JPG Magazine relaunched last month with a new business model: Get users to upload photos to their website, and then have the community vote on and rank photos. The winners are published in a bi-monthly print magazine and get $100 plus a free one-year subscription.
It took me a couple of weeks to get over the fact that they are actually printing a magazine, on paper, just like people used to do in the last century. But after a visit to their offices at Minor Ventures earlier this week and a discussion of how they are embracing their online community to create content, I’ve come around to their way of thinking. And I think it is a model that other tree-killers should embrace, too.
They are doing so many things right. The fact that the community decides what photos end up in each issue has resulted in a ton of activity on the website. Photographers are uploading their best work to showcase their stuff – if a photo gets picked for the magazine it’s just icing on the cake for them. Finally, every issue of the magazine is available, free, as a PDF download. Get the most recent issue here, for example.
The economics work well, too. They have good print advertisers already, including Flickr. Another sponsor, Lensbaby, is giving away a free camera lens to every winner in a category for an upcoming issue. The magazine isn’t cheap at $5.99 (a year subscription of six issues costs $25, five bucks off the cover price), but the high price and advertising success means the run of 30,000 or so print magazines is profitable for them.
And it feeds the website. The online community is the real value here, and the ability to get a photo into print is a big enough incentive to entice photographers to set up shop at the JPG Magazines website.
More print magazines should be doing similar things to embrace an online community instead of just copying their print content to their website. Periodic news magazines have no chance over the long run against their own online competitors. But magazines like JPG Mag, which people want to keep and display over the long run, can be successful. If they come up with the right way to bridge the online and offline worlds.
JPG Magazine shares office space in San Francisco with other Minor Ventures companies, including OpenDNS and a new service launching next week called Swivel.
Thanks for kind words – our current issue is in bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million right now – and TechCrunch readers can get a special $5 off coupon here:
https://www.jpg...ibe/TECHCRUNCH/
good example for digital magazine publisher.
I love the idea of a “web 2.0 printed magazine”. This concept could be used very well in several ways; however, with every magazine, the biggest problem is always getting good advertisers.
A good idea. Inspired by .JPG, I have written a proposal for creating Digg in Print, Techmeme in Print and Flickr in Print.
http://mediavid...g-in-print.html
Nice idea
Mike,
hands down the best implementation Ive seen of this type of cross over play is Girlfriend magazine, the Oz teenie mag that also doubles as Australias most popular womens web property.
http://www.yoib...u-go-girlfriend.
I think people want to be published in rea life magazines. It might be a limited number of venues that this can happen in (like photography, models hobbies, and maybe political/social views) but it can happen.
A web based magazine actually publishing in real life paper is what I think will happen in limited quantities in the next few years. No data behind this, just a hunch.
I think Michael gets it just right here and I agree. I think it’s a great model and they’ll do well with it. However, many social sites that are driven by user participation have also included competition to generate even more fervent use and as a long time flickr user and a new jpg user I have a problem with that. People game the system and think that winning a voting contest has some bigger meaning outside of these limited virtual communities. The flip side is also true: people can be devastated when they don’t get comments, attention, views. Some of the best photography gets left behind because people tend to follow the herd (the explore pages at flickr, for instance).
This can lead to more and possibly better photography which is great. It can also lead to amping up color saturation and contrast and sharpness to the point of garishness all to get attention.
Hopefully some social software genius will find another way to get users worked up besides compeition. When that happens, I’m there.
Dear Friend,
The online world is becoming more and more innovative by every passing day. Any business requires an innovative and creative mind.
http://www.tekn...ld.blogspot.com
Integration of offline and online content is a winning model. Not everyone is online and enticing them to venture online with a print mag works. Millions of people are transitioning and targeting both channels is a smart marketing strategy proven to be effective.
Leading U.S. companies spend nearly a quarter of their marketing, advertising, and communication budgets on custom publications; marketing directors at the nation’s top companies are well aware of the benefits.
A Roper study concluded that,
“Consumers would rather learn about a company from a custom magazine than an ad.”
Custom pubs perform well if your objective is establishing long-term customer relationships, promoting loyalty, and increasing customer retention. Marketing directors with custom publishing experience reported that, “Custom publications outrank the effectiveness of Internet ads, telemarketing, print ads, television ads, and radio ads.”
* 92% rate it effective at relationship building,
* 88% rate it effective at generating loyalty, and
* 83% rated custom publishing effective at client retention.
Glad to see JPG Mag get’s it. Thanks for the post.
Richard made some great points.
However, this world is built on competition.
The internet itself is built on competition.
Look at all the sites similar to TechCrunch, or Google, or Digg.
They all want to compete.
Some of those sites have great information, but they too, get left behind.
It’s the theory of natural selection.
Only the strong survives.
In the case with competition on sites, the number of votes determines strength.
It doesn’t matter if the votes are authentic or not, that’s the playing field.
So, some people abuse the system.
But, it stimulates community and people like to see who will be next to make it to the top.
I think it’s pure genius and hope other start-ups use this format.
Good Success!
Vondre’
Learn From My Most Trusted Advisor, Mr. Patel
http://www.patelsecrets.com
Hey Michael,
Are you the winner?
I like JPG magazine, but as a user I was a bit disappointed when they turned the site into a popularity contest.
Did the PDF download start with issue 7 and will it continue to be available for subsequent issues? I missed if and when that was announced. Nice feature.
I just learned of JPG magazine after seeing this blog entry. I have to say, I read the pdf of the mag, and I am very impressed! I am a part time hobbyist digital photographer myself and have been for a while. I do not own ANY photography magazines and never have. JPG magazine however is very cool and it’s exciting to see average peoples photography and articles published and circulated! I hope this becomes a BIG publication, they definitely deserve it.
I really like this idea of bridging the gap of printed media and online media. Let’s see if I can get in Issue 8!
ttp://www.jpgmag.com/photos/24119
I like this idea, it is pretty sweet. People still like traditional paper media they can hold and this gives them the best of it.
Think my mom cares if I make it to the homepage of digg? Not so much. But printed in a magazine? Can you say fresh cookies for Drew?!?!?!
This is fantastic.
Hahaha, cute.
This is a cheap and classic trick. Get hundreds of people to contribute to something that was previously nothing. People who are selected for inclusion themselves buy n number of copies because they are proud. Mom and friends go out and buy another n copies. Its a self fulfilling business.
I have seen the same model with Poetry compilations (somehow something that I wrote when I was 15 made it into an honest-to-goodness book – a hardcover!) and also with photographers who take pictures at local events (he is sure to get anyone and everyone in the community in the pictures, he makes them aware of the pictures, and they just have to buy his prints).
Good for them.
Interesting. Could be worth a try.
I like this. And I don’t think $5.99 is that expensive considering how much crappy fashion magazines run for these days. I’d pick it up!
Anyone know if JPG can be bought in the UK? Borders and Books etc. don’t appear to stock it.
I Can’t get to the pdf. Anyone else having that problem?
As a consumer JPG is asking me to put in too much work for very little return. First off, there a way too many photos to choose from on which to vote. Second, what motivation do I have, as a consumer, to vote to give someone else $100 and a free subscription each month. What do I get from poring through all those photos and voting. Why should I invest that time and energy if I get nothing in return? Why not let the editorial board decide who the winners are each month?
Arrington, it will be LONG TIME before traditional periodicals are replaced with on line content. The online world does not replace the experience of holding a book or periodical and reading it whenever and wherever you want. The real world still prefers that experience.
Techcrunch readers… help me get published.
http://www.jpgm...om/photos/24221
Yes, it’s a good idea. But you should also consider that this web2.0 kind of extension to the print world here probably succeeds more for aesthetics reasons then any other. Photo can look awesome on a good screen but on print it is something different, a good chromo or other high quality print that is. Another factor might be, is the prestige of having your own thing on a solid tree…, I see macro-payment photographers jump high in the sky at the forums of Istock and Shutterstock etc. if they find out that their photo was chosen on a printed magazine. They don’t even bother to tell others if it’s on a website. (they get the same amount of money for both, around 1 dollar…)
It’ll probably work for books or printed blogs as well but here it’s more the convenience that matters I assume.
And Leigh Hunt (comment 22) I had no problem with the pdf… I guess I read this post rather early… probably the sudden publicity they got from techcrunch had it shake.
Adam – That totally goes against the ideal of how a site such as this should work. Voted “Nah” for the spam.
…Finally, every issue of the magazine is available, free”
i see only issue#7 ??? anybody got the 1-6 issues?
look
MICHAEL, we have techcrunch in print. The new “Forbes Digital”?
good job and keep it up bebey…
Very cool idea and magazine. We actually print a full color magazine with the “best of” material off our website. I think it helps to live in both worlds……..for awhile anyway….
Vondre Whaley: I’m not sure I agree that the world and internet are built on competition although I’d agree it’s part of both. However, voting for photographs doesn’t nesessarily mean that the best (whatever that is) photographs will get published in jpg magazine. I’m told (by the publisher) that they also have an internal editorial/curatorial process for picking photographs as well which relieves me a bit. Still, if the mag becomes a popularity contest it’s not going to last long, I’m pretty sure of that.
I think you’d have to be a dipshit NOT see the obvious pattern in technological society.
We’re working towards a society of individualism. Not so much today, tommorrow, in the next few years….but someday. When we log onto the Internet we go there as individuals. Willing, and always ready put “our” opinions to rest. As people.
When I log onto the Internet, I want feedback, social interaction, and general love for my opinions on the things I DO. Not so much the things that I think, WHAT I TYPE. I don’t CARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am drunk right now writing this. Listening to Pandora Internet Radio…contemplating the future of the Internet as I see it.
Believe me. The future is ours.
It seems that something that would give this more kick would be if the result of having your photo in the magazine resulted in some type of professional work. That would seem to be a great marketing tool, plus add it getting probably even higher quality photos and photographers interested.
The popularity contest thing is something I think that will have to be watched closely as they’re are so many ways that it can be manipulated which would dilute the incentive to participate.
This is a good idea.
Sites like poetry.com exist purely by selling vanity books to people who want to see their work in print.
It’s a business model that works.
There are other magazines starting to do this sort of thing. Mostly to migrate users to their their online site, not necessarily to feed into their print editions, so this is a cool twist.
I played with it a little bit but my photo was too small – it seems to have a very large photo size minimum, which means it must be for people who are very serious about photography? I don’t think they lose anything with this, though.
I think it’s a really good idea to involve people in producing exactly the magazine they want to read, I hadn’t heard of it until today.
I downloaded the web version of the magazine, it made really interesting reading. I thought it was better than some of the other photography publications I’ve read, far more relevant to me and what I can manage to achieve, and no dozens of pages of adverts either. So well done to all who contributed, and of course to the publishers too.
The only thing that slightly bothers me is the voting for pictures to be included. There are currently 294 pages of images there for issue 9, with 12 pictures per page. Even if I can manage to go through them I’m not sure I’d be able to find my ‘favourite’ ever again to vote for it. That’s a problem with something that’s popular and good, it can get to be oversubscribed and become unwieldy. I hope it’s something they can overcome.
Very good tool, go on like this!