Over the past few years, digital publishing industry has grown rapidly. This has accelerated the migration of publishers from traditional publishing methods to the modern ones. All this has further resulted in the rise of digital publishing platforms.
In this article, we have tried to decode how you can find the best digital publishing solution for your magazine and ensure a proper workflow. But before that, let’s start by learning the basics.
A digital platform allows creators to distribute their content on all digital devices like smartphones, desktops, smartwatches, voice assistants etc. It’s a place where you can put your content online for a global audience to access and benefit from.
It will ensure your content is available, has optimal exposure and attracts your target audience. For any digital media, investing in the right platform is key. This will act as the backbone of all your efforts.
Digital magazine publishing is a relatively new and progressively expanding field. It’s easy to get reference points and have a blueprint of what your journey should look like. Careful strategizing can give you better results and a fool-proof execution method.
Here are a few steps that will help you :
Brainstorm digital content to publish: Regarding content, you have a lot to think about. Review your native content, brainstorm ideas for new content and most importantly, look at our older content to evaluate how you can reuse them.
Create digital publishing SMART goals: What is the purpose or the end goal of your content? Have meaningful goals that you can track to check your progress post publishing the stories. Use inbuilt analytics or use google tools.
Define and speak to an audience: Avoid talking to a blank crowd. Spend some time to set your target audience - find relevant circles that would benefit from your content. .
Learn from your audience: Audience behavior can teach you a lot. How do your readers want to consume the content? Why would they choose you over a competitor? These are all things you want to consider when creating and publishing your digital content.
Set a reasonable budget and spending limit: Work out a practical balance - one that helps you achieve your goals without breaking your wallet. Some digital publishing software platforms come with a higher price tag and different levels of features, so keep that in mind when setting a budget. Do not think of your platform as a purchase - think of it as an investment.
As digital publishing continues to grow, make sure you are keeping up with all the relevant trends. Ensure to integrate competitive digital strategies consistently as well.
A digital magazine, simply put, is an online copy of your typical physical magazine. It is also referred to as an e-magazine - something that can be published and accessed digitally through a website or app. Digital magazines can cater to a variety of niches like - food, photography, travel etc.
Digital magazines work better than your typical print magazines - they can have layers. You can add links, images, audio, videos and animation! They are also cheaper than the print alternative and reach a wider audience effortlessly. These digital magazines have been adopted by many organizations, from corporates and universities to traditional magazine publishers.
1. To move away from print.
Print magazines have had a great run but if you want your content to remain evergreen and keep up with the current audience needs, venturing into a more digital option wouldn’t hurt. You would also save the distribution and press money.
2. You want to supplement your print magazine.
Lets say your existing readership enjoys your print copies. In this case, you’d like to have both print and digital copies of your magazine to cater to the existing audience base while still having the ability to reach out to an alternate group. It is a good way to boost your reach without alienating an existing print readership.
3. You're launching a new magazine.
If you’re starting your first magazine, going digital-first is the easiest and safest option. Enjoy all the perks of a print magazine but have a wider audience for half the cost.
4. You want to ensure unlimited access.
Print is a great format — but it isn’t the easiest to scale. If you want to offer your content globally then a digital magazine may just be the solution for you. It’s easy to share and easy to buy - high-speed internet gives you the boost you need.
5. You want to generate revenue.
The best way to generate revenue from digital content is to create exclusive content for subscribers. This is what a Rolling stone or National geography does. Pricing for a digital magazine subscription can vary hugely depending on your niche. This is why we came up with Accesstype, an easy subscription management tool that provides easy transactions for users and easy user updates for publishers. It’s important that your magazine content is different from all that’s available on the web today to get grow your subscriptions.
Flash magazines
PDF magazines
Flipbook Magazines
Native App Magazine
Magazine subscription apps
HTML5 magazines
Digital magazines, although on a screen, are highly visual in nature. It’s important to look into its nuances and come out with something that your subscribers would pay for.
Create the right design for your magazine
Have a dedicated team to develop the right design for your magazine. Being a visual platform it’s important to look into everything from line spacing to placement of elements - you need a design that is reader-friendly and brand-specific.
Provide SEO friendly and unique content for your magazine
As mentioned above, it’s crucial that your magazine content is premium and available only to the subscribers of your magazine. Without this, your magazine may lose its relevance and impact.
Choose a suitable to Monetize your magazine efficiently
Do you have the right monetization tool? We provide Accesstype to our magazine publishers. It’s built to ensure that your subscribers have an easy payment experience. The right payment tool will help you build flexible plans and suit your brand needs as you grow in the digital publishing industry.
Publish your magazine
Once you’ve proofread and assorted your content perfectly, you need to publish your magazine. Distribution should be easy with a digital magazine. Ensure you’ve promoted your magazine and that your readers can access it easily. You can also have all your issues available for purchase.
Bold by Quintype
Bold is a one-shop-stop solution for all types of digital publishing needs. It is a headless CMS offered by Quintype that helps magazine publishers in creating, curating, and distributing content effortlessly. Its long list of features includes live preview, omnichannel distribution, on Page SEO help, in-depth analytics, and much more.
Joomag
Joomag is a publishing platform that helps companies with creating interactive content. Magazine publishers that are looking for highly-customisable digital publishing solutions can check out Joomag. However, high customizability also means that the content team has to rely heavily on the developers team.
ButterCMS
ButterCMS is another popular choice when it comes to digital publishing solutions for magazine publishers. Since it is a headless CMS, its main feature is seamless connectivity with other apps through APIs.
Strapi
Strapi is another headless CMS that is developer-first. What makes it different from other publishing solutions in the list is that it can be self-hosted. If a publishing company wants to hold its data on its own servers, Strapi can be a good option. However, self-hosting also means that a dedicated team of developers will have to maintain the servers all the time.
Kontent.ai
Kontent.ai is a modular content platform that enables digital magazine publishers to plan and create interactive content for different channels. The main feature of Kontent.ai is that it gives publishers top-level control over the entire content operation.
User friendly interface
With the Bold CMS you are able to publish stunning digital magazines with an easy-to-use interface. With the unlimited features and tools, you can make online magazines more attractive for your readers.
Mobile friendly
Cater to your mobile-first audience with the Bold CMS. Use the live preview options for perfecting your placements and focus points. Your digital magazine can be accessed on any device and browser with Bold.
SEO friendly
Bold comes with inbuilt SEO analytics which can be used to track writer-specific or time-specific analytics. These options will help you present your magazine on all search engines.
4. Workflow
If you are a growing magazine publisher, you need a solution that is easy to scale for both your team and your audience. This is where Bold's workflow comes into play. Not only does it provide smooth editorial workflow but also extends features like - access control, easy submissions and a central reviewing dashboard.
5. Budget
Bold is an enterprise publishing solution. This means that it gives you premium quality publishing solutions that are industry approved without having you carry the entire weight for the product development and updation. Big and small publishers, can now have access to a superior publishing experience.
Are you ready to publish your digital magazine? Start your journey today! Schedule a free demo with us to learn how Bold could benefit you.