DIARY directory recently interviewed Ranj Begley, Chief Content Officer and Managing Director UK of Readly.

Readly is a digital subscription service that lets customers have unlimited access to nearly 5,000 national and international magazine titles and select newspapers - all in one app. In collaboration with around 800 publishers worldwide, Readly is digitizing the magazine industry. The company's main aim is to bring the magic of magazines into the future, enabling the discovery and survival of quality content. During 2019 Readly distributed more than 120,000 issues of magazines that have been read 83 million times. 

In the UK, Readly’s top read categories are Celebrity & Entertainment and Lifestyle sectors, as well as having strong readership for our Beauty, Fashion and Interiors categories. Magazine content, throughout these categories, remains a trusted source for consumers. With journalists seen as having the authority on the topic - providing informative, well-researched and curated content for readers. 

View the service here.

Who is your consumer?

There are generally three types of users on Readly: Fans addicted to their favourite magazines, Enthusiasts who are more adventurous in trying new titles as they move through life, and Floating Voters - the digital native casual readers, with whom the long-term potential and ‘‘fresh blood’ for the whole industry lies. As Readly offers a wide range of titles, spanning from Lifestyle to Sport, Fashion, Kids, Business, Family titles, Crosswords and much more, we believe there is something for every type of reader.

In the UK, over the last few months during lockdown, we have seen a surge of young women readers using Readly, because they haven’t had access to all the content they normally would. Now they are getting their tips from digital magazines. In addition, the new generation of bloggers, vloggers and influencers are always trying to source new inspiration for content and they are seeing the value of digital magazines for this.

We've seen a dramatic decline in print media over the last decade, while digital has increased significantly - what changes have you noticed across the fashion, beauty & lifestyle sectors in the last couple of years?

In the UK, Readly’s top read categories are Celebrity & Entertainment and Lifestyle sectors, as well as having strong readership for our Beauty, Fashion and Interiors categories. Magazine content, throughout these categories, remains a trusted source for consumers. With journalists seen as having the authority on the topic - providing informative, well-researched and curated content for readers.

Over the last few years, magazines in these sectors have been looking to respond to consumer needs by adding more to their core product experience: more intuitive search for article topics, embedded video and audio, and social sharing. The magazine itself is now often a door opener for consumers to other areas of the brand. However, our own research at Readly also reveals something else - reading is a moment which, left alone from other media types, becomes an intimate experience causing the reader to lose track of time and spend as much as 15 minutes on one single article. By getting lost in the moment, the user can further appreciate the unique value of the magazine.

What is the general process for putting titles on the app?

We have 5,000 quality national and international magazines on Readly – and recently UK newspapers such as The Independent and Evening Standard. There is a simple three step process for a publication to feature on the app. Firstly will check that the publication is official and that it meets our guidelines. Then we confirm a distribution agreement with the publishers, and conduct technical tests to ensure a premium user experience on the app. When this has all been met the publication can all go live within 24 hours.

What are the benefits of a magazine joining your platform and what stats do you provide them with?

We work with 800 publishers worldwide, all looking to leverage their digital assets and diversify their revenue streams. Readly offers a compelling proposition to help increase their digital circulation and boost their ABC figures.

In addition, with the reader’s attention becoming a precious commodity, Readly’s 25 billion data points provides publishers, editors and marketers with a deeper understanding of reader behaviour. Through analysis of how full issues are navigated - from what is most interesting to readers and where they spend their time - publishers can become more data driven in optimising content to maximise readership and further develop their business.

You are expanding globally – how does your reader base and your title base correlate geographically – is it mainly people reading titles from their own country?

In addition to expat communities accessing Readly around the world, there is strong appetite for people wanting to read content that is not local or native to them. English is one of the most widely spoken languages across the world, and we have found on our platform that a lot of readers in other countries will actively read British publications. This provides a real global reach to our UK magazine titles - attracting new audiences – which is of huge appeal to our publishers. In our core markets, Swedes are most likely to read foreign titles, closely followed by Germans, as subscribers experiment and track their interests internationally.

We also have a crossover in regards to publishers. So for example, Condé Nast, Hearst and Bauer are not only core publishing partners for us in the UK, but in other countries as well. So on Readly you can access the German, Italian or British versions of Grazia.

Which countries are your fastest growing in terms of readership and in terms of adding titles?

With readers in over 50 markets, in our core markets of UK, Germany and Sweden, Readly now has the largest magazine portfolio among “all-you-can-read” focused providers, and with the best coverage of top titles - defined by highest circulation.

In Germany almost 37 million issues were read during 2019 (+49% year-over-year), followed by Sweden with 22 million (+17%) and the UK with 14 million (+21%). Readly app downloads have also increased significantly with the onset of lockdown, with app downloads in all markets up 21 percent in March this year, compared to the prior month.

Readly’s content portfolio has grown rapidly - from 3,000 titles in 2018 to almost 5,000 by the end of 2019 - with the UK having the largest inventory featuring 1,800 magazines. Interestingly, the UK also has the highest rate of back issue reading. Many subscribers remain committed to their favourite magazines, enjoying the content regardless of the publication date. As a result, we launched Readly Articles last year, a feed of curated content based on interest - with our data showing that timeless articles remain popular regardless of the publication date.

Reader habits - tell us more about the data you've recorded

As a result of high entertainment value and quality content, the reading time on Readly reaches high levels - with users spending, on average, just under 7 hours on the app every month. The average user session is 21 minutes, but sessions can range from short “snacks” to “deeper” reading sessions – as users fit reading into the individual beat of their day. The Readly experience quickly becomes a regular part of their routine, with over a third of our users opening the app daily.

The app is typically used consistently throughout the day - with access well suited for on-the-go reading and gap-filling. Weekday reading peaks at home in the evenings, spiking between 5-9pm, whilst weekend usage is more evenly spread throughout the day. Personal reading behavior also comes into play. For example, Cosmopolitan readers are incredibly loyal, continuously reading at high levels throughout the week - and over the weekend the heat map is red hot for Cosmo reading from morning to night.

What trends have you noticed since we've all been in lockdown?

There is an intense focus in staying up to date with in-depth reading about the coronavirus crisis - something that is found in many magazines right now - providing content that the reader trusts rather than rumours and hearsay.

Magazine reading can also be used for discovering new interests, learning new topics, being entertained, or just for relaxation. Many of our 5,000 magazine titles bring a much-needed break to users. And the availability online means people can keep reading their favorite magazines on their phones, tablets and laptops at home despite the lockdown, as well as ensure they are accessing verified news from established sources

During the lockdown, we’ve seen the biggest surge in readership of Puzzles, Kids, and Education and Tutorials magazines - each category has increased by well over 100%. Other categories we have also seen a big spike in readership includes Lifestyle, Beauty, Gardening, Gaming, Fashion, Arts & Culture, and Home & Renovation.

Where do you envisage the media landscape being in 5 to 10 years? Do you feel there's still a necessity for print?

There have been a number of well-documented trends in media consumption over the last few years: the commencing shift from print into digital, increased on-demand streaming of content, the growth of smartphone usage, the growing desire of consumers to control how and when they access content. Organisations need to be quick to adapt to these trends if they want to get embedded in their consumers’ lives.

Digital was previously seen as a challenge to print, but we’re now seeing many publishers that have come far in exploring digital opportunities such as optimising readership through data insights. The lockdown experience has contributed with further challenges - publishers need a diverse set of revenue streams and to explore new digital ways to monetize. These days, the newsstand is just one part of the bigger picture when it comes to distribution and discovery.

There will still be quality print magazines in the future - but diversification is key. We expect that the digital penetration of magazines will, in years to come, reach that of other media industries, such as music and film.

What else is next for Readly?

Readly will continue to lead the digital magazine transformation in our core markets as well as through expansion in new geographies and beyond. Our focus going forward is to keep growing through a continued increase in the number of subscribers, adding more inspiring, engaging and entertaining content to our platform, and making it even more accessible than ever before.