Tuesday, March 30, 2010
e-Designing Magazine Covers for a Digital Newsstand
“The cover is still the gateway to the digital magazine. Theoretically, it will still be the first page people see, giving them hints of what’s inside and enticing them to dive into the issue.” -Erick Schonfeld, TechCrunch
If we follow that premise, digital covers should include not images and text, but also videos, sounds and other elements that are part of digital publications. That’s what Sunset magazine is trying to accomplish with its iPad version. They have included dynamic elements and rich in their digital edition, making it more attractive and representative of their content. Perfect for a digital newsstand.
Will it be a trend for the future?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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:
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.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Winding Road to Digital Magazine's next phase
Remember a magazine's publishers first website?
That's right, nothing happened. Because we discovered that no new web content meant no new web visitors, and as result, no new ad dollars. The dialog abruptly shifted to how we could develop fresh content for the magazine's website and how to monetize it.
That was ten years ago. OK, so why are so many publishers having the same discussion, right now, about digital magazines?
I've heard it all over the magazine industry, "We tried publishing a digital magazine, but nothing happened." How soon we forget...no new content equals incremental new readership and incremental new revenue.
But what if you put new content into digital magazines? What if they were not just a duplication of your magazine but an extension into niche areas unprofitable to service with print? What if they were utilized as a new content platform, not just a means of digital distribution? What if they were created to function as graphical, upscale newsletters in industries or categories where graphical appeal counts?
The trend has already started. The people at "Winding Road" is a digital only car magazine that gets over 180,000 unique readers viewing an average of 22 pages every month. Click on the link below and take a look. It could be your future.
Click here to view 'Winding Road"
iPhone/iTouch/iPad and Android Ready!!
Small screen, big impression With the mobile-friendly interface your readers can engage with your publications the same way as they do on larger screens. Users navigate by the press of a button, and click anywhere to zoom in.
Is it an app? No, it's a mobile-browser flexible interface. This allows viewers with different devices, such as the Apple iPod/iPad/iTouch or Google Android enabled smart-phones, to gain access to your content without needing to install addtional software.
It's just as interactive Viewers can zoom-in, email to their friends and social bookmark directly from the mobile interface, with the press of a finger! Even page and website links are accessible, along with the table of contents.
Text-only reading mode If text is too small to read on your viewer's device they can press the "T" button to quickly load only the text on the current page. The interface auto-adjust to landscape or portrait mode on the fly!
Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the launch date...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Proemags - New Features Update, March 2010
This update provides a number of important enhancements, including the following:
Update your Active Publications in just 15 minutes.
When making changes to an active Publication, these changes could sometimes take up to 8 hours to be reflected on the our content delivery providers "Akamai" servers, due to content caching on the network. With this latest release, active publications can now be updated in just 15 minutes.
Publications load up to 20% faster
Publication load times are important for keeping your readers engaged, this update improves load times by as much as 20% faster for all publications. Due to initial content caching, it can take up to 48 hours after the release or activation of your publication for this enhancement to be fully reflected.
Update your Active Publications in just 15 minutes.
When making changes to an active Publication, these changes could sometimes take up to 8 hours to be reflected on the our content delivery providers "Akamai" servers, due to content caching on the network. With this latest release, active publications can now be updated in just 15 minutes.
Publications load up to 20% faster
Publication load times are important for keeping your readers engaged, this update improves load times by as much as 20% faster for all publications. Due to initial content caching, it can take up to 48 hours after the release or activation of your publication for this enhancement to be fully reflected.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Print Magazine Advertising to Grow in 2010 Despite Popularity of Online
For first time, however, spending on digital expected to outpace print.
Consumer and trade businesses this year are projected to spend approximately $119.6 billion on online and digital advertising strategies while shelling out $111.5 billion to print projects, research and advisory firm Outsell said Monday. Some good news for print: Ad spending on magazines is forecasted to be up 1.9 percent to $9.4 billion.
According to Outsell’s “Marketing and Ad Spending Study 2010: Total U.S. and B2B Advertising” report, overall spending on marketing and advertising will be $368 billion this year, an increase of 1.2 percent over 2009. Taking an overarching look at b-to-b and b-to-c businesses, the report projects spending, share and growth for five media types—online, events, print, TV/radio and PR/other.
Other findings from the report included that b-to-b advertisers see cross-media marketing as the most effective option with 78 percent combining three or more marketing methods; advertiser’s own Web sites generate the highest ROI for b-to-b; and social media has a firm place in marketing efforts—51 percent said Facebook is “extremely or somewhat” effective, 45 percent for LinkedIn, 35 percent for Twitter and 25 percent said the same for MySpace.
For the 2010 report, Outsell said it surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. advertisers in December 2009.
Consumer and trade businesses this year are projected to spend approximately $119.6 billion on online and digital advertising strategies while shelling out $111.5 billion to print projects, research and advisory firm Outsell said Monday. Some good news for print: Ad spending on magazines is forecasted to be up 1.9 percent to $9.4 billion.
According to Outsell’s “Marketing and Ad Spending Study 2010: Total U.S. and B2B Advertising” report, overall spending on marketing and advertising will be $368 billion this year, an increase of 1.2 percent over 2009. Taking an overarching look at b-to-b and b-to-c businesses, the report projects spending, share and growth for five media types—online, events, print, TV/radio and PR/other.
Other findings from the report included that b-to-b advertisers see cross-media marketing as the most effective option with 78 percent combining three or more marketing methods; advertiser’s own Web sites generate the highest ROI for b-to-b; and social media has a firm place in marketing efforts—51 percent said Facebook is “extremely or somewhat” effective, 45 percent for LinkedIn, 35 percent for Twitter and 25 percent said the same for MySpace.
For the 2010 report, Outsell said it surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. advertisers in December 2009.
Monday, March 8, 2010
HP’s Windows 7 Slate Strikes at the iPad
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that mobile market is exploding. Since the Kindle's introduction in 2007, numerous e-readers from 16 other competitors (at last count) have burst onto the scene. The iPhone and Blackberry now have several smartphone cousins, and a new little thing called the iPad could be a real game-changer..or will it.The Apple iPad’s Oscar debut on millions of TVs may have been the talk of the town Monday morning, but not for long. Rival PC maker HP has launched a sneak attack on the iPad.
HP released a video introducing its tablet called the Slate that will run Windows 7 operating system and support Flash — a jab at the iPad, which will not display Flash-based sites or videos.
“With this slate product, you’re getting a full web browsing experience in the palm of your hand,” posted Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer for HP’s personal system group on the company’s blog. “No watered-down internet, no sacrifices.” HP did not reveal pricing or availability for the device, though it has indicated the Slate will be available this year.
Since the announcement of Apple’s iPad in January, PC makers are rushing to offer tablet devices that can position themselves between the 4-inch touchscreen smartphone and the 12-inch netbook or laptop. They say tablets could be ideal for web surfing, checking e-mail, reading e-books and viewing personal media while sitting on a couch.
Dell has said that it will launch a family of tablets, the first of which will be a PlayStation Portable-sized device with a 5-inch screen codenamed Dell Mini 5. Dell hasn’t disclosed pricing or availability for its product yet. Apple’s iPad starting at $500 will go on sale April 3.
Though HP has not released the specs yet, the company’s video shows a device that’s closer to the 9.7-inch display iPad in its design and size.
HP released a video introducing its tablet called the Slate that will run Windows 7 operating system and support Flash — a jab at the iPad, which will not display Flash-based sites or videos.
“With this slate product, you’re getting a full web browsing experience in the palm of your hand,” posted Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer for HP’s personal system group on the company’s blog. “No watered-down internet, no sacrifices.” HP did not reveal pricing or availability for the device, though it has indicated the Slate will be available this year.
Since the announcement of Apple’s iPad in January, PC makers are rushing to offer tablet devices that can position themselves between the 4-inch touchscreen smartphone and the 12-inch netbook or laptop. They say tablets could be ideal for web surfing, checking e-mail, reading e-books and viewing personal media while sitting on a couch.
Dell has said that it will launch a family of tablets, the first of which will be a PlayStation Portable-sized device with a 5-inch screen codenamed Dell Mini 5. Dell hasn’t disclosed pricing or availability for its product yet. Apple’s iPad starting at $500 will go on sale April 3.
Though HP has not released the specs yet, the company’s video shows a device that’s closer to the 9.7-inch display iPad in its design and size.
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