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The Rise and Fall of Digital Magazines
I had the privilege of speaking this morning at an Association Trends panel on "Doing the Digital Dance" - a roundtable focusing on best practices in association digital publishing.
Overall, there was a very interesting discussion around what the future truly holds in eMedia publishing opportunities. Of the 50 or so people in attendance, about half had not started an eMedia effort.
One of the topics that came up was the digital magazine as a replacement for a traditional print magazine. I don't think that will ever happen. Frankly, the digital magazine is a temporary solution, at best. Don't get me wrong...the digital magazine is much better than having a pdf. Tracking is outstanding. When used for audience development and international distribution, it's near perfect. It's also great as a teaser to get people to subscribe to receive the print publication.
Still, the best metrics we've seen is about 15% of the total print distribution subscribe and open a digital version.
But let's put it this way...the digital magazine is very similar to taking a radio broadcast and putting it on the television. Just doesn't seem to work. People digest content much differently on the web than they do in print. Yes, it's great that the digital version is interactive (can jump from one page to another with ease), but people don't read a digital magazine the same as they do in print. Long-form content, like that in print publications, is better read in a printed format. People use the web to get exact information quickly. Even the twenty-somethings I know print out an article that goes beyond the viewable screen.
So, for now, it's fine to have available...a great value in many cases...but it IS temporary. A better idea is to take the long-form content from your print publication and integrate it into vertical "chunks" on your web site or microsite.
Baby steps are still needed in this business...we just take them much quicker in the ever-changing world of eMedia publishing.
Overall, there was a very interesting discussion around what the future truly holds in eMedia publishing opportunities. Of the 50 or so people in attendance, about half had not started an eMedia effort.
One of the topics that came up was the digital magazine as a replacement for a traditional print magazine. I don't think that will ever happen. Frankly, the digital magazine is a temporary solution, at best. Don't get me wrong...the digital magazine is much better than having a pdf. Tracking is outstanding. When used for audience development and international distribution, it's near perfect. It's also great as a teaser to get people to subscribe to receive the print publication.
Still, the best metrics we've seen is about 15% of the total print distribution subscribe and open a digital version.
But let's put it this way...the digital magazine is very similar to taking a radio broadcast and putting it on the television. Just doesn't seem to work. People digest content much differently on the web than they do in print. Yes, it's great that the digital version is interactive (can jump from one page to another with ease), but people don't read a digital magazine the same as they do in print. Long-form content, like that in print publications, is better read in a printed format. People use the web to get exact information quickly. Even the twenty-somethings I know print out an article that goes beyond the viewable screen.
So, for now, it's fine to have available...a great value in many cases...but it IS temporary. A better idea is to take the long-form content from your print publication and integrate it into vertical "chunks" on your web site or microsite.
Baby steps are still needed in this business...we just take them much quicker in the ever-changing world of eMedia publishing.
Labels: Association Trends, digital magazines, eMedia
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