We have seen the popularity of the iPad and similar tablet devices within their infancy. We’ve also seen the mobile device market explode. These trends will continue to evolve. In order to utilize the popularity behind these technological advances, it’s important to know who and what you’re really developing your magazine for. Our Digital Publishing Trends posts capture what’s happening in the digital publishing world.
Free Download: Consumers are telling us loud and clear what they want—are you listening? How much would you pay for that information? To find out how you can improve your digital magazine rapport with subscribers, claim your FREE digital copy of our 2018 Mequoda Magazine Consumer Study, today.
First things first: What are native ads, as we know them today? Native advertising is sponsored content crafted by marketers, often in collaboration with in-house studios at digital magazines, that’s intended to “fit in” with articles and videos on a publisher’s site, without misleading readers.
Sound like a fancy way of saying advertorial? Well, sure, but
Online magazine advertising is growing exponentially, especially on mobile, but there’s much to be sorted out before it can truly serve as a cornerstone revenue generator for all digital publishers. Ad blocking programs, ad viewability issues, and cross-device targeting pose problems for many publishers.
On the flip side, even all of the options and advertising methods
Social media: Magazines know they must have a presence, but the problem comes in fully achieving it. For instance, when, why, how, and where to post? Or, alternately, do you just hand over all of your content to Facebook Instant Articles and call it a day?
As with any other component of your multiplatform strategy, you
Subscription publishing is another element of multiplatform strategy that digital magazines must stay attuned to, as the landscape seems to shift every week. Most recently, paywalls for online content have rapidly wavered in favor, as publications like the Sun have scrapped theirs altogether. Freemiums and premiums rule the day, as do membership systems and tiered
The latest in B2B publishing includes Penton’s purchase of MRO Network; Informa’s bet on events; and CIO’s big change
B2B publishing represents the best of niche strategy; audience development depends largely on the quality of your content and whether you can earn the trust of executives in your target trade. In addition, B2B publishing lends itself
Internet advertising revenue isn’t all the way there quite yet as the sole source of profit for the majority of publishers, but it continues to grow at a rate that makes it more and more attractive to digital magazines, on both the local and national level. As publishers get closer to cracking the code on
The top digital publishers have risen – and stay – there because they’re willing to experiment, evolve, and tread along the cutting edge of industry-wide best practices while pushing out ahead of the pack with new practices. This includes everything from hiring trends to social strategy, mobile video trends to ecommerce website design.
To start off
October has been a busy month for hires, promotions, dismissals, and more for publishing executives at the New York Times, Fusion, and Slate
Every once in a while, we like to take a peek at the comings and goings of publishing executives and share what we find with you, especially when hiring trends reflect the direction
Just think if you could take a master class on digital content monetization with executives from the likes of The Economist, Hearst, Salesforce, and The Guardian.
Well, if you were in London last week, you could have, by attending the Monetising Media conference event, which, like our Mequoda Intensives and Summits, brings together publishing professionals to
Which magazines on social media are performing especially well as of the third quarter of 2015? Well, the Association of Magazine Media 360° is glad we asked – they recently released their latest Social Media Report, which covers the top 25 magazines across all social networks in terms of likes and followers, as well as
Have you noticed an uptick in your online ad revenue?
If so, take pride in keeping pace with the rest of the industry. 2015 has seen a jump, from several sources.
If not, don’t despair: 2015 has also seen a jump in the spread of bot activity, leeching online ad revenue from publishers and other brands.
MediaPost has
Despite the proliferation of platforms, channels, and technology, ad engagement hasn’t exactly gotten easier for publishers and brands. Whether it’s the ad blocking craze that seems to be taking over the Web or cross-device targeting concerns, viewability issues or unreliable metrics, connecting consumers with meaningful ad experiences that can sustain digital magazines and satisfy marketers
The future of digital magazines gets brighter with every passing fiscal quarter, but it’s a slow and steady progress as traditional revenue generators try to keep pace with advancing technologies, evolving device usage, and the gradual migration of ad dollars from print to the mobile web.
The ties that bind publishing, social media are stronger than ever; plus, Condé Nast debuts new video platform
If you own a company in digital publishing, social media is not an optional arm of your strategy – it’s required to help promote your content, of course.
But too often, digital magazines treat social media as a formality,
Publisher acquisition news is often pretty predictable and ho-hum, but sometimes a deal comes along that not only captures the imagination, but also truly crystallizes the state of the industry.
There’s no doubt that niche content is the name of the game, at least if you’re playing the game using the Mequoda Method. But digital magazines can’t expect to slap a few enthusiast articles up on a homepage and wait for the money roll in. Rather, online publishers must stay vigilant in repurposing content, developing
Are you generating all of the digital advertising revenue you’re capable of? If so, what’s your secret? If not, join the club.
Mequoda Members know that relying solely on digital magazine advertising to pay the bills and try to turn a profit isn’t the wisest move. But as one plank of a multi-platform strategy – functioning
Digital audience development is the endgame for magazine publishing companies making the transition from traditional channels to a multiplatform strategy that will them in a position to compete in the coming decades. But getting to the endgame is a work in progress: Digital magazines are continually experimenting with new channels, refining best practices, and measuring
When you read about international media news like the kind eMarketer covers below, small and midsize digital magazines have the ability to act on it overnight to start capitalizing on audience potential, a bigger pool of tablet users, and expanded digital ad revenue opportunities.
Media General and Meredith made major digital industry news recently when they announced a mega-deal was in the works that would see the former acquire the latter to form a publishing and broadcast monster, taking multiplatform strategy to a whole other level. The terms were reported as a 65% stake for $2.4 billion.
But Nexstar
One of the most significant advantages of a multiplatform strategy is that new digital magazine platform options pop up frequently: They make for a renewable resource that will likely never run out. If you’re willing to put in the work and climb the learning curve as quickly as possible, you can integrate new Internet revenue
As websites become more and more sophisticated, the look and feel of portals has become slicker but it many cases more confusing as media companies attempt to use every trick, tool, and toy they can to impress visitors, retain traffic, and convert consumers. This is understandable, and sometimes it even works! Recently, however digital magazines
Latest publishers’ news includes personnel moves, mergers & acquisitions, and multiplatform advances
For publishers, news from across the industry is nonstop these days, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Keeping tabs on the activity of other digital magazines and media companies makes for an instructive exercise in both inspiring stories and cautionary tales for
There aren’t many industries as exciting these days as media and publishing, which rivals even the tech sector for growth opportunity.
Each week brings with it a new advancement, revenue stream, and shakeup. For every failure, there are that many more successes – or at least startups. The revolving door has never swung around faster or
If you’re a mobile publisher trying to monetize an already challenging platform for digital magazines, no two words strike more fear into your heart than “ad blocking.”
Ad blocking programs are not some flash in the pan gimmick that’s fading with time; they’re proliferating, and gaining in popularity with key demographics for audience development (ie, Millennials
Sometimes, you just need the numbers, right? When it comes to making decisions that could be the difference between flourishing or folding, data is a commodity. Device usage, performance metrics, ROI: Publishing industry analysis on these factors and others will determine the direction digital magazines take in the coming years – which themselves will be
If you’re considering joining the ranks of video publishers, the time to jump in is now.
With so many digital magazines and brands deploying multiplatform content on the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, devising social media standards for measuring data for advertising purposes was only a matter of time. Now, the Media Rating Council has done just that. Keep in mind, of course, that no matter how these guidelines shake
Dedicating resources to an online magazine archive is a best practice for multiplatform publishers that we highly recommend, and a big key to success in the Mequoda Method.
Our favorite part about digital magazine archives? You don’t actually have to dedicate too many resources to make them work. Aside from some general maintenance, most of the
Digital media publishers and executives move at a pace months ahead of others in many professions.
Whether it’s on a practical level with editorial calendars planned months in advance or with efforts to continually anticipate industry trends, digital magazines must be vigilant. The reward for reacting and responding? If you play your cards right, increased audience.
Publishing events continue to establish an industry foothold, as best practices are refined and perfected
Upward of 60% of our Mequoda Members have integrated publishing events into their multiplatform strategy. One online media company we work with generates more than half of its revenue with sessions produced by a 25-person staff. And audiences keep growing. Clearly,
There’s no such thing as an excess of content distribution platform outlets – the more the merrier, as far as Mequoda Members are concerned. But Apple Newsstand certainly had its fair share of detractors despite the visibility and content monetization it could provide digital publishers during its better moments. Now phased out, it gives way
Is there still anyone out there maligning email as a has-been component of publishing? We sure hope not. Newsletters are hotter than ever, for starters, and emails operate as a another strong delivery mechanism for content like video. They build loyalty with existing consumers, create relationships with new consumers, and give you the opportunity to
How are entities like Vox Media, Quartz, the IAB, and the ANA combating ad blocking programs?
As ad blocking programs proliferate and become more popular with consumers – especially younger consumers like Millennials – marketers and publishers are feeling the heat in trying to confront what they consider a common enemy.
Recent news about Google’s efforts to
If there’s one thing all digital magazine executives can agree on, it’s that there are never enough publisher revenue opportunities.
Settling on just one is out of the question, and even once you’ve established several, they’re continually changing. Digital advertising, for instance, is currently facing ad blocking and ad viewability issues. And audience development isn’t just
It was only a matter of time until mobile spending overtook desktop, but that moment is rapidly upon us; plus, personalization, video, and more
Mobile spending is a rolling freight train spilling over with cash at this point, and it’s arriving at the station a little sooner than expected. This year, mobile ad sales will pass
Publishing on LinkedIn is a practice we believe in: As a social networking service aimed at professionals, what better way to share content with digital magazine executives and digital marketers? Article shares to LinkedIn have surged 600% in the past year and a half, according to ShareThis, but that pales in comparison to Facebook, Digiday
Digital magazine readership – or audience, for our purposes – keeps climbing. Even as publishers grapple with ad viewability, mobile content strategy, and other challenges, they can take comfort in the fact that consumers are demanding their product more and more, judging from the exhaustive studies of the Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report.
MediaPost covers
Big data is a big term, but there’s not a lot behind the concept itself, and no need to complicate it – collect the information that consumers provide and use the information that consumers provide. It’s that simple. Brands can take this mandate in cynical directions, but they can also improve user experience by personalizing
Yesterday, we relayed MediaPost’s news about the Movable Ink study finding that mobile email marketing has eclipsed desktop open rates, which is great news for multiplatform publishers who have Email Marketing Systems. As email shrugs off the greatly exaggerated reports of its demise and re-establishes itself as a strong audience development tool, newsletter open rates
Mastering mobile email marketing might sound like it’s low on the list of priorities for digital magazines, but, in reality, it’s rapidly emerging as one of the most pressing skills for multiplatform publishers looking to improve their content distribution strategy.
For starters, consider the level of control you have when it comes to your message and
The digital publishing business gets more and more interesting by the week. Time Inc. digital investments and innovations have been relentless; recent personnel changes from Ogden to Bloomberg Businessweek have kept the industry on its toes; and mergers & acquisitions are approaching peak activity. Combine all of this with the daily maneuvering of titles trying
Bryan Welch’s successor, Bill Uhler, aims for more publishing events and ecommerce content strategy; plus, an industry update halfway through the year
Publishing events comprise a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to the Mequoda Method and multi-platform publishing, which itself has become the predominant piece of publishing success. Publishing events scale well: It
PPC publishing takes the pay-per-click model for advertisers to a compensatory one for platform contributors, and it’s gaining steam. The shift acknowledges the realities of digital publishing: With so much content available on the web, there needs to be some quantitative measurement of the impact of articles and posts, and the bottom line is a
Magazine audience is the most valuable commodity publishers can acquire. All revenue efforts hinge on it. For legacy media, going about this acquisition was a fairly straightforward task, historically speaking. Today, it’s a sophisticated, demanding, and occasionally chaotic one. Readers change tastes and preferences on a whim; their consumption habits understandably vary with the overwhelming
The phrase mobile video trends combines two challenges for publishers into one mega-challenge: conquering cross-device advertising and mastering multimedia with strong production and distribution platforms. More and more, the two go hand in hand: If digital magazines are going to succeed on tablets, smartphones, and phablets, the thinking goes, they’re going to need more than
The power of traditional media companies is diluted these days, as legacy publishers struggle to keep up with the proliferation of content across the World Wide Web. Print is an endangered species, and audiences are in control with countless options available to them. A select few digital magazines can command massive traffic by sheer reputation,
We’re not digital-and-damn-the-torpedoes here at Mequoda, believe it or not. While digital magazines are our focus, we believe there’s room for print in multi-platform publishing; while Mequoda Members approach us to help them transition to a mobile and desktop existence, many retain their print properties and find success in doing so. But what about those
Digital magazine design is evolving nearly as fast as digital magazines themselves, because digital magazine design plays a huge part in defining digital magazines. Publishers continually implement new features to enhance reader experience, increase viewability for advertisers, and stay current with the shifting demands of the industry.
Email campaign strategy has emerged as a crucial component of multi-platform publishing, even as wrong-headed observers have pronounced it DOA in recent years. The Mequoda Method highly values online newsletters as a ripe opportunity to build loyalty, expand audience, and cultivate serious levels of conversion. But we also know that email can be unwieldy with
