Are Niche Magazines Moving to “Online Only” Publications?

Jessica Kane, President and Executive Editor of SKORCH Magazine made an interesting comment about magazines making the transition from print to online in the post The Problem of Running a Magazine for plus size Men And Women. Basically her main points referred to how cost effective it is to have an “online only” magazine and that as soon as the main players move online everyone else will follow.

While I agree with the cost effective nature of being online supported by advertisers, when I think about the world of plus sizes moving online I don’t really see it happening anytime soon. There have been to0 many print magazines for plus size women to go under over the past few years.  A publication has to show that it can survive on the newsstands first before trying to concur the internet. Charming Shoppes has had some success in taking their coupon catalog Figure to the newsstands.  The demise of MODE, Grace and BBW in recent years demonstrate that there are still many obstacles in print.  Some of those gaps are being filled by independent online magazines like SKORCH and Belle Noir and others that show there is a desire for a magazine for plus size fashion and other niche areas.

The problem with printed plus size magazines in my opinion and part of the reason for their failures has been trying to much to be like other magazines that target smaller sizes. Not many plus sizers are going to identify with a magazine that is full of dieting tips, recipes, and advertising showing small models. Subscription rates will fall, advertisers will pull out and the magazine will fold.

Until a printed publication comes out that speaks to the heart of the plus size community there will never be a magazine that will hold reader interest for very long. If the editors of current and future publications pay attention to what is going on throughout the internet they will see that in order to be successful in print they have to give the readers what they want instead of giving the advertisers what they want.

At this point I think that the major players in the plus size industry will not be moving online for fear of experiencing the same failures they encountered in print. Eventually they will test the waters like Just my size did a few years ago when they tried to break into blogging. Nobody wants to be the first.  If I had to make a prediction on who would be the first mainstream plus size company to break into digital publication full time it would be Charming Shoppes. The owners of Lane Bryant seem to have a nose for sailing uncharted waters and making it work.

Be it on the newsstands or on the internet there is a need for a quality publication for plus size women and Big and tall men.  When it comes to your reading habits what type of magazine would you like see and which online magazines do your currently support?