Launching With Purpose

There’s a great article in the Post about how Reader’s Digest is launching new titles in a down economy. The article emphasizes spending less on launches by thinking smart. One of RD’s new launches is the custom publishing title "Purpose Driven." How did RD keep launch costs down? By offering a digital preview via Nxtbook. Smart and cheap!

Trend-Watch: The Digital-Only Magazine.

We’ve seen a lot of digital-only magazines this year. From Connections to Project Analog to Pharmaceutical Executive Europe, there’s a lot of activity in this space. In this article, we talk about the trend and what Nxtbook Media’s done to respond to it.

When the Tweets and SmartPhones Come Together…

When you work with hundreds of magazines delivering content to millions of readers, it’s hard to know definitively that somebody was the FIRST to do something. However, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Uptime Magazine was our first customer to tweet about the launch of their mobile-ready digital magazine. How’s that for cutting edge?

Today’s Examples of Social Media Boosting Digital Magazine Readership

In this corner, KatieBug saves a Nxtbook with an article on Laptop learning. In the other corner, Positive Yarn posts an article about working with her husband. In both cases, publishers watch their printed content cross over to the Web where it finds more readers.

Boosting the Brand Via Twitter…

Dan Blank has written a dynamite case study on how School Library Journal has used Twitter to build their brand (and their page views). Well worth the read:

If you can establish yourself on Twitter in smart ways, using it to further the goals of your brand, you might find some nice rewards for doing so. But of course, the best reward is knowing that you are helping your readers and industry – furthering THEIR goals.

 

links for 2009-02-20

• Credit Union Times – October 8, 2008
  (tags: tabloid)

Nxtbook 3.0 – The EXTENDED Trailer…

As Nxtbook 3.0 moves closer to public beta, here’s the extended version of our earlier trailer. The bonus footage gives you an extra glimpse into our future while the copy begins to reveal the inspiration. Enjoy!

 

When Metrics Don’t Matter

I knew a publisher who used to give an incredible presentation about "Direct Traffic" to a website. He made a very convincing argument that such traffic was the result of print advertising, the untrackable medium.

But even when advertising can be tracked, the fact is that you can only know the end of the story. What salespeople don’t know is how the prospect behaved prior to that final interaction.

Last week, Allan Brown from Graduate Prospects (a highly successful digital-only magazine) shared the following essay with me. In it, he details how salespeople need to think beyond the final click when dealing with clients. While Allan’s clients are recruiters, the lesson is universal for all of us, regardless of our audience. Excellent reading:

“Tough Measures in Recruitment Media" by Allan Brown.
 
In times of negative economic pressure, when budgets are being cut and all expenditure needs to be justified, many organizations will only use media they know is effective. Whether clients are looking at click-throughs to their website or evaluating where new clients first learned about the opportunities, salespeople are questioned about effectiveness more than ever. And though it’s wise to measure the effectiveness of media and advertising, the results should also be taken in context.
 
When looking at the measurement of the response mechanism, or the click from a web site, one needs to consider how it came about. Was the advert that produced the action the first and final interaction? If we are confident of this then all is well and good. However, if the click was a result of familiarity with a brand developed through other interactions, using this measure to justify future media spend could undermine the very basis of that interaction. Would the candidate have clicked on that link if they were not familiar with or inspired by the brand? This question requires an answer if you are not to fall in the trap of cutting the media that initially engaged the candidate resulting in the final measured interaction.
 
There are also significant issues with asking recruits through what route they applied. It is common for candidates to accept many different influences on different levels whilst seeking a career move or their first role. The breadth of the interactions they have with friends and family, careers professionals, directories, magazines, newspapers, emails, web sites etc are very difficult to measure. In addition, you are reliant on memory and honesty, which both present issues. There are many significant marketing texts, as well as widespread anecdotal evidence, of the unreliability of recruits / customers as measure of media effectiveness. In one example, an organization advertised in a number of different media in order to reach a wide audience. Upon booking the media one of the choices was omitted from the media schedule, so the adverts did not appear, but it was left as an option on the candidate questionnaire preceded by the question ‘Where did you hear about this role?’  To the recruiters surprise a significant number of the responses included the media that was omitted from the schedule and did not appear.
 
This is a challenge for any recruiter to understand and there are many possible reasons including:
* The candidate just forgot where they saw the role
* They are worried about giving the wrong answer and keen to make a good impression, they offer the answer they feel best suits the role.
* They did not give it any thought and just ticked any random answer.
 
Be cautious when measuring media effectiveness using simple metrics that look straightforward, as you could do more harm than good. Consider the whole campaign from inspiration and engagement, right through to that final interaction: the application of the recruit with your client.

eMagazines Preparing to Launch…

As covered in FOLIO:, a new digital newsstand is being launched by a company that’s done pretty well at selling print subscriptions online. Expect more details in the next few weeks, but here’s what you need to know:

* Nxtbook Media has always believed that the best way to find a subscriber is on YOUR website. It’s a Googlicious world and while you’ll come across a few subscribers here or there, your best prospect is the one who goes online, Googles your name and goes to your website. Period.

* That being said, more is always more, and incremental beats detrimental, so we’re supporting eMagazines.

* All of our customers will be encouraged to put their digital magazines on the eMagazines newsstand, though you certainly won’t be required to.

* eMagazines will customize any qualification forms the publisher wishes. In other words, they’re building it for controlled circ. as much for paid circ.

When eMagazines launches, your Account Manager will let you know the best way to participate, if you desire.

Why Digital Magazines Don’t Have to Suck – by Eric Shanfelt

… that’s the title of a great article by Eric Shanfelt which appears in the February issue of Publishing Executive magazine.

Shanfelt’s the executive VP for eMedia for Aspire Media, and his thorough understanding of the industry shows he’s the right man for the job. Here’s a few choice quotes from the article, followed by any relative commentary we’d have:

"If implemented well, replicas can help publishers reduce fulfillment costs and expand internationally." - This is what the industry was all about when it first began and it’s still a very real benefit. One speaker at last week’s PubExpo had little good to say about the product, other than, "It’s saving me a boatload of money, and that’s enough."

"… digital replicas have shortcomings that limit their.. potential. It’s not a problem with the technology, mind you; it’s what we as publishers are and are not doing with the technology." - Perhaps the most frustrating part of being a digital magazine vendor is when a reader posts a complaint about a digital magazine and the complaint is due to a limitation the publisher felt necessary to attach to their product.

"… readers don’t always want infinite and constantly changing, and they don’t always have the time to explore." - Read this last line three times; it’s why a digital magazine is different than a website.

One small quibble: There’s a great analogy in the article about digital magazines being like the very early days of television when a camera was placed in a radio studio. Though I’m fond of this comparison, it isn’t completely accurate. Each month, millions of readers enjoy digital magazines and in doing so, publishers are saving boatloads of money. While I agree 100% with Shanfelt that proper digital-only magazines are the home-runs of the industry, in the meantime, we’re seeing a lot of singles and doubles.

UPDATE: One of our publishers just launched a new digital-only. Check it out to see the special "for-screen" formatting.

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