How Niche Can They Get?

In a generation that is obsessed with getting the most out of their time, money and investments, magazines have been cutting out the fat. This is also known as “niche narrowcasting”. In doing a little research I found dozens of super niche publications. These are magazines which are tightly targeted to very specific readers. It made me wonder how niche is too niche? How narrowly can a publication market to a specific demographic and still be a financial success? In 2005 alone nearly 400 niche magazines were started.

One of the titles I found was called Seed, and its mission is displaying “science as pop culture, and getting hip young readers talking about science”. Even 24 Hour Fitness has their own magazine. A publication called Modern Dog made its debut in 2002 and features celebrities and their dogs on the cover. This magazine is meant to be “The lifestyle magazine for urban dogs and their companions”. Crappie World is a magazine for sport fisherman who only fish for crappie (a type of fish).

Convenience Store is a magazine that reports on news for convenience stores. Some other titles include: Potato Grower, Church Solutions, Garage, Lady-Like, American Cemetery, New Beauty, Sunflower, and Sushi & Tofu. The list could go on. There are magazines for sheep, tea, goats, prison life, knives, bear hunting, candy, spicy food, beverages, concrete, beads, ferrets, and of course everyone’s favorite…American Window Cleaner.

The continued success of these magazines proves that if there is a market for it or a reader with a hobby, it has money-making potential and definite potential for success. As long as there is a need or desire, there is potential for profit and maybe that is all that is necessary in a society where people don't want to read about something that does not interest or concern them. A serious crappie fisherman may not want to pick up a magazine because it has just one article about fishing; instead he can subscribe to Crappie World and read about everything crappie. Consumers want what they want and nothing more. Don't waste their time, they want it now.