Hi, this is going to be just a lot of my thoughts on The Awl, so if you are more interested in the sneakers, rap music, and/or web-lolz that I normally post, feel free to just skip this, what I believe will be, very long post about the internet.
So yesterday, Choire posted this graph from The Awl’s Sitemeter that showed the site’s growth and progress thus far, which has been pretty cool. The last few months in particular, capped by the End of the ‘00’s essays which were all received fairly well, have been exceptionally nice. But(?) the most commonly asked question, or underlying sentiment, whenever someone compliments the quality of the editorial content is something like this: Can a site with this sort of “smart” content succeed as a business?
The short answer is, “Yes, I think so,” and the slightly longer answer is, “Yes, I think so? But it really, really depends.”
I think to most accurately assess the situation, and for the sake of context, you have to take a step back and ask a broader question, “Can anyone make money on the internet when the business is contingent on advertising?”* My answer to this question is a very vehement yes, but again, it depends. To me, the real make or break point isn’t the “smartness” of the content, but moreso how that content is created, packaged, and then sold.
For example, if you were to compare two, not completely dissimilar-ish, websites like New York Magazine vs. HuffPo, I think the same people who are asking the, “Can a smart magazine make money,” question would probably think that New York Mag’s content was “smarter” than that of HuffPo’s. But clearly New York Magazine as a business, when comparing just which of the two makes more money, is far and away the winner. So then the question is less about how “smart” or “dumb” the content is, but much more about the cost at which it’s created in relation to what it’s sold at.
Every now and again, the comparison of The Awl to Spy is made. For those who don’t know, and to be honest, I barely know, Spy was a magazine that in its short run became the holy grail of media achievements, smart, witty, etc., but unfortunately it was never a cash positive business and was forced to shut down (thanks Wikipedia!).
The thing is, I worked at a magazine, and I got to glance at the P&L for the print side every now and again, and let me tell you, paper is expensive! So is printing! So is distribution! So are lots and lots of editors, designers, assistants, and a space to house all of those people, not to mention all of the random crap that goes into all of this stuff. So, while a comparison to Spy is flattering, especially for Choire and Balk, I don’t think as businesses they’re really comparable at all. And really, a magazine’s operating costs will never be able to compete with that of a website (or at least they shouldn’t)**.
So what does this all have to do with The Awl? Well, I think the biggest value proposition of The Awl right now is its leanness. Obviously in a lot of ways, both on the content and operational side, this can be a detriment as well***, but I think, at this very moment, and for a little while longer, we’ll be able to make this current configuration work.
I mean, honestly, there’s a lot that I don’t like about the site as it is. Everything from the spacing of the gutters and how they hurt the legibility, to the way the comments look and work, to the way content is presented, and a really a long, long list of other things. But in spite of all of that, people seem to be finding the content and coming back.
Even in September when we saw our initial jump in traffic, I didn’t expect us to retain most of those users, and thought/expected the audience would settle back down to the number it had been previously, especially considering the normal drop that happens with the holidays in November, but before even Thanksgiving rolled around, we had grown month-over-month. The same thing happened again in December, and this was even before we had done the End of the ‘00’s series.
My main takeaways from all of that was essentially these three points: a website with below average usability, writers who were seriously overworked, and still (what I think on some level) with an identity crisis was able to garner a decent amount of traffic. So what’s next then?
Since the middle of December or so, I’ve been really excited about January 4th. As things picked up steam, the holiday stood in the way as period in which things would slow down for a second, and the 4th always seemed to be the day when we could finally get up and start running. And, as it’s now officially January 5th, I’m still pretty amped.
I’m excited to finally get a better version of the site, one that I will be proud of how it looks and functions (at least for a day or two before I realize it has a ton of huge flaws) up and running in the coming weeks. I’m excited to be partnering with brands that also believe in The Awl and want to work with us and reach our audience who have proven themselves to be very loyal and supportive through the whole thing. And lastly, I’m excited to show that if you are smart about how you structure your business, work hard, and come up with creative solutions, even within the kind of lame existing display advertising landscape, you can actually win this game.
So can The Awl make money? Yes, I very much think so.
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*Sidebar: I always meant to respond to this chat that Ricky put on his blog awhile back, mainly because I disagreed based on the argument outlined above. But, I mean, clearly Rick’s done alright for himself thus far, so I’m sure his own argument and reasoning is pretty sound too.
**It’s important to note that I like a lot of magazines, and think there’s a way for them to exist, but it’s probably not in the way that they’re currently working. IMO at least.
***One of the things I feel the most apologetic towards Choire and Balk about is the lack of editorial bandwidth we’ve been able to put together. It’s really been a long road to this point, and there have been a lot of “pull ourselves up from our bootstraps”-type moments that, in retrospect, were very much for the best; but still, imagine if they didn’t have to churn out posts, but could also spend time just really doing those things that are so good when they have time to breathe and think. Soon it will be there, and I’m really excited for that.
This is encouraging, we think.
