Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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User avatar
By Lerk
#1766279
I also hadn't realised that the news meant I wouldn't get a print magazine in the post.
I have seen previous subscriptions go print + digital and found the digital edition useless.

I also don't believe the subscription cost represents anything like good value - unless the print magazine was haemorrhaging cash, to keep the subscription cost the same and actually give the magazine away for nothing anyway seems like a very strange idea.

I'm afraid I don't see the value in retaining my subscription so have cancelled.
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1766367
Lerk wrote:I also hadn't realised that the news meant I wouldn't get a print magazine in the post.
I have seen previous subscriptions go print + digital and found the digital edition useless.

I also don't believe the subscription cost represents anything like good value - unless the print magazine was haemorrhaging cash, to keep the subscription cost the same and actually give the magazine away for nothing anyway seems like a very strange idea.

I'm afraid I don't see the value in retaining my subscription so have cancelled.


Hi Lerk

Sorry to hear that, but understand that it is not right for everyone. We believe that for what works out at £2.50 a month, the landing fees alone represent excellent value (there are a lot more benefits too).

Magazines need essentially need two types of customer to exist, readers and advertisers. With the current situation meaning that the newsstand is essentially broken (not just for Flyer, but for our competitors and most other publishers too), we weren't going to be able to serve either group in a satisfactory manner.

The only honest and economically viable move was to go digital. As we weren't going to be able to offer our subscribers a print copy, we created The Flyer Club, with all its benefits. To serve our advertisers we created the free edition in order to significantly increase the reach of the magazine domestically and internationally beyond what would have been possible in print.

For all readers and advertisers we want to offer the best possible digital experience. We have an exciting development plan that will add features and benefits to the whole experience over the next year.

In the meantime, a genuine thank you for your past subscription. To continue to read the magazine for free, you can register here

Brgds

Ian
User avatar
By Kemble Pitts
#1766428
Brave move Ian, I hope it works out.

This is not my industry (publishing) so am wondering if going 'free' might actually increase your circulation to the extent that your advertising revenues rise? I certainly hope so.

When is the first 'electric' edition coming out? I'm not a subscriber but (was) a frequent off-the-shelf purchaser.
By Nick
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1766494
Firstly, I must admit to being a bit of a luddite. I do prefer paper magazine's and books. I find them far easier to just pick up and find where you were upto, also better for browsing, so in that respect I will definitely miss the hard copy. For some reason the delivery of the hard copy was a bit hit and miss, so now I should get all of them.
I very rarely used the free landing coupons, unless I was going there anyway, and if I do use one I feel like a scrounger! How about seeing if a 'free coffee coupon' redeemable at 'participating airfield cafe's' would work?
I will continue with my subscription because I feel the forum is worth £2.50 per month. In fact I rather think there should be a membership charge before we are allowed to post.
Good luck with it anyway Ian and I hope you don't lose too many subscriptions from the cheapscates :roll:

I have registered for the free version anyway I'm not sure if I should have done so or not.
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1766514
Kemble Pitts wrote:Brave move Ian, I hope it works out.

This is not my industry (publishing) so am wondering if going 'free' might actually increase your circulation to the extent that your advertising revenues rise? I certainly hope so.

When is the first 'electric' edition coming out? I'm not a subscriber but (was) a frequent off-the-shelf purchaser.


As I said above, I think it was the only honest thing to do. The landscape for publishers, particularly specialist publishers is changing quickly, so it is adapt and survive…first digital issue out next week, we have a development plan that adds in all sorts of features as we develop the offering.

Thanks

Ian
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1766516
Nick wrote:Firstly, I must admit to being a bit of a luddite. I do prefer paper magazine's and books. I find them far easier to just pick up and find where you were upto, also better for browsing, so in that respect I will definitely miss the hard copy. For some reason the delivery of the hard copy was a bit hit and miss, so now I should get all of them.
I very rarely used the free landing coupons, unless I was going there anyway, and if I do use one I feel like a scrounger! How about seeing if a 'free coffee coupon' redeemable at 'participating airfield cafe's' would work?
I will continue with my subscription because I feel the forum is worth £2.50 per month. In fact I rather think there should be a membership charge before we are allowed to post.
Good luck with it anyway Ian and I hope you don't lose too many subscriptions from the cheapscates :roll:

I have registered for the free version anyway I'm not sure if I should have done so or not.


Hi Nick, you will get two emails notifying you, but only one of them (the membership email) will have your free landing fees in. You will also get instructions on how to enter the (opening next week) membership area.

Thanks for supporting us

Brgds

Ian
By scottish_ppl
#1766517
I am curious about the thinking behind making the magazine free as part of 'going digital' Isn't the magazine content where the value is and what people would be more likely to pay a subscription for?
User avatar
By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1766535
scottish_ppl wrote:I am curious about the thinking behind making the magazine free as part of 'going digital' Isn't the magazine content where the value is and what people would be more likely to pay a subscription for?


I wondered that myself.

Id say I pick up 4-5 Flyer magazines a year at various airports when flying to work, depending upon where I fly to/through etc, because its an actual magazine. Not sure if I will like reading it on a tablet, I went through a phase with eBooks and have gone back to real books again. But if Ian reckons his free e-mag will run off of advertising revenue, then Ill go for it just as I click on the odd add here.

Regards, SD..
User avatar
By eltonioni
#1766536
It's revenue for clicks innit. This Flyer webpage serves up 13 ads which make money - I just turned the adblocker on/off to check. Our local rag's website serves up 80-100 ads before it covers up the story and asks you to log in, then it serves up another 80-100 ads when it gives you the story before you scroll down when it serves up an endless number of ads. The rag's website is so dedicated to serving ads and reluctant to serve content that it is basically unusable so my solution is to not use it and I don't get ANY ads any more. There's a balance somewhere between freemium model and sending your customers to Facebook for their reading, maybe this is Ian's middle ground, maybe it will develop over time. One thing is obvious though - printed magazines are a luxury that's on the way out.
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1766540
skydriller wrote:
scottish_ppl wrote:I am curious about the thinking behind making the magazine free as part of 'going digital' Isn't the magazine content where the value is and what people would be more likely to pay a subscription for?


I wondered that myself.

Id say I pick up 4-5 Flyer magazines a year at various airports when flying to work, depending upon where I fly to/through etc, because its an actual magazine. Not sure if I will like reading it on a tablet, I went through a phase with eBooks and have gone back to real books again. But if Ian reckons his free e-mag will run off of advertising revenue, then Ill go for it just as I click on the odd add here.

Regards, SD..


scottish_ppl and skydriller

Hope you're OK with one reply to both. To oversimplify slightly, the vast majority of revenue is generated from advertising. If you look at most of the subscription rates out there you will see that they are being sold at a loss. This is an attempt to make up for the newsstand which has been getting more expensive and less efficient for years, and is currently in all sorts of trouble.

The programatic ads that run on this page (and there are some more coming) don't pay very much, so we need commercial support in the magazine too, and with the free model we will have a far bigger and wider distribution than would have been possible with print.

Hope that helps

Thanks

Ian
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1766541
eltonioni wrote:It's revenue for clicks innit. This Flyer webpage serves up 13 ads which make money - I just turned the adblocker on/off to check. Our local rag's website serves up 80-100 ads before it covers up the story and asks you to log in, then it serves up another 80-100 ads when it gives you the story before you scroll down when it serves up an endless number of ads. The rag's website is so dedicated to serving ads and reluctant to serve content that it is basically unusable so my solution is to not use it and I don't get ANY ads any more. There's a balance somewhere between freemium model and sending your customers to Facebook for their reading, maybe this is Ian's middle ground, maybe it will develop over time. One thing is obvious though - printed magazines are a luxury that's on the way out.


There are many clickbait websites that are designed to get as many ad views as humanly possible '100 things you shouldn't feed your pet bag of frozen peas' with each gem of information being on its own page.

We're not going down that route, so hopefully with enough advertisers partnering the digital magazine, enough on here and enough Club members we should be able to make it all work. So far we have been humbled by the support we've received, we'll be working our (flying) socks off to bring you the best digital experience we can.

Ian
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