Yachting Monthly March 50% Adverts

[Fergie]

Im going to stop buying It, just got my march Issue and it was fill of junk mail and page for page 50% ad's, and at £3.30 that's taking the **** I think the new boy's lost the plot, and don't say it's cheaper if you subscribe, I just don't want another D Debit. But on the other hand PBO seem's to be ok at the moment, but I haven't got my march issue yet. With all that ad revenue you could lower the price any way. I wonder what Kim's going to say me.!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Breoch]

Try Sailing Today

Glenn

 

[rhinorhino]

I agree, a pretty thin issue this time ( a hangover from the Christmas break perhaps), but there were still some interesting articles.
I have posted my views on the boat reviews before, but while the articles on cruising grounds particularly, South Georgia, were interesting the article on computers at sea was a waste of space, imo.
I took the mag on the train to work and by the return journey (three hours later) I had read it from cover to cover and done the quiz, I work that out at about £1/hour, which is pretty cheap entertainment really.

 

[Magic_Sailor]

Blimey!

You got out of bed the wrong side this morning!

I don't think he's lost the plot. Frankly, I don't see a lot of difference - and that's not a crtiticism. Aside from my comments of few months back (the sameness of YM, PBO, ST etc) I quite enjoyed reading most of the mag. I still find the articles a bit "samey" - next month the crew of Baleana experience the worst storms of their lives!

There is simply not enough romance and fun generally, but this month's front cover does at least have people having fun rather than the usual dour picture of the bearded helmsman. Has anybody noted that whenever YM advertise their subscription deal they always show the cover with the 3 girls in bikinis - this is excellent, as is the current cover - which features blokes as well please note.

I agree about junk mail though - that gets my goat, however one would imagine that there is an arguement which says without junk mail and adverts, the price would have to go up.

I also know what you mean about DDs but this would reduce the cost a lot for you.

Magic

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>

 

[Strathglass]

Nobody\'s Perfect

Sailing Today seemed to loose all their <font color=red>FREE</font color=red> <font color=blue>Hood</font color=blue> tell-tales on the way over the borders into Scotland and Ireland last month.

Local newsagent got nowhere with their distributer.

This months issue only says

/forums/images/icons/frown.gif <font color=green> We haven't got to the bottom of it </font color=green>
and /forums/images/icons/blush.gif <font color=purple> We are sorry for any disappointment it may have caused </font color=purple>

/forums/images/icons/mad.gifThere isn't however any indication of how one can obtain some of the tell-tales /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif

Iain

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by iainsimpson on 16/02/2003 09:34 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Twister_Ken]

Hood tell tails

you can have mine if you're desperate (PS , they're tacky, in many senses of the word).

 

[bedouin]

My subscription to ST has just expired - and they haven't yet bothered to ask me if I want to renew it. That can't be particularly good for their business or circulation. Not sure I'll bother even if they do get round to asking

 

[FlyingSpud]

How do you tell the difference between the adds and the ‘reviews’? Always seem pretty similar to me.
Frankly, the main reason I buy the mags is for the adds, checking out prices and so on.

 

[Ohdrat]

I reckon the reason PBO content (as aposed to the adds) is ok because they have a competitor in Sailing Today..

 

[kimhollamby]

Give the guy a break?

Paul's appointment was confirmed just days before the issue in question went to press. That makes the 'new boy's lost the plot' comment a bit harsh.' Fairer perhaps to see what happens in the year ahead as Paul gets an opportunity to bring his ideas to the magazine?

As for the ad balance, the way that issues are generally planned you do not lose editorial pages if more ad pages are booked. There is a set number of editorial pages and there is an option to expand that number if the magazine takes bookings for a greater number of ad pages than anticipated - provided that happens early enough before press date for them to be used effectively.

Hope that helps to clarifiy.

 

[Twister_Ken]

YM death and destruction

I think I'm going to have to hide this month's edition. Score so far, one boat sunk racing in scotland, one crew attacked by killer bees, one 600 mile beat to windward, one cruise screwed because of a month of gales at Land's End, and I'm not even half way through yet.

 

[Fergie]

I am tending to agree with you, this month's is the worst I have seen, although I will agree with some of the thread's the little content there is make's good reading.
There are 82 pages of interest out of 188 I make that LESS than 50% and some of those are half page ad'''''s.

 

[Fergie]

Re: Give the guy a break?

Kim it's not quite the end of feb, you have over a month to put some good yachting articals into the april edition, I dont see the problem. As for paul it is not as if he was a dustman before he took his position. As for ballance 82 pages out of 188 is a bit much and if you take more ad's make the mag thicker, it's not a matter of cost, look at all the revenue from the add's

 

[BrianJ]

I am more interested in the ads than the content , most of the time. why ? well I dont really think I will ever sail around the UK etc..whereas I can compare the UK / USA/ OZ prices of gear...also see what the latest gear in the market is .... I'm happy.
Give the new guy a chance..
BrianJ

 

[kimhollamby]

I thought you were talking March issue?nm

*

 

[Martin_e]

Well you guys are lucky to be able to read it. I subscribe and it takes the distribution system up to 3 weeks to bet the b******** thing to me. Problem has been going on for a year. Some of the magazines are posted up to a week after you guys can buy it at the news agents, so comments about the amount of ads, will have to wait. One would have thought that with all that revenue they could get a better mailing system!!!!

 

[kimhollamby]

The magazines are not posted after they arrive in the newsagents; if, for any reason, it is late in production that might make it arrive after the on sale date but then chances are it would be late in the newsagents too and for pretty obvious reasons we try to avoid that. There is something very strange going on with your issue if it is taking three weeks past the on sale date to get to you - unless you are living well away from the UK.

Please send me a private message or an email (kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com) with the details and I'll ask for an investigation.

 

[jamesjermain]

As Kim says, 'give the guy a break - he's only just taken over.

108 pages of editorial is just about the same as it was when I was editor - quite a few years ago now.

Editorial pagination is fixed at ther beginning of the financial year so Paul won't have had a chance to change it yet.

The number of pages is fixed by the publisher in consultation with the editor and is based on financial considerations - mainly the predicted advertising take month by month.

After the plan has been fixed, editorial pages will only fluctuate if ad pagination changes and is more likely to go up than down. One thing sure to cause a rift between ed and publisher is a threat to his pages.

The ed/ad ratio is, from memory, actually more favourable to ed now than it was when I joined the mag in 1980 and certainly better than it was in the balmy days of the mid-eighties.

Many people like the ads (except car ads!)

JJ

 

[Fergie]

Brianj
If you like comparing prices you seem to be going the expensive way of doing it, you are buying YM, at £3.30, when you could be loking it up on the web.

 

[Fergie]

Re: I thought you were talking March issue?nm

Kim
You could alway's have Y.M. advertising only, and leave all the interesting content to P.B.O. All I am saying is that over the past 18 months it's not just me that has noticed, as I have seen thread's before on this subject, but it DOES seem to be dying a death of late. what I am going to do is, go into my local newsagent's and have a flick through, and if it isn't up to scrach, I won't buy it, I will buy Sailing Today and save myself 10p. In fairness I don't blame Paul for this, or you, but we are your core business and you should not lose sight of that, and I think that is fair critisimmmmm. Some times we all have to try a bit harder. And I was talking obout the March issue, but Iam now worried what the April edition is going to be full of (More Add's)