Magazine publishers are hitting big by serving smaller demographic sections in Pittsburgh and across the US. Chalk up another win for the Long Tail cocktail, although this time it’s being served with a twist. Instead of using large warehouses across the country with little/no transportation to store space, the regional model doesn’t necessarily depend on the cost-saving of direct-to-consumer shipping, but on the appeal of extremely targeted advertising and lower shipment costs by virtue of less ground travelled.
Could it work for books? The ad revenue paradigm is a non-starter but the niche marketing has appeal. Globalization: the whole gets smaller, while the parts get bigger.
