Loyalty as a Business Model
Legacy brands like People can survive 50 years on mass consumption. to pull of the same thing, new brands will have to lean in to loyalty.
People’s 50th Anniversary Cover
The image alone is remarkable. Unless someone is handing out Oscars, there’s little reason 11 of the world’s biggest stars—folks like Serena Williams and Jennifer Aniston, Matthew McConaughey and The Rock—would be hanging out together, chatting over drinks. Maybe Oprah could make it happen. She has that kind of pull. Other than that, though, only People magazine could wrangle so much star power at once.
Except it didn’t. The iconic publication couldn’t make everyone’s schedule miraculously align like some astrology wizard. So, the cover image of its 50th-anniversary issue is actually 11 separate shots, meticulously staged to a 1/8 of an inch, then glued together in Photoshop to create cover magic. Maybe that makes it even better.
Either way, it’s kind of fitting for People. It’s a brand that, to force a metaphor, has brought folks together for a half-century, closing the gap between stars and the star-struck, turning celebrities into American royalty. Countless icons have appeared on its cover, many dishing on marriage, babies, break-ups, and divorce. It’s crowned 38 different Sexiest Men Alive starting with Mel Gibson back in 1985. It made celebrity journalism legit. And even as other legacy magazines and media companies have struggled, People has endured. It doesn’t matter how many others have elbowed their way into the paparazzi space, People still dominates.
And People will continue to dominate, even as we work our way through the Great Media Culling. Because the large will survive. They have the power and the pull to keep the lights on. They’re a trusted brand. They’re the destination site. They’re the first place people think of if they desperately need to know who is dating whom. That’s valuable.
On a recent trip to New York, JMM has a chance to sit down with numerous writers, editors, marketers, and more from across the media world. It was obvious talking to those folks that everyone wants to be People. They’d love to be in that position. They want to dominate their space. But that business model—the giant traffic play—just won’t work for most titles anymore. Gone are the days of attracting millions of eyeballs to sell ads.
What’s replacing it is loyalty. In a recent episode of his podcast, New York Times columnist Ezra Klein said he believes that this is a great time to start a media company. Most would call him crazy. But he, like some others, believes that this moment, in the aftermath of mass layoffs and the shuttering of once prominent brands like Vice and Pitchfork, Jezebel and Sports Illustrated, is the perfect time to jump in—all because of loyalty.
There’s some merit to the argument. Traffic from search is drying up. AI will make it worse once it starts answering all the questions. And social media has turned into nothing more than a shopping mall, so don’t expect any clicks there. But if you can build a small, loyal audience, one that comes directly to your site, that subscribes to your newsletter, that can’t wait to hear your latest podcast, then you don’t need search and social. The audience comes to you. It’s the Substack model writ large—and for some, it’s working.
Saveur has returned from the dead because its audience is as dedicated as its CEO Kat Craddock. The magazine stopped printing during the pandemic, leaving just its website operating. By the end of 2021, it seemed destined to close completely. But Craddock, an editor at the magazine for years, bought it and revived it almost out of sheer will. She’s even begun printing issues again, pre-selling copies to readers. The Spring 2024 issue sold out.
Others are hoping for a similar revival. Nylon is releasing its first print edition in seven years this month. Complex magazine owner NTWRK is making print a priority again, even going to far as to re-hire former EIC Noah Collahan-Bever, who made the magazine a cultural touchstone for much of the 2010s. Sports Illustrated is coming back thanks to Minute Media, who is licensing the title from Authentic Brands Group. Even Life magazine is poised to return, hoping to both tap into America’s love of nostalgia and create a new loyal audience. Power couple Josh Kushner—the good Kushner—and his wife Karlie Kloss, who already owns and runs fashion titles W and i-D, are behind the relaunch.
But none are going big. Print runs will be tight. Subscriptions won’t be cheap, meaning only diehards will pony up. Often, one issue will offset the cost of the next. And that model, along with a unique point of view, can be enough. Creem has pulled it off despite its $70 subscription cost. So has roots music mag No Depression and Third Man Record’s title Maggot Brain. Same goes for Stranger’s Guide, perhaps one of the best travel magazines on shelves today. Countless small titles have leaned into loyalty, and it’s paid off.
None of them will ever be People, though—and they don’t really aspire to that. When it launched in 1974, the world wasn’t as fractured as smashed iPhone screen. Mass media made sense. Now we all live in our own sub-Reddits. To succeed, brands must be the same way. It’s the only way they’ll make it to 50—unless Oprah gets involved, of course. She has that kind of pull.
Apply Now
Drake Political Review needs your help. The magazine is hiring staff for next year. New editor-in-chief Parker Wright has set up a handy-dandy Google form to submit your application. Just click here. If you are looking for more information you can reach out to Wright at parker.wright@drake.edu. Make sure to use the subject line “Money Over Love” to get his attention.
Gigaton
Mary Hofmockel always has the hook-up. The mastermind behind the Substack Journalism Jobs and a Photo of My Dog has updated her internship calendar with upcoming deadlines for some great gigs, including Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellowship and the Buzzfeed Shopping and Products Fellowship. Hurry up though, the deadline to apply for those jobs is Friday.
The Rehash: Summer Internships
· The Gen Z-focused Trill Mag is looking for remote editorial and videography interns to create content for six months. While Trill doesn’t pay interns, it does offer a chance to work with pro editors and get some clips. You will need to write one story every two weeks or a film or video a month. For more info, click here.
· The St. Louis-based River City Journalism Fund is looking for a summer writing fellow. You’ll be embedded in a St. Louis newsroom, work 30 hours a week covering social justice and underrepresented communities, and be paid $700 a week. Get more info here.
· SourceBooks is looking for nine summer interns for its Naperville, Illinois, office, including in marketing, editorial, content delivery, and sales. Pay is $15 an hour for 24 hours a week. You must be on site. The 10-week gig runs from June 4 to August 9. Apply here.
· HerCampus has been one of the leading voices for college women for years. A group of websites including HerCampus, Spoon University, and College Fashionista, the company hires remote interns to help create content, design graphics, and run social media for its various websites. They have rolling internship sessions, with the summer one starting May 8. Get more info here.
Spread some hot goss?
Do you have some essential info or did you just release one hell of a Relays Edition like the Times Delphic staff? If you do, send them on over to jeff.inman@drake.edu. JMM will treat it like this fascinating story about the downfall of Vice and tell everyone about it.
Finally, it looks like JMM needs to plan a trip to Tunisia.