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Hearst Magazines UK swops and switches to restructure

Alan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:02:25 +0000

Hearst Magazines UK, who recently acquired rivals Red and Elle UK have restructured their portfolio following the $651m deal, and the first casualties have been announced. Women’s lifestyle magazine ‘She’ and ‘Cosmopolitan Bride’ are being axed with immediate effect.

The CE of Hearst Magazines UK, Arnaud du Puyfontaine, sent an email to staff telling that that both titles were closing and that he was endeavouring to find them new roles within the now expanded company. He spoke about the decision, saying that in their business, they obviously believed in the future of the printed word, and that it was a very hard decision to close a magazine but they had considered all the option long and hard.

He added that this move would strengthen their portfolio overall, and they would now be focusing their investment on their stronger titles, and also their planned digital expansion. He also said that competition had never been so fierce in all the sectors their magazines targeted, and that they simply couldn’t afford to ignore current trends and needed to adapt their business accordingly.

The last ever issue of ‘She’, which competed in the women’s lifestyle sector, will be the September issue that hits the shelves on August 16. The circulation of this monthly title is said to be 144,583, according to the latest report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations(ABC). This was for the 6 month period ending in December 2010, and this places ‘She’ in 65^th place in the list of magazines purchased in the UK.

The title saw its sales fall by 3.7% when compared year on year in this period, and they were up 2% when compared with the previous 6 months. This is in stark contrast to the new acquisitions, as both Red and Elle UK have regular sales of over 200,000 and they also both recorded year on year and period on period sales increases, also according to the report by ABC.

Cosmopolitan Bride is a bi-monthly publication which has been running for 10 years, and the October/ November issue will be their last. This will be published on August 25. This title is ranked 4^th in its sector, lagging way behind its stable mate You & Your Wedding, as well as Condé Nast Brides and Wedding & Home. The latest ABC figures for this title showed a year on year fall in sales of 3.7%.

Hearst will concentrating efforts on You & Your Wedding and will be blending in the best bits from cosmopolitan Bride, both in the magazine and on the website.

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Number of women spread betting remains low

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:28:52 +0000

FT Survey Repot on Spread Betting Trends

The profile of the average spread betting trader remains largely white, middle-aged and male, a survey by the Financial Times has indicated. In 2006, a report by the Cass Business School in London predicted that the country would have more than 1 million spread betting accounts by 2011. However, the Investment Trends survey, which was released last year, estimated around 83,000 active spread betting traders.

Analysts have been trying to ascertain reasons for this discrepancy. ”I don’t think that the firms have failed, they just haven’t tried,” Chris Brady, co-author of the original report told the Financial Times. ”It’s interesting because the research we did showed that women, ethnic minorities and older people were all prepared to bet but no spread betting company had looked into any clever marketing to attract them. And they still haven’t. The marketing around now isn’t so different from what it was around 10 years ago.”

So have spread betting firms resorted to savvier marketing tactics, both over the internet and through conventional media? The websites and advertising campaigns of the top spread betting firms are still geared towards the serious financial trader, with charts and graphs that would interest only the geek. This is definitely an area where spread betting companies could improve, analysts say.

Although the actual number of women spread betting has increased over the years, their overall proportional representation remains the same. Recent surveys have suggested that the number of female traders should increase over time, since over 15 per cent of those wishing to spread bet are women. But the percentage increase of women year-on-year is also decreasing. Between 2001 and 2007, the firm saw an increase of 124 per cent. From 2007, this figure fell by 71 per cent, indicating that women tend to be more risk-averse than men.

So what are the lessons to be learnt by spread betting companies? If spread betting companies want to target women traders, they must focus on savvier advertising techniques, showing the fun part of spread betting. Spread betting products specifically aimed at women could also be brought out.

Article Courtesy of ETX Capital

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Virtual magazine for HP TouchPad

Alan — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:45:43 +0000

HP has announced that for TouchPad, its forthcoming tablet they will be releasing a virtual magazine. The Inquirer said that Pivot will have visually driven content in editorial sections with columns from well known guest writers that share their perspectives on what the digital culture is, features focused on applications specific subjects and extensive reviews.

The magazine is designed for the user’s experience to be enhanced and will be customized to each user’s preferences. The magazine will also touch upon the uniqueness of the TouchPad.

While we are here with the idea of guiding our readers to the best their platform at HP has to offer, it is hard not to think they misplaced their priorities. It was recently reported there will be very little content editing at launch, isn’t that quite an odd feature to not have for an otherwise excellent device.

On July 15 the TouchPad, with a 1.2 GHz processor and their own WebOS 3.0 operating system, will go on sale in the UK, with the 16GB model costing £399.99

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Buying a house or property in France

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:53:03 +0000

Some like it hot, some like it cold and some just like a consistent climate. France has an enormously varying climate and even within areas or departments there can be significant micro-climates which will suit some, but not others. If you want to buy a property in France only you can decide your priorities, is it the beach, skiing, the countryside or just somewhere that you can commute too on a long weekend and so need to be near the channel or airport.

Having said that, buying a property in France is, and should be, an exciting prospect – not a frightening one. To ensure that it goes as well as it can, it is always best to be prepared and that means just like back home that you understand the legalities surrounding house valuations and any building surveys in France.

Probably the first thing you need to bear in mind is that French houses do not always look like they do back home. They may well be inhabited, but not always in an excellent state of repair. The French have different priorities than the British when it comes to house or homes so do remember to have a property survey before you buy.

It is definitely not unusual for the older types of home to rarely come with such things as damp proofing etc This is because the French have their own building methods, which have worked very well for centuries and allow the houses to adapt to the climate throughout the year, so even if you have a property survey, don’t necessarily expect a lack of a damp course to be viewed as a cause for concern!

The local French authorities are now very much aware of British and other foreign buyer’s interest in buying second, holiday or retirement homes in France and so over the years have put in place safeguards against unplanned buildings i.e. without planning consent and unqualified and unregistered builders. But even so, it is very important that any potential buyer has their property valued and has a house survey before proceeding.

There are properties coming back onto the market from ex-pats who have tried to live in France and are leaving either for economic reasons or just plain didn’t like it. Even for these properties it is very important to check thoroughly all the paperwork for any works carried out to make sure it was done correctly get a building survey / HomeBuyer report and ensure that it is insured and approved for purpose.

Article courtesy of www.direct-valuations.com

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Fancy a Newsletter Escapade?

admin — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:11:48 +0000

In these competitive times it’s important to do everything you can to promote your business. This is especially important if your business is one of those thought to be more suited to the high rolling good times. Businesses such as wine merchants, party planners and fancy dress shops are all having it tough. But I have news for you – keeping in touch with customers via a regular newsletter can really help to build your reputation and keep you riding high in customers’ minds. So when the good times return, and they fancy dressing up, they will be straight back to you.

Here are some practical tips to dress up your fancy dress business:

Regular

The first thing is to decide is how regularly your clients are likely to want to read your newsletter. If you send it too frequently, they may get fed up and unsubscribe. If you don’t send it often enough it may lose relevance and you lose opportunities to sell. For a fancy dress business monthly sounds like a reasonable balance, giving recipients time to plan their event but not so that long they lose all urgency and you lose a sale.

Selling

Because let’s not forget that your newsletter is really all about selling. We’re not just talking about the hard selling of widgets, we are also talking about selling your business as an outfit that people want to do business with. For our fictional fancy dress business this may mean backing off the hard sell and demonstrating that you care about your customers and what’s on their minds.

Questions

Questions can be a great way of showing that you care. Here’s an example of how that works:

Supposing Escapade fancy dress business has a monthly newsletter, let’s call it The Escapologist. The Escapologist could run a regular monthly agony column answering topical questions. A typical question might be:

Dear Auntie Escapologist, my partner and I have been invited to a midsummer night ball and would like to dress as a couple. What costumes do you suggest?

Auntie Escapologist could then reply suggesting costumes for Oberon King of the Fairies and Titania Queen of the Fairies from the Shakespeare play. Not only does this answer the reader’s question, but it also prompts other readers to question whether they should be hosting a midsummer party or some other funny fancy dress event. This can only be good for business.

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From Pet Lovers to ‘Mac Hearts’: Top 6 Niche Sites

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:02:29 +0000

Human nature being what it is – to congregate and connect with like-minded folks – it’s no surprise that niche topic magazines have their social counterparts on the web: niche networking sites. While the more general, better-known networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have become watchwords for web 2.0, and taken the world by storm, smaller groups of people looking to bond over specific themes have found cozier social domains to network in.

Here, we’ve sifted through a host of them to come up with a small yet varied list of the more interesting sites out there on the web. Some are amusing, some not so amusing, some useful, some downright curious. Read on to find a fit.

Fuzzster is a social networking site for “fuzzy” pets. From cats and dogs to chinchillas and baby rabbits, you’ll find all manner of cute and adorable pets — and their enthusiastic owners — on this site. Read and gush over animal pictures to your heart’s content.

Yub is a social network for raging shopaholics. Here, committed fashionistas meet to tell their shopping stories, write up reviews of stuff, share deals and advice, and create fan clubs for the items Yub members love. You can earn cash backs on purchases when you join the site.

Flixster is a network for movie buffs. If you love watching movie flicks, reviewing them, and sharing your rants and raves with fellow movie fanatics, then Flixster is the niche site for you. Profile pages come replete with favourite movies, celebrity news, interviews, pictures, quizzes and more.

Cake Financial is a social site for individual investors. You can share your real stock portfolio and performance with your friends and other members. Join newbies and experts and those in-between on this network if you’re looking to help yourself and others reach set financial goals.

Cupidtino is unique among all online dating sites – fans of everything Apple Inc. flock here to meet and mingle with other demanding computer savvy singles. The site matches diehard Mac and Apple fan members on similar tastes, personalities, professions, and more.

VeggieDate unites single vegetarians from all over the world. These picky eaters of the Glasgow dating scene or beyond find each other daily on this site, which welcomes traditional vegetarians to lacto, ovo or fish vegetarians to vegans to raw foodists. As a member, you can comfortably wine, dine, and date another veggie-lover without ever having to hear the word “meat.”

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