Just as ebook distributors competed for readers by offering the best in content, pricing, devices, and compatibility, digital magazine providers are also upping the ante when it comes to vying for consumer loyalty. That’s why one of the relative newcomers in the digital magazine space, Magzter, has already signed more than 25 million customers since launching Magzter GOLD in January of this year.
Unlike heavier platforms that can really only provide value to consumers through deals with libraries or other businesses that wish to offer content, Magzter GOLD is built and priced with the individual subscriber in mind. That’s why it’s $9.99-a-month plan, similar in price to all-you-can-read ebook subscription services, offers unlimited access to its catalog of over 5,000 magazines, comic books, and ebooks.
“Since launching Magzter GOLD in late-January, we’ve seen a threefold increase in the number of magazines and pages read, and a similar increase in overall user engagement,” said Girish Ramdas, CEO & Co-Founder of Magzter, in a press release. “Publishers are quickly taking note of these impressive metrics as the ‘all-you-can-read’ model proves capable of delivering a substantial ROI. We’re thrilled to welcome major titles and publishers like American Media Inc., Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur and The Atlantic, and we look forward to entering additional publisher partnerships as we continue to expand our offering throughout the year.”
“With over 25 million users worldwide, we offer unmatched global scale for publishers and they continue to sign on,” added Vijay Radhakrishnan, President & Co-Founder of Magzter. “The ‘all-you-can-eat’ model is an increasingly popular format for all media, from movies to music, and magazine publishers can’t ignore the demand. With our userbase, technology and content, we expect even more to join our newsstand in the coming weeks.”
One thing that content distributors learned early on about digital subscriptions is that eventually consumers can start to question the usefulness of the platform. Whereas unlimited magazine subscriptions make sense in terms of the quick consumption of the issue, ebook subscribers felt the pinch of paying for a service and then not having time to truly take advantage of the unlimited nature of it. Magzter GOLD launched with this obstacle in mind, and therefore also offers a “lite” subscription at only $4.99 a month, which allows subscribers to have unlimited access to only five titles of their choosing.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
