GOOD is Back in Print…with a Difference

[responsive]GoodMagazine[/responsive]Ah, it’s GOOD to be back.

After abandoning their print publication in 2013 and attempting to build a “community model” that just didn’t happen, GOOD is publishing a new print quarterly and re-embracing editorial content.

According to an article in Talking in New Media, “Each issue of the reimagined print publication, whose Spring 2015 issue hits newsstands today, contains impactful, socially conscious content, accompanied by lush photography, all connected by an overarching theme challenging readers to get out of their minds and into the world.”

This follows a period during which the company sought to create its own social network of sorts, says Michael Rondon in Folio:, an attempt that didn’t work and wasn’t successful.

Now, they’ve learned that they need to keep focused on their core product.  Their new publication has a heavy editorial to ad ratio, and a premium price point to keep it that way.

“People still love print, but they’re expecting different perspectives than they have in the past. Today, our readers are seeking a magazine that is thought-provoking, intellectually satisfying, and something beautiful that they’ll want to hold onto and make a part of their lives,” said Casey Caplowe, Co-Founder of GOOD, in the TNM article.

“With that in mind, we set out to create a periodical that was more than just a quick skim; one that digs deeper into provocative issues, offers new ideas, and poses questions intended to inspire our readers.”

According to Rondon, this time around the focus is on editorial quality, not socializing.

“The company relaunched its website last summer with an emphasis on its own media, and has been staffing up accordingly since. Caplowe says they’ve added at least five permanent editors and writers, and have bulked up on the audience development side as well.

“They’ve also invested in print. The redesigned quarterly magazine hits newsstands today after a yearlong hiatus. It’s a substantial read, with 132 pages (including 123 of editorial) of heavier stock paper. The redesign process took about six months, Caplowe says, ramping up following the site relaunch last summer,” Rondon continues.

With any major business change, success or lack of it brings lessons, and GOOD’s experiment is no exception.

“There’s much more clarity around how we’re running the business now. In prior years, [the magazine] became an extension of what we were doing online instead of its own business. Now, we’re thinking about the model there in a more strategic way,” Caplowe said to Rondon.

“We’re structuring this incarnation of GOOD to be more reliant on subscribers, first and foremost, and to a lesser extent, single copy sales. We’re upscaling the product to connect with readers in a different way where it almost fits into that bookazine category.”

Look for GOOD at Barnes & Noble, select Hudson Booksellers and at Whole Foods, or via subscription.