How We Built a Digital Magazine and Got 7,200 downloads in Niche Media (That’s Right) – part two
First, thanks to everyone who sent messages to my LinkedIn inbox saying that they enjoyed my post. Second, I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write part two but here it is!
Remember when we got 7200 downloads? What we discovered is that the same amount of readers was downloading the digital magazine to their mobile phones as they were downloading it to their tablets and, possibly, the tablet version to their computers.
How we built a digital magazine and got 7,200 downloads in niche media (that’s right) – part one
Always Be Ready to Switch
Even though we are working on ways to completely breakdown the differences between the devices that are used, at this stage, it is obvious that mobile phones need special attention. This is in-line with the current figures in digital publishing that show a great growth in the mobile-based content industry.
However, everything changes and you never know when the readers will just give up on their smartphones and go back to flip-phones! Remember when Anna Wintour was called out for being ‘old-school’ when a picture of her with a flip phone went viral? I think that she actually brought the flip phone back to our attention, even starting a small revolution, ‘If Anna can do it, then I am ditching this notification beast as well’. I think that she was just separating her ‘mobile-duties’ onto different devices.
We are all aware of the negative aspects of our smartphones. Trends in Indonesia, for example, show that people are devoted to their BlackBerries. Security experts still consider the BB as the safest device, whatever that means in our ever-changing world. Financial corporations like to use it as well, even though they might have an iPhone on the side for Instagramming their latest dish or current airport ‘take-off’.
Back to Analytics to Decide on the Format
The reason we need analytics is simple and you can probably guess the answer. We need analytics to know how to further develop the product, to see at what circumstances our readers are downloading the magazine and what countries they are from and, most of all, to establish what type of content we should provide. All of this will tell us ‘what to do next’. What we know for sure is that it should be a standardized platform, based on the design software that we already use. It should also be a software brand that is always developing.
Editorial – How to Differentiate Print from Digital
Our core business is informative and beautiful industrial print magazines. I am a bit annoyed with particular stereotypes that assume that ‘digital people’ do not use print. Yes, they do, all the time. Be sure about the fact that someone who is in love with online content and technologies will be a manic buyer of new books or magazine titles. Technology is based on constant learning and learning is about reading. Furthermore, everything in print these days relies on new technologies. A good relationship between print and online is not only possible but also necessary. Your product has a new generation of consumers and you need to talk to them in their language.
So, we have decided to use our digital format to quickly communicate the best features that our readers could use ‘on the go’. We want to give them a quick insight into German or French brands, figures, short descriptions and links. If our reader needs to study this more carefully, she or he will be able to get a print copy with in-depth analyses and read it off-screen, possibly even spilling coffee all over it, getting the full sensation of reading print.
How to Get More Exposure for You and Your Clients
Now this is a special task. Obviously, we do not want our magazines (print and digital) to be liked just because our editors invested a huge amount of effort in writing them. Our task is to provide a useful but enjoyable piece of content that our industries will like to read. This is why we plan a lot and review our plans just in case. We partner with many international exhibitions and are a part of many international press-stands. We are now in digital, so we need to promote it outside our available audience. We partnered with one of the trade shows, which was really successful, and came up with a new idea with our media partner relationship. We said, “Hey guys, we have something new, let’s put content on your show, in our new digital – into your newsletter – and let’s use our audience and yours to distribute it”. Voila!
It was a simple idea and, in this case, it worked well for both sides. The key is, when you plan to promote, try to go above what is expected and check whether your partner has the potential to contribute more. Do not only think of your current customer – a reader – client, think about the others who are just getting involved in the industry. Where will they look for you? Online.