Portfolio publisher: Negative reaction isn't unusual

David Carey, the publisher of new business magazine Conde Nast Portfolio, said at the 2007 Folio: Show luncheon on Monday that the criticism about the publication isn’t unusual based on his past experience, according to a post on the Folio web site.

The post stated, “‘Launching a big, thick business magazine in 2007, who thought that was possible?’ said Carey. Â

“Carey said that dealing with the criticism and nay-saying he experienced working with Smart Money and House & Garden prepared him for much of the negative reaction to Portfolio from the competition and bloggers. ‘It’s the job of your competitors to do everything they can to slow you down,’ Carey said. ‘Your job is to use the flexibility of your new product to outthink the legacy competition.’

“Staying close to his market is key. Carey puts his own business card in each issue of Portfolio under the title, ‘Open for Business, Open to Feedback,’ a practice that’s yielded hundreds of responses to which Carey says he’s responded to every one. ‘When they get a prompt reply from an actual person, it humanizes the product,’ Carey said.”

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