Originally published in InPublishing: 22/08/2025

Q: What is your print strategy?

A: In the last 25 years, there has been more written about the decline of print as there are words in the bible, or acres of land in Yorkshire! It is a never-ending saga.

Is print dying or has it effectively ‘passed away’, only to be remembered by hopeless romantics or crusty old dinosaurs?

So, let me give you some evidence directly from our own most immediate experience.

In February 2025, we became the proud owners of EG, as it was then called, a 167-old legacy brand which had been declared dead and buried by RELX in December. The day after we completed the deal, we changed the name back to Estates Gazette, initiated immediate subscription campaigns and revamped the magazine in April.

We have had a tremendous response since then, picking up excellent numbers of new and lapsed subscribers at a much higher yield. We have given readers the options of different packages, the same rate applying to distinct digital and print subscriptions.

The facts are interesting: so far, 38.4% have opted for digital subscriptions, 35% for print and 23.1% for the combined print and digital package. The small number of others have gone for ‘club’ or ‘website’ offerings.

Does this not tell you everything you need to know? Even I have been surprised by the numbers of print subscribers. In the dynamic real estate world, a combination of old hands and competitive young people, print is on a par with digital.

Print is certainly not dead. However, you need to offer readers choice and be neutral and agnostic about the outcome. Neither print nor digital has a future if you do not listen to your customers and deliver the right content to the right audience at the right time, whether that is in the form of print or digital. Horses for courses. That really is the point.

Q: How are you ensuring print’s longevity?

A: By focusing on content! It is a constant battle to ensure that your content is always fresh and relevant. The world moves on very quickly and so do your readers and customers.

Good editors are the core to understanding audiences. I don’t think we always pay them enough respect: editors (I hate the term ‘content creators’) are the soul of every good magazine. In many of our journals and magazines, we appoint editorial boards and advisors.

We have a very successful graduate programme with a training course awarded by the National Council for the Training of Journalists — the only magazine publishing company in the UK to have a course recognised and judged by the NCTJ. As a result, we attract some hugely talented and committed would-be journalists from most of the leading universities. We promote many of them to become editors in a very short time. Our culture is to empower people and to give them opportunities, however young they are.

Q: What are your three top tips?

1. Don’t differentiate between print and digital when devising subscription rates. Keep them the same. You will be amazed how this will benefit your yields. Just because one delivery system is much cheaper than the other should not make any difference. If the content is the same, or similar, you give readers the choice as to which method they choose.

2. Don’t under-value your content with too low subscription rates, so long as your content stands up. As publishers, we often lack confidence in our own products. Many of us will think little of spending £250 for a lunch for two in a smart Mayfair restaurant lasting a couple of hours. Just think of all the complexities and variables involved in producing just one issue of a magazine whose annual subscription cost is less than the meal. Just one single idea in one particular issue can benefit our readers hugely. Be proud of what you do and own that space.

3. Whether your magazine is subscription or controlled circulation, content is always king. Some people don’t like the ‘content is king’ phrase but without content, delivered in different ways to a variety of audiences, what else do we have? Nothing.