Suggestions for a club that has gone digital?

[Dorking]

My local non league club, Dorking Wanderers has gone digital

to the somewhat dismay of a small but gutted band of collectors (and each week, the away fans too)

As I keep lobbying about it, the 'head of procurement' (yes, really, albeit he's a volunteer) has asked me for suggestions that would make a printed programme more feasible for the club (they weren't selling 'enough')

I can think of:

More articles/reading content (to make it a more attractive read),
Slim it down (ie make the adverts 2 per page etc) so there is a lower page count and then lower cover price,
Joint issues (ie each programme covers 2 games),
Monthly issues (each printed issue covers a whole month)

Any other ideas?

[Maidonian]

dismay of a small but gutted band of collectors <<< acceptance of this?

Each season I expect ours to go the same way and I'm sure one day it will.

I would presume the league related adverts have to be a full page each.

I'll ask how many we print/sell at our home games. I know our print run is relatively low.

[drfc4ever]

Have you explored the cost of getting the digital version printed yourself?

I'm a Donny fan and over the last few seasons we've played Stevenage and Accrington who are/were digital only.

We have about 30 fans who the Supporters Club save programmes for and we managed to download the PDF and print programmes for these games at pretty much £3 per copy. I used printedeasy (google them) and you can put in page numbers/programme size (A5), number of copies etc and it will immediately tell you the cost.

Maybe worth exploring if you can get the interest of a cohort of individuals who are willing to go down this route.

Only problem is you won't get the programmes until after the game, unless you know the person who produces the digital version and can get this in plenty of time in advance of a game to print.

Drop me a message if you want any more info

Cheers
Gavin
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[ndg1860]

I know this may not be a solution, but about 25 years ago I was putting together a programme for a second tier club in Australia. We were able to get a printing company as a sponsor of the programme and thus cut the costs significantly. I know that costs are the primary reason for clubs turning away from printed programmes and this is one way to cut them.

However, we are already into the season. That means that sponsors for the club have already been obtained and to give them an option for inclusion into a new printed programme may require returning to those sponsors and putting the hand out, something they may be reticent in accepting. That is, this sort of thing really should have been done back well prior to the commencement of the season. Anyway, I wish you good luck.

[Tynie Topics]

A bit of context is required.

How much is not enough (selling)?
What's the average attendance?
Is the programme making or losing money?
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[Dorking]

drfc4ever wrote:

Have you explored the cost of getting the digital version printed yourself? ............ Maybe worth exploring if you can get the interest of a cohort of individuals who are willing to go down this route. . Cheers Gavin

Unfortunately the unusual digital route the club has gone down means their digital programme offering isn't in programme / magazine format at all - it is simply a page of links to website articles and webpages.

https://www.zeeon.co.uk/gamehubplus/dorking-wanderers-vs-chippenham-town

Despite this, I have done some copy, paste and snip and made my own 8 page effort from the main articles, but it's not even as good as printing a 'regular' digital programme

[Dorking]

Tynie Topics wrote:

A bit of context is required. How much is not enough (selling)? What's the average attendance? Is the programme making or losing money?

The average home league attendance last season was circa 1850

They dropped down from the National League to the National League South and are looking for every area to cut costs it seems. I expect the average attendanbce this season to be 1400 assuming we are challenging near the top of the table

Last season on several occasions they sold less than 50 copies per game, however still had to provide copies on top for boardroom, players, hospitality etc

Anyway, I have gatered some stuff together and sent it to the chap who is fighting our corner. The club have already had negative feedback about the lack of a programme and do understand the need to do the right thing.

I am hoping as a comprimise that they move to a digital publisher that also sells printed subscriptions to fans, and have forwarded details of such a company to the club.

Aside from my suggestions at the top of the thread (such as joint issues or just publishing in a 'printable magazine format') I have also supplied the club with some useful arguments and stats which were in this article -

https://digitalmarketingsolutionssummit.co.uk/briefing/getting-sentimental-why-printed-football-programmes-still-matter/#:~:text=Glen%20Eckett%2C%20Head%20of%20Marketing,heights%20and%20add%20to%20the

which covers sentimentality and souvenir value, digital exclusion for older people, collectibility, innivation and the potential for hybrid programmes whilst still giving traditionalists what they crave.

I loved this bit:

"With 72% of consumers preferring to read printed versions of books and magazines, it’s easy to see the long-term value of the printed football programme, with it providing a single, reliable source of information for a match. Older age groups are also at risk of becoming alienated without the option of printed programmes, with over 75s highlighted as the age group least likely to use the internet and only 15 per cent of the nearly two million offline individuals having an interest in getting online at all."

[Dorking]

Thank you all for your thoughts and interest. I think I have a fair chance of turning the tide on this one.

[Tynie Topics]

Dorking wrote:

They dropped down from the National League to the National League South and are looking for every area to cut costs it seems. I expect the average attendanbce this season to be 1400 assuming we are challenging near the top of the table Last season on several occasions they sold less than 50 copies per game, however still had to provide copies on top for boardroom, players, hospitality etc

50? wow, that's a terrible ratio of sales to attendance 1:28

I can understand why they have ditched it given that ratio.

Good luck turning it around.
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[Maidonian]

Oh the irony...

Eastleigh – Attendance - 1379 - 150 printed, 87 sold, the remainder were hospitality, pre-sales and some complimentary copies with 25 in total left.

Altrincham – Attendance - 1027 - 60 printed, 39 sold, remainder were hospitality and pre-sales.

Barnet – Bank Holiday Monday - 105 printed....

followed by...

I have been informed by the club that the programme will go ‘digital only’ on matchday with immediate effect from Dagenham game onwards. The programme will be available as a digital download.

[Tynie Topics]

Maidonian wrote:

Altrincham – Attendance - 1027 - 60 printed, 39 sold, remainder were hospitality and pre-sales.

Jeezo, are they hiding the programmes so nobody can see them?
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[Maidonian]

Tynie Topics wrote:

Maidonian wrote: Altrincham – Attendance - 1027 - 60 printed, 39 sold, remainder were hospitality and pre-sales. Jeezo, are they hiding the programmes so nobody can see them?

There was no segregation at that game so the programmes would have been readily available for anyone to buy at the Club Shop.

[Tynie Topics]

Maidonian wrote:

There was no segregation at that game so the programmes would have been readily available for anyone to buy at the Club Shop.

Do they not have sellers at the entrances ?
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[Maidonian]

Not that I'm aware of.

[Dorking]

Whenever I have been to a game at Maidenhead I have always pre ordered my programme at the same time I have bought a match ticket online, its a no brainer

Same at Ebbsfleet

More clubs should do it, gives the club a better idea of demand, reduces waste

The pile of progs at both clubs has been very small, so I have always been glad they have the facility to pre-buy one

[Tynie Topics]

Maidonian wrote:

Not that I'm aware of.

Well there's your answer as to why they don't sell many, I mean it's not rocket science. It's as if some clubs want the programme to fail.
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[Maidonian]

Tynie Topics wrote:

Maidonian wrote: Not that I'm aware of. Well there's your answer as to why they don't sell many, I mean it's not rocket science. It's as if some clubs want the programme to fail.

Which the club have ultimately wanted to achieve for quite some time.

Mind you even when there was a programme seller, judging by the number of unsold issues over the years, the uptake has never been good nor, I suspect, profitable.

[Tynie Topics]

Maidonian wrote:

Which the club have ultimately wanted to achieve for quite some time. Mind you even when there was a programme seller, judging by the number of unsold issues over the years, the uptake has never been good nor, I suspect, profitable.

I have a little experience of this. I edit a programme for a club on gates of 250, it sells around 40 copies per game (a 1:6 ratio is fairly consistent) and makes a profit with no advertising revenue. Club only prints 50, and are sold at the entrance. As long as 30 are sold we're in profit.

Key to it is only printing as many as you know you're going to sell, stop giving them away in hospitality and make them available at the entrances to the ground. If you're not selling them either outside or inside the turnstiles you're already on the back foot. A good printer also helps who doesn't charge the earth.

Club not interested? try and get supporters involved in production.

A bit of thought and effort and it should be near impossible to make a loss. Sadly an increasing amount of clubs do neither.
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[Maidonian]

Tynie Topics wrote:

Maidonian wrote: Which the club have ultimately wanted to achieve for quite some time. Mind you even when there was a programme seller, judging by the number of unsold issues over the years, the uptake has never been good nor, I suspect, profitable. I have a little experience of this. I edit a programme for a club on gates of 250, it sells around 40 copies per game (a 1:6 ratio is fairly consistent) and makes a profit with no advertising revenue. Club only prints 50, and are sold at the entrance. As long as 30 are sold we're in profit. Key to it is only printing as many as you know you're going to sell, stop giving them away in hospitality and make them available at the entrances to the ground. If you're not selling them either outside or inside the turnstiles you're already on the back foot. A good printer also helps who doesn't charge the earth. Club not interested? try and get supporters involved in production. A bit of thought and effort and it should be near impossible to make a loss. Sadly an increasing amount of clubs do neither.

I'd been involved in the programme production at the club for forty years having been "editor" at least three times and a contributor to practically every issue during that period.

Some clubs are very fortunate to have a wonderful team of contributors to their programmes (I think particularly of Wealdstone at our level) but what I used to find so disheartening was that you'd spend hours putting together a programme and then sell so few. Apparantly this season, just three people took up the offer of the subscription to every home issue.

I always yearned to produce something similar to the 1960's issues with 12 page programmes just containing the necessary information - the team line-up's, results and fixtures, a league table and any relevant club news because you could readily make a profit on an issue like that.

However, the insistence of Leagues to feature all their advertising and sponsorship material in the programmes (usually stipulating that they must be full page size each) scuppered that idea.

I'd always realised that people wanting printed material would ultimately decline and I think we've reached that stage.

[Tynie Topics]

Maidonian wrote:

I'd been involved in the programme production at the club for forty years having been "editor" at least three times and a contributor to practically every issue during that period. Some clubs are very fortunate to have a wonderful team of contributors to their programmes (I think particularly of Wealdstone at our level) but what I used to find so disheartening was that you'd spend hours putting together a programme and then sell so few. Apparantly this season, just three people took up the offer of the subscription to every home issue. I always yearned to produce something similar to the 1960's issues with 12 page programmes just containing the necessary information - the team line-up's, results and fixtures, a league table and any relevant club news because you could readily make a profit on an issue like that. However, the insistence of Leagues to feature all their advertising and sponsorship material in the programmes (usually stipulating that they must be full page size each) scuppered that idea. I'd always realised that people wanting printed material would ultimately decline and I think we've reached that stage.

The sale of programmes has declined - that is without argument - that doesn't mean that the programme is dead, far from it. It has a place.

It sounds like you've more than done your bit over a very long period of time but the club are happy to see the programme's demise. The fact they don't pro-actively sell it underlines that, what other outcome were they expecting?

It does frustrate me when clubs put forward reasons to stop printing programmes which, almost always, is a load of piffle.
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