Older Gurus Are Retiring, Internet Mastery Courses Are Growing
PRLog - Jan. 26, 2015 - TAMPA, Fla. -- Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., a leading market research publisher since 1979, has released the 10th edition of one of its best-selling studies, a 390-page report entitled: The U.S. Market For Self-Improvement Products & Services. This is the ONLY publicly available study about this business.
The study traces the market from 2003-2018F, examining these markets: Infomercials, Holistic Institutes, Self-Help Books & Audiobooks, Motivational Speakers, Websites, Seminars, Personal Coaching, and Training Organizations.
According to Research Director, John LaRosa: "An elite handful of celebrities have leveraged their names to build multi-media empires consisting of: books, tapes, CDs/DVDs, seminars, workshops, websites and online “universities”, personal coaching, infomercials, and consulting. However, there is a “changing of the guard” as older gurus are dying, retiring, and cutting back their road schedules.”
Major Findings:
Market Value… The total U.S. self-improvement market was worth $9.62 billion last year—growing just 1.5% since 2012. We forecast better 5.5% average yearly gains from 2014 to 2018. Weak performance in infomercials and commercial diet programs dragged down market growth, but bright spots remain in corporate training and audiobooks.
Infomercials… Retail sales were hit by the indictment of Kevin Trudeau. Estimated retail sales of self-improvement products slipped 7% to $837 million in 2014. This was a historical low of less than 35% of total infomercial sales. This share is expected to climb to more normal levels over the next four years.
Audiobooks… This is now a $4.2 billion segment for ALL books. Sales have rebounded strongly, 12-13% in each of 2012, 2013, and 2014. Of this total, self-improvement titles account for $590 million— about 14% of all audiobook sales.
Self-improvement Books… A popular book is still the basic starting point for motivational speakers and gurus. There were no self-help blockbusters last year. Self-help titles on Publisher’s Weekly's top seller’s list were mostly diet books. Marketdata estimates that self-improvement book sales were worth $654 million in 2014, up slightly from 2012 levels. We estimate that 14% of New Age bookstore sales are related to self-improvement.
Personal Coaching… The estimated 15,800 active coaches in the U.S. are doing less coaching for individuals, but corporate business is holding up better. This is a $760 million U.S. market, and the “average’ coach makes $51,418/year. Nearly all motivational speakers offer coaching services now. They will teach you how to write books fast, become a highly paid speaker, master Internet money-making systems, fill up your workshops, be more productive, make videos for You Tube—you name it.
Motivational Speakers… This segment’s sales, for the top 9 speakers, were estimated at $200 million last year, up slightly. All 5,000 U.S. speakers take in more than $1 billion per year. Zig Ziglar passed away, as did Stephen Covey and Jim Rohn. Many speakers are aging, retiring, and are cutting back road tours. They’re creating more webinars & online courses to deliver information.
Public Seminars… The three major public seminar companies (Fred Pryor-CareerTrack, National Seminars Group, and Skillpath) all now operate under the umbrella of non-profit universities. This is a moderate growth $335 million market segment, and Hay House is expected to beef up their schedule.
Holistic Institutes & Training Companies… The 16 holistic institutes are still holding their own, attracting about 156,000 people/year and growing moderately, but The Learning Annex closed. Firms such as Hay House, Toastmasters, and Dale Carnegie have grown strongly in recent years, catering to corporate training. They are expected to grow well through 2018.
70% of self-improvement customers are female, middle-aged, affluent, and live on the two U.S. coasts. Most consumers bounce from program to program, without finishing them. They are impatient for quick results.
“Consumers are scrutinizing self-improvement “gurus more carefully. The jail sentence of Kevin Trudeau, perennial pitchman for infomercials, exposed the dark side of the field. More gurus are going online and producing videos and money-making “systems” and “academies”. There is more cross-selling and marketing taking place. The digital delivery of content has been playing a bigger role—which is driving down the cost of self-improvement programs and services. Coaching is still popular. The money lies not so much in coaching itself but in teaching others how to BECOME a coach. Gurus are trying to figure out how to stand out from the growing crowd of self-proclaimed experts.” , according to John LaRosa.
About The Report
The U.S. Market For Self-Improvement Products & Services, published in Jan. 2015, is an independently researched “off-the-shelf” study. The study is 390 pages in length, and contains 54 tables and 50+ competitor profiles. It costs $1,795 and is also sold by individual chapters at lower cost. A free table of contents is available by mail, email or fax. Contact: Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., Regents Park Drive, Suite 120, Tampa, FL 33647, (813) 907-9090. John LaRosa is available for interviews. Marketdata performs custom studies & consulting as well.
A 48 pp. Overview of major findings is available to the public for $99, at www.marketdataenterprises.com.
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$9.6 billion Self-Improvement Market Is In Transition
January 26, 2015 at 10:26 AM EST
