Inside Golf April 2020 cover

Inside Golf to return after three-month print magazine hiatus

Outdoor Sports Publishing chose to pause its Inside Golf magazine during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because it didn’t feel comfortable requesting advertising spend from its clients during such an uncertain time. 

After a three-month break due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Outdoor Sports Publishing will re-launch its monthly Inside Golf magazine in August. 

The Inside Golf brand includes a monthly print magazine with a circulation of over 40,000, a weekly e-newsletter sent to a database of over 34,600 readers, and a Facebook community of over 21,000 followers. Pre-COVID-19, the print magazine averaged 90 to 110 advertisers per edition across a range of print advert sizes. 

Sales success isn’t just about selling an ad

Golf clubs, golf facilities and golf businesses around Australia began to experience restrictions in March due to the social distancing rules put in place to decrease the spread of the virus. 

“We felt it would have been inappropriate to call clients and request their advertising dollars during this chaotic and uncertain time,” explained Inside Golf Publisher Sam Arthur in a statement on the magazine’s website. 

“Businesses across the industry have been hit extremely hard after a tumultuous six months of drought, fires and COVID-19 — and were (and still are) consolidating expenses to build up cash reserves for spring…or in many cases to simply stay afloat — so I couldn’t ask our five state representatives to call golf businesses and “sell” during this time. We know very well how difficult it has become to run a business.

“Instead, we chose to continue (as we always have) to proactively support clubs and the larger industry in any way we could — like offering to promote the hardest-hit clubs/businesses via our online, email and social media community, or simply travelling to some of these clubs and towns (when and where it was allowed, of course) and giving them our custom. The Aussie golf community is a close-knit, supportive group, so like Aussies always do, we help each other out,” Arthur said.   

In a 2019 interview, Arthur told the Targeted Media Services Network (TMSN) that the brand also boasts long-term support from its clients, with some of its advertisers continually supporting the magazine for between 9-14 years. 

“This long-time support isn’t just about us selling an ad. We find out how we can help each and every partner (both large and small), and create an ongoing working relationship to help them grow their business. It’s about working together to determine the correct timing for a campaign, creating a plan throughout the year, and then going above and beyond to provide high-quality deliverables that achieve results,” Arthur told TMSN. 

Inside Golf’s August edition return 

Arthur and his team are planning a bumper return to print with the Inside Golf August 2020 edition, promoting golf across the country. 

“Inside Golf, as well as golf across Australia, will bounce back very quickly as we head into spring, the golf majors, The Ryder Cup, summer and Christmas,” Arthur said. 

“We believe golf will boom big time! And with overseas travel still off the cards, our readers will be choosing to have a hit locally, playing golf all over this country, especially in regional areas. And we’ll be there to help clubs and facilities get the word out.”

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