Embracing Digital Publishing – Where should I start? [Part 1]

Going from print to digital publishing or adding digital to your existing distribution model is a huge and necessary process but it can turn out to be complicated and tricky. It can give publishers enhanced green credentials, new demographics, more engaged customers and profit.  But there’s also the fear of making users feel alienated and disenfranchised.
Which is the best format for digital editions? Web sites (programmed on HTML) or flip books (Flash)? Is the pricing model radically different for online ads? How do we create a good interactive publication? Which revenue generation model should I pick? Ads or paid subscriptions? We’ll be featuring a series of posts to give publishers simple but well-founded answers.

When it comes to formats, two are really popular: websites and flip books.  Although both bring publications to the digital world, and both have proved to be successful and profitable, they offer different experiences for the reader. Here are some tips to consider before taking that step:

Web sites

• Can be updated regularly, whereas flip book editions are usually published on a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly basis.
• Re-distribution to friends and other interested contacts is easy enough through email, social networks or by simple copying and pasting excerpts.
• One of the cons of this format is that it doesn’t work well for image-design-heavy publications. More time and resources would have to be dedicated to the conversion process.
• More care will be needed during the initial design and setup stages.  Publisher would have to consider how the images will look on screen and in the context of the overall text layout.

Flip books (PDF to Flash)

• Holds true to the original layout and reading experience by maintaining a natural linear flow – from front to back.
• The editor keeps control of the users’ experience. Whereby in a website content is all over the place.
• It’s not a straight conversion, page for page, of the print content to the web. It is recreated using multimedia/dynamic elements, social media and other widgets. Either editorial sections or advertisements can be enriched.
• Content is easy to convert. It is already formatted as a PDF file.
• Publishers can prevent unauthorized distribution and text from being cut and pasted onto other websites.
• I’ve read online that search engine optimization (SEO) is impossible with flip-book solutions. Some companies do offer search engine optimization systems for flips books. Their digital editions are not only image-based and text is available so search engines can rank it.
• Click-throughs are easy to track, making it simple to provide advertisers with reports on traffic and even views. Some providers even tell you the amount of time visitors spend on each page in addition to overall views and click-through rates, making special placements and add-ons easier to sell.
• The newest e-readers, tablets and other gadgets support flip publications so people can bring bring them wherever they want.
• Readers turn pages and view things much as they would in a magazine, book or newspaper in offline life.

Of course, there is the option to create an HTML web site, but it will probably not help the reader stay familiar with the content. He/she may not have a natural and familiar experience. Flip books understand your reader better.