Tag: publishing companies

When we look at the most successful multiplatform publishers we know intimately, like our clients and close colleagues, we are usually able to determine what sets them apart from publishing companies that struggle.

12 subscription marketing offers you can test with your existing email subscriber list
Think selling magazines is hard? Look at Netflix. Their offer is that you can try out their video streaming service for 30 days, then pay $8 a month. Not $10 or $12 per year like a magazine, but $8 every single month. And is

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 your brand is critical. But this is a new beast, and to be prepared, you must plan. This holds true even if your business has survived the last 50 to 100 years.

Data helps seasoned multiplatform publishing professionals better understand where their time and efforts can pay off the most in terms of audience engagement and revenue generation.

Spend two days with us, and you could become our next success story.

If you’re a magazine publisher in the digital age, you’re certainly savvy enough to succeed. And perhaps you’re satisfied with your revenue and business growth as they are.

But do you know the secrets to boosting revenues by as much as 20% over the

Our top-read digital magazine publishing posts of last year showcase ways you can start a digital magazine from scratch and how to ensure it’s success
We’ve studied digital magazine publishing efforts and found what works. These reader-favorite posts from the past year help publishers approach the business with confidence. There is advice on starting your magazine

Multiplatform publishing companies that have made the digital landscape their home are able to experience advantages that other traditional publishers have not. Doing this, however, requires having the right people with the right places. Today we’re reporting on hires, promotions, and department focus for some digital publishers.

Today we’re reporting on a major publishing acquisition involving a couple of major multiplatform publishers; The acquisition of Time Inc. by Meredith Corporation. We also look at some thoughts on what this means within the greater magazine publishing industry.

The millennial demographic is one publishers often wonder about. Considering millennials into an audience development plan is a great idea for publishers, and we’re now seeing some interesting evolutions in the way millennials are paying for news. Yes, you read that correctly. More millennials are subscribing to news, including print, more than we’ve seen before.

Multiplatform publishing companies Billboard and Time Inc. make personnel changes; Corporate Board Member Magazine acquired by Chief Executive Group

A morphing environment for some multiplatform publishing companies involves new talent in key positions, as well as assets from other acquisitions. Today we look at both personnel and asset acquisitions from some major publishers.

Digital magazine publishers Hearst and Condé Nast’s joint venture makes moves; Mediacorp shutters print to focus on digital; The Atlantic grows international presence

Spend two days with us, and you could become a success story like these publishers.

If you’re a magazine publisher in the digital age, you’re certainly savvy enough to succeed. And perhaps you’re satisfied with your revenue and business growth as they are.

But do you know the strategies other successful publishers have used to boost revenues

In two short months, you could be starting a new path to profitable multiplatform publishing success. But only if you hurry and register for the Digital Revenue Summit. If you register today, you can still save $200 on your seat.

Digital magazine engagement should be top priority for publishers in 2017
If there’s one area of publishing that has not stood still, it’s digital magazine publishing. In 2015 it was more important than ever for publishers to understand the five digital magazine archetypes and get app magazines at least one step up from a replica. And in

A series of voice-focused trends are beginning to evolve within Hearst’s magazine arm
This week at Hearst, it was announced that they will be using a new Food Network persona to diversify their magazine brand by giving them their own magazine, a trend we expect will grow with more Food Network personas. Women’s Wear Daily writes:
Hearst

In previous weeks, we’ve talked about how using the MBTI can impact the development of your multiplatform publishing team. We’ve also discussed how different personality types can work better together in the workplace.

We’ve established that every effective multiplatform publishing company should have eight executive positions. If you’re a small niche publishing company with revenues less than $1 million per year and you’re the only employee, then you’re doing the job of all eight.

These audience development models create marketing-qualified leads through freemiums that build larger, more monetizable email lists

“Audience development” is one of those terms that many people instinctively understand, but usually underestimate. Although media professionals have worked with the term for years, most have not bothered to define all the things that go on when executing an

Your digital magazine website is like a basketball team, always on defense and offense simultaneously.

For a basketball team, protecting the goal keys the transition to scoring success. A rebound, a steal, a turnover … each can lead to a slam dunk on the other end.

I deploy this analogy because times can be tough lately for digital magazines; ad blocking, publishing on social media, and staff challenges are coming together to compound preexisting conditions facing the industry.

Retail can be used to boost your audience development efforts, because newsstands come with their own marketplaces
There are seven major Audience Development models we have identified: search, social, syndication, email, retail, paid advertising, and direct mail. Today, I’m focusing primarily on retail, and using Green Gardens Network as an example. If you’re new to Mequoda, please

Sometimes media revenue streams flow, and sometimes they dry up
How are you generating media revenue? I hope your response isn’t limited to one answer. Please, take all the time you need, and name as many sources as you can! A multiplatform publisher mustn’t put all of their eggs in one basket. Digital advertising, print sales,

We can’t think of a better way to launch an upcoming series of interviews with Mequoda Members who are making waves in digital publishing than to post this recent email exchange with Bryan Welch, a paragon of niche strategy and an official Mequoda Master we’ve admired for a long time.

To create the perfect online ad, marketers and publishing companies must consider a multitude of factors. Which metrics to key, where to place the ad, when to deploy it, how to present it, why people might be attracted to it. And these factors are not static – they shift with the industry’s whims.

By now, you know that native publishing is sweeping the industry, as digital magazines continue to cultivate additional revenue generators and provide more elegant options for both marketers and audience. But is it growing too fast to really take hold?

If you’re publishing on social media – and if you’re not, contact us immediately for a free 30-minute conversation, things just got real! – you know that the goal posts keep getting moved, albeit in a (mostly) good way. Just when you think you have things figured out, somebody comes up with another networking and sharing concept that could add another layer to your content distribution strategy.

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 those six months. The findings, compiled by MPA metrics arm Magazine Media 360°, continue to show strong growth while also marking major shifts in mobile media consumption.

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 so often. But they’re something digital publishing companies must keep track of, because ROI and consumer action are what advertisers are (rightfully) focusing on when

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 own hands and producing that branded content in house, adding staff and other resources to their operation in order grab a larger slice of the pie and future-proof their properties.

Conventional wisdom says that moving your legacy print magazine into the digital age is complicated, expensive and painful.

Mequoda says: Not if we have anything to say about it.

There’s a better way to publish digital magazines that’s driving amazing revenues and profits for the select few publishers who understand this new methodology.

The digital publishing strategies we

Some folks like to talk about the decline of magazines. And yet, the digital magazine surge shows that not only are magazines surviving, but they’re alive and well, with still new ones being born.

Of course, it’s not easy to achieve. Then again, that’s what Mequoda is here for: to help would-be publishers who want to know exactly how to start a magazine, just as much as it is to help legacy publishers transition into the digital age.

Who are the companies and what are the trends making the latest media news relevant to digital publishers like you?
The latest media news this week includes news from the earliest media: print.

But we’ve also got more from the world of native advertising news, publisher video, and branded content agency doings.

MediaPost is on it as always, starting

For magazines publishing on Facebook Instant Articles, a primer on how media companies are using it, how the social media giant is tweaking it, and how holdouts are responding; plus, getting serious about video
Publishing on Facebook Instant Articles isn’t quite as polarizing a prospect as initially thought, but it will still be a major decision

We count many B2B publishing companies as Mequoda Members, in large part because you’re hardwired for a multiplatform strategy. You often have built-in niche audiences; you can facilitate events and conferences; and you have tons of material to draw from for content like articles, white papers, instructional videos, podcasts, and more.

Still, you come to us for a reason – you haven’t quite put it all together yet, because the industry is always evolving, and demands for products, platforms, and personnel are changing.

MediaPost has recent stories on these topics and more. Let’s take a look!

Online magazine subscription tactics will key digital publishing strategy in the coming years, as advertising challenges like ad blocking and viewability could force small and midsize, regional and niche, publishers walled off by the likes of Facebook Instant Articles and Snapchat to shift to a membership model.

Luckily, Mequoda Members already know that digital magazine subscriptions are a crucial component of a mutliplatform publishing strategy. The question is not whether to offer subscriptions, but rather what is the best mechanism or product with which to do so.

And you have options.

If you’re a publisher, tech considerations have emerged as a crucial component of your day-to-day decision-making. This likelihood increases exponentially if you’re creating mobile apps and dedicating resources to serious multiplatform publishing.

Publishers will grow quickly when they embrace an integrated multiplatform publishing system for audience, content and teams
Most multiplatform publishing companies didn’t start out as multiplatform, unless you consider the web their one and only secondary platform. However publishers are finding new ways to produce content for themselves and advertisers across, print, digital, and in-person (event)

For some companies with multiple properties, publisher networks just make sense as a way to centralize operations and standardize content across all platforms for the purposes of more attractive options for digital advertisers.

Now, of course, we realize that not all digital magazines are in this position, but publisher networks are an industry-wide phenomenon that bears watching in the context of potential mergers & acquisitions, niche strategy, the future of web advertising, and the direction of multiplatform strategy.

Digital consumers are the end all be all for Internet publishing companies. Everything revenue-related runs through them. Digital consumers click, read, subscribe, and share. They are the goal.

Here’s the good news: Digital consumers are there for the taking. How do we know this? Because we’re digital consumers ourselves. And because we’re seeing print magazines more and more make the transition to the web with a clear idea of how to maximize multiplatform publishing opportunities instead of stumbling around in the dark.

Some of those magazines are Mequoda Members, and some are legacy publishers with the resources to afford a larger margin of error. And then there’s The New Yorker, which is just dominating the shift. How are they doing it? Folio:’s on the story, along with several others. Let’s take a look!

Did you know that while many Mequoda Members are niche publishers and regional publications, many others have been legacy publishers looking to transition to creating digital magazines that can compete in an industry that finds niche publishers and regional magazines succeeding at unprecedented rates?

That’s why we have a soft spot for legacy publishers, and why we keep a close eye on magazine industry news, activity from top publishing companies, and mergers & acquisitions.

Media Rating Council issues revisions to mobile viewability guidelines; plus, Adobe’s audience development data and a vertical video solution
Ad viewability, especially mobile viewability, is arguably the issue facing digital publishers: As we’ve said before, when it comes to digital advertising trends, all roads lead to viewability: engagement depends on it; ad blocking programs derail it;

Does it seem like there’s been more news about native advertising trends lately? Well, that’s because there has been. Sponsored content has skyrocketed in popularity, and the execution of these ads has gotten stronger and stronger. What’s more, publishers and marketers prefer them because they’re less disruptive to reader experience, which is a big part of why ad blocking programs aren’t nearly as successful deterring them as they are with traditional banners and other types of ads.

From content planning to determining your exit strategy, every successful multiplatform magazine business model includes planning these seven things
At Mequoda we spend a significant amount of time building custom business plans for our niche magazine clients who are adopting a multiplatform magazine business model. During this process, we run through seven elements of the business

In the second decade of the 21st century, the online publishing environment is not only changing dramatically, it’s changing at a faster rate than we ever could have anticipated.

In a mere 20+ years, since the dawn of the commercial Internet, we’ve experienced a genuine paradigm shift in content marketing. That’s because magazines, newsletters, books, audio and video content now can be digitized and delivered online, as well as marketed on websites and via email.

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 social media efforts in the digital media evolution. It’s never easy.

Unless you’re The New York Times, of course.

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 more frequently. As brands strive to become publishers and social media platforms strive to become everything to everyone, content is not only king, it’s ascending to emperor of the galaxy. The industry news can be hard to keep up with!

Luckily, we have sites like MediaPost to make sense of it all. Let’s take a look at some of their recent coverage on hiring trends, Facebook’s appeal for at least one legacy publisher, and the latest mergers & acquisitions.

Worldwide publishing represents a daunting proposition for digital magazines: Audience development and digital advertising is tough enough domestically, and it’s called the World Wide Web for a reason, so why invest resources in opening up international markets already occupied by homegrown media companies? Why hire native speakers or translators to serve up content to readers in Latin America or the Netherlands? Because there’s plenty to go around as device usage continues to climb and advertising demand proliferates. eMarketer delivers the data that makes worldwide publishing a more compelling option for stateside digital magazines. Let’s take a look some of their recent articles.

Tablet, print, or web? The data shows that magazine consumers are split on their magazine format preference. The web edition showed a tiny edge over print and tablet editions, but at this stage of the game, digital magazine consumers seem relatively equal on their preference for tablet editions versus print editions versus web editions.

Legacy magazine publishing companies like Time Inc. digital are trying to get smaller, while smaller publishers like Lonely Planet and Vox are trying to get bigger. Let’s take a look at a few stories from the inimitable Keith J. Kelly’s “Media Ink” column in the New York Post.

The Association of Magazine Media (MPA) released its first-quarter 2015 Magazine Media 360° report, and the year-over-year data is encouraging for online magazine publishing companies.

Finding an edge is always at the forefront of online publishing companies’ efforts. Today, we look at how Time Inc. is taking its operations to the next level, how digital magazines are dealing with the limitations of the once enchanting infinite scroll, and how Jeff Bezos has brought a little Amazon strategy with him to The Washington Post.