“At that point, everyone had a copy and everyone was just feeling it. They were feeling that it had a soft-touch glaze and they would smell the pages—there’s something really wonderful about freshly-printed magazines. So they were sniffing it, they were feeling it.”
What other content medium besides print inspires this kind of passion? Maybe vinyl records, but that’s about it.
The above quote comes from Kristina Dose, founder and publisher of the foodie mag Spoonful. Dose was interviewed by Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni about the driving passion behind the title, and how that passion sets it apart.
Dose, a former food blogger, tells Husni she started the magazine because she wanted a new platform for her message, the community-building power of inviting people over to eat. The idea sprung from a childhood in which her parents continually opened their home to newcomers, creating community seemingly out of thin air. Dose hopes to help today’s families embrace a similar ethic.
“We’re hoping that with this magazine we’re giving the modern-home cook—those who don’t have the same luxury of time as in years past—to entertain again in their home by giving them recipes that other home cooks have trusted for years in their own family, giving them time management tips, and giving them other resources that would make it a successful event for them,” Dose tells Husni.
Launched last year, the magazine has more 1,000 subscribers and 14,000 in-store copies – not huge numbers, by any means, but enough to build on. At $20 per copy, it falls in the boutique title category, and while it may never reach mass, it reaches a reader base that “gets it,” true enthusiasts who understand the power of good food served among friends.
Another enthusiast title in the news is Automobile, the vintage car magazine from The Enthusiast Network.
As Sami Main reports in Adweek, the title is re-launching after a tune-up to be more relevant to the “modern-day car guy.”
“The brand, which originally launched in 1986, will continue to focus on ‘Youngtimers,’ cars from the 1970s to ’90s that are a newly popular category of collectible cars,” Main writes. “It also believes its expanded coverage of lifestyle topics will allow it to deliver to an underserved audience and bring new life to the brand.”
Whether tiny niche or large audience, the concept of magazine as lifestyle enabler resonates with readers. The proof? Niche and special interest titles continue to lead in growth, as the swing from mass market to niche continues.
And they are doing it in print, the tactile medium that’s unlike any other.