nope, read the last part of Diversity 2. They get revenue from print and online ads, as well as unit sales and subscriptions.

The only examples I can think of that don't get ad revenue are Consumer Reports and Adbusters, but I haven't picked up either in ages.

Vice does the opposite. Unit sales are free and subscriptions have a minimal charge for postal fees, all of their revenue comes from ad sales in the zine and online (plus their online store and brick and mortar stores)

Freelance isn't as tenuous as it sounds. Once you get a rep (and you're good at what you do, obviously), you work as much as you want. It's those first few years that can hurt when you're building your rep. I did work full time for a few networks, but I'm actually making more now than I was as an employee and I'm much happier being my own boss.