Hi Skip,
Thank you for the feedback, and for the excellent questions. The USMS Transition Team, the Publishers, and the USMS Executive Committee discussed all of these items in great detail before any decisions were made. There was very careful reasoning behind each decision.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“I have had several people ask me about the workout card and why there was not one in the magazine.”
There were a few reasons for making the workout card an online bonus rather than a printed feature.
• USMS is making a concerted effort to integrate the web site and the magazine. Because the workout card is a very popular feature, we felt pushing it to the web would bring more readers to the web.
• The workout cards will become part of a growing archive, which will allow everyone to access the information at all times. In contrast, printed workout cards can be pulled out of the magazine and lost. Having an archive ensures that you will be able to find any workout card whenever you need it.
• When USMS decided to publish its own magazine, one of the goals was to keep the cost fixed. When discussing the option of a cardstock piece, we discovered that including it raised the production cost significantly. DMC’s original proposal did not include this budget item.
• We do not necessarily want to duplicate features from other publications.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“Why is the online version not consistent with the print mailed version and vice versa?”
Some points to consider:
• Integration between the magazine and the web site is one of our key objectives.
• USMS membership has many benefits, and one of the most important benefits is the magazine. If we published the whole thing online, there would be considerably less incentive for potential members to join our organization.
• We decided to select bits and pieces from the magazine for online release, hoping that potential members would get a taste and want more. If people want to see the features that are not online, the idea is working.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“Why there is no newsstand presence of our national publication?”
Newsstand distribution is a huge budget consideration, and we need to be very prudent when making these types of decisions. We do not want to put the cart before the horse. DMC recommended against newsstand distribution at first, and we accepted this recommendation. Some thoughts:
• Our first objective is to provide a great member benefit.
• One of our other goals is to use the magazine as a marketing tool to reach beyond our own organization.
• We definitely see the potential for future newsstand presence, which is why we set out to create a magazine that would lend itself to newsstand distribution.
• As we get started, we are evaluating how we will reach non-members. We’re trying to plan some print overrun distribution at special events, such as conferences and large triathlon events.
• We also have subscriptions available online for non-members. The discussion about newsstand distribution will certainly be an ongoing discussion, but we must be ready before we take that step.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“If someone buys a USMS membership shouldn't they be entitled to the full benefits of the magazine? I have a lot of senior swimmers that don't have computers and they will never see the bonus section of the magazine.”
As you may recall, the theme of the 2004 USMS convention was “The Future is Now.” Statistics strongly reinforce this message:
• Currently, 81% of our registered members have e-mail addresses in the USMS database.
• In 2003, only 36% of our members had e-mail addresses in the database.
• Between 2003 and 2004, the percentage of USMS members with e-mail addresses increased by 36% (it literally doubled!).
• Currently, 64% of our "65-and-over" swimmers have e-mail addresses.
• In 2003, the percentage of 65-and-over swimmers with e-mail was only 17%.
• Between 2003 and 2004, the percentage of 65-and-over swimmers with e-mail addresses increased by 33%.
Given these statistics, it is safe to say a very large percentage of USMS members have internet access. Looking at the recent trend, it’s also safe to say the number of members with internet access is growing very rapidly. In projecting for the future, we do not expect to see a reversal of this trend.
When we set out to create this magazine, we weren’t just looking at what was happening today. We were looking toward the future. In the future, we expect an even larger percentage of our members to have internet access, and this question will probably become a non-issue.
Personally, as a retired Masters coach, I encourage you to take a more proactive approach. When I was coaching, there were several senior swimmers who didn’t have access to certain information. I felt my job was to bring the information to them. In this case, I would have printed the bonus web content, laminated and posted it on the team bulletin board at the pool, and made extra copies for distribution to those who needed it.
Bill
Hi Skip,
Thank you for the feedback, and for the excellent questions. The USMS Transition Team, the Publishers, and the USMS Executive Committee discussed all of these items in great detail before any decisions were made. There was very careful reasoning behind each decision.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“I have had several people ask me about the workout card and why there was not one in the magazine.”
There were a few reasons for making the workout card an online bonus rather than a printed feature.
• USMS is making a concerted effort to integrate the web site and the magazine. Because the workout card is a very popular feature, we felt pushing it to the web would bring more readers to the web.
• The workout cards will become part of a growing archive, which will allow everyone to access the information at all times. In contrast, printed workout cards can be pulled out of the magazine and lost. Having an archive ensures that you will be able to find any workout card whenever you need it.
• When USMS decided to publish its own magazine, one of the goals was to keep the cost fixed. When discussing the option of a cardstock piece, we discovered that including it raised the production cost significantly. DMC’s original proposal did not include this budget item.
• We do not necessarily want to duplicate features from other publications.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“Why is the online version not consistent with the print mailed version and vice versa?”
Some points to consider:
• Integration between the magazine and the web site is one of our key objectives.
• USMS membership has many benefits, and one of the most important benefits is the magazine. If we published the whole thing online, there would be considerably less incentive for potential members to join our organization.
• We decided to select bits and pieces from the magazine for online release, hoping that potential members would get a taste and want more. If people want to see the features that are not online, the idea is working.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“Why there is no newsstand presence of our national publication?”
Newsstand distribution is a huge budget consideration, and we need to be very prudent when making these types of decisions. We do not want to put the cart before the horse. DMC recommended against newsstand distribution at first, and we accepted this recommendation. Some thoughts:
• Our first objective is to provide a great member benefit.
• One of our other goals is to use the magazine as a marketing tool to reach beyond our own organization.
• We definitely see the potential for future newsstand presence, which is why we set out to create a magazine that would lend itself to newsstand distribution.
• As we get started, we are evaluating how we will reach non-members. We’re trying to plan some print overrun distribution at special events, such as conferences and large triathlon events.
• We also have subscriptions available online for non-members. The discussion about newsstand distribution will certainly be an ongoing discussion, but we must be ready before we take that step.
Originally posted by Frank Thompson
“If someone buys a USMS membership shouldn't they be entitled to the full benefits of the magazine? I have a lot of senior swimmers that don't have computers and they will never see the bonus section of the magazine.”
As you may recall, the theme of the 2004 USMS convention was “The Future is Now.” Statistics strongly reinforce this message:
• Currently, 81% of our registered members have e-mail addresses in the USMS database.
• In 2003, only 36% of our members had e-mail addresses in the database.
• Between 2003 and 2004, the percentage of USMS members with e-mail addresses increased by 36% (it literally doubled!).
• Currently, 64% of our "65-and-over" swimmers have e-mail addresses.
• In 2003, the percentage of 65-and-over swimmers with e-mail was only 17%.
• Between 2003 and 2004, the percentage of 65-and-over swimmers with e-mail addresses increased by 33%.
Given these statistics, it is safe to say a very large percentage of USMS members have internet access. Looking at the recent trend, it’s also safe to say the number of members with internet access is growing very rapidly. In projecting for the future, we do not expect to see a reversal of this trend.
When we set out to create this magazine, we weren’t just looking at what was happening today. We were looking toward the future. In the future, we expect an even larger percentage of our members to have internet access, and this question will probably become a non-issue.
Personally, as a retired Masters coach, I encourage you to take a more proactive approach. When I was coaching, there were several senior swimmers who didn’t have access to certain information. I felt my job was to bring the information to them. In this case, I would have printed the bonus web content, laminated and posted it on the team bulletin board at the pool, and made extra copies for distribution to those who needed it.
Bill
