The three popular magazines to which I subscribe feature at least one article per issue on weight loss, childhood obesity, how to deal with co-workers/in-laws, budgeting, and how to better relate to your mate. While this is the content I expect to see in a popular magazine, I do sometimes crave more entertaining and/or educational articles by experts, who needn’t all be doctors and budget consultants.

Popular magazines make the simple, concise information contained in scholarly publications seem like an oasis. There’s no denying that popular consumer magazines and STM journals are two completely different animals, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn a thing or two from the magazine rack:

Covers

Simply comparing the covers of a popular magazine and a scholarly journal shows marked differences. Some pop magazine covers can be overwhelming, but they do draw us in and make us excited to dive in. A distilled version of the popular magazine cover: a compelling picture + a headline that creates urgency and excitement = newsstand curb appeal that not only gets your current subscribers excited to see what’s inside but also attracts new readers.

On-Time Delivery

Would we be as loyal to our favorite popular magazine if it was six months behind in publication? Although many STM publications can be described as niche, few are the only publication in their field. As with popular magazines, our readers always have other options, so on-time delivery is important.

The Must-Have Factor

The all-of-the-most-savvy-fashionistas-subscribe-to-this-magazine marketing strategy serves popular magazines well. People depend on the popular magazine to tell them how to wear their clothes this fall or what new hairstyle is in. For STM publications, developing a reputation that every-heart-surgeon-who-is-any-heart-surgeon subscribes to your journal may be a bit more difficult to achieve. After all, we’re not talking about the subjective views of a celebrity stylist but concrete scientific research. However, the must-have factor can be achieved through quality, applicable papers and a rock-solid review process. Speed is also a key factor here. Being the first to report on ground-breaking research in your field assures that readers will view your journal as a vital part of their libraries.

Advertising

Some journals have an aversion to advertising, but the truth is that advertising can bring in a lot of revenue. STM publications know who they are trying to reach and hit a perfect bullseye for content the reader is interested in. Such a precisely targeted audience can be very valuable to advertisers. Allowing relevant, quality advertising in your publication can generate revenue and increase page counts, and although it may sound counterintuitive, attracting quality advertisers can even give a publication a sense of legitimacy in some fields.

Digital Content

Popular magazines have figured out how to keep a balance of open access and restricted content. They release enough free content to keep their brand in front of us without diluting the content available only in the magazine itself. Rather than decreasing subscriptions, the open access content of popular magazines makes consumers want to run out and buy the magazine and/or subscribe. Popular magazines are also integrating multimedia content on their websites, keeping dry or over-reported content interesting. This is a trend that has been slow to catch on in STM publishing.

Popular magazines will never be a wealth of scholarly knowledge, and scholarly publications will never be the go-to for the latest hair style. However, learning from each other might do us both good.