It’s interesting to look back at the origins of Cosmopolitan Magazine, seeing its first subscription number range (in the 25,000 range), what it has now become: a modern day success. It’s almost amazing how the content has evolved over the years, from a unique family magazine in the late 1800s, to what is now a women-only demographic.
Before cosmopolitan magazine experienced worldwide success, the initial founders and publishers (Schlicht & Field) went out of business just 2 years after the company’s launch. Only after ED Walker, a former editor at Harper’s Monthly, bought the rights to Cosmopolitan magazine did the business really take off. He was not satisfied with the old way of doing things, with an innovative sense he introduced book reviews, fiction series and color illustrations into the magazine.
Just 1 year after Cosmopolitans gained popularity, ED Walker sold the company to John Brisben Walker, who quickly hired some of the best writers in the country. He then opened a free correspondence school, which he had to withdraw almost immediately after only 2 weeks, over 20,000 people enrolled.
Cosmopolitan magazine was later sold to William Randolph Hearst in 1905. He began expanding the magazine by employing top investigative writers and journalists. Some of the best articles written came from William Hearst’s recruiting sense, he employed Alfred Henry Lewis, David Graham Philips, Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis and George Bernard Shaw who wrote some of the most famous articles. for your time
As decades passed, the magazine shifted from strictly articles to novellas and short stories, sales soared (1.7 million copies in circulation) and over 5 million in advertising revenue by 1930. Cosmopolitan magazine proved an incredible success. , after World War II magazine. sales passed the 2 million mark. Unfortunately, the demand for magazine content waned in the 1950s, circulation figures dwindling to just over a million, despite reduced revenues cosmopolitan magazine subscriptions remained a profitable venture, even today, Cosmopolitan is one of the most subscribed magazines in the world.