11 out of 16 biz magazines post first-quarter decline in ad sales

A majority of the 17 business magazines posted a decline in ad sales in the first three months of 2007, according to data from the Magazine Publishers of America analyzed Monday by Talking Biz News.

Eleven magazines saw declines, with five posting increases. Conde Nast Portfolio did not publish in the first three months of 2007.

The biggest declines occurred in the personal finance category, with Smart Money reporting a 17.7 percent drop in ad dollars to $10.5 million in the first three months. Its ad pages fell 21.4 percent. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance fell 17.2 percent in ad dollars to $8.5 million, and its ad pages fell 20 percent. Money magazine saw a 6.3 percent decline in ad dollars to $28.1 million, and a 5.5 percent decline in ad pages to 147.

Among the big business magazines, BusinessWeek fared the worst, with a 15.5 percent decline in ad dollars to $53.9 million and a 19.4 percent drop in ad pages. In comparison, Forbes reported an 8.3 percent drop in ad dollars to $61 million and a 13.2 percent fall in ad pages, while Fortune posted a 1.7 percent increase in ad dollars to just below $50 million for the quarter and a 0.9 percent drop in ad pages.

The biggest gainer, however, was Fast Company, which reported a 35.5 percent increase in ad dollars to $7.2 million, followed by the Economist, which reported a 27.3 percent jump in ad dollars to $31.3 million. Wired magazine also had a strong quarter, with a 22.8 percent increase in ad dollars to $20.5 million.

The only other business magazine to post a gain for the quarter was Inc., which saw a 4.6 increase in ad dollars to $17.9 million. Its major competitors, Entrepreneur and Fortune Small Business, saw declines of 5.8 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively.

See all of the data here.