What sells and doesn’t sell on a magazine cover is something that keeps editors up nights because it often determines their fate.
Many times it’s all guesswork and alchemy.
But Media Industry Newsletter adds a little science to the mix, each year compiling a list of best- and worst-selling covers for magazines over the past year.
This year, MIN finds that Jennifer Aniston packed magic on the newsstands. It was a best seller for Elle in September, for Redbook and for the July Ladies Home Journal (a shared cover with hubby Brad Pitt).
The Kennedy magic that helped propel Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy Jr. to top newsstand honors in years past did not apply to Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg when she appeared on the cover of Good Housekeeping in October. Of course, MIN points out that it was also on newsstands just after the Sept. 11 attacks.
In fact, with the nation in mourning or at war, many of the monthly magazines posted their worst sellers of the year in the fourth quarter.
Even the strong-selling O, the Oprah Winfrey magazine, produced a clunker in November. Its best seller of the year was in February. All issues of the magazine have Oprah on the cover.
One big exception: Food magazines with their focus on hearth and home scored big after the attacks on America.
Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Southern Living all posted their best sellers of the year with November issues.
Some past stars who bombed out this year: Drew Barrymore was the worst-selling cover for both teen title YM and Biography, while Cate Blanchette did nothing for In Style and W.
Editors who fret when they get panned in The Post’s Monday “Newsstand” column can take solace in that in at least some instances, our rankings turn out to be contrarian indicators.
For instance, we panned the November Men’s Journal with Firefighters on the cover. Turns out it’s the best-selling issue in the history of the Wenner Media owned monthly.