Tag: digital magazine best practices

Now that so many publishers are issuing digital editions, it’s time to take a look around and quantify some best practices that we’ve noted in researching apps and digital magazines.

First, let’s do some definitions. Terminology is changing daily, as it always does with new technology and new products, but for now we should at least attempt to clarify a few things. Some of these definitions come from outside Mequoda, but others are our own preferred definitions that serve to clarify some of the confusion in the industry right now. Your mileage may vary!

Take this information to the bank … 2016 Mequoda American Magazine Reader Study & Handbook & Handbook polled 3,241 U.S. adults with internet access and found that nearly 42% of them are reading digital magazines, up 13.8% from 2015.

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

Given that we’ve already revised our thinking since I started regularly reviewing digital magazines back in March, I concede that anything we name as a Best Practice in digital magazines is purely temporary.

But I’m going to bravely list our current Best Practices for the mobile magazine that I know you’re all going to publish, if you’re haven’t already. Tomorrow someone might invent something new that blows away a previous Best Practice, so this is obviously an evolving list.

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 best burning questions from our attendees.

Subscription website publishing: It’s the core of every publishing business today. The website is where you drive traffic, post content to enthrall your audience and sell lots of products, including digital and print subscriptions.

The health of your subscription website publishing endeavors dictates everything else you do.

Mequoda’s 2013 Tablet Study has been making the rounds in the industry, especially because it surprised a lot of pundits. Why? First, because we’re the first researchers to ask respondents about access to a tablet, rather than ownership. What with family sharing and all, we found that a whopping 55% of respondents have access to a tablet – not the 20-something number most studies reveal.

Debate rages in magazine land about the future of the industry, and especially the role that digital magazine publishing will play in that future. But at least at Active Interest Media, there’s little doubt about what’s keeping Black Belt magazine in fighting trim, and there’s plenty of earned optimism about the digital future.

Black Belt sold 9,600 digital subscriptions since debuting its app in April 2012. That volume puts it in the top third of AIM’s 42 magazine products, all of which have digital editions. “We’re excited about the consistent growth month over month,” says Andrew Clurman, AIM President & COO.