How We Built a Digital Magazine and Got 7,200 Downloads in Niche Media (That’s Right)
With my favorite subject, lately I have been annoying everyone at every possible moment. The other day, ‘Boss’ told me (yes there are two, the first is of course Bruce Springsteen) ‘that’s all great, but please do not forget the print!’. ‘I will not’, I said, scrolling through our editorial calendar later on with his words floating around my head… checking everything that we need is in and included… after all, this is where we brainstorm the most. And we like the smell of the new magazine almost as much as baguettes or croissants with coffee or fries! (All healthy, no raised eyebrows please,read the industry latest!)
Not so long ago, I was beating myself up being jealous of big publishers with huge budgets who could afford all kinds of apps and interactivity done in dedicated design platforms to turn their print magazine into a live and digital form. In their magazines flowers blossomed! Then, one day in my design classes I discovered there are free and affordable options. All that after collecting quotes from different designers with different approaches to our situation and budget.
I was gathering all arguments to present my idea and listing reasons in relation to how and why we need to upgrade and develop something we want to call ‘digital’.
First, I was looking at what the industry has to offer. I was not impressed and was frustrated that some of the titles are called ‘digital’. Why do people tend to call everything that is published online ‘digital’? IT’S NOT! How quickly print media guys think that there are rules in publishing and there must be rules in online publishing?? Digital must have interactive elements, “floating” titles, “pinned post-its” or scrollable time-lines. Or blossoming flowers of course :).
Second, there is the editorial concept behind it: what are we publishing and why? Yes, you can (and you should) recycle the content but up to what point and for what purposes?
And third there is promotion – how will we deliver visibility to our clients?
To be continued