In computer magazine publishing world, niches hold riches.
"Our target readers are people who either know nothing or little about computers," said Wieslaw Malecki, one of two managing editors for Komputer Swiat, a bi-weekly that hit newsstands last Wednesday.
The German-owned publisher, known for its women's publications and the car-focused Auto Swiat, decided that a title introducing greenhorns to the basics of the computer world would fill an untapped niche.
"Just like Auto Swiat is for those interested in cars but not necessarily in what the engine looks like, Komputer Swiat is for those who have some interest in computers but not in too-technical issues," Malecki said.
This means the magazine hopes to reach those who deal with computers not out of interest, but by necessity, he added.
With an initial circulation of 400,000, the 84-page, color magazine will initially be sold at a promotional price of zl. 2 per copy.
But Komputer Swiat isn't the only publication that thinks non-geek computer users are a niche waiting to be tapped. In January, Wroclaw-based Vogel Publishing launched its Easy PC magazine, which is going after the same know-nothing audience.
The publishing house, which is already well-established on the computer market with titles such as Chip, Chip Special and MRK-Magazyn Rynku Komputerowego, found that there was huge demand for a basic title after conducting market research last fall.
"The interest was just enormous," said Jarek Gromadka, Vogel's marketing director. Based on this research, the publisher hit the newsstands early this year with 1 million copies, an unusually high volume for a periodical of this type in Poland.
Today, 10 months into the market, Easy PC prints more than 800,000 copies and remains the largest publication within Vogel. Its format, which includes a binder that ultimately becomes a sort of manual for computer users, makes it particularly appealing to those who still feel a little uncomfortable with their PC. According to Gromadka, 50% of readers are women who usually constitute only a margin of readers of more technical magazines.
Finding such untapped niches is looking like the key to success for publishers of computer titles.
"Niche publications are definitely good, if not the best direction on the Polish market," said Agnieszka Cybulska, marketing manager for IDG Poland, one of the country's two largest publishing houses specializing in the computer industry. "Magazines such as Komputer Swiat may still find a gap in the market."
The market is saturated with general interest computer publications targeting those who have a good understanding of information technology issues, Cybulska said. But niche publications targeting narrow groups of specialist readers remain a safe bet, she said.
"The only real competition that exists is where more general publications are," Cybulska said.
And unlike Axel Springer, all major computer publishers already have general interest titles often competing head to head. IDG's PC World Komputer monthly competes with Vogel's Chip magazine as well as Enter published by Lupus.
According to market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres, the three titles attract an average of more than 413,000, 347,500 and about 160,000 readers respectively for PC World Komputer, Chip and Enter.
The readership numbers for niche publication are usually far lower, and sometimes the titles are given away for free through controlled-distribution schemes, but they can offer publishers other advantages.
For example, Vogel's MRK, which is distributed for free among companies "between the producer and the retail client" targets dealers, resellers and system integrators, providing in-depth and very specific information on given brands, Gromadka said. Like many other industry publications, the magazine is accompanied by a web site that is only accessible by readers who receive a personal identification number (PIN) and password allowing them to check different deal prices and other industry news.
In return for the free distribution, Vogel gets a chance to build its own database of targeted readers, making it much easier to strike ad deals, Gromadka said.
The German-owned publisher, known for its women's publications and the car-focused Auto Swiat, decided that a title introducing greenhorns to the basics of the computer world would fill an untapped niche.
"Just like Auto Swiat is for those interested in cars but not necessarily in what the engine looks like, Komputer Swiat is for those who have some interest in computers but not in too-technical issues," Malecki said.
This means the magazine hopes to reach those who deal with computers not out of interest, but by necessity, he added.
With an initial circulation of 400,000, the 84-page, color magazine will initially be sold at a promotional price of zl. 2 per copy.
But Komputer Swiat isn't the only publication that thinks non-geek computer users are a niche waiting to be tapped. In January, Wroclaw-based Vogel Publishing launched its Easy PC magazine, which is going after the same know-nothing audience.
The publishing house, which is already well-established on the computer market with titles such as Chip, Chip Special and MRK-Magazyn Rynku Komputerowego, found that there was huge demand for a basic title after conducting market research last fall.
"The interest was just enormous," said Jarek Gromadka, Vogel's marketing director. Based on this research, the publisher hit the newsstands early this year with 1 million copies, an unusually high volume for a periodical of this type in Poland.
Today, 10 months into the market, Easy PC prints more than 800,000 copies and remains the largest publication within Vogel. Its format, which includes a binder that ultimately becomes a sort of manual for computer users, makes it particularly appealing to those who still feel a little uncomfortable with their PC. According to Gromadka, 50% of readers are women who usually constitute only a margin of readers of more technical magazines.
Finding such untapped niches is looking like the key to success for publishers of computer titles.
"Niche publications are definitely good, if not the best direction on the Polish market," said Agnieszka Cybulska, marketing manager for IDG Poland, one of the country's two largest publishing houses specializing in the computer industry. "Magazines such as Komputer Swiat may still find a gap in the market."
The market is saturated with general interest computer publications targeting those who have a good understanding of information technology issues, Cybulska said. But niche publications targeting narrow groups of specialist readers remain a safe bet, she said.
"The only real competition that exists is where more general publications are," Cybulska said.
And unlike Axel Springer, all major computer publishers already have general interest titles often competing head to head. IDG's PC World Komputer monthly competes with Vogel's Chip magazine as well as Enter published by Lupus.
According to market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres, the three titles attract an average of more than 413,000, 347,500 and about 160,000 readers respectively for PC World Komputer, Chip and Enter.
The readership numbers for niche publication are usually far lower, and sometimes the titles are given away for free through controlled-distribution schemes, but they can offer publishers other advantages.
For example, Vogel's MRK, which is distributed for free among companies "between the producer and the retail client" targets dealers, resellers and system integrators, providing in-depth and very specific information on given brands, Gromadka said. Like many other industry publications, the magazine is accompanied by a web site that is only accessible by readers who receive a personal identification number (PIN) and password allowing them to check different deal prices and other industry news.
In return for the free distribution, Vogel gets a chance to build its own database of targeted readers, making it much easier to strike ad deals, Gromadka said.
