First in a new series of profiles of Specialist Media People: how they got into publishing, what their plans are, and their tips for their peers.

Robert Nisbet founded Media One Comms twenty years ago and has grown it to a significant niche b2b publishing business.  Here he shares what's happening in his markets, his plans for the future and some tips for other specialist publishers.

How did you get into publishing?

My first job was back in the 80’s when I joined Emap in Peterborough. I was in display sales at the Response division.  Two years later I left to launch a B2B magazine in the tools market.  Over the last twenty years I have developed this to become Media One Communications, with nine magazines, six yearbooks and fourteen websites, across the interior design, building, architecture, gardening, FMCG and retail sectors. I also founded a London based book publisher, which I sold in 2004 and is now a successful plc.

What media brands do you publish?

Magazines include Architects Choice, British Builder & Developer, Garden & Hardware news and Interior Design today, FMCG News plus a series of market leading yearbooks and directories.  Our focus has always been on markets where professional buyers are specifying large numbers of products and rely on being up to date.  We provide information on trends, technology, products, industry news and key people.  Publications are a mix of free B2B and paid-for consumer.  Our news sites, such as www.architectnews.co.uk, can reach up to 40,000 architects monthly.

What’s happening in your market?

Some markets are being hit by the economic downturn so we’re investing in order to maintain our growth. Digital platforms are not easy to monetize but the margin is good when we make it work. We harness the benefits of digital communication to cost effectively grow our print subscribers and promote to advertisers. Twitter in particular is a great way to identify new potential readers in our markets. Having an established print product helps differentiate us from the online-only players.  Barriers-to-entry are much stronger in print media, especially in this climate, so our online strategy has to become more closely aligned with our print titles. We’re still growing our market share in all sectors, but construction requires the most innovative approach right now.  Online ad revenue is challenging so we package with print ads. Later, when we’ve developed a stronger share of the online audience, we intend to sell online ads purely on a pay per click basis. I see it as a more logical concept for advertisers and an easier sell. We’ve just finished developing technology with our American web partners to make this transition and now we’re focussing on our online readership.

What’s new for your products?

We are strengthening our classified ad sales team and recruited five new members in the last month alone. We’re also offering email broadcast and lead generation options for advertisers. In preparation for a tough 2012 we’re building stronger relationships with our customers and investing in better content and design – it makes sense to be at your best at these times.  We plan to increase the frequency on some of our publications and develop paid-for subscriptions – for a B2B publisher used to sending out free magazines, developing paid for subs creates huge margin gains that we can reinvest to make us stronger in the market.  Our core focus remains print media, as that differentiates us from online-only competitors who often lack credibility in professional markets.

Where are your big opportunities?

We have a couple of consumer launches planned for the New Year and we still have plenty of room for growth in our existing markets. Offering advertisers something that works is key to any media business in these times so we see big opportunities in a pay per click online ad sales model. We’re also offering inexpensive and highly effective magazine advertising in a B2B product that readers are prepared to pay for.

What keeps you awake at night?

Other than coming up with new ideas, my biggest concern is ensuring we keep all of our best sales staff and find talented new people for our sales teams. Maintaining customer relationships is key when times are tough, and growth is impossible without bright ambitious people who seem harder than ever to find.

What big decisions do you have coming up?

We have a few more launch ideas, and the possibility of opening another London office. We have also developed a great ad booking system across all of our titles so we’re implementing that and thinking about selling it on to other publishers.

How do you find out about new trends in publishing?

Online news. And I monitor my competitors. I also look at all of my junk mail just to see how other people are trying to sell to me – this often keeps me abreast of a lot of new trends. I must be on everyone’s database so it’s a great source of inspiration.

What’s your top tip for other niche and independent publishers?

Pay your sales people well, always maintain a positive sales environment, and make sure more than one person has a relationship with key clients.  Keep innovating and don’t get carried away with the revenue potential of online – it’s never as straightforward as it looks.  Print publications usually have greater authority and still have potential for growth by harnessing online technologies.

What’s your favourite magazine ?

Pilot Magazine – I studied for my commercial license and am a keen aerobatic pilot.

Contact details

Media One Communications Ltd,
1 Accent Park, Bakewell Road
Orton Southgate, Peterborough, UK, PE2 6XS,

www.mediaone.co.uk

robert.nisbet@mediaone.co.uk

01733 385300

If you'd like to be featured in this section, or want to nominate someone for us to profile, please contact carolyn@thespecialistmediashow.com

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