Magazines across the country are redesigning in order to stay competitive. In this issue of Engage, Mark Stencel, editor and publisher of GOVERNING magazine, dicusses how a revamp can boost sales and readership. Take a look at our video interview and the new Engage blog for even more. If you get even one idea, we'd like to think Engage is worth reading and watching!

industry buzz

New Magazine E-Reader
An 8.5-by-11-inch touchscreen e-reader will allow you to view and read newspapers and magazines from anywhere (through a wireless network). Made entirely of plastic—and appropriately named Plastic Logic—the first models aren't expected to reach consumers until 2010.

ASME Rebukes
Consumer magazines are blurring the line between advertising and editorial content more and more, publishing cover ads and other units that are against American Society of Magazine Editors' (ASME) Guidelines. The New York Times recently examined the issue. ASME released three official rebukes this month.

Tweet, Tweet!
Is your business or association on Twitter yet? Twitter has already become one of the fastest ways to reach customers, readers or members directly. You can post news, link to new articles, and interact with readers. Not sure how to get started? We found this guide really helpful: The Ultimate Guide to Twitter.

Magazine Launches Are Up
Ad pages might be down, but magazine launches are up. Take it from Mr. Magazine—Samir Husni, the University of Mississippi journalism chair who tracks all the magazine launches in the U.S. He reported that 167 new magazines appeared for the first time on the nation's newsstands in the first quarter of 2009—14 more than Q1 2007 and 13 more than Q1 2008.

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diamond in the rough

Extreme Makeover: Magazine Edition

Admit it. You just can’t change the channel when that makeover TV show is on. Especially when, with just a few scissor snips and smears of makeup, the frumpy, frizzy mom is abruptly transformed into a chic, modern trendsetter. Suddenly she's radiating confidence, and people are attracted to that brand-new aura.

Magazines are much the same. Done well, a fresh look can radiate success and show off your cutting-edge approach, attracting new readers. Better yet, it can open up new advertising categories and allow for better ad placements. And in this economy, those things will keep your publication competitive.

“Magazines are a bit like shoe closets,” says Mark Stencel, editor and publisher of GOVERNING magazine, which unveiled a new, modern look this month. “You can accumulate pairs, and they get a bit dusty, but once you pull them out and realize they still fit comfortably, you just have to make things work a bit better.”

Take a look at what Mark Stencel has to say.

Lots of national magazines are freshening up, too. Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore announced this month that the company is working on a dozen new redesigns of its magazines, most of which will roll out this year. One of its revamps, Money magazine, is even hitting newsstands this week. Why the overhaul? In a tough ad market, “investment in your editorial product is probably the best ROI you can get,” Moore told the Wall Street Journal last week.

Martha Stewart seems to agree. The redesign of Martha Stewart Living, revealed in this month’s April issue, introduced two new content categories, beauty and fashion—mainstays of women’s magazine advertising. Across town, Newsweek executives and editors have spent the last year plotting a radical remake of the magazine, hoping to stem last year’s revenue loss with a bold new look. “You can keep on doing what you have been doing all the time and march nobly off a cliff, or you can adapt and change,” Jon Meacham, Newsweek's editor, told the Financial Times this month.

GOVERNING magazine timed its redesign to the economic stimulus, when Congress was funneling money to the publication’s readers and advertisers wanted to talk to readers directly. “We were redesigning for our readers and our advertisers, not for ourselves,” Stencel says. “We wanted to make sure that we preserved our journalistic integrity … We also wanted to make sure that we did it in a way that the sponsors had room to breathe so that it pays for the kind of journalism that we wanted to do.”

Whether it’s for your readers, your advertisers, or for your competitive spirit, it might be time to dust off the design book and try on a new look. Check out our best practice guide for tips on how to make your redesign successful. Remember, everyone loves a good makeover story.

Connect    Best Practices for a Redesign.

Engage    Share your advertising sales and publishing tips here!

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