This just in from Nigel Harris...
Thanks for telling the world about the 'top three' UK railway magazines, but could you maybe add a new post pointing out that RAIL is of course fortnightly while the other two are, of course, monthly or four weekly.
They publish half as often. Or we publish twice as often. Take your pick.
So, whilst realising that I run the risk of some excoriatingly sarcastic comeback from Eye, I’d just like to point out that whilst the other two titles reach about 35k buyers a month, RAIL finds 40K people thus prepared to support us each month, to whom we are exceedingly grateful.
It would be nice if you could also thank Eye regulars who buy RAIL for their support. It is very much appreciated by all in the Peterborough bunker.
In monthly sales, therefore, we lead the pack by quite some margin... well over 5,000 copy sales!
Our last reader research also showed a 'pass on' rate of five (meaning five readers read each copy) giving us a readership of 100k per issue....or 200k per month.
So, we’ll be aiming to persuade a few of those to buy their own copy in future! (Can you plug this as well?)
All of which puts a rather different complexion on the numbers.
Of course I am more than happy to stand you a lunch for pointing out these things...
Eye is obviously going up in the world. Cheapskate Wolmar only offered drinkies if Eye promoted his efforts!
UPDATE: This from Driver Potter...
I'll see Mr Harris's lunch for Free Advertising and raise him by a pudding - an individual Rolo Mousse and two spoons.
I'm not made of money, you know...
UPDATE: This from Billy Connections -
Nigel's team is well-versed in the "we sell the most, so we must be the best" mantra.
Well you can use statistics to prove anything.
The Sun is the best seller in the newspaper world but RAIL doesn't even offer a decent page three! (shurely ...but you wouldn't read the Sun for in-depth coverage. Ed)
The fact that each issue has a pass on rate of five means that either nobody wants to be seen with it on their desk or it is only read by skinflints too mean to buy their own copy!
As one senior railway MD once said about people who try to avoid paying their fares "The fact that they don't feel obliged to pay us for what we do shows the value they place on the service we provide."
Meanwhile can I put in a plug for a serious rail title... (No. Ed)
UPDATE: This from Bushy...
Whilst RAIL may sell 40,000 copies a month, are those copies going to 40,000 different people or the same 20,000 buying twice?
At least you can say that Railway Magazine is bought by 34,700 different people.
Of course Nigel's piece makes no mention of the fact that two years ago RAIL was selling 23,000 copies per issue.
So using Nigel's logic; RAIL has lost 6,000 readers a month in the last two years.
UPDATE: This, up to a point, from Lord Copper...
If, as Nigel points out Rail is read by 40,000 people a month, that must mean that 20,000 buy each issue, decide they don't like it, only for a fresh 20,000 to buy the next issue, and so on.
The good news for the Panjandrum of Peterborough is that with a UK population of around 60 million, this policy will be successful for another 3000 issues or 125 years which should see out the ever youthful editor's career.
And that may be a conservative estimate because the population grew by 400,000 in 2008 - which represents another 20 issues covered.
The only flaw in the statistics is the number of elderly people who die without taking their turn at reading Rail.
Perhaps copies could be provided as part of free health care proposals.
