It’s also not too hard: Add a little "awesome!" to your next digital campaign with integrated tactics that delight readers, sponsors and advertisers.

In this free white paper is five micro studies of businesses using digital editions to promote their brand and to inspire a targeted audience into action. Each company took a different strategy, mixing some of the best features of old media – like large efficacious images, intentional design, and the cohesive quality of a publication – and new media – such as animation, digital design choices and customization.

They didn’t seek to thrill everyone who clicked the link to their content; but, they created an awesome encounter for everyone who fit their target audience.

Create a better experience for fans of your brand, and reap the benefits of an engaged audience left saying, "that was awesome!"

Click here for the white paper.

A post from Nxtbook Chief Inspiration Officer, Michael Biggerstaff:

Whether it’s the bucolic country life or just an excuse to hit the roads, there’s no denying it: client visits are a common occurrence at Nxtbook headquarters.

In fact, we have more client visits now than other companies I’ve been involved with through the years. Often, local businesses are curious to see “behind the curtain” of a company that has garnered so many awards. Conversely, our out-of-town clients are more interested in learning ways to be more successful with their digital editions, in terms of both reader experience and revenue generation.

Except this "ding" is from one of the four partners here at Nxtbook, and she has forwarded the email of someone who sought her out to share this news:

"Hi Roxanne,

We’ve never met, but I wanted to send you a note (and I hope you are the correct person to contact) saying how much I appreciated your team’s help today. They were helping me get a client’s issue live. Although the client had a lot of questions and concerns, your team went out of their way to get it done quickly, which really saved me some headaches.

Just thought I’d share my appreciation with the team.

Thanks!"

And just like that this thoughtful client hands me perspective, and I remember the reason why we work as hard as we do, working with, educating, supporting, and troubleshooting with our clients, is because it gets spread around. The client appreciates it, readers appreciate it, advertisers, sponsors, agencies, etc. It is why Nxtbook Media can’t be anything less than a full service, customer-centric company.

If you would like to add your feedback, we’d love to hear it. Click here to be taken to a testimonies page, where you can tell us directly what your experience has been like with Nxtbook. Or, if you want to give feedback about our product, we’ve created a feedback forum (click here) for that exact purpose.

And as always, a huge thanks to our clients who make doing what we do a pleasure.

On May 29th, at 2:00 pm ET, you will have the unique opportunity to hear the founder of Boutique and Lifestyle Living Frances  Kiradijan share some of her vision for the growing industry and how digital publishing technology fits into it. Whether it’s used to spread promotional brochures, educate travelers, or make your hotel stand out from all the rest, digital publishing connects new audiences to your business.

Tune in to see example after example of businesses within the travel and hospitality industry using digital publishing to generate and close new business.

Click here to register.

Of the many reasons there are to choose Nxtbook, one that we hear frequently is this: if you want to make the Nxtbook platform do something a little different, our custom development options are more extensive than most. 

If those comments are true about websites, it’s probably important to call a spade a spade and admit that they’re often true for digital editions, which commonly seek to translate a print-centric portrait oriented product onto a landscape digitally oriented platform. The platform can be a bit less than elegant.

But here’s the thing: those days are changing and the change may be closer than you realize. Just last week we had a special webinar with FOLIO magazine, where we offered publishers a glimpse into the near future in return for their committed opinions of what they saw.

Because it’s the biggest game-changer the industry has seen in, well, forever, you won’t find a link to the archived webinar here. The product is being developed swiftly and smartly and you’ll see more of it in the coming days. But for now, just know this: soon, your readers, and by default, your advertisers, will have new options. 

If the answer is no, don’t feel too bad about it. The Harvard Business Review just recently posted a blog article titled “Managers Don’t Really Want to Innovate.”

At Nxtbook Media, we strive to buck that trend. We don’t want to manage or maintain our business: we want to grow it. Every two weeks we hold Innovation Sessions in which the entire company focuses on what we can do better in our processes, in our communication, and in our product development. A crucial element to this is the feedback we get from our clients. To make the process easier, we established a feedback forum, which you can view by clicking here. Anyone who has an idea to make the product better can post their thought, and the public can vote to push it through development.

The beauty of digital publishing is the technology is always getting better. And as the technology gets better, so do we.

Then there’s Principal, who took a heavy, information-heavy topic like retirement planning and managed to create a brochure that was not only informative but also engaging and helpful for any kind of reader. They call it "More Than A Number."

From the moment the brochure opens, readers know to expect more than a page-flip experience. Custom animation on the front cover immediately positions the brochure as an interactive, fun piece designed specifically with readers’ questions in mind.

Jump to the second section, "Understanding Retirement Plan Costs." The title could belong to any textbook or article explaining retirement. But in this interactive brochure the information is broken down into an animated chart. For readers who would like more details, Principal included a click-to-play video that walks readers through the chart, highlighting and explaining each piece.

Even the navigation is customized with the reader in mind. While a reader can easily turn from page to page – the brochure style does allow for a finality, a start to finish, for those who enjoy that reading experience – Principal also includes multiple jumps within a section. Take "Navigating Cost Considerations." At the bottom of each page there are jumps to the next topic for readers looking for more information in a specific area. 

Design, animation, and navigation were all created with the end user in mind, making this a perfect example of creating a valuable resource for readers. This is more than your average brochure.

Here’s the thing: Readership is fracturing today. Your readers are going in a hundred different directions and none of us know where they are all going, but we do need to chase them. Spending that kind of money on one outlet is like the guy who drops $100 on a 20-1 shot to win at the track.

Adding a Nxtbook app to your digital edition strategy? That’s like spending $3 on a 2-1 pick to show. You won’t win a lot, but you’ll be hard-pressed to lose money, too.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised that Pontin’s effort have failed. After all, he writes this:

"Digital replicas of print newspapers and magazines (which could be read inside Web browsers or proprietary software like Adobe PDF readers) had never been popular with readers; but publishers reasoned that replicas were unpleasant to read on desktop computers and laptops."

This type of quote shows that Pontin has missed out on quite a few successes in the digital edition space, so losing 120k on something we would’ve told him to invest 95% less on doesn’t come as much of a shock to us. 

Done? Good! Now you can look forward to Wednesday when you’ll get the chance to preview new technologies to help your publication flourish in the foreseeable future of digital publishing. Afterwards we’ll schedule a quick interview with you to find out your take on the presentation, the products, and the trends you see coming down the line.

If you have any questions you’d like answered ahead of time, drop us a line anytime.