I’ll admit it: I like Firefly. And I’ve been known to watch the Star Wars and Star Trek series. But what United Business Media (UBM) did with their special edition of EETimes, Military Aerospace issue, goes beyond a mild interest in science fiction. It launches readers of all types into an all-out excitement about what’s going on in outer space.

To begin with, the content is high quality. In their special edition, UBM covers topics such as unmanned vehicles, modular test platforms, and Galileo’s launch. With cutting edge technology as the issue’s focus, it seems a natural fit to present the material in a digital-savvy (digital only) format.

UBM takes advantage of the technology by seamlessly integrating extras like full-page animated photos, video, and additional content hidden behind animation. Check it out: on page 23 readers are briefed on the need and solution for wireless, unmanned craft used for Navy surveillance. On page 31, they tuck additional information about Galileo behind an animated button.

If nothing else, check out the video on page 4 which, with the quality of a Hollywood production preview, inspires viewer into curiosity. And "Curiosity will launch late this year and land on Mars in August 2012."

By taking advantage of the medium, UBM is able to appeal to an audience interested in technology, and even broaden their scope to untapped readers who might start with a vague interest in space and end up ensnared by the engaging digital extras. Their cover quote sums it up well: "After the shuttle, the stars."

The Foreground: Fast forward to now, and we discover publishers entering this space have many of the same challenges, and the same concerns. To help address this, we have updated the report into one succinct document containing 5 case studies illuminating how publishers tackle industry challenges such as:

• combining text, images, animation, audio and video into a single, media-rich offering with value-add for advertisers
• battling production and distribution costs
• easily reaching an international, professional audience
• having a competitive advantage in attracting readers and advertisers
• increasing engagement with content without losing readers

If you find yourself facing some of these same challenges, click here to download 5 case studies for free.

But there’s another side of the story. Increased circulation is certainly a goal of publishing, but increased reader engagement is crucial to proving content value. The question remains: what medium provides the best reader engagement? The American Prospect Advertising Manager Ed Connors points to his website and digital edition analytics to answer that question.

As the full case study points out, the content published to their website and their digital editions is comparable; content is pulled from the Special Report and monthly magazine onto the website. Yet the website material doesn’t spread virally like the Special Report, and tracking metrics show it has a lower engagement time.

Connors reports, “Our numbers overall for the digital magazine and Special Report are much better than our website.” He went on to say the Omniture tracking enabled for the digital editions are much more specific than website data, and from this, “we’re seeing much longer engagement in the digital edition. More pages and more time spent on it.”

Connors attributes part of the success to the format inherent to digital editions: “You have everything all in one place, easy to use, in a fun-type format. A lot of people are seeing this for the first time, and they’re flipping pages, and it’s engaging. You’re clicking page to page to page to view different articles, and you don’t have the same set up with a cover and magazine on your computer screen looking just as it looks in your hand.”

So the next time you’re considering where to spend more of your energy – on a website or a digital edition – consider your metrics and check where your readers are spending their time.

We had the rare opportunity to take a look at The American Prospect’s publishing model with Advertising Manager Ed Connors. During the research process, Connors reported: "What we have found is that we’re able to capture a niche audience for special reports through dissemination of the link to advocacy groups with a special interest in the subject matter of the reports." As a result, "the visitors went viral," said Connors.

Read the case study "Bait Paid Subscriptions with Free Content" to see:

1. The trick to making your content viral
2. How to use free content to tease readers to pay for more
3. Why digital editions was the key to skyrocketing visitors and engagement

Download the full case study here and learn how you can apply some of the same practices in your own model.

In particular, Matrix excelled in three major areas:

1. Digital Extras – Digital extras like animations, video, and audio extend readers’ interest in your content. Matrix is chock full of digital extras, such as an intro video which explains the new layout, video in advertisements, and the subtle adjolts in almost all of the ads.

An impressive digital extra is the mouse-over pop-ups they added throughout the edition. When a reader scrolls over specific icons on a page, additional content appears; it disappears when the mouse cursor is moved. This involves readers with the content without requiring additional clicking. Matrix connects with readers by asking a question at the beginning of the magazine (pictured below), and uses a bubble icon to get them to scroll over for contributors responses to the question.

2. Actionable Content – A less discussed advantages of digital editions is the ability to make content directly actionable. Matrix took advantage of this in several instances, including asking readers for questions and giving a live email link for a quick response. They also added a section a call to action for readers to get involved in a relevant government decision by clicking a live link and signing a petition letter.

3. Digital Advertising – With the new layout, advertisers get more space on the page. Ads look good on all screens – mobile, tablet, or desktop – which is important for advertisers trying to make a good impression on readers.  Matrix takes it to the next level by adding a customized tab with advertisers’ logos which takes readers directly to specific advertisements. The advertisement found on the right side has the added advantage of being visible regardless of what page the reader is viewing.

Whether readers are flipping through the edition on an iPad, an iPhone, or a desktop, there are ample opportunities for them to engage and interact. Take advantage of today’s technology by optimizing your editions for optimum reader response.

Elcot Publications launched the digital only version of their regional business magazine back in September. For any new magazine circulation and readership is a key concern; but, for a digital only title it’s essential to ensure your content is across the web and tablet devices to take full advantage of potential new readers. We worked closely with the team at Elcot to create a branded, customised app for them, featuring a digital catalogue of their magazine and archived issues.

No one was happier than I was when the client came back to me and questioned the reader and visitors number after receiving their weekly tracking report: what was with the sudden increase in page views and visits (up by just over 34%)? Looking in this we were pleasantly surprised to find a large number of readers had chosen to download the new native app to their iPad/iPhone. Not only did this fact show their readers to be technologically savvy, but also that their iPad app was actively encouraging new readers into their content.

So can creating an iPad/iPhone app increase circulation for a magazine? Yes but we’re not suggesting just signing up for an app alone will have an impact on your reader figures. The clients who are having success in this area are using their iPad apps as part of a much wider digital publishing strategy. They are designing and optimising content for the web, they are actively marketing their content across a variety of devices and tablets and sending out targeted e-mail campaigns. Like anything an app is only as successful as the marketing behind it. Elcot has actively promoted the launch and development of their app over the last few months, and their readers are well aware of the options available to them. Working closely with you the team at Nxtbook will help you do all of this. At Nxtbook we are able to offer both browser based and native/branded apps that your readers can download from the iTunes store. You can talk to your Account Manager about finding the right solution for you.

The Business Magazine:Digital can be downloaded free from the Apple store, please find link below:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-business-magazine/id400449725?mt=8

To meet this challenge, nonprofit organization TechSoup created a content-heavy digital catalog which they blasted through the Internet using social media sites, blogs, websites, and email. Techsoup utilized the power of the digital edition to cut production costs, find new readers, and to encourge their readers to become marketers for their brand.

Some of their results include:
 - saving nearly 50% on production costs
 - 300+ tweets and retweets within 8 hours of the catalog’s release
 - emails about the catalog were forwarded 212 times by readers
 - 76 new subscriptions to the company newsletter

To see more of TechSoup’s results and to discover how they did it, CLICK HERE to download a free copy of the case study. Learn how you can increase your circulation through free marketing on social media sites.

The Survey:

Nxtbook Media is offering you the chance to be both a part of giving the data and gaining from the results. Regardless of who your digital service provider is, we want to know how your digital magazine is working for you in today’s marketplace. In a quick survey which takes minutes to complete, we’ll ask you about your satisfaction with your audience, circulation, mobile use, growth, revenue, and other integral aspects of the publication process.

The Reason:

As to why you should take the survey, two reasons:
1. As Peter Houston says in his blog, The Flipping Pages Blog, "the results could help highlight the common concerns publishers have about the medium." Feedback, whether positive or negative, drives us to be even better, and that can only help you.
2. You can get a copy of the results and know how your responses compare to other publishers’.

If you really need a third reason to take the survey, well here it is:

Participants in the survey who provide their email addresses get not only the results of the survey, but they are also automatically entered in a drawing for an iPod Touch. (Those who have already taken the survey are also included in this drawing.)

(image from the apple store)

Did we mention the iPod Touch is perfect for downloading the Nxtbook Newsstand app and perusing nxtbooks anywhere?

Click here to take the survey now!

Most dismaying, perhaps, is that the links I’ve provided aren’t to the studies but to the major news outlets who considered the data accurate enough to be published.

It’s interesting – we’re a Google advertiser and I get a lot of surveys from Google asking me about their service, with lots and lots of questions. But not one of these questions asks me things that Google already knows the answer to: they don’t ask about CTR, page views, etc. They do ask about what my experience is as an advertiser and those are good questions. But to ask about things that data can confirm (or, more likely, refute) in a heartbeat is just silly.

Disclaimer: the interviewer is Peter Houston, who works for a Nxtbook customer, though in point of fact I don’t think he ever personally chose to work with Nxtbook, though I do hope we make it easy to do so.