YOU

Do you guys ever think about dying?

Not your average magazine cover line. YOU is not your average newspaper supplement.

This was 28th April 2024 when, using the famous quote from Barbie, we produced a Death Issue. Inside, some our finest journalists - Lynn Barber, Julie Burchill, David Aaronovitch among them - shared their thoughts on the most universal theme of all with honesty, humour and warmth.

It’s this sort of surprising cover that keeps 1.3 million loyal readers coming back to see what we’ll conjure up next.

For example, as the June election approached, we wanted to show a side to Keir Starmer the public rarely see. Journalist Frances Hardy and photographer Chris Floyd accompanied the Arsenal season-ticket holder to the Emirates – from pre-match pints with his oldest friends to walking to the stadium with his son.

This up-close access resulted in the cover line: Father, footie fan, husband, socialist, future PM?

Desperately seeking the real Keir Starmer, down at his local pub.

When we photographed multimillion-selling author Marian Keyes, we tapped into her love of Wes Anderson, channelling his colourful aesthetic for a quirky, joyful cover.

While we like an element of surprise, there are some certainties. YOU will always serve up a mix of glossy fashion shoots and expert beauty intel, plus the very best in interiors, food, health and travel.

Features range from LOL funny to ‘who knew?’ informative, but the beating heart of YOU is the stories people choose to share – whether a slice of life, like the novelist reliving her time as a nightclub bouncer in 1980s Belfast (31st March 2024) or emotionally charged, such as the daughter whose parents chose joint euthanasia (28th April 2024). All human life is in YOU magazine.

Liz Jones’s Diary continues to be a much-loved column and since going behind the paywall in January 2024 has consistently been a top performer in driving new subscriptions. This year, we added to our stable of columnists with Made In Chelsea star and influencer (1.5 million followers) Louise Thompson. In her column, Unfiltered, she shares the gritty reality of life beyond Instagram, also one of the biggest subscription drivers of this year.

The MailOnline YOU channel goes from strength to strength with dedicated daily digital content. Our social media presence continues to grow with an Instagram reach of 13 million vs. 5.9 million the previous year, so a 55% increase; TikTok views are up 96% to 10.9 million vs 306k the previous year.

Commercially, YOU proves that print is still powerful. The gifting issue (19th November 2023) grossed the most revenue since 2nd December 2018.

New or lapsed advertisers are coming back because they know that advertising with YOU is guaranteed to shift stock – some of these brands include Tatcha, Nobody’s Child, Sisley, Elizabeth Arden, Versace Fragrances, Geox, Hobbs and Mango. From gold standard journalism to creative excellence, it’s no wonder YOU has more readers than any other newspaper supplement.