Mar

26

B2B Trade Publications Go Online Only - Good News for Marketers

March 26, 2007 | Anita Campbell

Infoworld magazine is ceasing its print version to become an online-only publication. 

One commentator says the people at Infoworld are blazing new trails and leading the way and that others will follow.  Rex Hammock predicts that more B2B publications will cease print operations following a U.S. Postal Service announcement increasing rates.

This suggests the beginnings of a trend toward B2B trade publications transitioning to online only.  If you are looking to reach small business owners through advertising or content marketing (e.g., writing columns that display your expertise) in B2B publications, I think this is a positive development, for three reasons:

  • Cheaper, better advertising options.  Advertising options often are cheaper online — at least for now.  That $15,000 for a print magazine ad goes a long way on the Web.  You can afford to take risks and experiment online — if an ad campaign doesn’t work it is far easier and faster to change your approach than it is with a print publication.  Plus, you can measure the ROI from your advertising spend much more finitely, with less effort, than you can with offline advertising, because direct Web response is so trackable.
  • More content marketing options. Online publications are often more amenable to guest columnists than print magazines.  Plus, the savviest publications are creating new kinds of columns and features that include content from users (people like you) more frequently.   That means more opportunities to attract customers through writing articles, webinars, podcasts and other online methods.
  • More precise audience segmentation.  With the lower cost of the Web, we are seeing narrower-niche B2B publications pop up.  And even in a general Website it is possible to segment special interests better, such as through offering distinct sections of a site or minisites.  So it may be easier than ever to target the precise audience segment you are looking for.

Naturally, if you advertise or do content marketing through online publications, you will be drawing more traffic to your website as opposed to a phone number or other kind of contact.

This in turn suggests you need to spend more effort, time and money on your Web presence.  So make sure your online business location is welcoming to the small business customers you are trying to attract. 

Consider a landing page with prominent contact information and multiple ways to reach you, so that if small business customers come to your site directly from B2B publications, they will not be disoriented when they get there.   Plus, it is crucial that you offer some method on the landing page to capture contact information from those who arrive there.  The usual methods are free downloads that require registration or the option to sign up for a newsletter. 

For more about advertising in trade publications both in print and online, see Quiet Storm articles:  Trade Journals and Online Adverts.


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