Making the Digital Leap Forward - Magazine Association of BC...Making the Digital Leap Forward| 9 Like Zinio, Magzter is a newsstand application that allows users to purchase single

MakingtheDigitalLeapForwardIdentifyingDigitalContentDeliverySystemsThat

EffectivelySupportMagazinePublishing

JessicaFabrizius,PracticumStudentUniversityofHouston-Victoria

&

KaitlynGendemann,StudentPublishingProgramLangaraCollege

for

WithassistanceandresearchfromAlyssaSchwartz

January18,2018

Thisworkwassupportedby:

MakingtheDigitalLeapForward|1

TableofContentsIntroduction…2Process…2DigitalContentDeliverySystems

Issuu…3-5Zinio…6-7Magzter…8-9Mag+…10-113DIssue…12-13

ComparisonCharts StandardFeatures…14 UserExperienceRatings…14 Plans/Costs…15-16Recommendations…16FinalWords…16AppendixA:8BestPracticesForDigitalMagazinePublishers…18-19AppendixB:CompanyContactInformation…19References…20-23


IntroductionInapublishingworldthathasbecomeincreasinglydigital,manymagazinepublishersarelookingforwaystotakethegreatdigitalleapforward.Newmarketingstrategiesmustbeadoptedanddifferentmodesofdistributionconsidered,includingpartneringwithdigitalcontentdeliverysystems.Althoughthequestionofhowandwhethertogodigitalisuniquetoeachpublication’sneedsandcapabilities,thisplatformcomparisonguideseekstohelppublishersbydiscussingandanalyzingfiveofthemostusedsystemsavailable:Issuu,Zinio,Magzter,Mag+,and3DIssue.Below,publisherswillfindoverviews,specialfeatureslists,andin-depthuserexperiencereviews.Additionally,theendofthisdocumentprovidestablescomparingthesefivesites’specialfeatures,costs/plans,anduserexperience.ThiscomparisonwasenhancedbyAlyssaSchwartz’sresearchonthesamesubjectforMagazinesCanadain2014.

ProcessThegoalofthisguideistohelppublishersdecideiftheyarereadytotaketheirpublicationonlineandwhichservicemightbebestfortheirneeds.Todothis,researchersapproachedtheprocessofcompilinginformationfromtwostandpoints—thatofapublisher,andthatofareader.ResearchersfortheMagazineAssociationofBCpersonallyresearchedandtest-drovetheseservicesusingalaptop,smartphone,andtablet,whilekeepinganeyeontheirintuitiveness,navigability,features,andcustomization.Fromapublisher’sstandpoint,researcherspaidattentiontocostsandpotentialrevenue,easeofuploadingissues,andpowerfulfunctionality(e.g.interactivity,multimedia,adtracking).ResearchersalsodocumentedplansandcostsforIssuu,Zinio,Mag+,and3DIssue,butthisinformationwasnotpublicallyavailableforMagzter,whopreferstodiscussthiswithpublishersuponrequest.Whenquestionsarose,researchersaskedthecompaniesdirectlytoprovideclarification.AllcompaniesweretimelyinrespondingexceptIssuu,whorepliedafter32days.Surprisingly,althoughthisresearchwasbegunin2015,thesefivecompanieshavestayedfairlystaticintheirofferings.However,threeoutofthefive(Issue,Zinio,Magzter)cutbackonspecialfeaturesandstrengthenedtheircoreofferings.Withthatinmind,publisherswoulddowelltomakesureallservicescurrentlybeingofferedareactuallyofvaluetotheirmagazine,andthattheplatformtheydecidetogowithiscommittedtoretainingthoseservices.Thefollowingcomparisonguidewillhelpyoutoevaluatesomeofthemostpopularplatformsandprovideaframeworkforevaluatingotherproviders.


DigitalContentDeliverySystems

OverviewIssuucurrentlyhasmorethan30millionpublicationsrelatedtofood,travel,sports,technologyandawiderangeofothertopicsavailabletomorethan100millionvisitorspermonth.Self-describedas“anarchive,libraryandnewsstandallinonereadingexperience”,IssuuallowspublisherstouploadanddistributetheirmagazinesacrossavarietyofplatformswithnativeiOS,AndroidandWindowsapplicationsintheformofadigitalflipbook.

SpecialFeaturesStandaloneandBrandedReadersThreereaderplatforms–default,standaloneandbranded–areavailable.Whileeachreaderhasfull-screen,zoom,searchandnavigationcapabilities,standaloneandbrandedpublicationscanbedownloadedforofflinereadinganddonotneedtoincludelinkstorelatedpublications.PremiumsubscriberscanfurthercustomizetheplatformbyaddingtheirlogotoIssuu’sbrandedreader.


IssuuClipIssuuClipallowsreaderstosharepartsofapublication–it’sthedigitalequivalentofclippingarticlesandimagesfromaprintedmagazine.ClippedcontentcanbesharedonIssuuorviasocialmedia.Publisherscanalsousethisfeaturetoenhancetheirpublicationwithlinkstoadvertisersandrelatedcontent.

PaidSubscriptionsAlthoughIssuudoesnothaveadirectmethodofchargingreadersforcontent,therearetwomethodsthatallowpublisherstodoso.Thefirstmethodinvolvesuploadingapartialissue.Thepartialpublicationneedstoincludepageswith“subscribe”or“buynow”linksthatwilldirectreaderstoamagazine’swebsite,wheretheycanpurchasethecompleteversionofthedigitalpublication.

Thesecondmethodinvolvespostingunlisted(private)publicationsthatcanonlybeaccessedwithadirectURL,whichcanthenbedistributedtoalready-payingsubscribers.

UserExperienceReaderPerspectiveIssuuisaneasy-to-useplatformthatallowsuserstoread,shareandfollowavarietyofpublications.Itisanespeciallyusefulplatformforthoseinterestedinreadingregionalornichepublicationsthatarenotreadilyavailableotherwise.Oncereadershavecreatedafreeaccount,theyhaveaccesstoan“Explore”tabwheretheycanbrowsethroughacollectionoffeaturedissues.Onmobile,thiscollectionisdividedinto“StaffPicks”,“FeaturedStacksandPublishers”,and“CurrentlyBeingRead”lists.Themobileapplicationalsoallowsuserstosearchforpublicationsaccordingtointerests.The“Explore”tabondesktopplatformsislimitedtoabasickeywordsearch.Whenreadersfindpublicationstheyenjoy,theycanchoosetofollowpublishers.Thesetitleswillthenbedisplayedontheuser’s“Feed”tab.Overall,the“Explore”and“Feed”tabspresentanenjoyableuserexperience,especiallyifreadersareinterestedinfindingnewtitles.Theactualreaderplatform,however,islacklustre.Whilethenavigation,socialsharingandfullscreenfunctionworkwell,theyarenegatedbytheplatform’szoomfeature.Issuupublicationsarenotresponsive,andthereforedonotadjusttodifferentscreensizes.Asaresult,readersmustzoomintotheareaofthepublicationtheywouldliketoread,thenclickanddragtheirwaythroughanarticle,regardlessofwhatdevicetheyareusing.TheIssuureaderappearstofunctionbestontabletsastheymostcloselymimictheactualsizeofprintedmagazines.Asidefromhyperlinks,theabilitytoshareviasocialmedia(Twitter,Facebook,Tumblr,Google+,LinkedInandPinterest)appearstobetheonlyadditionalfeaturewithinanIssuupublication.IssuuClip


furtherenhancessocialsharingandcanpotentiallyincreaseconversationamongstreaders;it’sinterestingtoflipthroughapublicationwhilesimultaneouslyseeingwhatothershaveliked,sharedandcommentedon.WhilePremiumandOptimummembershaveaccessto“prioritysupport”,othermemberscanbesubjectedtolongwaittimes.Additionally,whilethe“Explore”tabmayincreaseexposure,readerslookingforadditionalcontent(audio/video,exclusivearticles,etc.)maybedisappointedasIssuupublicationsareintendedtomimicprintvariationsinalmosteveryway.


OverviewZiniodeliversmorethan5,500+titles(500millionmagazineissues)toreadersaroundtheworldandisavailableondesktops,laptops,tabletsandsmartphoneswithiOS,AndroidandWindows8applications.TheZinioplatformincludesproductionservices(layoutanddesign),readersoftwareandadigitaldeliverysystemthatallowsuserstopurchasesubscriptionsandbackissuesofapublication.Zinio’swebsitestatesthatwhiletherearenoupfrontcosts,theyoperateonarevenuesharingmodel.Thismeansthatforhowevermanymagazinesaresold,Ziniowilltakeapercentageofthesales.AccordingtoStephanieJohnson,aZiniosalesrepresentative,thatpercentagechangesdependingonthepublisher’scurrentnumberofsubscribers,frequencyofpublication,whetheritisapaidpublication,whetherthepublisherusesafulfillmenthouse,andifthepublisherwantsanapp/WordPressplug-in.

UserExperienceReaderPerspectiveZinioisanonlinenewsstandwherereaderscanpurchasesomeoftoday’smostpopulartitles,e.g.CanadianLiving,GQ,NationalGeographic,andPeople.Singleissuesorsubscriptionsareavailableatcostscontrolledbyindividualpublishers.


Readerscansearchforpublicationsbycategory(Men,Women,News,Lifestyle,etc.)andsubcategories.TheNewscategory,forexample,canbefurthernarrowedtoBusiness,EducationandPolitics,amongothers.Readerscanalsoperformakeywordsearchorbrowse“Featured,”“TopSellers,”and“NewArrivals”lists.Searchingforpublicationsisanenjoyableexperienceondesktopplatforms,butthemobileapplicationisconvolutedandrequiressomeefforttounderstandhowitfunctions.Sincemagazinesavailableintheonlinestoredonotincludepreviews,itcanbeassumedthatZinioistargetedtowardsreadersinterestedinpurchasingdigitaleditionsoftheirfavouriteprintpublications.Userscanalsoreadfreearticlesfromavaryingselectionofpublicationsinthe“ReadArticles”tabtostimulateinterestinthesemagazines.TheZinioreaderisasimpleflipbookapplicationthatmimicstheappearanceofamagazine’sprintedition.However,unlikeIssuu,whichcanbeviewedinanalready-openbrowser,theZinioreaderopensinanewwindow,whichmayprovefrustratingtosomeusers.Readersmayalsobecomefrustratedbyloadtimesandemailnotificationsastheseareautomaticallysenteachtimeanissuehascompleteddownloading.Likemostflipbookapplications,Ziniofailstoadapttodifferentdevicesizes,meaningusersmustclumsilyzoom,clickanddragacrossthepageinordertoreadcontent.Somepublications,however,allowuserstoreadatext-onlyversion.Whilethisgreatlyimprovesthereadingexperience,andmaybehelpfulfortheprint-impairedreader,itobviouslyeliminatesallvisualcontent,whichcanbeasignificantpartofthereaderexperience,dependingonthemagazine.Zinioeditions,however,docontainbothinternalandexternallinks,allowingreaderstobetternavigatewithinapublication.Readerscanclickanarticletitlewithinthetableofcontentsandautomaticallybedirectedtothatpagewithinthereader.LikeIssuu,theZinioreader–aswellastheapplicationitself–appearstofunctionbestontabletdevices.Withapoorly-functioningreaderplatformandlittletonoadditionalcontent,Ziniooffersfewbenefitstoreaders.Instead,itappearstofunctionprimarilyasadistributionservicethatallowspublisherstoprovidereaderswithdigitaleditionsforcontrolledcosts.


OverviewMagzterisaself-service,digitalnewsstandavailableonApple,Android,Windows8,KindleFire,Nookanddesktopplatforms.OncepublishershaveuploadedtheirPDFstoMagzter’scloud-baseddashboard,theycanaddmultimediaandotherinteractiveelementsbeforepublishingtheirmagazinesacrossallplatforms.Magzter’swebsitestatesthatwhiletherearenoupfrontcosts,theyoperateonarevenuesharingmodel,thedetailsofwhicharenotpubliclyavailable.Thismeansthatforhowevermanymagazinesaresold,Magzterwilltakeapercentageofthesales.Actualpercentageswerenotgiven.

SpecialFeaturesReferaFriendMagzteruserscansendemailstofamilymembersandfriendsand,shouldtheseindividualschoosetosign-upforafreeaccountwith30-dayfreeMagzterGOLDaccess,userswillreceivea$15Amazongiftcard.UserExperienceReaderPerspective


LikeZinio,Magzterisanewsstandapplicationthatallowsuserstopurchasesingleissuesandsubscriptions–3months,6monthsor1year–forpricesthatarecontrolledbyeachmagazine’spublishers.Selectpublicationsaresoldfordiscountpricesduringannualsalesandinconjunctionwithotherpublicationsin“Bundles”.Userscanalsoselecttoreceiveanotificationiftheirfavouritemagazinegoesonsale.Inadditiontocategoryandkeywordsearches,userscanview“Featured,”“NewArrivals,”and“International”lists.Althoughlarge-circulationpublicationsareavailable(e.g.Reader’sDigest),theydon’tappeartobeveryprominent.Instead,Magzterseemstofeaturelesser-knownpublications,whichmayallowreaderstoregularlyfindnewtitles.TheMagzterstorealsogivesreadersapreviewofeachpublication–it’sthedigitalequivalentofflippingthroughpagesofamagazineatyourlocalnewsstand.WhiletheIssuuandZinioapplicationsvarydependingonwhichdeviceisbeingused–therearemenuitems,forexample,thatappearonthedesktopplatformbutdonotappearontabletormobile–Magzterremainsthesameacrossalldevices,andthislevelofconsistencycreatesabetterexperienceforusers.Magzter’stabletandmobileapplication,however,hadadditionalfeaturesthatfurtherenhanceusers’abilitytofindpublicationsofinterest.Uponloggingintoanaccountforthefirsttime,usersareaskedtoselecttheirfavouritetopicsfromalistofinterests;theappthentailorsfeaturedtitlestowardseachreader’sspecificlikes.Userscanalsofollowdifferent“Communities”forarticlesthatotheruserswithsimilarinterestssuggest,i.e.“AnimalsandPets”,“EducationalColumns”,“SportsUpdates”,etc.MagzterprovidesreaderswithinteractiveflipbookpublicationsthatareenhancedwithHTML5content,includingvideoandaudio,slideshowsandimagegalleries,hyperlinksandotherinteractivecontent.Ofallflipbookapplicationsreviewed,Magzterissuesappeartohavethebestresolution:imagesweresharpandtherewasnoevidenceofaliasing(jagged,pixelatedappearanceonlowresolutionscreens)ontextualelements.Thishighproductionquality,however,mayaffecttheapplication’soverallperformanceaspublicationsoftenrequiredlongdownloadtimes.AlthoughtheMagzterreaderhassuperiorproductionquality,theapplicationislimitedbecauseofitssimpleflipbooksoftware;theoverallexperienceisbestontabletdevices,butmagazinesaredifficulttoreadonbothdesktopandmobileplatforms.TheMagzterreader’snavigationandsocialsharingarealsolessintuitivethanthoseofotherreviewedflipbookapps.PleasenotethatMagzteralsohasanoptionforpublisherstocreatebrandedapps,buttheirwebsitestatesyoumustbepartoftheirrevenuesharingagreementtohaveaccesstothisfeature.SinceMagzterhasnotrespondedtoarequestfordetailsonthisagreement,wearenotabletoprovidefurtherinformationorrecommendations.


OverviewTheMag+softwareallowspublisherstodesign,buildanddistributedigitaleditionsandbrandedapps;thecompanyhasdevelopedaseriesoffreesoftwaretoolsthatwillaidpublishersthroughouttheproductionprocess:Mag+FeatureBuilder AnInDesignpluginforCS4andhigherallowspublisherstocreateinteractive

HTMLcontent(imagegalleries,slideshows,etc.)withoutcode.Mag+Production Oncepageshavebeendesigned,publisherscanusetheProductiontoolto

organizeandcustomizetheirdigitalissuesandapps.Mag+Reviewer Availableforfreeinappstores,thistoolallowspublisherstoreviewtheirwork

onanactualdevicebeforepublishing.Mag+Publish Mag+Publishiswherepublisherscancontrolthedistributionoftheirbranded

app.AppscanbeuploadedtoiTunes,GooglePlayortheAmazonAppStoreSpecialFeatures(additionalchargesmayapply)

ThirdPartyServices

Mag+haspartneredwithseveralappmarketingandmobilerelationshipmanagementproviders,includingAppboy,Oplytic,AdMarvelandSubsplus.Publisherscanalsoselecttheirpreferredanalyticssoftware:Omniture,Localytics,FlurryandGoogle.PushNotificationsandTargetedMessagingThepublishercansendpushnotifications,in-appmessagesandnewsfeeditemstoallreaders,orselectaspecificaudience(i.e.subscribersversusnon-subscribers).PreciseIssueControlPublisherscancontrolaccessanddistribution;offerbonusissues,enableuser-loginorremotelydeleteissuesfromadevice(“ProductFeatures–DeliveryandDistribution,”Mag+).UserExperience


ReaderPerspectiveMag+assistspublishersincreatingbrandedappswhich,comparedtoflipbookpublications,areenjoyabletoreadoneverydevice.Magazinesdonothavetobedownloadedfromathird-partydigitalnewsstand,butcaninsteadbeaccesseddirectlyfromadevice’sappstore,e.g.iTunesandGooglePlay.Well-knownconsumertitlesaswellassmallerpublicationshavebeencreatedusingMag+software,eachofwhichhasbeendevelopedwiththeirreaders’specificneedsinmindusingresponsivedesign.TheNewYorkMagazineapplication,forexample,featuresadailynewsfeedwithstoriescompiledfromtheirwebsiteandblogs,aswellasaccesstotheirdigitalpublication.Theappfunctionsdifferentlythannymagazine.com–itisaseparateproductonlyavailableontabletthatservesanaudiencemoreinterestedinreadingdigitalpublicationsthanprintedones.CompassionMagazine,ontheotherhand,isasmallquarterlypublicationthatfunctionssimilarlyacrossallplatforms.TheMag+ReviewercomesequippedwithaDesignExamplesguidethatintroducespublisherstosomeoftheinteractivefeaturesthatcanbeaddedtoaMag+application.Eachfeature--pop-upwindows,imagegalleries,video,presentationstylesandsoon--canbeappliedinseveraldifferentways.Presentation,forexample,canbesinglepageormulti-pagewhilevideoscanbelooping,inline,orfull-screen.Thesefeaturesgivepublisherstheopportunitytoincludeadditionalcontentwithintheirpublications.Mag+publicationscanalsobereadregardlessofscreenorientation.Ratherthanattemptingtosimplytransportprintedpublicationsontoadigitalplatform,Mag+helpspublisherscreateaproductthatisintendedtobeusedonmobileandtabletdevices,allowingreaderstofurtherinteractwithabrandanditscontent.


OverviewWiththe3DIssuepublishingsuite,publisherscanchoosetoconvertPDFsintodigitalflipbooks,orcreatetheirownnativeapplications.Publisherscanalsousethe3DIssuepublishingsuitesoftwaretocreatedashboards–contenthubsthatdisplaymaterialfromallofapublisher’swebsites,blogsandsocialmediafeeds.Therearemorethan250,0003DIssuesoftwareinstallations.

SpecialFeaturesCollaborativeEditingThe3DIssuesoftwareallowsformultipleauthorstoworkonasinglepublication.MuchlikeaWordPresswebsite,writers’emailaddressesneedtobeauthorizedbyanadministratorbeforetheycansubmitcontent.CloudHostingHostingforpublicationflipbooksisavailableat$299peryearandincludesabuilt-inpasswordprotectionsystem,socialbuttonsonthepagesoftheflipbookslinkingreaderstopublishers’socialmediapages,andhostingfromAmazonCloudFront,acontentdeliverysystem(CDN)basedserversystem,whichimprovesaccessspeedfordownloadingcontent.


UserExperienceReaderPerspectiveComparedtoIssuu,ZinioandMagzter,the3DIssueplatformdoesnotseemveryintuitive.Itsprimarywebsiteisconvoluted:navigationisunclearanditisdifficulttodeterminewhichactionsneedtobetakeninordertomoveforward.Ratherthanbeingintendedforconsumeruse,itappearsthatthe3DIssueplatformisintendedtobemorestrictlyusedbypublishers–it’sanall-in-onesoftwarethatallowsthemtocreateflipbookeditions,nativeapplicationsandcontenthubs.

3DIssuepublicationsfailtoprovidepublisherswithoptionsforcustomization.Eachofthenativeapplicationexampleslistedonthe3DIssuewebsite(WeAreEBay,LegoEducationandWackerNeusen),forinstance,allfunctionintheexactsameway.Thesamecanalsobesaidoftheirhubandflipbookexamples.Althoughpublisherscanchoosetoaddavarietyofrichmediatotheirflipbookapplications,suchasvideo,audio,photogalleries,andinternalandexternallinks,thesefeaturesappeartofunctioninarudimentaryfashion,especiallywhencomparedtoaplatformlikeMag+.

Accessing3DIssuepublicationsmayalsoprovedifficultforreaders.SeanMcNulty,amemberofthe

company’sBusinessDevelopmentteam,providedlinkstoseveralhubandflipbookexamplesforreview(includingahubbyCocaColaandaflipbookeditionbyOxfordBrookesUniversity),buttheydonotappeartobeaccessiblefromanyadditionalchannels–theywerenotavailableiniTunesorGooglePlayappstores,andtheywerenowheretobefoundonthepublishers’website.

Fromareader’spointofview,3DIssueappearstotakea“cookie-cutter”approachtodigital

publishing,whichconsequently,resultsinapoorexperiencethatdoeslittletoenhanceusers’connectionstoapublicationorbrand.


ComparisonCharts

StandardFeatures

FreeTrial

RichMedia&InteractiveContent

SocialSharing

TechnicalSupport/

HelpCenter

Analytics Ads&Monetization*

Native&BrandedApps

Issuu X X X X X

Zinio X X X X

Magzter X X X X X

Mag+ X X X X X X

3DIssue X X X X X*Monetizationreferstotheapp/website’sabilitytogeneraterevenue.Thiscanbedoneanumberofways,butthemethodmostrelevanttothisstudyissellingadvertisingspace.

UserExperienceRatings

1=poor 2=basic 3=good 4=great

Intuitive Navigation Features Customizable OverallIssuu 4 2 3 2 2.75Zinio 3 2 2 3 2.5Magzter 3 3 3 3 3Mag+ 3 3 4 4 3.53DIssue 1 2 3 2 2


Plans/Costs*ZinioandMagzteroperateonarevenue-sharingmodel,thedetailsofwhichvaryandmustberequested.

Plan Issuu Zinio* Magzter* Mag+ 3DIssueBasic Free

500pages(100mb)

PublisherTools

Revenue-sharingZiniotakes20%forinapp

purchases&50%fornewsstandpurchases.

ContactMagzterformoreinfo

$999One-timefee

OneappPushNotifications

Analytics

Starter $19/monthBilledannually500+pages(100mb)

PublisherToolsStandaloneReader

14-dayfreetrial

Revenue-sharingplanoffers:Apple/Androidapps

AppupgradesEditcontent/ads

Analytics1yearbackissues

Marketingandpromoaccess

N/A $1199Percontentupdate

OneappPayasyoupublish

$75/month(Billedannually)2installs(Mac/PC)50GBCloudHosting1brandedlibrary

Fullaccesstoall3DIssuefeaturesexceptWhite

Label

Premium $35/monthBilledannually5000+pages(500mb)

PublisherToolsBrandedReader

AdvancedAnalytics

Non-MemberDownloadsScheduleReleases

PrioritySupportLimitedAPIAccess

14-dayfreetrial

N/A N/A $499/month12month

commitmentOneapp

UnlimitedPublishingPushNotifications

AnalyticsAbilitytoUpdate

AppsIn-AppStore/Library

Third-PartyMarketingandMessagingTools

$169/monthBilledannually

5installs(Mac/PC)250GBCloudHosting2brandedlibrary

Fullaccesstoall3DIssuefeatures(exceptWhite

Label)

Optimum $269/monthBilledannually5000+pages(500mb)

PublisherToolsBrandedReader

UnlistedPublicationsAdvancedAnalyticsTeam

CollaborationNon-MemberDownloadsScheduleReleases

PrioritySupportUnlimitedAPI

Access14-dayfreetrial

N/A N/A $699/month12month

commitmentOneapp

UnlimitedpublisherWebExport*

PushNotificationsAnalytics

AbilitytoUpdateApps

In-AppStore/LibraryThird-PartyMarketing

SubscriptionAPIEnterpriseiOSBuildWebExportofApp

ContentAbilitytoHost

Yourself

$549/monthBilledmonthly

5installs(Mac/PC)1TBCloudHosting50brandedlibrary

Fullaccesstoall3DIssuefeatures

Lifetime

Lite $4991install(Mac/PC)

Self-hosting1brandedlibrary

Accesstosome3DIssuefeatures


Professional $12991install(Mac/PC)

Self-hosting1brandedlibraryCloudServices


Enterprise $26995install(Mac/PC)

Self-hosting1brandedlibraryCloudServices


Recommendations

OurresearchsuggeststhatIssuuhasthebestprice/performanceratio,whileZinioisabetteroptionforlargemagazineswithstrongreaderbases.MagzterandMag+offermorespecialfeaturesandcustomizabilityforanincreasedprice,while3DIssueisgearedmoretowardscompanieslookingtocreateflipbooksthatpromotebusinessproducts.

FinalWords

Doesitmakesensetopublishadigitalmagazine?Thereisnosingleanswerthatappliestoallmagazines.Thoughreadershiplevelsaregenerallylowerfordigitalmagazinescomparedtoprinteditionsandwebsites,digitalmagazinesopennewopportunitiesforpublishers,fromtheabilitytocreatedeeplyengagingreaderexperiencesthatareaccessibleanywhereandanytime,thepotentialtolearnmoreaboutreaders,torevenue-buildingopportunitiesfromnewsubscriberandadvertisingchannels.

Inreturn,digitaleditionsrequireresources,whetherthatmeanspeople,budgetorboth.Understandingcurrentdigitalmagazineusagetrends,platforms,andreaderpreferencesisanimportantfirststepindeterminingwhetherpublishingadigitaleditioncanfurtheryourbusinessgoals.


AppendixA8BestPracticesForDigitalMagazinePublishersbyAlyssaSchwartzOnceyou’vemadethedecisiontogoaheadwithadigitaledition,thesebestpracticescanhelpensureitssuccess.1. Addvaluewithexclusivefeaturesandcontent.Some–butnotall–digitalmagazineplatformsallowpublisherstoeasilyandseamlesslyinsertnewpagesastheytransformissuesfromprint.Thesecanbeusedtocreatedigitalexclusives–whichcanhelpdriveprintandwebreaderstoyourdigitaledition–andtocreateenhancedadvertisingofferings.Butthesevalue-addsareonlyadriverifreadersknowtheyexist,somakesuretopromotedigitalexclusivesin-bookandonyourwebsite.2. Use–butdon’toveruse–multimediafeatures.Featuressuchasvideo,scrollingtextboxesandpop-upslideshowsareagreatwaytobringyourcontenttolifeandcreateamoreinteractivereadingexperience,andtheyaregenerallyenjoyedbyreaders.Inonestudy,scrollabletextandclickablelinkswereratedthetwomostimportantfeaturesofdigitaleditions.Butjustbecauseyoucanaddallofthebellsandwhistles,doesn’tmeanyoushould.Toomanyfeaturesonapagecanoverwhelmthereaderandmakeyourdigitalissuefeelgimmicky.Insteadofusingeveryoptionavailable,limityouruseoffeaturestotheonesthatmakesenseforthespecificcontent,andtrynottoaddmorethanoneortwointeractiveelementstoeachpageorstory.3. Keepaneyeonfilesize.There’sanotherreasonbesidesreadingexperiencetouseinteractivefeaturesstrategically–overusegrowsthefilesizeofyourissues,increasingdatauseanddownloadtimes.Meanwhile,studieshaveshownthatreducingfilesizecanhaveanimpactonreadership–forexample,whenNationalGeographicshrunkthefilesizeofitsdigitaleditionfrom567MBto286MB,downloadcompletionratesgrewfrom68to88percent.4. Measureyourresults.Thoughsomedigitalmagazineplatformsofferonlybasicanalyticssuchasnumberofdownloads,othersprovidepublisherswithadetailedsnapshotofhowreadersinteractwithyourmagazine,downtohowlongtheyspendinteractingwithspecificfeatures.


Takesometimetoidentifywhichmetricswillhelpyouunderstandhowreadersuseyourdigitaleditions,anduseyourresultstoevolveyourstrategyasrequired.5. Createalandingpageforyourwebsite.Readerscan’tdownloadyourdigitaleditioniftheydon’tknowaboutit,somakesuretopromoteyourdigitalmagazinein-bookandonline.Considercreatingalandingpageforyourwebsitewhichdisplayscoverartfornewandarchivedissues,listscontentandpromotesdigitalexclusives,andincludesdirectlinkstodownload.Thoughdigitaleditionsthemselvestendnottobewelloptimizedforsocialsharing,anattractivelandingpageisanassetyoucanpromoteacrossyoursocialmediachannels(andissearch-enginefriendly,too).6. Startanewsletter.Tothateffect,it’salsoagoodideatoincorporateyourdigitalmagazineintoyoure-newsletterstrategy.Useyournewslettertoletreadersknowwhenyournewissueisreadyandincorporatestoriesfromyourdigitaleditionwithinyournewslettercontentmix.7. Usepushnotifications.Pushnotificationsarein-devicealertsthataresenttoausereventheyarenotactivelyusingyourapp–andresearchshowstheycanasmuchasdoubledownloadrates.Inadditiontonotifyingreadersoftheavailabilityofnewissues,considerusingalertstopromotetimelyarticlesfromyourdigitaleditionsortoremindreadersofyourmagazineduringhigh-useperiods.(Notsurewhenthoseare?Useyouranalytics!).8. Replaceyourwebsite.Doesyourmagazineactuallyneedawebsite?Believeitornot,theanswerisnotnecessarily.Thoughawebsiteseemslikeagiventhesedays,itmaynotmakethemoststrategicsenseforallpublications–forexample,smallermagazinesthatpublishjustafewtimesayearandproducenoonlinecontentintheinterim.Why?Forstarters,searchenginesfavorwebsitesthatconstantlyrolloutfreshcontent.Secondly,thedeeperreadingexperiencedigitalmagazinesoffermaybebettersuitedtoin-depth,long-formcontent.Ifyoudodecidetoforegoawebsite,however,thatdoesn’tmeanditchingtheURL–useyourwebsitetoredirectmobiletrafficdirectlytoyourappandkeepalandingpageonyourdesktopsitesothatreadersknowwheretofindyou.


AppendixB

CompanyContactInformation

AsofNovember21,2017

*Mostcompaniesrequireinquiries/questionstobesubmittedviaanonlineform.Emailshavebeenprovidedwithpermissionfromaddressee.

Contact* HQAddress HomePageURLIssuu [email protected] 131LyttonAve

PaloAlto,CA94301UnitedStates

https://issuu.com/

Zinio https://support.zinio.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

575LexingtonAve,Floor17,NewYork,NY,10022UnitedStates

https://ca.zinio.com/www/#/

Magzter https://www.magzter.com/publisherSupport

OneRockefellerPlaza11thFloorNewYork,NY,10020UnitedStates

https://www.magzter.com/

Mag+ https://www.magplus.com/contact MPSNorthAmerica

4045thAvenueNewYork,NY10018UnitedStates

https://www.magplus.com/

3DIssue

[email protected] IDABusinessPark,LisnennanLetterkennyCo.Donegal,Ireland

https://www.3dissue.com/


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Documents

Making the Digital Leap Forward - Magazine Association of BC...Making the Digital Leap Forward| 9 Like Zinio, Magzter is a newsstand application that allows users to purchase single