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

Facebook Black Hat and White Hat Practices for Increasing Post Visibility and Getting Banned

Audience Development Strategy

Facebook Black Hat and White Hat Practices for Increasing Post Visibility and Getting Banned

You may not know it, but there are things you could be doing on Facebook right now that are against their rules, or are strongly suggested against. You may have been

13 Examples of Professional Email Subject Lines

Audience Development Strategy

13 Examples of Professional Email Subject Lines

If you could, you'd hire a professional email subject line writer. You would, because you depend on your email list to sell magazine subscriptions or ads to advertisers, so smashing

The Best Webmaster Job Description: 10 Key Duties

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Best Webmaster Job Description: 10 Key Duties

Ten years ago, apps and responsive website design weren't even on the radar of a webmaster, and website analytics weren't nearly as dynamic as they are today. Websites back then

A Great Example of a Premium Content Subscription

A Great Example of a Premium Content Subscription

A couple of years ago, Don outlined the attributes of a premium content subscription: not a website itself, but the thing that customers buy – the content subscription. In updating this

How to Start a Magazine and Publish it Profitably

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Start a Magazine and Publish it Profitably

Do you want to know how to start a magazine? In her book How Not to Start a Magazine, B. Ann Bell says the number one way new magazines fail is

Designing a Promotional Email: The Spotlight Template

Audience Development Strategy

Designing a Promotional Email: The Spotlight Template

At Mequoda, we call any promotional email that features a single product or membership a Spotlight. When you're designing a promotional email, it's best to ask yourself: "how can I

Multi-Platform Journalism is the New Normal

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Multi-Platform Journalism is the New Normal

Back when many current print journalists were beginning their careers, their job descriptions looked very different than they do now. Yes, the basic idea of being a journalist is still the

Born Again: What Digital Magazine Advertising Looks Like in 2022

Digital Magazine Publishing

Born Again: What Digital Magazine Advertising Looks Like in 2022

“Mad Men” may have died, but in the digital age, advertising's been born again. In fact with a 21st century propensity for growing new tentacles, the conventional ad is evolving

How to Start an Online Magazine from Scratch

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Start an Online Magazine from Scratch

Although we work with many established legacy publishers, we also work with publishing startups. In fact, these startups benefit from our years of work with legacy publishers teaching them how

10 Guidelines for Content Aggregators Who Recycle the News

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

10 Guidelines for Content Aggregators Who Recycle the News

Aggregating great content is just as valuable as creating great content Content aggregation is often given a bad name, because it’s often done incorrectly. The best content aggregators approach the process

5 Paid Newsletter Best Practices for the Digital Age

Digital Magazine Publishing

5 Paid Newsletter Best Practices for the Digital Age

These days, when people talk about newsletter best practices, they’re usually referring to free email newsletters, used as a marketing tool to drive inbound traffic to websites. But because some

Let’s Clarify: What Is a Digital Magazine?

Digital Magazine Publishing

Let’s Clarify: What Is a Digital Magazine?

Magazines are designed to be read from front to back. They have covers and a table of contents. Magazines are arranged in a series of articles. Portals are not meant

A Successful SEO Press Release Example

Audience Development Strategy

A Successful SEO Press Release Example

PR is so different now than it was even five years ago, nevermind ten or twenty years ago. Because major news outlets still require press releases, we still publish them,

The 21 Best Email Subject Lines Proven to Increase Open Rates

Audience Development Strategy

The 21 Best Email Subject Lines Proven to Increase Open Rates

Discover the carefully guarded source of the world’s most effective email subject lines that most professional copywriters don’t like to share

The Significance of 7 and 9 in Pricing Psychology

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Significance of 7 and 9 in Pricing Psychology

Pricing psychology is fascinating. A couple cents can change someone's mind about purchasing a product, no matter what the total cost is. For example, some people are more willing to

5 Pubs Who Abandoned Print For Digital-Only Magazines

Digital Magazine Publishing

5 Pubs Who Abandoned Print For Digital-Only Magazines

Digital-only magazines have had their ups, downs, and (in some cases) its “in-betweens.” While some digital magazines have remained powerful and influential after going digital, others have since been discontinued. And

Free Webinar Reveals 7 Subscription Landing Page Tests You Can Do Now

Audience Development Strategy

Free Webinar Reveals 7 Subscription Landing Page Tests You Can Do Now

I'll make this quick because I know you're busy. You’re invited to join us on December 8 at 1:00 PM ET for a FREE webinar, 7 Subscription Landing Page Tests

Do Covers Matter on Digital Magazine Websites?

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Do Covers Matter on Digital Magazine Websites?

Magazine covers matter. As Samir Husni (aka Mr. Magazine) states in a recent article on Poynter, “The power of the magazine cover in print has always been significant...High-profile people, it’s

58 Online Copywriting Power Words and Phrases

Audience Development Strategy

58 Online Copywriting Power Words and Phrases

If you’re experienced in online copywriting, you know that “you” is generally considered to be one of the most effective copywriting power words, ranking right up there with free, new

Create Better Vanity URLs: 8 Dos and 6 Don’ts

Create Better Vanity URLs: 8 Dos and 6 Don’ts

Follow these landing page guidelines for your vanity URLs so that people can both remember you and find you organically You know the importance of landing pages, but it's completely possible

Fun with Paywall Pricing Strategy: When to Ask Them to Pay

Fun with Paywall Pricing Strategy: When to Ask Them to Pay

In recent years, publishers have been testing paywall pricing, and for good reason. Hearst, for example, tested a paywall that changed based on what the reader was consuming. Instead of

Social Media Marketing for Magazines: How Top Publishers Get Seen

Audience Development Strategy

Social Media Marketing for Magazines: How Top Publishers Get Seen

If your magazine doesn’t have a consistent social media presence by now, then you’re light years behind the competition. It used to be a struggle to get buy-in from the

Expert White Paper Design Explained

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Expert White Paper Design Explained

The web lets publishers create a wide variety of products more affordably than ever. That is good news, but it carries a downside: we aren't experts in creating every digital

Join Us on Zoom and Discover 7 Critical Subscription Landing Page Tests

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Join Us on Zoom and Discover 7 Critical Subscription Landing Page Tests

When a visitor arrives at your website landing page, you have about five seconds to make a good impression and capture their attention. If you don’t succeed immediately, they're likely

How Do Online Magazines Generate Revenue?

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

How Do Online Magazines Generate Revenue?

If you've considered starting an online magazine, or are a legacy print magazine considering going digital, you've asked this question: How do online magazines generate revenue? And the answer is

8 Ways to Sell Digital Magazine Subscriptions

Digital Magazine Publishing

8 Ways to Sell Digital Magazine Subscriptions

It’s amazing to look back to just a year or so ago, when digital magazines were still something of a novelty. Today, it’s a given that print publishers will soon

7 Subscription Landing Page Tests You Can Do Now

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

7 Subscription Landing Page Tests You Can Do Now

The only thing standing between you and more revenue is better landing and order pages. But how are you supposed to know what to test, beyond copy, images, and the words

The Perfect Digital Magazine Template

Digital Magazine Publishing

The Perfect Digital Magazine Template

Magazines are designed to be read from front to back. They have covers and a table of contents. Magazines are arranged in a series of articles. Compare that with other

The Allowable Cost per Order Formula for Publishers and Event Marketers

The Allowable Cost per Order Formula for Publishers and Event Marketers

You have to spend money, to make money, right? But how much do you need to spend in order to earn your money back in digital publishing? That's the question marketing

Subject Line Spam Trigger Words

Audience Development Strategy

Subject Line Spam Trigger Words

Email subject lines are just one part of the email delivery equation. Emails are delivered to inboxes based on subject lines, content, and reputation. In some cases, engagement is even

How to Create a Bulletproof Magazine Business Plan for a More Profitable Future

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Create a Bulletproof Magazine Business Plan for a More Profitable Future

As you know, having an online portal for your information is essential for growth. Using the web to publish and distribute content and not just serve as an extension of

Best Digital Magazine Publishing Software You Can Use to Launch Your Digital Magazine

Digital Magazine Publishing

Best Digital Magazine Publishing Software You Can Use to Launch Your Digital Magazine

Digital magazine publishing software is important; which option are you using? Publishers have been trying digital magazine publishing software during the last few years in hopes of creating the best digital

What is a Web Magazine?

Digital Magazine Publishing

What is a Web Magazine?

The answer many people give to the common question, “What is a web magazine?” is often incorrect by our definition. Some may say that a magazine’s website is a web magazine,

The 14 Most Clickable Social Media Headlines

Audience Development Strategy

The 14 Most Clickable Social Media Headlines

Everything we've read as observers of social media and publishing communities tells us that most marketers don't get a click rate on a Tweet of more than one percent, and

The Best Advertorial Definition & Examples That Will Inspire You

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Best Advertorial Definition & Examples That Will Inspire You

Isn't most content online an advertorial these days? With so much conversion architecture built into websites, aren't we always trying to convert visitors into subscribers, or get them to click

The Best Audience Development Job Description We’ve Seen

Audience Development Strategy

The Best Audience Development Job Description We’ve Seen

Audience development personnel have a very specific, and incredibly important job, within an organization. Writing an audience development job description and then finding the right audience development staff can mean

The Best Digital Magazine Examples and Why We Love Them

Digital Magazine Publishing

The Best Digital Magazine Examples and Why We Love Them

When WIRED went live with the world’s first iPad magazine – a mere six weeks after the iPad’s debut – it sold 24,000 copies in the first 24 hours. For

How to Run a Roundtable Discussion Virtually on Zoom

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

How to Run a Roundtable Discussion Virtually on Zoom

The steps to facilitating an effective roundtable discussion with roundtable discussion questions Have you ever run a roundtable discussion? Throughout my years in publishing, I’ve taken part in countless roundtables. During some,

The Best Paid and Free Press Release Sites

Audience Development Strategy

The Best Paid and Free Press Release Sites

On content-driven, information-rich websites we use press releases for more than the basic announcement. We also use them to release free white papers because we know they offer more opportunities

14 Best Website Design Guidelines for Improving Any Website

14 Best Website Design Guidelines for Improving Any Website

Since 2006 we have held these fourteen guidelines as the most fundamental principles of the best website design. Every website is unique to its own audience, so you can't include things

5 Profitable Multiplatform Sponsorship Advertising Models

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

5 Profitable Multiplatform Sponsorship Advertising Models

Multiplatform publishers can generate revenue from users, from sponsors, or both. Consumer-focused portals that are sponsorship-based ask users to pay – not with money, but with time and information. They

Write Better Subscription Marketing Copy By Learning From the Greats

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Write Better Subscription Marketing Copy By Learning From the Greats

In 1926, a long-form print ad for the U.S. School of Music was written by John Caples, and the headline read, "They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano,

Increase Your “Stop Rate” to Sell More Subscriptions

Increase Your “Stop Rate” to Sell More Subscriptions

If you look at Shorenstein Center and Lenfest Institute's Digital Pay-Meter Playbook, you'll discover that one key metric you can measure, which identifies high-performing publishers, is your "stop rate." Your stop rate is

Using the MBTI to Build Better Multiplatform Publishing Teams: Working Within Personality Types

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Using the MBTI to Build Better Multiplatform Publishing Teams: Working Within Personality Types

While the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) began as a tool for self-discovery, it has become a widely used tool for building high performance teams in organizations. It provides users with

3 Most Important User Tasks for Subscription Website Homepage Design

3 Most Important User Tasks for Subscription Website Homepage Design

Successful website homepage design allows visitors to achieve their goals Is your website properly designed to meet the expectations of your visitors? Often times websites encourage visitors to take an additional

Digital Magazine Libraries: The Storehouse of the Future

Digital Magazine Publishing

Digital Magazine Libraries: The Storehouse of the Future

It strikes me as somewhat ironic that the word magazine which simply means storehouse, is becoming more true than ever as magazines go digital and digital magazine libraries make it easier than

The 8 Best Free Event Listing Websites for Virtual and In-Person Events

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The 8 Best Free Event Listing Websites for Virtual and In-Person Events

In-person, live events can be a fun and profitable revenue stream for any multiplatform publishing company. When passionate people are committed to a topic, they want to go to the

Digital Magazine Publishing

Decoy Pricing: The Biggest Little Secret in the Publishing World

How would you like to increase your subscription revenues by almost 60%? It can be done, and it’s not magic. All you need are a paid subscription website, a couple of

How to Write Copy for a Subscription Website That Sells

How to Write Copy for a Subscription Website That Sells

We all have a need to feel taken care of. How many things do you buy to fill that need? Don't we go to a restaurant not just for the food

Your Introduction Email Subject Line is Critical

Audience Development Strategy

Your Introduction Email Subject Line is Critical

“Hello, sailor. Can I buy you a drink?” “Do you come here often?” Of course these silly pick-up lines are good for a laugh, but do you know how to really introduce

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