Dear ABMInsider,

I’m just going to rip the band aid off right away and give you the news upfront: our rates are going up. Effective immediately, our yearly subscription rates are:

$39.95 + tax = print edition only
$49.95 + tax = print and digital editions
$29.95 + tax = digital edition only

Here’s the backstory, in case you missed it: there’s a worldwide paper shortage. Paper is hard to get; you have to place your order well in advance, and when you can get it, it’s expensive. We just sent our fourth issue of the year to the printer and every single issue this year has cost more than the one before. Same type of paper. Same page count. Same printer. Cumulatively, we are now paying 20% more to print our magazines compared to six months ago.

Then there’s the cost of transportation. Even if you’re Amish and using horse and buggy to get around, you’d have to know that fuel prices have exploded in recent months. A fill-up for my car, a regular four-door sedan, is north of $110. Transportation companies are passing those increases along to their customers, but we ate those costs for as long as we could.

To put this into perspective, a single greeting card with a mass-produced generic message can easily cost $10. Each issue of our magazine is a carefully curated, professionally researched, written and designed award-winning journalistic publication printed on high end Forestry Stewardship Council-certified paper. Our smallest issues are 80 pages. For all that, we were charging only $7.95 plus tax for a single copy ($5.00/copy if you have a year-long subscription).

Elitist, we are not. It was always our intention to keep rates as affordable as possible so that we were accessible to as many people as possible. But, when the mailing—not printing or content creation, just mailing—cost of a single issue rose to 5.09 per copy? Well, altruistic intentions don’t pay the bills.

I know there are people who will point out that we live in a digital age and ask why we don’t give up print altogether. I have a couple of answers to that.

First, I believe print and paper products are more environmentally-friendly than digital devices. Paper is made from trees, which are renewable resources, and they’re biodegradable. The metals and minerals and plastic that go into phones and computers and tablets are neither. Is there room for improvement in both sectors? Absolutely. But I just don’t buy the greenwashing argument for digital consumption.

Second, excessive screen consumption is a known and increasing health issue. The fact we live in a digital age means paper products (especially ones with longevity, like a bi-monthly magazine), are a welcome and necessary break from screen fatigue.

Suffice to say, I’m a fan of the tactile print experience. But for those who prefer digital, we offer that too. The only question, really, is whether we’re charging enough?

 

Dawn Chafe Executive editor & co-owner [email protected]