Magazine finds unexpected payoff in distribution switch

Weary of writing big checks to the U.S. Postal Service and looking for ways to improve the profitability of their RLife magazine, Joe Hansen and Jackie Shelton decided to move to carrier delivery of the lifestyle publication.

The move paid an unexpected benefit as it generated lots of first-hand feedback from the magazine's readers as they encounter delivery crews.

And the feedback was all the more useful because nearly everyone who works on the magazine helps deliver 25,000 monthly copies to homes across the Truckee Meadows.

Realife Marketing and Publishing Inc., owned by Shelton and Hansen, purchased the magazine from founder Vince Pierce about 18 months ago just as the northern Nevada economy began to swoon.

That put pressure on the magazine's co-publishers to control costs and distribution was a key point.

"We've gotten a lot smarter about how we distribute," says Shelton.

Hand-delivery, while cutting out the post office, also allows the magazine's staff to trim costs by avoiding deliveries to obviously vacant houses.

Another cost-cutting move: Bringing the printing from an out-of-town press to the Quad/Graphics plant at Stead, a move that reduced freight expenses.

Hansen says the co-publishers also have worked to carve out a niche for RLife that distinguishes the publication from Reno Magazine, its primary competition in the local lifestyle arena.

The RLife strategy: Target readers that are younger and more active than the audience for Reno Magazine, a product of the Reno Gazette-Journal. Baby Boomers, Hansen notes, often have fixed buying habits a headache for advertisers who want them to try something new while a younger audience is more willing to try new products and new services.

"We're delivering an upper-income, affluent audience that spends time with the magazine," Hansen says. "We've got to be constantly responding to our community."

Readers increasingly suggest stories they'd like the magazine to cover, Shelton says, and encounters with readers as the magazine is delivered also generate story ideas.

When the new publishers purchased the magazine, its stream of advertising dollars depended heavily on homebuilders and related industries segments that took a dive.

Hansen says they've worked to replace those big accounts with a more diverse group, including more small advertisers. Advertisers have expressed interest, he says, in a plan to widen distribution of RLife through racks at Lake Tahoe.

Between cost-cutting and the push to develop new advertising revenues, Shelton and Hansen say RLife is close to profitability and has trimmed its losses since they acquired the publication.