Circulation vs Readership
Circulation and readership are tools in the hands of newspaper and magazine owners to decide on the rates for advertisers as high circulation means that the publication is read by more people. This is what advertisers are interested in when they look to improve upon the visibility of their products and services. However, circulation and readership are not synonymous, and there are differences between the two that will be discussed in this article.
What is the meaning of Circulation?
Circulation is one figure that all publishers of magazines and newspapers keep an eye upon and want it to go up, up, and up all the time. This is because higher the circulation, higher is the chance of getting revenue from advertisers. In fact, advertisers themselves run to place their advertisements in newspapers with the highest circulation in a place. To be ahead of others, every magazine publishing house needs to have a clear understanding of his latest circulation figure, in addition to the circulation figures, of his closest competitors.
To be sure, circulation is the number of newspaper copies that are distributed on an average on a given day. However, this figure includes both paid circulation as well as newspapers that are distributed free of cost. This is what advertisers need to be aware of when deciding upon placing ads in a newspaper.
Despite circulation being so important for a newspaper or a magazine, no publishing house can make false claims about its circulation. This is because a publishing house has to get its circulation audited by an independent body such as Audit Bureau of Circulations. This is one way to assure advertisers about the authenticity of the figure of circulation.
What is the meaning of Readership?
Readership is a figure that is very important for the advertisers as it tells them in how many hands does a copy of a newspaper go into. It is natural for a household to subscribe to a copy of a magazine, but this copy is then read by all members of the household. This is why readership is a figure that is always higher than circulation. In fact, a single copy of a newspaper passes into the hands of all the employees of an office. There is a relationship between circulation and readership and in general readership is believed to be a figure three times higher than circulation as it is understood that a copy of newspaper or a magazine goes in at least 3 people’s hands once it has been bought and brought into an officer or a home.
What is the difference between Circulation and Readership?
• While both circulation and readership are important for a newspaper owner, it is the circulation that holds promise in terms of revenue
• Circulation is the actual number of copies of a newspaper distributed in a place on a given day and it includes both free copies as well as paid copies purchased or subscribed by customers
• Advertisers are interested in circulation of a newspaper or a magazine, and higher the circulation, higher are the ad rates set by the publishers
• Readership is a figure that is 2.5 to 3 times higher than circulation and depends upon the size of a household in a place
• Readership refers to a figure that tells how many hands does a newspaper pass into on an average