Who do you compete with when you have no competition? The answer is yourself. In fact, the healthy competitor is always at odds with themselves, the ache to push harder, faster and more effectively should always be the mantra of the individual and company. Last month, we recognized the massive strides we have made in a year’s time. Because we have no other domestic competition to contend with, we felt that the same ought to go for the latest edition of The Watercraft Journal By The Numbers. In June’s review, we celebrated an unprecedented 30-percent growth in its year-to-year readership. Increasing the industry-leading magazine by nearly a third is no small feat and for July, the growth curve continues.

Yet, how? Are there more personal watercraft enthusiasts coming into the market? The answer is yes and no. As we’ve continued to grow, so has our presence meaning existing PWC enthusiasts have only just recently come to enjoy our professionally-written, unique content produced and published daily. And of course, no other media in our industry produces as much or as consistently as we do. Equally, persons new to the sport yet savvy when it comes to digital research have come across one of our literally thousands of published articles, and have become regular readers. That’s the joy of being present through so many digital formats, we’re pretty much everywhere you are (except Snapchat. Seriously, what’s with that?).

On the same note, companies actively advertising with The Watercraft Journal are enjoying a thrust of new viewership, site visits, email inquiries and new and return business. Why? Because their sponsored articles are drawing the eyes of interested and/or curious enthusiasts looking to maximize the enjoyment from their PWC. Because their advertisements are speaking to the right audiences, those within the buying demographic (not just 20-year-olds scouring pages looking for bikini-clad eye candy). Because, The Watercraft Journal has over a quarter-million annual readers who came looking specifically for PWC-related material. They didn’t accidentally click a link on a motorcycle forum that we owned (we don’t own any forums), or stumble upon us after searching a misleading hyperlink.

And as we’ve said before, for “those companies already working together with us, they enjoy access to the largest engaged and informative content-consuming audience in our industry. We carefully craft each article to be both provoking and educating, informational and entertaining. And, unlike any other resource in the PWC industry, we publish every single day, Monday-through-Friday. There’s no lapse of months between issues, weeks between updates or even days between Facebook posts. We are the only reliable source for consistent content. That’s what brings people back each and every day.” And for those who aren’t advertising with us, hopefully this article will convince you of what you’re missing out on:

July 2015

July 2016

A Rising Tide of Readership
Of the two charts above, you’ll notice that this year’s July doesn’t show any remarkable peaks and/or valleys. The reason being consistency. Rather, we’re growing in readership like a rising tide, elevating every level. The Watercraft Journal is welcoming more and more readers, and at an accelerated, exponential rate. Last month was very similar to this, and next month is expected to do the same (that is, if not better as we’ll be announcing the 2017 lineups for both Yamaha and Sea-Doo). People have come to reply upon us, and that’s something we don’t take lightly. And that responsibility to our readership is why we grow. No other magazine is growing as quickly as The Watercraft Journal and that’s just the beginning.

July 2015
Total number unique readers: 31,543*
Total number of articles read: 67,887
Percentage of new readers: 68.5%

July 2016
Total number unique readers: 40,708*
Total number of articles read: 75,796
Percentage of new readers: 68.6%

*This number is considered equal to an individual sale of a single copy of a magazine.

A Reliable Schedule of Publishing
It’s sad that so many outlets have come and gone, fizzling out after a few short weeks or months of rapid publishing. We’ve all seen it before and not just with those within the personal watercraft industry. A new site will spring up, spam as many groups and persons within the industry with hyperlinks to new content, burst through a cache of content in the first few weeks, and then fizzle out. It’s the Roman candle of publishing. On the flipside, The Watercraft Journal has never missed a day in its three-and-a-half years of publishing. As we publish industry news, product reviews, ride reports and more – more regularly than anywhere else – we’ve learned that PWC enthusiasts have come to depend on new and interesting content every single day. Unlike anybody else, The Watercraft Journal maintains a strict publishing schedule of developing and publishing new and informative content about its advertisers and their products, as well as the industry and sport as a whole.

News articles published in June 2015: 24
Feature articles published in June 2015: 13
Total feature word count: 10,501 words*

News articles published in July 2015: 25
Feature articles published in July 2015: 11
Total feature word count: 10,409 words*

*When this number is translated to print publication standards, it equals a 130-page magazine. Please note that this number does not include an average of two uniquely-written news articles published daily.

A Responsibility to Bring WCJ to Its Readers
Go to where the people are. Don’t expect them to come to you. Gone are the days of “If you build it, they will come.” Sorry folks, but you’re going to have to find Shoeless Joe these days. That’s why The Watercraft Journal brings its content to the masses through our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and weekly newsletters. By offering our content freely and easily – whether it’s via a desktop, a laptop or a portable device, anyone can read it. But if you want to grow you need to let them know what’s new. This isn’t rocket science, yet so many outlets fail to do this one primary service – and that is why we’re the industry leader and, well. You know the rest.

July Facebook likes: 17,013
Top Five countries: United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico

Isn’t it Time to Join The Winning Side?
There are so many companies benefiting from advertising with The Watercraft Journal for the very reasons listed above. Yet, conversely, there are just as many (if not more so) yet to enjoy the ease of access, and the immediacy that working together with The Watercraft Journal brings them to a whole new audience of personal watercraft enthusiasts. Getting the word out about your product can be difficult, and relying on a few sponsored racers is only speaking to a tiny demographic. Put your products in front of more enthusiasts faster and easier by joining The Watercraft Journal as an advertiser today. To inquire more about advertising with The Watercraft Journal, please email kevin.shaw@shawgroupmedia.com