Matt Sharp: A Paid Subscriber Distribution Model

The interview with Matt Sharp from the Michigan Business Review hit close to home for me. I was previously employed by Inside Collin County Business, a business journal servicing north Dallas and located in Plano, Texas. Similar to the Michigan Business Review, the majority of our readers were CEOs, company presidents and business owners. It seems that the high-titled readers are interested in the newspaper because it is important to know what’s going on in the local business community so they can gain a competitive advantage over the local competition. I worked for a newspaper that was a free publication for many years and had recently converted to a paid publication shortly before I was hired. Based on my experience, I agree with Matt Sharp that advertisers’ value paid subscribers and requestors more because they are so much more likely to actually read the publication. Matt Sharp did mention banks in his discussion about his advertisers but did not mention some of the other prominent advertisers for his type of publication. Given his subscriber base I would have to say his main advertisers are banks, high-end retailers, insurance companies and major community forces (i.e. hospitals and local governments). Given the decline in Michigan’s economy over the past several years it is like a breath of fresh air to see the Michigan Business Review grow in different areas of the state. This is due in part to the interesting “chameleon” strategy that the Michigan Business Review has adopted. They are the prominent business publication in Western Michigan and therefore provide regional-type coverage. In Oakland and Ann Arbor, however, the Business Review knew that the regional area was already being covered (my guess is by Crain’s Detroit Business Journal) so they had to take a local-style approach to the coverage in those areas. This is a great example of adapting your marketing plan to provide your business with the opportunity to grow. -April Milner

I found some of the points that Matt Sharp from the Michigan Business Review both surprising and interesting. The biggest thing that came to my attention is the fact that sixty percent of their readers are company CEO’s, Presidents, and business owners. The reason that is surprising to me is the fact that each company would only have one of those individuals. That means that of the available businesses in the three areas that their publications are available; they must have the large majority of the market share as it appears they are experiencing growth and profitability. It was also interesting to hear that most of their revenue is from advertising over subscriptions, and that companies that advertise in their publications prefer to advertise in publications that are paid for as opposed to free. After listening to his explanation that they feel that if the publication is paid for, the person paying for it is more inclined to give the publication greater attention. It must be a very difficult balance between trying to grow the publications while not going after a market that might not be the same market that the companies that advertise in the publication, are looking to go after. It is a factor in the publication industry that I never thought of. I would have liked to been able to hear a little more and maybe get an idea of how Western Michigan, Oakland County, and Ann Arbor were chosen as the locations that they were going to make publications for. Was there little competition in these areas? Do they market it differently in the different areas? Regardless, it sounds as if their business is going well and that is definitely a positive for Michigan. Jeremy Ward

The interview with Matt Sharp of Michigan Business Review was very interesting to me, especially with today's economic standing in the Michigan market. 60% of the readers are presidents or CEO's and other top level decision makers of firms, business, or corporations. These people can use this information to stay compatible with competition. Staying in touch with surrounding business in the 12 counties it targets is one of the main focuses of businesses. They get to stay up to date with what other companies are offering and doing to keep their market and pull in new customers or revenue. To me, business is simply a competition, everyone belongs to a market and needs to find the best way for survival. Having this information provided for your area is a great way to stay focused on the task. It allows you to find out what strategies you need to implement as CEO's, presidents, and entreprenuers for your companies to be successful. Small businesses can actually gain beneficial information that could also potentially lead to growth.