Today, I got The Current email newsletter from the ARRL. This newsletter discusses what’s new in the latest editions of QST, On the Air, QEX, and the National Contest Journal (NCJ). For example, the featured article from the March 2024 QST is “Common Mode Current and Common Mode Chokes” by Larry Lamano, WA0QZY.
When I read that, it occurred to me that I hadn’t even looked at the February issue yet. So I reached for my tablet and pulled up the February issue. Sure enough, I didn’t recall reading any of the articles. I bet I’m not alone.
This is a bad thing on several counts. First of all, going all digital like this is going to inevitably reduce readership. I’m not talking about the number of subscriptions (although that’s probably going to decline, too), but the number of eyeballs that actually read the magazine. Fewer people reading the magazine is going to lead to fewer people seeing the advertisements, and ultimately, making QST advertisements less effective. And, if the advertisements are less effective at attracting customers, these companies will eventually pull their advertisements, and the ARRL will make less money from advertising.
(Come to think of it, I’m a QST advertiser, albeit a small classified ad subscriber. See below. I don’t do a very good job of tracking how well that ad performs, but it only costs $34/month. Perhaps I should discontinue the ad and see if my sales actually go down. Doing that could save me some money.)
Fewer readers means fewer engaged members
Secondly, fewer readers will mean less member engagement. QST is the main way that the ARRL communicates with its members. If people start to forget to read QST, they’ll be less likely to renew their membership when it expires. Not only that, they’ll be less like to contribute to the special interest funds, such as the Spectrum Defense Fund or the ARRL Foundation.
Rotary International understands this concept. As a member of Rotary, I get a print version of Rotary every month, even though advertising is now practically non-existent in the magazine. They know that keeping in touch with members is important. Engaged members participate in more service projects (which is what Rotary is all about) as well as contribute to the Rotary Foundation, which funds projects around the world. Rotary has had problems growing its membership in recent years, but I imagine that membership would be even more of an issue without Rotary magazine.
Where does the ARRL go from here?
I wonder if the ARRL has considered any of this. I also wonder if any of the advertisers were offered lower rates now that the print version is only going to those who paid for it. I know some of the advertisers. Maybe I’ll ask them how they feel about it.
I might suggest that they take a look at what the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) does. Advertising in Spectrum, the IEEE’s flagship publication, has dropped precipitously in recent years, but they continue to print it and send it to members. But, they have also created a series of eight special-interest newsletters based on that content, to which members can subscribe. Titles in the series include Tech Alert, and
If the ARRL did something similar, the titles might include Building/Homebrewing, Contesting, and VHF/UHF. They’re sort of doing this now with separate publications for contesters (NCJ), technical topics (QEX), and beginners (On the Air), but what I’m suggesting is that take all this content and reorganize it and be more targeted as to who they send it to. I will admit that this is only a partly-baked idea, but I do like the way that the IEEE delivers information to me.
I realize that this is a tough situation. The trade magazines that I worked for are now almost all gone. With some creative thinking, though, I think that the ARRL can continue to serve the members and advance amateur radio as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment