What Do You Think Of These Recent "Try-My-Physical-Magazine-1-Month-For-Free"?

2 replies
Hi

In the past few months, i have seen some big-name IMers jumping onto the Physical Product bandwagon.

I can think of at least 4 such marketers.



This is a great business model for the Marketers (and yes, the affiliates too).

It adds a continuity program to their arsenal, and with the kind of lists that they have, and with the kind of JV partners who promote their products, i am sure they get literally several thousands of subscribers.

And that means quite a handsome amount to their bottom lines every month!

I have also noticed this...none of them (i think) accepts payment through PayPal, because canceling through PP is very easy. They only accept Credit Cards, and in case you want to cancel your subscription, you need to get in touch with them. Not as easy as canceling through PayPal.


1. My first question is :

Although good for marketers, is this model good for the subscribers, and for the IM industry as a whole?

The content provided with these magazines can easily be made downloadable, and given to the subscribers every month, for a MUCH lower cost.

Instead of charging them $30 (i think that's the average subscription cost per month for all these magazines), they can deliver the same content for less than $10...by making it downloadable. And you can always take a printout of the magazine if you want.


2. My second question

If anyone of you have received any of these magazines, what do you think of the quality?

Is it worth the amount you are paying every month?
Do you learn anything new?
Or is it the same re-hashed information that get bombarded to us everyday in mails, that we already know anyways?

I have received 2 magazines from a well-known marketer, and i had to cancel after 2 months, because i did not feel it was worth paying that amount.

What do you think?
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Abhi
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  • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
    I also tried two of them for two months and wasn't impressed.

    I'm sure they appreciated my money more than I appreciated their mags. So it was an imbalance of value at best.

    I can think of dozens of post on this forum that would be far better to immortalize on paper than some of the stuff that I received.

    I don't think it was necessarily the marketers fault, or they were trying to scam their subscribers, I think it was more of an amaturish attempt at crossing over into a new medium. Perhaps in time they will get better at it and learn how to do it right. And by right, I mean producing a product that utilizes that medium better.

    But then again, I might have been over expecting.

    KJ
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan Even
    I prefer online continuity in my businesses simply because it's much easier to set up than producing a print magazine, plus a lot cheaper (no printing costs, shipping costs, etc.).

    On the other hand, in a lot of niches, printed magazines mailed out have a much higher perceived value and can do very well (very, very, very well!).

    Another option to consider is a "CD of the month" or "DVD of the month" club.

    I am a member of a handful of the IM magazines and in many cases it's hard to justify the monthly price, however, I tend to stick around since this is my full time income and if I get just one idea a year from the magazines that improve my income I'm still making money.
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