Profile of the Digital Magazine Reader
Business and Consumer
Digital Magazine Reader Survey
May 2007
Texterity, Inc.
144 Turnpike Road
Southborough, MA 01772
(508) 804-3062
www.texterity.com
Survey Methodology
• Conducted March-April 2007 by Texterity
• BPA Worldwide certified results and provided audit and tabulation support
• Largest survey of digital magazine readers
– 11,642 responses from readers of digital magazines
• Large cross-section of magazines
– 110 publications representing 33 publishers
– Trade/professional and consumer magazines
– Targeted to readers who have “read at least one digital magazine” recently
Key Findings & Results
• High Overall Satisfaction. 88% of digital readers are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their digital magazine
• Action Oriented with Products and Services. Digital edition readers take action regarding a product or service 90% of the time, with over 65% visiting the advertiser’s website
• Digital Readers are Engaged. 89% of respondents read their issue within a week, 42% read immediately or the same day
Key Findings & Results
• The “Big 3” Reasons for Reading Digital. Subscribers like digital for the ability to search issues, ease of saving, and digital magazine’s environmental friendliness.
• Decreasing use of Print Media. 44% of digital readers have decreased their use of print magazines and are relying more on digital.
• Not Just for “Generation X”. Digital readers are primarily business professionals with a median age of 45 years old and over 17½ years of industry experience.
High Overall Satisfaction
Over 88% of digital magazine readers
showed high overall satisfaction with their publication
|
Please rate your overall satisfaction with this digital publication. |
|
|
|
Very satisfied |
28.7% |
|
|
Satisfied |
59.7% |
|
|
Neutral |
9.8% |
|
|
Dissatisfied |
1.2% |
|
|
Very dissatisfied |
0.6% |
Action Oriented with Products or Services
90% of digital magazine readers take
one or more actions with regards to a product or service
|
What actions have you taken as a result of reading an ad in this digital publication? (Check all that apply)? |
|
|
|
Recommended product or service |
26.5% |
|
|
Contacted advertiser for more information |
31.4% |
|
|
Sent information about advertiser to friend or colleague |
30.1% |
|
|
Purchased a product or service |
18.4% |
|
|
Looked at the advertiser's web site |
64.9% |
|
|
None of the above |
18.7% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
1.0% |
Digital Magazine Readers are Engaged
Over 89% read the issue within the
week and over 42% the same day
|
How soon do you read your digital issue after you receive the email notification? |
|
|
|
Immediately |
8.6% |
|
|
Same day |
33.7% |
|
|
Sometime that week |
46.9% |
|
|
I wait for a reminder email |
1.0% |
|
|
Sometime during the month |
7.9% |
|
|
Other |
1.9% |
The “Big 3” Reasons for Reading Digital…
Subscribers like digital magazines
for the ability to search, ease of saving, and environmental friendliness
|
Why do you subscribe to this digital publication? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
Easy to save |
57.0% |
|
|
More convenient than print |
48.7% |
|
|
Ability to search issues |
59.3% |
|
|
Environmentally friendly |
52.4% |
|
|
Easy to forward (send to friends or colleagues) |
47.1% |
|
|
More timely than print |
43.8% |
|
|
Prefer reading on my computer |
35.3% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
8.3% |
Other (Verbatim) Reasons…
“Why do you subscribe to this digital publication”
• “I travel a lot–it keeps up with me”
• “Easy to search–VERY important”
• “Additional articles and forums that aren’t available offline”
• “Avoids 6-week international delivery delay”
• “Better view of pictures/detail”
• “Can show to clients from my laptop”
• “Can’t lose or misplace it”
• “A lot cheaper (overseas)”
• “It’s free for digital”
• “Save a tree”
• “The magazine is not degraded by time/environment”
• “My company discourages print magazines to reduce mailroom load”
• “Easier to read while traveling”
• “I like being able to click on a advertiser’s web site when reading an ad of interest”
• “I tend to read them more frequently instead of letting the print pile up”
• “It has back issues I don’t have in print”
• “Love sending articles to potential clients”
• “Trying to go paperless”
• “Quick access – anytime, anywhere”
Decreased Use of Print Media
Digital readers have increased
website use (up 61%) and reduced use of print media (down 44%) in the last year
|
How has your use of the following media changed in the last year? |
|
Same |
Increased |
N/A |
|
|
|
43.9% |
44.7% |
9.9% |
1.5% |
|
|
Magazine web sites |
3.5% |
37.8% |
55.7% |
3.1% |
|
|
Other web sites |
1.8% |
34.1% |
61.1% |
3.1% |
|
|
Video sites |
6.2% |
36.4% |
32.5% |
25.0% |
|
|
E-Newsletters |
5.7% |
39.9% |
47.7% |
6.6% |
|
|
Webcasts |
5.8% |
34.4% |
28.4% |
31.4% |
|
|
Podcasts |
5.1% |
22.8% |
17.6% |
54.4% |
|
|
Wikis |
3.4% |
20.2% |
27.1% |
49.4% |
|
|
Digital white papers |
4.0% |
36.5% |
30.6% |
28.9% |
|
|
Blogs |
5.0% |
24.0% |
25.1% |
45.9% |
|
|
RSS Feeds |
4.1% |
21.5% |
17.6% |
56.7% |
Over two-thirds of digital magazine readers want the ability to read magazines online
|
How do you prefer to view your digital issue? |
|
|
|
Online |
37.3% |
|
|
Downloaded to computer |
30.1% |
|
|
Both |
32.6% |
When reading or searching past issues, over 85% of readers are looking for specific articles
|
When reading or searching past issues, what information do you look at? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
Specific articles |
85.3% |
|
|
Specific advertisements |
19.7% |
|
|
Contact information |
23.3% |
|
|
Industry links |
25.5% |
|
|
Specific byline or column |
11.8% |
|
|
I don't read past issues |
10.3% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
0.7% |
Reading multiple articles per issue is the norm for digital magazine readers, similar to a print magazine
|
How do you read your digital issue? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
Read table of contents and articles of interest |
55.3% |
|
|
Read articles of interest and look through remaining pages |
51.2% |
|
|
Read cover-to-cover |
16.4% |
|
|
Skim or look through quickly |
26.6% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
1.2% |
80% of digital readers get information to do their jobs better making digital editions critical for professionals
|
How do you use your digital issue? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
Identify potential products or services |
57.0% |
|
|
Get information to do my job better |
79.7% |
|
|
Obtain essential product information |
50.6% |
|
|
Get information that helps me make purchasing decisions |
32.4% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
4.5% |
Digital magazine readers overwhelmingly prefer electronic communications (e.g., website, email) when contacting advertisers
|
What is your preferred method of requesting information from advertisers? (Check all that apply) |
Response Percent |
|
Visit company website |
80.5% |
|
Email company |
57.2% |
|
Telephone company |
16.0% |
|
Mail letter to company |
4.4% |
|
Other (please specify) |
1.1% |
Other than digital magazines, electronic sources (online information, e-newsletters, and magazine websites) are the top three methods of getting information
|
What other ways do you get information? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
E-newsletters |
57.7% |
|
|
Webcasts |
23.4% |
|
|
Industy events or shows |
52.0% |
|
|
Buyer's guides |
34.1% |
|
|
Online product information |
68.7% |
|
|
Magazine website |
54.0% |
|
|
Whitepapers |
37.8% |
|
|
Blogs |
17.4% |
|
|
Podcasts |
10.1% |
|
|
RSS feeds |
12.3% |
|
|
Other (please specify) |
2.6% |
Traditional computer delivery of digital magazines is widely preferred by most readers
|
Would you like to have your digital magazine delivered via any of these methods? (Check all that apply) |
|
|
|
Desktop computer |
75.0% |
|
|
Laptop computer |
61.7% |
|
|
Cell phone |
5.5% |
|
|
iPod |
7.0% |
|
|
Blackberry |
5.2% |
|
|
Tablet PC |
4.2% |
|
|
PDA |
12.3% |
|
|
Other |
3.1% |
46% of digital magazine readers spent at least 30 minutes reading each issue, with 20% spending more than 45 minutes per issue
Over 61% of digital readers value video content as a useful “rich media” add-on to digital magazines
|
Do you value "rich media" enhancements to the digital magazine content? |
|
No |
|
|
Audio clips |
41.9% |
58.1% |
|
|
Video clips |
61.1% |
36.8% |
|
|
Animation |
44.2% |
51.0% |
|
|
Interactive surveys |
37.4% |
57.7% |
Online is the preferred medium of obtaining information for most job-related activities
|
What is your preferred medium for: |
|
Online |
Both |
|
|
Industry and job information |
9.9% |
46.9% |
43.2% |
|
|
Industry news |
8.0% |
55.9% |
36.1% |
|
|
Business news |
9.3% |
57.4% |
33.3% |
|
|
Product news |
9.5% |
50.8% |
39.6% |
|
|
Supplier news |
8.7% |
58.8% |
32.5% |
|
|
In-depth technical features |
22.3% |
27.7% |
50.0% |
High-Speed (DSL, broadband, T1/T3) Internet is available to 89% of work and 86% of home users
|
What type of Internet connection do you have at work? |
|
|
|
Dial Up |
1.4% |
|
|
DSL |
18.1% |
|
|
Broadband |
33.4% |
|
|
T1/T3 |
37.1% |
|
|
None |
1.7% |
|
|
Unknown |
8.3% |
|
What type of Internet connection do you have at home? |
|