Robin's Tips for Digital Publications

I am excited to begin our online conversation regarding the benefits & challenges for Digital Publications. I appreciate all the input that many association publishers shared in my Forum article, November/December 2008, "Should We Go Digital?",which is available in print & in the digital version online. It includes a nice summary of things to consider when launching. http://www.associationforum-digital.com/associationforum/200811/ 

The purpose of this blog is for publishers to share their digital publication experiences with other associations who are thinking about launching them. Questions about digital publications are welcome. I will also update any news regarding articles & webinars on the subject.

I volunteered to write the feature & blog as a result of my own early experience with digital publications. I worked for an organization that was so enthusiastic about the concept of publishing online to save paper, printing & shipping costs that it simply dropped the print publication and immediately offered only the digital version. No membership survey was conducted to determine how members felt about losing their print publication & interest in viewing magazines online. It was assumed that since members were in the computer field that they would love it. Advertisers were not happy about it, and quickly dropped out except for a few. The publication failed & many members dropped out of the organization.

In short, it is best to keep your print publication while offering the advantages of the digital publication as an added member benefit. A typical monthly digital magazine only costs about $1,000, and ultimately additional ad revenue should actually help to increase profits as readership increases. International digital publications get the best advantage where postal rates are high & mailing time is long.

Surveys show that readership of digital publications is increasing as readers begin to see the benefits of having articles online that are easily accessible, even when traveling, and can be shared with friends. Links to informative ads allow readers instant access to additional information while advertisers welcome the quick, measurable responses.

So please start posting your questions or sharing your digital publication experiences today with your fellow publishers.

Comments

[Sarah Lawler]

This was a topic on the SNAP (Society of National Assn. Publishers) listserv a couple of weeks ago and it got a lot of action. My assoc. is going in this direction sometime next year I would guess. My questions concern what features I should be looking for and should be avoiding. There are a few vendors out there that seem to be offering very similar products. What are the pros and cons?

[Fred Faulkner]

We are looking into this as well. I read the article and while the conversation shows a lot of success, I think two things are missing when thinking about this:

1) Strategy - what are the real goals you are trying to offer?

2) Multi-format Preferences - How do members want to receive content and when.

I think the last thing that wasn't covered that would be interesting to hear how the associations who have implemented this is the archiving. Do you archive each issue digitally indefinitely? Or do you leave up only the current issue? And what are the costs of keeping those archives live for "x" period of time.

[Robin Kruk]

Glad to see more tips being shared with our publishers.

Thoughts on selecting a vendor:

--Look at sample publications on the digital vendor websites to determine how easy they are to view.
--Ask other publishers who they use & would recommend. Blogs on Social Media websites are a great place to get opinions.
--Customer service is very important. Ask who your contacts would be & what responsibilities they would have for your account.
--If advertising revenue is important to your organization, take note of special features that might help to increase ad revenue in the future. Not all vendors have as many options.
--Note time frame for getting the digital version from submission to uploading.
--Most publishers take advantage of archiving which is an important advantage of digital publications, and compare any possible additional fees.
--Review reader/advertiser surveys from each vendor.
--Carefully compare prices for what would be included in your overall package, & what might cost extra.

Many publishers that I know use Texterity, including "Forum". While I was researching information for my article, Texterity executives were the most helpful in promptly providing detailed information while other vendors did not follow up.

I encourage other publishers with digital publications to share their thoughts & recommendations on vendors.

[Robin Kruk]

There is an upcoming webinar regarding Digital Publications scheduled for Tuesday, November 18 at 2 pm EST.

The topic is:
Digital Magazines - Readership & Revenue Opportunities with an Emerging Product. It is hosted by Publishing Executive magazine & presented by nxtbook media.

The link for more info & to register is:
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=121506&sessionid=1&key=E8ECC45D51708DA49FE2B84C1D662C9D&partnerref=001&sourcepage=register.

If you can't attend, the webinars are usually archived.

[Sarah Lawler]

Here is a link to an article on the SNAP web site, "5 Reasons to Get Excited About Taking Your Publication Online" by Kelly McMurray.

http://www.snaponline.org/public/articles/details.cfm?id=1135

Just a little more insight into this topic.

[Robin Kruk]

Publishing Executive's webinar, "Digital Magazines - Readership and Revenue Opportunities with an Emerging Product", provides excellent case studies of launching digital publications.

Anne Drobish, NewBay Media, describes in detail her steps in deciding to go digital, her successful launch, and an analysis of the benefits. Allan Brown, Graduate Prospects, describes the success of his digital publications. The hour long program is presented by Publishing Executive & sponsored by Nxtbook Media.

You can locate the webinar, presented on November 18, at
www.pubexec.com/webinar, where you will also find additional archived webinars.

I want to thank Sarah Lawler for sharing a link to SNAP article in a previous post.

[Robin Kruk]

Since I started this blog, there have been some interesting things occurring that have made digital publications even more important. PC Magazine is going totally digital & eliminating its print publication to its tech savvy readers. And, some newspapers like the Detroit News will only have print publications on weekends & offer digital editions online for weekdays. Major reasons are cost to print & circulate print publications, while paid subscriptions continue to decline. And, more of us are going online to get our information, so advertisers prefer online advertising. Plus, digital publications are more environmentally friendly.

Digital publications are going well beyond magazines to include newsletters, promotional brochures, travel materials, catalogs, etc. The digital format vs. the static pdf file is definitely more appealing to readers as it is somewhat like paging through a print publication, and advertisers can get responses more quickly while keeping track of effectiveness of each ad.

I would also like to share another excellent source for information about digital publications at www.nxtbook.com. The company is a digital publication vendor that offers a wide variety of resources for considering going digital. Their website includes samples & case studies with customers as well as resource links to related articles, white papers, webinars, etc. I have found their webinars very informative. They are archived for viewing if you can't attend the live seminars.

[Robin Kruk]

As we begin the New Year, this is a great time for association publishers to share their ideas for implementing new digital publications or related media in 2009.

Please tell us about what you plan to do along with your goals, and later share the results.

And, if you recently started a digital publication, please share your experiences (successes or failures) to date. You can include recommendations for vendors that have helped you to intiate digital issues.