Don Nicholas

Founder & Executive Publisher

Don Nicholas serves as Executive Publisher for Food Gardening Network and GreenPrints. He is responsible for all creative, technical, and financial aspects of these multiplatform brands. As senior member of the editorial team, he provides structural guidance, sets standards, and coordinates activities with the technology and business teams. Don is an active gardener whose favorite crops include tomatoes, basil, blueberries, and corn. He and his wife Gail live and work in southern Massachusetts surrounded by forests, family farms, cranberry bogs, and nearby beaches. Don is also the Founder of Mequoda Systems, LLC, which operates and supports numerous online communities including I Like Crochet, I Like Knitting, and We Like Sewing.

Articles by Don Nicholas

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

How a Multiplatform Magazine Marketing Team Operates

Build your multiplatform magazine marketing team that can grow an audience and subscribers at the same time Publishers have been making organizational changes to deal with the realities of the modern

Using the Mequoda Method Boosts Revenue 6X in Three Years

Using the Mequoda Method Boosts Revenue 6X in Three Years

Mequoda Method for the win This is a cautionary tale about online publishing strategies … a parable, if you will. It involves no actual Biblical references, and no real-life publishers were

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Magazine Advertising Trends: Mobile, Targeting, Paywalls

The media companies making news around magazine advertising trends include the Guardian, Financial Times, and more Magazine advertising trends may not make for the most exciting material, but they're important to

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Digital Marketing Metrics: Ad Data, Social, Expansion

Getting insight on digital marketing metrics from comScore, The Economist, the Atlantic Leap, and others Getting a grasp on digital marketing metrics is crucial for multiplatform publishers looking to maximize the

Report: Mobile Media Consumption Dominating Desktop

The Association of Magazine Media (MPA) released its Top 10 magazine brands for the first half of 2016 on July 28, along with its most current audience data taken from

Two Types of Magazine Ads You Can Bundle

Digital Magazine Publishing

Two Types of Magazine Ads You Can Bundle

There are two types of magazine ads that successful multiplatform publishers bundle into their multiplatform rate cards. Each item on the rate card has a value associated with it. Bought

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Magazine Publishing News: Portals, Native, Video, Email

The digital media companies making magazine publishing news include GQ, Slate, Meredith, and more We monitor magazine publishing news on your behalf because every day brings new big things in the

How to Build a Modern Multiplatform Magazine Content Team

A successful multiplatform magazine requires a capable content team What makes a legacy publishing company a unique and challenging organization is that many of the traditional divisions among different parts of

Magazine Expansion: Launches, Audience Metrics, Niche Engagement

Magazine expansion is a key to magazine survival and success. Building on your product is a key tenet of multiplatform publishing strategy. The question is, how do you pull it

Monetizing Digital Content: Native, Ecommerce, Niche, and More

The publishers making news when it comes to monetizing digital content include Quartz, Fortean Times, and Dennis Is there anything more important than monetizing digital content for magazines looking to embrace

Organic SEO for Publishers Paying Dividends, Study Shows

SimilarWeb data determines that organic SEO for publishers is a strong play Organic SEO for publishers is a key component of the Mequoda Method, one that can even permeate social media

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Crowdsource Magazine Covers for Print & Digital Editions

Magazine covers can make or break sales on traditional and digital newsstands – are you leveraging current subscribers for input? I subscribe to magazines and email newsletters of magazines for dozens

Native Agency Approach a Priority for Digital Publishers

Checking in on the New York Times, Financial Times, and Bloomberg native agency efforts – and what it means for digital magazines So maybe you're not quite ready to launch your

2016 Mequoda American Magazine Reader Study & Handbook

Claim your FREE digital copy of our 2016 Mequoda American Magazine Reader Study & Handbook: Multiplatform Magazine Reader Habits and Digital Publishing Best Practices now.

Your Publishing Niche May Determine Your Search Success

Having a startup magazine in the finance and health publishing niche used to be a slow crawl to success, but has Google changed that? Publishers are seeing big increases and decreases

Magazine VR: Is Our Industry Ready for Yet Another Innovation?

If you're running a digital magazine, VR, or virtual reality, is not at the forefront of your mind right now. You've got daily content concerns, tech to catch up with,

News for Print Publishers: Newsstand, Xerox, Customization

While it's true we've made our reputation with digital publishers, remember that many of them started as print publishers, and we helped them make the transition by instilling multiplatform strategy

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Digital Ads Do Better With Premium Publisher’s Content

Premium publishers in the news: Bloomberg, Hearst, and more; plus, native ads not a cure-all There are are premium publishers, and then there is premium publisher's content, and you don't have

Why You Should Focus on Building Digital Magazine Habits With Your Subscribers

Digital Magazine Publishing

Why You Should Focus on Building Digital Magazine Habits With Your Subscribers

Once print habits are gone, the magazine industry will rely on a new breed of digital magazine habits that you're responsible for creating Once pundits started waving the "print is dead"

Mobile App Content: One Magazine’s Success

Digital magazines can go in a million different directions with mobile app content to create apps people want, but it's no big secret that a shortcut to more downloads and

How Multiplatform Magazines Make Money Outside Their Magazines

How Multiplatform Magazines Make Money Outside Their Magazines

If you are a magazine publisher, you are a digital magazine publisher. You are online, and hopefully you have a digital edition of your magazine. But that may be all

For Any Magazine Publisher, Content Can Be Flexible

Repurposing publisher content is a best practice that all Mequoda Members do as a matter of course. You should try it, too. It provides great value, requires minimal albeit dedicated investment of

Registration for Our One-Day Digital Magazine Workshop Ends Next Week

Digital Magazine Publishing

Registration for Our One-Day Digital Magazine Workshop Ends Next Week

Register now, or wait another year to attend this one-day workshop. I’ll keep this short, because I know you’re busy. Registration for the upcoming one-day Digital Magazine Publishing Workshop closes in one week. If you

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Digital Ad Metrics: Attention Is the New Impression, but Still Nascent

Decoding the latest digital ad metrics, and checking in on ad tech and a digital renaissance for a legacy title Digital ad metrics rise, fall, resurface. New ones are invented every

The Publisher Portal: What Your Website Really Means

By now, you must have read us go on and on about the Mequoda Portal, an integral part of our multiplatform strategy for digital magazines. Fact is, the publisher portal

Digital Magazine Publishing

10 Productivity Tools for Agile Digital Magazine Teams

Create digital magazine teams using agile principles and progressive technology to build more collaborative processes Magazine teams have historically all been in one building, maybe in New York City, or Washington, D.C.

Magazine Challenges – and Chances to Shine: Social, Ad Blocking, Apps

It would take a much longer post to outline all of the magazine challenges facing online publishers, but a few of the big ones these days include whether to go

How to Bring Customers on a Multiplatform Content Merry Go-Round

Don't make your multiplatform content live on islands by themselves Let's say you have plenty of website traffic. Audience development is no problem for you. Your SEO boots are laced up

Email Newsletter Publishing: User-First Approach + Attention to Detail = Success

Quartz's take on email newsletter publishing makes it a pivotal part of operation; plus, events key resurgence for B2B magazines Email newsletter publishing might seem like an antiquated part of multiplatform

Looking to Make a Magazine Online?

To make a magazine online is to set out on quite a journey. It's a journey that will require comrades, and we're more than happy to join you on your

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Digital Magazine Sales Up, According to Study

Digital magazine sales surveyed among 14 of the top magazine publishers are skyrocketing on a single-copy level, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. Year-over-year website traffic is on

Digital Magazine Publishing

Which Digital Magazine Platform Is Most Important?

At the beginning of your roadmap, this magazine platform should come first, even before an app. Online magazine platforms or offline magazine platforms or any platforms in between, it doesn’t matter:

Magazine Revenue: The Latest Trends and Headlines

The publishers making magazine revenue news include Gannett; plus, digital advertising, print circulation, and more If generating magazine revenue were easy, we wouldn't exist. It's our mission to make it easier

How to Update a Magazine Editor Job Description for Multiplatform Publishing

How to Update a Magazine Editor Job Description for Multiplatform Publishing

Write an online magazine editor job description like a product description for a Swiss Army knife Can you remember life before the internet, when a personal computer was another name for

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Content Marketing, Publishing a Match Made for Growth

When it comes to content marketing, publishing executives know how valuable native advertising can be to their revenue stream. More and more, though, digital magazines are taking matters into their

What American Magazine Readers Really Want

Digital Magazine Publishing

What American Magazine Readers Really Want

The answers will surprise you At Mequoda, we’re deeply opposed to guessing. That’s why we’re so devoted to testing and statistics, which is how we developed our Mequoda Method and made it

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Mobile Best Practices: A Modest Proposal

Getting a grasp of mobile best practices is like trying to catch a fish bare-handed. Unless you're a bear, they're really tough to pin down. If you are a bear,

Publishing Analytics News From PubExec Live Summit

Checking out the latest publishing analytics news from all data points Publishing analytics have assumed a prominent role here at Mequoda, where we're focusing more and more resources on staff, development,

Multimedia Publishing: New Ebony Ownership Goes in Different Direction(s)

Multimedia publishing demands multiplatform strategy, and Ebony is embracing it; plus, NYT latest to consider ad-free model Multimedia publishing is remaking the industry, fueled by multiplatform strategy, content like video and

Digital Magazine Publishing

Two Weeks Left to Save – Register Now Before Vacation!

Put down the sunscreen and register before summer fever sets in So, look, I know you're headed on vacation in the next week or so, but we have an early bird

Digital Ad News: Blocking Still a Stubborn Issue

You don't need us to tell you that the digital ad news when it comes to anti-ad-block efforts is not necessarily good. The efforts of digital publishers to block ad

Snapchat Media: Changes to Discover

When it comes to Snapchat, media brands must reconcile the upside of the channel with its challenges. Or overcome the challenges and maximize that upside, take your pick. Most digital

12 Case Studies of Publishers Who Have Blazed the Trail to Success

12 Case Studies of Publishers Who Have Blazed the Trail to Success

Mequoda wants no publisher to be left behind I can talk until I’m blue in the face about how well the Mequoda Method works in helping legacy print magazine publishers make

Digital Magazine Publishing

5 Easy Evergreen Content Sources for a Magazine Portal When You’re Fresh Out of Ideas

What most publishers of niche magazines don't realize is that coming up with an editorial calendar is just as much work as producing the evergreen content itself.

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Magazine Marketing Strategy: Ad Study Shows Publishers in Strong Position

New Nielsen Catalina multi-year media survey yields some interesting results on magazine marketing strategy When we talk magazine marketing strategy, typically we're talking from the point of view of publishers. But

How TIME Magazine Turned It Around With Multiplatform Publishing

TIME magazine is seeing growth in print and digital due mostly to a strong pursuit of native ads in editorial and video, plus staffing updates and multiplatform publishing Last year, TIME's print

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Ad-Free Magazines: Prevention Takes the Plunge

Among publishing executives, is there anyone more admirable than Maria Rodale? Of course, we all have our favorites, but for us, Rodale's new media innovation, multiplatform strategy instincts, niche content

ABC to Track and Measure Digital Magazine Distribution, Readership

Digital magazine distribution and consumption will receive the Audit Bureau of Circulations treatment; plus, Google follows Apple's lead and Time Inc.'s vision Digital magazine distribution, readership, ad views, and more are

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Apple Publisher Alert: Updates App-Lenty of Interest to Magazines

We've talked extensively about the great deal that the late Apple Newsstand – missed by some and not so much by others – offered magazines: a 30% remit to stand

Digital Magazine Publishing

5 Reasons Your Magazine App Could Be Costing You Money

Your magazine app is a platform, but it's not the most profitable digital magazine platform for passive income Digital magazine apps are great for one huge reason: They come with a

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