Increase Exposure Through International Distribution

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 2001

For young, independent titles with smaller circulations and perhaps tinier budgets, Nash Yacoub, publisher and editor in chief of platinum, says that distributing internationally is a surprisingly easy way to increase exposure. Right now, 1,000 copies of Yacoub's three-yearold women's magazine are being sold globally--at sell-throughs of 94 percent. And while Yacoub admits that she did raise the price of the magazine from $3.50 a copy to $4.50 on non-U.S. newsstands, she says that she spent only about an extra 10 percent in distribution costs. "International distribution is definitely a great way to give a magazine a few more eyeballs across the ocean," says Yacoub. "The readers get excited about it, and advertisers definitely like it."

When you take the plunge into international publishing, Yacoub recommends working closely with a distributor and moving into other countries very slowly. "See how well your title sells on U.S. newsstands first," she says. "And then try expanding to English-speaking countries." If that works, says Yacoub, try distributing the magazine in non-English-speaking countries only in "American markets"--for example, airports, hotels and tourist destinations. At such newsstands, a publisher can avoid spending the money to tailor content to fit the country or to translate the editorial to a different language. "I think there's a mystique about what's going on in the United States--especially when it comes to women's fashion, beauty and lifestyle," explains Yacoub. "And that attracts readers from different countries and makes them want to pick up an issue."