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Covid Impact on Independent Publishing

The impact of Covid-19 on businesses across the world has in many cases been devastating. As publishers ourselves, we know first-hand that the print industry has been struck by issue after issue over the course of 2020. The downfall of many businesses has impacted ad revenue, contributor availability, and even printing and distribution services. This has even led many publications, including ourselves, to miss editions in the wake of all the uncertainty.

Many of our publishing peers have shared with us the struggles they have faced during the pandemic, and how they have adapted and overcome certain problems. Jenny Cross from Niche Magazine explained how the coronavirus and lockdown has impacted them.

Jenny Cross, Niche Magazine

The year 2020 was a challenging one for many businesses both small and large. As a Leicester based marketing company, we are responsible for publishing Niche Magazine, a B2B publication filled with news stories and editorial features, showcasing local successes, opportunities, and growth. As Covid came along it’s fair to say much of

the business community hit a state of shock and panic. Marketing budgets were frozen and we were pushed into shelving the May issue of our bi-monthly title. Using the time to adapt ourselves, we created new processes to allow each member of the team to work from home building a CRM system and new website for our magazine.

As the news sunk in, many businesses also took to adapting in the face of change and realised there was a clear opportunity to get ahead of the curve. Through clever marketing and lead generation content creation, we began to see companies open up to the idea of featuring once more in our trusted title.

Missing one issue was a big hit for us as a small company and whilst Niche Magazine is back out there, we have also had to allow for significant changes to ensure we still offer value and return on investment. Budget has gone into digital streams enhancing the hard copy with content duplicated online and across social media.