By Bob West
Meister Media sold approximately 20% more enewsletter and website ads in the first half of 2014 than in the same period 2013, and this trend only will only continue as ag professionals rely more than ever on media enewsletters and websites for their information and marketers adjust their advertising plans accordingly.
Audience growth never happens in a straight line or at the same speed in different industries, but marketers cannot ignore the size of these digital audiences any longer. Here’s a look at the growth in Meister Media’s enewsletter and website audiences from the first nine months of 2013 to the first nine months of 2014:
| Brand | 2014 Enewsletter Subscribers | % Growth from 2013 | 2014 Monthly Website Pageviews | % Growth from 2013 |
| American Fruit Grower | 15,356 | 8% | 99,944 | 47% |
| American Vegetable Grower | 16,848 | (2%) | ||
| Florida Grower | 6,229 | 9% | ||
| Greenhouse Grower | 22,192 | 12% | 171,856 | 61% |
| Today’s Garden Center | 14,154 | 45% | 70,987 | 8% |
| CropLife | 17,150 | 25% | 83,114 | 39% |
| Precision Ag | 12,006 | 5% | 31,840 | 53% |
| Cotton Grower | 10,203 | (4%) | 17,019 | (25%) |
| Farm Chemicals International | 7,560 | 3.6% | 18,063 | (24%) |
| Productores de Hortalizas | 20,344 | 18% | 88,948 | 14% |
These numbers are not just about the growth in our brands — the numbers are big enough that they speak to market adoption. So, what does this mean for a marketer?
If your marketing campaign does not yet include digital media, why not? These audiences continue expanding rapidly, making digital ads more cost effective than ever and providing you greater reach. Plus, many of our digital media now boast larger audiences than their print counterparts — spreading the budget over both print and digital provides the most complete reach you need.
(Broadening your marketing plan to incorporate digital along with print undoubtedly complicates media planning, so we’ve got some suggestions on when to use enewsletters vs. websites here.)
Bob West is the Director of Interactive Sales for Meister Media. For more information on these audience trends or to discuss how Meister can help your company’s digital marketing efforts, contact him at 440/602-9129 or [email protected].