Expert Insights on Print to Digital Transition

Chad: Absolutely!

Let me tell you about a publisher in India who has nailed the digital subscription game. They are about quality journalism and focus on understanding their niche audience's needs.

Initially, they tried the usual monetization methods like metered paywalls and contribution articles. But the real game-changer came in November 2023 when they partnered with another publisher to offer a bundle subscription.

This strategy paid off big time! By February, they already saw revenue numbers that matched their average for the past 12 months. From there, things just took off.

In March, their subscribers jumped to 150% of what they had in February. And by May, with the Indian elections heating up, their commitment to delivering top-notch news led to a 600% increase in subscriptions. By June, this number skyrocketed to 1200%.

The bundle subscription was a vital driver of this success.Their transparency and genuine efforts to provide quality content paid off, as readers were more than willing to pay for the service.

This story shows how staying true to your audience and adapting with innovative strategies can lead to tremendous growth.

Chad: Digital is getting bigger every day, and audiences exist in different places. The first thing is to prioritize the digital audience. The second is to deliver quality and immersive content. If you offer engaging content, it can catch the audience's attention, and they will pay for it.

Chad: It is a combination of many things. Some of them are

• You need to observe what they are clicking on.

• Analyze how your content performs.

• Understand the popularity of the content; that is the foundational part of analytics.

• You have to reach out to them and understand who they are.

• You must respond to them to make them a part of your reader base.

Chad: Industries have been hit quite hard in general for the past 30 years. I am sure there are success points throughout, but overall, the revenue has been hard as we have gone from a print to a digital world. We have become a little bit inward-looking.

Your competition is not just with another publisher but with big platforms such as social media and capturing market attention. So, the publisher is partnering with another publisher so that both of them get benefited. They have taken the bundle subscription option.

Publishers use each other's quality because the same consumer-consuming content from both publishers might convert into their customers.

Chad: Strategy is dynamic so it changes according to time and trends. If you want a long-term framework for success, you need to change the culture, which must be digital-first. You must make your team adopt a digital-first mindset. 

As soon as your team adopts a digital-first mindset, they begin to think and act differently. This shift empowers them to become critical thinkers, essential for developing a strategic, digital-first approach.

Chad: Changing the mindset is the first step. Then, you must leverage the medium. You will get instant global access, and your reach will change. Your audience exists everywhere through mobile, social media, and screenless devices. Moreover, digital is real-time, with live updates and live blogs. Live information is very valuable, too.

Chad: Yes, understand what your audience likes the most. Ask the reader what they want. Personalizing content is understanding who your readers are—knowing that for a fact, backing it up with some analytics, and producing more of it—the loyalty towards a particular area of your creation.

Chad: Engagement drives all of this. You foster a community of readers, comments, shares, and likes, creating immediacy in connections.

Reply to the comments and answer their questions. It makes the reader feel that they are a part of the community. Comments are valuable engagements.

If you are doing a webinar, podcast, or any form of content, people sign up and leave comments, which are all really valuable.

Chad: If a platform emerges that advertisers perceive to provide better attribution, they will likely choose that platform over others. Therefore, there isn't little loyalty in the advertising space.

Strategies such as fixed-position ads, tenancy, sponsored content, membership programs, and affiliate marketing are precious for a niche publisher. Now, coming to the readers,

• If most of your readers are anonymous, you don't know anything about them, and they leave your website without engagement—that's the first group.

• The second group consists of readers who log in and can be identified. You can still obtain their phone number or email address even if they are not paying.

• The third group includes those who are paying for your content; they are willing to invest in or participate in your offerings. Over time, this forms a subscriber base, with subscribers opting for either monthly or annual plans.

You can nurture the anonymous group to become subscribers and the subscriber group with the best content so that you can retain them, or they must be ready to pay extra for the valuable information. These compose a reader revenue funnel that you have to build.

Chad: You have two separate entities- print and digital, and possibly even two separate systems to operate them. However, keep them separate as print and digital; they should complement each other, not compete.

A digital-first approach leverages the medium to its fullest potential, often involving real-time updates. This content flows seamlessly into all other digital spaces, and you should be agnostic about where it goes.

Think of your digital platform as the content headquarters—it could be an app, your website, or even an annual magazine. The digital medium should serve as your headquarters, where all content resides and is distributed to various channels.

The digital version amplifies the print version, extending content across newsletters, websites, and social media posts.

Chad: Yes, it is a tremendous amount of work. To a certain extent, it has been daunting. The anxiety has led to the process—we know we should do it, but we are not quite sure how.

However, brands are starting to accept and move to a digital-first process. One of the ways to do this is by using reasonably agile software. Now, 75% of software is subscription-based, so you don't have to buy the software. Essentially, it is software as a service (SaaS).

Chad: Print is costly, but publishers are still making good money from it. Print is still working, so don't stop it. You have to start with digital because that is the process of preparing yourself for the future. Technology is an enabler and should support your goals. 

Imagine partnering with a CMS SaaS brand. The brand will take responsibility for migration and hosting. Hosting is chargeable because services like AWS will charge for using their infrastructure.

SaaS brands maintain the technology and ensure it is innovative and updated to meet your needs. The SaaS provider will offer a CMS, a front-end development platform, a commenting system, and monetization tools.

Using a cost-effective SaaS provider means you don't worry much about security and technology glitches. Most brands offer guaranteed SLA for uptime, with quality providers ensuring 99% uptime. They are responsible for maintaining the site and ensuring it isn't hacked because that's what they are paid for.

Chad: You must develop a brand identity on your platform and build a quality experience for your clients, creating your own community. It is crucial to shift all the best experiences to your platform—your own channels, website, and newsletters—and to communicate directly with your audience. Understanding your audience helps you serve them better, and more followers can always benefit you.