Services

Source analysis

Many publishers make erroneous assumptions about the profitability of their circulation sources. We believe source analysis is the most important step toward understanding your publication's economics and building a meaningful, wise and accurate business plan. We offer free source evaluation software, and encourage you to call with questions about its use. We believe you'll find our software tool intuitive and useful. By entering data specific to your publication, you're able to produce a one-page report that compares the relative, long-term value of each of your primary sources of business. If you prefer Masten Publishing Systems to handle each step of the process, we can provide in-depth source analysis for your publication.

Source management

The benefit of source analysis is accurate source management. This is essential for new publications, since so much money can be wasted on inefficient marketing plans and it is essential to established periodicals because the economics of established sources and their new competitors can often be difficult to compare on an apples-to-apples basis. Masten Publishing Systems provides assistance with overall marketing strategies as well as with specific sources like direct mail, insert cards, newsstands, agents, gifts, renewals, controlled, airlines and bulk. These analyses not only produce better budgets, they also provide the basis for more reasonable and cost-effective testing so that next year's budget can show even greater improvement.

Publishing models

Nine years ago, Steve Masten programmed what is now the Granite Bay Publishing Model. A leading model for the magazine publishing industry, the program is designed to accurately budget and predict paid circulation (or advertising rate base) and profitability. Features include automatic source evaluation of each campaign, more intuitive data entry, and source-specific troubleshooting.

We are thoroughly familiar with the process of modeling, and resolve problems with pre-existing models for new clients. Once we've established the accuracy of each client's model, we are often asked to build first-draft budgets — loading client models with data from fulfillment service and internal reports.

Some clients employ us to prepare periodic rolling forecasts. By continually updating the publishing model with current data from each issue, the publication's goals are measured and adjusted. Since key assumptions are measured regularly, inaccuracies (positive or negative) are identified quickly, often in time to correct problems or exploit opportunities.

Troubleshooting and modifying Lighthouse models

The Lighthouse Publishing Model was the industry standard for a long time. Some publishers will want to upgrade to a more modern system than Lighthouse (like the Granite Bay system discussed above). Other publishers are well-served by the old Lighthouse system. There are several old versions of the Lighthouse systems kicking about. One of the strengths of the Lighthouse systems was the ease of modifying it. That strength can still be used to your advantage, but only if you use qualified programmers whose work is proofed properly. Masten Publishing Systems offers proofing, programming, loading and updating support for Lighthouse users.

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