Last week, at our quarterly Digital Publishing & Marketing Intensive in Boston, we discussed multiplatform publishing, digital magazines, audience development and subscription website best practices at length. During these sessions, we gathered some of the most burning questions from our attendees.
We also gathered their biggest takeaways from the event (check out the videos below!)
This week we’ve been publishing those burning questions and sharing them with you. If you missed them, they are all right here! Questions vary on topics like how to price a magazine bundle, to whether publishers should use Instagram, to metrics all publishers should watch, to questions on how to hire a successful publishing team.
1. Three Multiplatform Publishing Best Practices
At the fundamental level of multiplatform publishing, and as a basic principle of the Mequoda Method, we say that you can use your content to create other products. Live events are the best high-fidelity user experience, with the highest price point. However, most publishers will be very comfortable producing downloadable media, like books, special reports, or video pieces. Or, if you’re The New Yorker, you can ask the article writers to record their pieces and offer them as an audio subscription.
These burning questions from the Intensive can help you build a product pyramid, measure your print-to-web transition, and build a successful multiplatform publishing team. Keep reading …
2. Four Digital Magazine Best Practices
Digital magazine publishing changes from week to week, but we discussed digital magazine publishing opportunities in depth. The publishers we had the honor of sharing a room with – from niche consumer magazines to extremely niche B2B magazines – hailed from all over the country.
We answered burning questions about the economics of bundling your magazine, mobile and website subscriptions, the etiquette of charging more for a tablet edition, and when it’s time to upgrade your digital replica. Keep reading …
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3. Four Audience Development Best Practices
We had some lively discussions about audience development both in-session and during breaks. Some of the most pressing questions involved Facebook, which we discovered had taken a sledgehammer to the visibility of publishers in the audience during the week of the conference for no reason at all. Now, like Google, Facebook is keeping us all on our toes with its algorithm and how they choose to tweak it.
More burning questions involved the value of Instagram, who’s responsible for building guest blogging relationships, keyword research, and how often publishers should post to social media. Keep reading …
4. Three Subscription Website Best Practices
At Mequoda, we maintain the publishing industry’s most comprehensive database of website design best practices. These best practices continually evolve to help publishers develop high-performance websites that deliver on three primary goals: using free content to attract, engage and retain users; selling and delivering premium content that generates revenue; and building online communities that dominate their target markets.
The final set of burning questions asked about how to design a homepage that effectively represents a multiplatform brand, which metrics are most valuable to watch, and how much it actually costs to build a Mequoda System. Keep reading …
We’ve had fun recapping the Mequoda Intensive. If you weren’t able to attend this time, don’t worry, you have several chances per year to join us! Do you have any additional burning questions on these topics? Let us know in the comments!
