Being one to never pull any punches, we know many companies in our industry are reticent to spend the money in advertising – particularly with a enthusiast-interest magazine – with so much potentially riding on the soon-to-be-decided political election. Not only do we have the Executive Branch up for grabs, but the Legislative as well; and until such decisions are made and finalized, many of you won’t be making any budgetary commitments. Heck, we’ve got quite a few projects waiting in the wings until we know better how our fiscal future projections look in two weeks’ time. (And not to incur a political firestorm in our comments section whether the election of one candidate will spell certain fiscal doom over another. We’re weighing these comments strictly on projected consumer confidence reports.)

So what is there to say until said time? In short: a whole heck of a lot. The Watercraft Journal openly and freely shares its monthly performance reports, even when the numbers aren’t all that impressive. Why? Because, unlike so many politicians, we earnestly believe in transparency. As the summer months draw to a close, the leaves begin to turn to hues of amber and ocher, and many opt to winterize their PWC and pull out their snowmobiles and side-by-sides, our traffic typically cools to a reasonable degree. Well, at least you’d think so. October’s readership – although understandably decreased – maintained a surprising close number with a record-breaking September.

Moreover, as our Novembers are almost always our lowest trafficked month, The Watercraft Journal’s popularity in Australia and New Zealand has never been higher, buoying our readership through the Northern Hemisphere’s holiday season. And while that spells continued readership for us, that also guarantees continued and perpetual exposure to a vibrant and worldwide audience. For those of you operating retail and e-commerce companies in our industry, this is a boon to what could otherwise be a slowing quarter. Not so! Advertising with The Watercraft Journal is your very best option when it comes to putting your products and services before an audience of truly dyed-in-the-wool personal watercraft enthusiasts.

October 2015

October 2016

Twice The Growth By A Third
In a couple of months, we’re going to reveal a big piece of information that we’ve been tracking for the year: specifically how much The Watercraft Journal is growing. If you see above (and in the breakdown below), you’ll notice a growth of nearly double in the month of October (from 2015 to 2016). This degree of growth is unprecedented and should speak loudly to a company wanting to maintain a healthy and continual rate of marketing exposure year round. Admittedly, were we to scrub the 3-day peak that came with the announcement of the soon-to-be-released 2017 Kawasaki SX-R, our growth would be closer to a third over last year, which is still remarkable. We maintain this steady growth by being reliable in delivering the industry’s best and most timely articles and news without missing a beat. While others let weeks and months go by between posts, we publish Monday-through-Friday without fail.

October 2015
Total number unique readers: 20,504*
Total number of articles read: 50,892
Percentage of new readers: 56.9%

October 2016
Total number unique readers: 39,262*
Total number of articles read: 78,640
Percentage of new readers: 58.6%

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

The Industry’s Only Real Resource
That’s a pretty substantial claim, we know. Yet, when all you see are a few scattered blogs that go weeks and even months in between posts, and a handful of ill-maintained websites, it’s not hard to understand how we can continually rise to the top. Moreover, when so many do opt to post it’s often inconsequential content or poorly developed text. Contrasting, The Watercraft Journal is the only source for professionally-written, magazine-quality content that even surpasses that of those few printed magazines! Our content is regularly shared, cited as a source of standardized content, and even printed out and shared at trade shows and events! This isn’t a yearbook for our close and intimate friends, but a useful, reliable and effective tool to elevate the sport and tie the industry together – both manufacturer and rider, and retailer to customer. No, we’re not just pumping out more content than the other guys – heck, upstart competitors have drowned their readership in spammy posts and bloggish updates.  No, 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 September 2016: 25
Feature articles published in September 2016: 11
Total feature word count: 12,535 words*

News articles published in October 2016: 24
Feature articles published in October 2016: 12
Total feature word count: 12,748 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.

Welcome to The New Media
Remember when all you needed to do was buy a half page ad in Personal Watercraft Illustrated or Jetsports and just wait for the phone to ring? Well, there are still a few companies out there who think that’s how things work today. Unfortunately, such is not the case. With social media enabling so many to be their own promoters, unless you’re wielding a rich marketing background, you’re not doing a good enough job presenting your product before the audience you want. Don’t rely on your Facebook page to access the new clients you’re hoping to grab. Work with the largest and fastest growing audience in the industry – the readership of The Watercraft Journal! We share our daily content via our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and weekly newsletters, as well as with a stellar partnership with the single-largest PWC forum in the world: www.greenhulk.net. By offering our content freely and easily – whether it’s via a desktop, a laptop or a portable device – we ensure that we’re the industry leader.

October Facebook likes: 19,360
Top Five countries: United States, Australia, Canada, France, Japan

We Keep Going and Going…
There’s no reason that you should continue to bank upon your company’s reputation to continue to plod along in this industry. Word of mouth does work, and it works well – but you’re only going to reach those people who already know you and a few of their pals. Let The Watercraft Journal do the work for you by publishing articles and creative content exposing our massive readership to your products and services by initializing an advertising program paired with an editorial calendar of creative and unique written content today! As continue to grow, so does your access to a larger audience of potential customers and clients. Our growth is your growth, so 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