Tag Archives: digital publishing

Consumers “like” magazines best

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Is the magazine medium doomed to extinction as some media pundits predict? Not according to a brand audience report published in April by MPA-The Association of Magazine Media (MPA). ‘Magazine media brands continue to deliver meaningful growth across platforms, engaging consumers in all formats, including social media.,” the report declared.

American magazine brands were growing at a 7.6 percent increase each year, they reported. And, they were engaging their readers across a variety of social media platforms with remarkable results. According to data collected by MPA’s Social Flow platform, “likes” and “followers” of social media totaled 900 million at the end of the first quarter, a 4 percent increase over the previous quarter

In fact, both television and magazine data show that the top 10 magazines reach nearly twice as many people on social media as the top 10 television programs. According to data from Shareablee, magazines generate more social engagement than TV, radio, online media, and newspapers.

“Consumers of all ages have deep and passionate relationships with magazine media,” says MPA CEO Linda Thomas Brooks. Readers engage with magazines on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

While MPA collects data primarily from secular magazines, Christian magazines can find encouragement in the data. Certainly some magazines struggle and over the last five or six years a number of prominent American magazines have closed their print operations and switched to digital format. Many of these are engaging their readers through social media more than ever before

In fact, the global digital magazine market is projected to grow from 14 percent in 2015 to 35 percent in 2020, according to   Business Wire in London. The bold prediction is based on analysis by Technavio, a technology research company. The company explains that the growth of the global digital magazine publishing market is predicated on the increased penetration of the Internet and extensive use of mobile devices.

The lesson for Christian magazines? If you’re publishing the kind of content people want to read and if you’re engaging them across a variety of social media platforms, you have significant potential to grow your audience.

 

Print vs. digital—religious publishers buck the trend

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With digital publishing on the upswing, one would expect religious publishers to be seeing big increases in eBook sales, while print sales decrease. In fact, when it comes to paperback books the opposite is the case in America, according to a report from the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

In the first quarter of 2013, eBook sales were down 0.6 percent compared to the same period last year, AAP reported. Hardcover books were down even more, declining 7 percent. On the other hand, paperback sales rose nearly 4 percent. Despite this, overall religious book sales were down 2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2012.

What does this mean? Possibly that religious readers still prefer to hold the book in their hand, but given the state of the economy are not willing to shell out for the hard cover version.

Young people opt for print

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When students at Penn State decided this summer to start a magazine called Impact, they planned to have both an online and offline presence—that is, a print magazine. “We feel print is really important,” stated co-founder and co-editor Frances Starn. Speaking on the magazine’s Kickstarter video she said “We feel that having people be able to hold the magazine in their hand and see something will help us reach the widest audience possible.”

What? These are college students, the people raised on the Internet, wirelessly connected 24/7. Wouldn’t they prefer to consume content on one of their several devices? Not so, according to a poll released this summer by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. The poll found that 75 percent of young adults aged 16-29 years of age said they have read at least one book in print in the past year, compared with 65 percent of adults 30 and older.

“Younger Americans’ reading habits and library use are still anchored by the printed page,” said Kathryn Zickuhr, a research analyst at Pew Research.  Americans under 30 are just as likely as older adults to visit the library and borrow print books, she said.

Sure, they love their technology, but there’s something about the look and feel of the printed page which they find attractive.

11 Christian magazine professionals from four countries headline Indian training events

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Join the excitement as magazine staff from around the world come together in Bangalore in October to jump start their careers and inject fresh impetus into their magazine ministries. You’ll sit under the teaching of experienced magazine editors, publishers, and designers from the United States, Ukraine, Brazil, and India, and you’ll network with other Christians in magazine publishing from around the world.

Two key training events include a five-day Advanced Magazine Publishing Institute Oct, 8-12 and a four-day  intensive Digital Magazine Publishing Seminar Oct. 14-17. In the Advanced Magazine Publishing Institute you’ll sit in on sessions designed to introduce you to the full spectrum of magazine publishing and you’ll get specialized training in the track of your choice, whether magazine editing, magazine management, or magazine design.  In each track, international teams of three trainers will delve deeper into the secrets of success in magazine publishing, imparting insights, tips, and wisdom gained by years of experience in publishing.

Is the whole area of digital publishing still a mystery to you? Or do you feel like you’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities digital publishing offers to you and your magazine? Then this very full four-day introduction to digital publishing is for you. Whether you’re considering developing a Web site, an app, a video, or e-reader option, you’ll find the information you need to develop your own digital brand strategy. You’ll learn how to develop a business model for your publication, editorial workflow, and production schedule. Two internationally recognized digital publishing experts will discuss emerging trends in digital models and help you to see how you and your magazine can best take advantage  of the new opportunities in digital publishing.

These two training events specifically for Christian magazine staff will be followed by a workshop on Communicating Through Comics. Although the first two events are open only to people working with a Christian magazine either as a volunteer or staff member, the comics workshop is open to any Christian who would like to use comics as a tool of communication. The workshop will be taught by a team of four trainers from three countries.

For more information about all these programs: http://www.magazinetraining.com/UpcomingConferences/India2012/

The 10 biggest digital magazine mistakes

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So you’ve launched a digital magazine or you’ve created a digital twin for your print magazine. Congratulations! Now take this 10 point checkup to see how you’re doing. In a blog published by Unbound Media, Michelle Kalman tells of contacting a broad mix of industry experts to research some of the key problems in digital magazine publishing. These are 10 of the big mistakes she discovered.

1. Duplicating the print experience. The print and digital media are not the same. Both present limitations and opportunities. Recognize the limitations of the digital medium, but also be sure to take advantage of all the opportunities it offers to build your magazine’s community through social media tools or to extend your story through video.

2. Assuming the online user experiences digital content in the same way a reader experiences print content. Your online navigation may not easily parallel your printed table of contents. Online users may jump around more than print readers. The importance of position may change and you may need to make your advertisers aware of this fact.

3. Not bothering with research. Just because you’ve researched your print publication doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do research before you begin to develop your digital version. Look at successful online magazines and figure out what makes them work. Find out how your readers want to access content.

4. Failing to get the best digital talent you can afford. Hire talented web developers and designers to produce your digital version. They will know what works in print, but may not work on line. Don’t forget to invest in social media activities.

5. Producing too many pages. The attention span of an online reader is much shorter than that of a print reader. Forget the three-page articles with columns of grey type.  Break down content into smaller bites in separate sections. And don’t forget to include creative elements to keep the reader’s interest.

6. Not keeping up with changing technology. So you’ve created a digital magazine or a digital version of your print publication. What platform are your readers using? Does your online publication work well on that platform? Each platform has its own rules and restrictions. There’s iPads, Android tablets, various readers, and mobile apps–plus whatever came out last week. No single digital product is going to work well on all platforms. You’ll  need to keep up with the technology to know where best to spend your digital dollars.

7. Thinking of money before engagement. Is your digital publication a desperate attempt to pull in some funds for the organization? In that case, it’s likely to fail. You’ll need to create engaging, relevant content in order to attract and involve an audience.

8. Not considering the advertiser. Advertising considerations are not the same as reader requirements. Spend money and time on preparing the right online presence for your advertisers.

9. Forgetting to get feedback. As you are developing your new online  magazine, get input from all those who will have a stake in the success of the publication. That includes audience, advertisers, and your staff.

10. Being satisfied with the status quo. Keep improving; take advantage of new digital opportunities and make sure your content continues to be fresh and engaging.

What is a magazine? This criteria may surprise you

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At least, that is the assertion of the writer of a Mequoda Group white paper on digital magazine publishing. He (or she) asks why the magazine medium has survived the challenge of radio and television for the reader’s time and attention. Perhaps it’s because of what differentiates a magazine from any other written content, whether books or Web site. He says the reason the magazine medium has survived and will survive is because of the difference in user experience. He says it is these attributes which define the user experience and make it distinct.

1. Magazines are linear, meant to be read from front to back, but not necessarily in their entirety. Hyperlinking is not linear. Any medium which makes it possible for the reader to skip around among hundreds or thousands of articles is not linear.

2. Magazines are finite, unlike Internet Web sites. He says the reader can say “I have finished the magazine. Now I’m looking for the next issue.”

3. Magazines are periodic, whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly. They have an established frequency and do not come out more or less often.

4. Magazines are cohesive, edited, curated, and culled to produce the most interesting and relevant content for the reader. The editorial content is connected and the whole is greater than a sum of its parts

5. Magazines are portable and can be taken to a beach, the toilet, or anywhere else. As tablet computers become more versatile they may serve the function of the paper versions, perhaps even kick starting a resurgence of magazine reading.

6. Magazines are textual. Text is the king and photographs are ancillary, serving only to illustrate the text.

7. Magazines are collectible. People like to own and save magazines. At a magazine Web site, users must be able to download an issue of the magazine, says the Mequoda Group writer. If that’s not possible, it’s not a magazine Web site. In fact, according to an article on Adweek.com, tablet users are creating digital archives of their favorite magazines, spurring a boom in back issue sales.

For more useful information from the Mequoda Group, visit http://www.MequodaFree.com