You Might Think You’re Ready for Folio

You might think you’re ready for the Folio: show next week. Your bags might be packed, your tickets purchased and reservations made. But are you ready for the mind-blowing presentations we’ve got lined up for you?

For instance, our booth (#602) is going to have a special surprise for you, involving iPads, technology, and a lot of personality. Watch the sneak preview video here:

 

Don’t forget, Marcus is revealing the top 7 digital editions we found this year. Who knows, it might even be YOURS. Check it out to see who earned the honors. We’ll be in the "Wilder" room, 4th floor, at 10:35 am.

If nothing else, stop by and say hi. It’ll be great to see you.

 

Rising Postal Prices Might Affect Your Ability To Mail Catalogs

The good news is this won’t go into effect until after the major catalog season, otherwise known as the holidays.

The bad news is there’s going to be an average postal rate increase of 2.1% starting January 22, 2012. This means selling products via print catalogs and flyers just got a little more expensive. The question is, do you pass the increased rates to your consumers, decrease how many catalogs your ship, or look to diversify how you distribute your materials?

We’ve been watching the USPS struggle to figure its way out of financial crisis for some time now. Back in January there was a hope that rates would only increase 0.8% for Standard Mail flats, making a much smaller price bump for shipping catalogs. The new price rate wasn’t enough, and we’re watching as prices jump again.

Providing your readers with digital catalogs is one way to circumvent the rising shipping rates. You could also avoid inflating rates for paper and ink. What’s more, since so many businesses are offering digital catalog options now, there’s a plethora of information on how to make the switch profitable, not just as a tool to cut costs. When print and distribution prices starts chipping away at your bottom line, it’s time to look for other ways to get your catalog in the hands of your readers.

Are You Going to Folio?

Man, I sure hope so. It’s going to be a fun time, including awesome key note presentations, a free Nxtbook sponsored run by City Running Tours and much more.

If you’re there, please be sure to check out my session entitled, 7 Sensational Digital Magazines for 2011. Rather than talk about what’s new at Nxtbook, we thought it would be more fun to shine the spotlight on YOU this time around, and show what publishers are currently doing to create some of the coolest titles of the year.

If you’re not going, we’ll try to somehow capture the magic on SlideShare or some other way, but do yourself a favor and hit the big apple next week! 

BPA Has 500 Customers With Digital Circulation

Though there has been ample discussion about how the BPA is trying to remain relevant in an increasingly not circulation driven society, it’s worth noting that 500 titles are now having their digital circulation tracked by them.

That statement makes me feel old, as I remember when the list was 50 (or less). But at any rate, it’s definitely a sign that our little industry is maturing.

In the same report, 26% of all titles claimed at least some digital circulation. I tend to think that number is low, though I do know some publishers who choose not to include their digital circ for various reasons.

Among the titles that did report digital circ, 18.9% of all circ was digital, which is neat to see. We’ve said for years that 15% is an important number. Once you’ve crossed that chasm, most publishers can figure out how to monetize the digital edition. It seems like the publishers on the BPA list are well on their way. 

Win an iPad – Pre-Loaded With iOS 5!

That’s right – we’ve got an iPad for you, preloaded with all the iOS5 goodness, like the amazing new publisher friendly newsstand! How to win it? That’s easy. Take this survey. Cross your fingers. Hope you’re picked. Questions are about your success (or lack thereof) with digital magazines, digital revenue, apps and more. C’mon – you look lucky! Click here.

Peter is Lonely, Please Like Him

Our friend Peter Houston, of Flipping Pages blog-fame, has launched a Facebook page and would appreciate if you would "Like" it. Because we like Peter and because Peter promotes many of our causes, we think he’s worth your love, or at least your like. Help the guy out by going here. And while you’re Facebooking, be sure to like us, too.

Look at Y’all “Booming” And “Flocking” to the Newsstand

Hyperbole and Apple have always been kissing cousins, so I guess it should come as no surprise that according to these articles, action on the new Apple Newsstand is hot. Of course, your mileage may vary, and one should always question articles of rapid growth that quote percentages rather than actual sales data, but the point remains, the Apple Newsstand is a better place to be the App store, if you’re a magazine publisher.

 

7 Ways to Use Digital Editions to Generate Leads

If you’ve been thinking digital editions are only magazines, catalogs or brochures, you need to freshen up your perspective.

While those publications are vital in the digital publishing industry, it’s time to give a nod to the ways businesses across multiple industries are using digital editions to branch out in the marketplace. Take this article which gives 7 ways to use a digital edition to generate leads, including the following:

1. 10 Best Practices
2. Check List for Evaluating a Product/Topic
3. An Introduction to Industry/Topic
4. 12 Common Questions
5. 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Product
6. 50 Industry/Product Statistics for Better Decision Making
7. Learn From the Best: Experts Share Insights

Just as businesses can expand their reach with digital editions, so can publishers. It’s time to expand how you look at your digital publication, and your promotional material.

Stand Out Next Trade Show Season

It’s not easy to stand out during trade show season. Trade shows are still popular ways to gather thought leaders and vendors to share knowledge and products related to an industry. The trick is creating a value that sets you apart to both attendees and vendors.

Nxtbook clients have approached this many different ways. The American Association of Endodontists, for example, created a digital exhibit prospectus for sponsors and advertisers which made it easy for sponsors to find and print necessary documents for the event. They also created an animation which made it easy for potential sponsors to view the floor layout page, enabling it to flip vertically and horizontally so buyers can get a good look at the floor space available.

Georgia Tech went a different direction. They decided to focus on integrating a cutting-edge interactive show agenda in their brochure to connect attendees with networking opportunities before the show even began.

The Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium set itself apart by creating a screen-friendly design with optimized fonts and optimized layout so attendees could access the information on any digital device.

Your approach to differentiating yourself from the competing shows might look completely different from any of those samples, but one thing is clear: digital editions are a key platform for achieving that goal.

What’s a Tweet Worth to You?

So if you’ve been inside a Nxtbook lately, you might’ve noticed that we’re using a different URL shortener inside our Share button. Our own nxtbk.co/ shortener is used so that people can easily post digital edition links to popular social media sites. While this has only been implemented for a few weeks, we decided to dig around some of the analytics to determine, on average, how many readers a shared link gives you. The number? Approximately 12. Every time someone creates and shares a shortened link inside the Nxtbook nets you an average of 12 additional readers.

Is that good or bad? I don’t know, but we like to plant flags in the ground whenever possible. When it comes to social media sharing, consider this our first. 

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