Martha Stewart Living Press Run, 2009

Ever wonder how many copies of Martha Stewart Living get printed each month, and how many of those issues are used to fill subscription orders, how many are sold at newsstands and how many are given away in promotions? Well, since MSLO is a public corporation, all of that information is public. It's actually printed, annually, in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living in the back pages. (In the December, 2009, issue you can find the information on page 248 in a gray, shaded box.) I often like comparing how many issues are printed, year to year, and what the percentage of paid circulation is compared to earlier years of the magazine. The good news is that the magazine is still going strong!

The average number of copies for each issue during the preceding twelve months is 2,641,421, which is the net press run each month. So, imagine 2.6 million copies of Martha Stewart Living fly off the printing presses each month, which is quite astonishing! Here is the breakdown of sales and distribution of MSL each month:

• Paid and/or requested circulation, subscription (paid or requested) is 1,724,035


• Sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS delivery is 348,720


• Total paid and/or requsted circulation: 2,072,755


• Free or nominal-rate distribution by mail (samples, complimentary offers and other free copies is 42,277


• Total distribution: 2,115,031


• Copies not distributed: 526,389


• Total press run: 2,641,421


• 98% of the net press run is paid and/or requested circulation.