The Netflix of Magazines is Going the Way of Blockbuster

MAGHOUND, the so-called "Netflix of magazines," is shutting down. It’s somewhat surprising it took this long. We weren’t surprised when MAGHOUND sales lagged more than two years ago.

In the end, it’s possible Time, Inc. didn’t realize that their content is their greatest asset. People don’t want to shift subscriptions. If they love your brand, they love your brand. There’s no reason (and little benefit) to make it easier for them to abandon a brand they’re already committed to. Coupled with the fact that the same fulfillment companies that take six weeks to process new subscriptions were unable to turn on a dime for MAGHOUND, and the demise was virtually assured from the beginning. Which was when we first predicted it.

QR Codes Gaining in Popularity

FOLIO picks up an interesting report on the rising popularity of QR codes among magazine publishers. Of course, the report doesn’t look into the success of those campaigns, which will ultimately determine the long-term viability of the product. That said, a first step is getting consumers used to seeing the codes so that they begin to start looking for them as part of their magazine consumption experience. This report indicates we’re getting closer from that standpoint.

Curious about QR codes? Ask your Nxtbook project manager how we can help you make these part of your offering. 

Secrets of Digital Optimized Design

If you’re looking for guidance on how to design for digital, you could do a lot worse than Ron Matejko, whose company has been at it for a few years now. Click here to read some good advice from Ron about font choices and size, rich media and much more.

Surviving the Dark Days of Publishing

How’s that for a dramatic title? That’s what the NY Times titled its feature piece on Esquire. But heck, they weren’t the only ones to survive the last few years. You did, too! So read it and figure out when you and Esquire have in common.

Device Determines Behavior

Of the many things we like to learn about, we like to see how people perform with content differently for the device their accessing it from. From an advertising perspective, do people buy more or less often from a smartphone?

According to Adobe, tablet consumers are purchasing about as much as PC users, and much more so than smartphone users. This makes sense to me, as while the smartphone audience is real, it makes sense that their engagement won’t be as strong. Good things to think about as you plan your strategies for your different audiences, as the same guy is a different guy when he or she is on a different device.

A Lot of Tabletage

A recent report by Pew says that 29% of the population reports having a tablet or eReader of some sort. That sounds about right to me, though I’m not a ran of comingling eInk devices with full color tablets. These are truly apples and orange products. Don’t believe me? Check out our latest 2012 eReader Guide to see what they have in common with each other, and what they don’t.

Today’s Reason to Stop Selling CPM’s

We’ve said it before: CPM’s aren’t the best way to sell or buy ads. It dilutes the value and ignore the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of marketing messages. This latest study supports that idea but with a new spin – offering that a large percentage of ad views aren’t even being "viewed."

Understand, we get it. We know it’s easier to sell big numbers, and as the publisher you don’t want to be responsible for the effectiveness of your advertisers’ campaigns. But if you were, just imagine how much more valuable you would be to them? 

Never Mind, Tim Tebow

For the 4th or 5th year in a row, Nxtbook is proud to bring you the the official event guide for this year’s Super Bowl. However, for the first time, ever, our Creative Services team had a hand in taking this very thin portrait sized book and recreating it an optimized landscape format. Unless you’re Tim Tebow, you’re sure to love this Nxtbook!

Some Apps Don’t Work. But Why?

Of the things that annoy me about the app business (and make no mistake, there are several), perhaps the worst is the onslaught of half-baked "research" studies. In the latest example, we learn that one-third of magazine apps "have at least one serious malfunction."

The article goes on to note that problems range from authentication to hyperlinks and video. Now, you don’t need to be a programmer to know that these three things have nothing to do with each other. Moreover, since the study doesn’t appear to parse exactly if these apps are using similar platforms, it’s impossible to know if there is a reason for these "malfunctions."

It is notable that the biggest problem area is authentication. Noticeable enough that publishers should be wary of such things. That said, the study would’ve been much more helpful if it could help determine the various reasons for said failure. Without that, we have little more than curious bar graphs. But then again, the bar graphs seem to be enough with many of these studies.

That’s 1 Small Step for a Digital Edition Provider…

So looking at the statistics over the past 30 days, we’ve crossed 2 thresholds that are worth noting:

1) For the first time ever, more than 10% of Nxtbooks were accessed via mobile and tablet devices. This has been a steady climb from about 2.5% just about 2 years ago. Is your Nxtbook fully optimized for these devices? Now would be a good time to check with your Account Manager.

2) For the first time I can recall, average engagement per Nxtbook was over 8 minutes. Now keep in mind, this isn’t some goofy survey where we asked people how long they read the digital edition… this is real math and includes every one who closed it within 2 seconds (as some people do). If you compare this to your digital edition, you can see how well you’re doing compared to your peers. If you compare that to your website, you should see that you should be positioning your digital edition differently to advertisers. 

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