Website Magazine, an Interview with Pete Prestipino

I’ve been a subscriber to Website Magazine for a couple of years now and it’s one of the few publications I actually look forward to receiving every month. I think the main reason for this is that I know the articles are going to be relevant to something that currently I’m interested in or want to know more about. Oh, and did I mention that a subscription to Website Magazine is free!

A recent chat with Pete Prestipino, the Editor in Chief of Website Magazine, reveals more on what makes Website Magazine so unique.

Marketme.com: How long has Website Magazine been publishing?

Pete: We launched in November 2005 as Website Services Magazine at the ad:tech trade show in New York. One year later we changed our name to Website Magazine as we thought it more reflective of the content we had been publishing and it gave us more flexibility for the content we would create in the future. We’ve also featured a weblog for the past two years which has really taken off the past six months or so as we begin publishing more frequently and the demand for our content increases.

Marketme.com: How did the idea of Website Magazine come about?

Pete: At the time there were only a handful of print magazines having anything to do with Web business. There were those that focused on certain aspects of the Web like design, affiliate programs or hosting, but those publications were (and for the most part still are) limiting in the sense that they do not provide a holistic understanding of all the variables essential to Web success and, more importantly, how they interrelate. We believed that if someone could create a magazine that addresses all the issues of importance to website owners simultaneously, they would reach the largest possible audience and in turn generate the widest influence, attention, revenue, etc. We created the first “beta” issue in stealth mode in less than 90 days and the feedback after our initial launch was so positive that we immediately set to work on establishing more formal long-term plans.

Marketme.com: With so much information readily available, what makes Website Magazine so unique?

Pete: Two things make Website Magazine unique. First, it’s a printed publication. No matter how many hours are in a day, people like to get away from the screen if even only occasionally. Having a print magazine fits in with this perfectly because interest in a topic like Web business does not wane when you step away from your computer - those that seek success online are constantly thinking about ways to improve, and the magazine is perfect for that as it provides an opportunity to really think about issues - and it’s easy to pass along and share. Second, it’s been my personal mission to provide very practical information and actionable advice that anyone, regardless of their skill or experience level, can use to improve their website and their bottom line. There is a lot of information online; the problem is that you can’t read it all. By covering the essentials of how to achieve Web success (not success stories), we really differentiate ourselves.

Marketme.com: Today’s web professional needs to know about a broad range of topics to be or stay successful, how does Website Magazine decide which topics are most relevant to write about?

Pete: That’s really our greatest challenge. We have readers of every skill level and at every level of their experience with online business. We meet that challenge by developing themes for each issue and feature articles which meet the demands of all of our readers. For example, our next issue is about analytics. Books have been written on analytics so it would be presumptuous of us to cover everything everybody would ever want to know about analytics. Instead, we cover the absolute basics (for example, you might read an article brief about the difference between a page view and a visit) and then pay equal attention to the heavier analytics questions of the day. For example, an article will appear soon about how to calculate the lifetime value of e-commerce shoppers from traffic generated at pay-per-click search engines. We really pay attention to our reader feedback and industry issues and it greatly influences the type of content we publish - for example, next year we’ve got issues dedicated exclusively to Ecommerce and SEO - ongoing areas of interest for those seeking Web success.

Marketme.com: What type of growth has Website Magazine experienced?

Pete: The growth by all accounts has been exceptional. We started with just a few thousand people within our personal networks, hit the Internet tradeshow circuit quickly and now have a BPA audited circulation of well-over 100,000 readers. We typically sign-up several thousand new readers each month. Our greatest referrer of new subscribers is our own readers and I think that says a lot about the quality of the magazine.

Marketme.com: Is Website Magazine involved or associated with any charities? If so, who or what?

Pete: This is one of the things I am most proud of in relation to working at Website Magazine. While our readers were excited about a print magazine on Web success, many voiced concerns over environmental effects. In response, we started a foundation in partnership with Sustainable Harvest International to plant one tree on behalf of every subscriber to Website Magazine. ReplaceATree.org had so much success in 2007 that we’re continuing it through 2008. We take our commitment to creating a sustainable environment very seriously and are proud to providing an opportunity like this to the Web community. Website Magazine and ReplaceATree are currently working on a mashup that will display the location of the tree that was planted on a subscriber’s behalf. For those that want to plant a tree independently, visit ReplaceATree.org.

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