We just left our most recent CEO Summit in Denver, and TONS of “Million-Dollar” revenue ideas fill our notebooks! Scott Jamieson showed us how they’ve taken two of their most popular titles and leveraged reader interest to start a brand new niche publication.
- Publisher: Scott Jamieson, Chief Operating Officer, Annex Business Media
- Magazines: Aquaculture North America and 60+ more titles
- Big Revenue Idea: Even the smallest niche can be sliced thinner
35% Revenue Growth by “Niching” a Niche
We all already know the power (and revenue!) that comes from niche publications. But what if there was an even smaller niche you were missing out on? By watching their most popular articles and content in current publications, Scott Jamieson’s team identified an even smaller niche audience topic poised for their own publication.
The Formula
The team started looking at a growing sector of their publications. Two of their earlier publications, Aquaculture North America and Hatchery International, had a small audience in common, and RAStech was born. They questioned whether this would be going too niche, but with a low-cost distribution model, they felt it was worth the experiment.
Why It Works
Printing their own publications keeps the costs low so that means they have the flexibility to experiment and test new niche titles. To grow the audience, they packaged issues of RAStech with the titles that originally gave them the idea. Because advertisers were eager to market to this super niche audience, each issue easily sold more ads than the last. The team also jumped into the event space right away and sponsors signed on quickly.
The Results
They launched the RAStech quarterly supplement in 2019. Their publication Aquaculture saw a 50% increase in revenue within the first year. The event had over 300 attendees the first year and pitched to grow in 2020. They’re delivering outstanding margins, and the market is very enthusiastic.
Scott shared how to slice small niches thinner… and thinner again. He encouraged attendees to test the waters with new niche supplements and be prepared to act quickly if you see success. Dive into the event space right away and think about revenue first, expenses later.
Think about your publications and see where there’s an untapped new niche audience just waiting for you to monetize.
P.S. Don’t miss out on the next Million Dollar Mania at the Niche Consumer CEO Summit, November 12-13 in Charleston at Wild Dunes Resort. Share your best “million dollar” idea and get at least 25 awesome revenue ideas in return!
**********
More about Megan: Megan Black is the Content Maven for Niche Media. She also directs the content efforts of the Second Street Lab. When she’s not passionately defending the Oxford comma, Megan passes the time with the latest Netflix marathon.
**********
Niche Media has the best events, education, and training in media! Our super niched-out events & content give target-audience publishers in the B2C, hobbyist, B2B, city & regional, and association markets the tools they need to build revenue, audience, and more.
**********
