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Digital Magazines Deliver for Subscribers and Publishers
The popularity of an electronic format for books, magazines and newspapers is growing. According to statistics gathered by The International Digital Publishing Forum, sales of digital books in the wholesale market more than tripled from 2005 to 2007. In late 2007, Amazon's new electronic reader for books and newspapers sold out in a matter of hours. People are expecting information to be readily available via their computer, cell phone, PDA and other electronic devices. Magazines are no exception.
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine recently launched a digital version of their popular print magazine. "The digital magazine is very new technology for our audience," says publisher Gena Suarez, "but, we were amazed by the record number of subscriptions during the first week of our digital launch. Our customers absolutely love it!"
Current digital versions are now browser based, offering readers greater flexibility and ease of use than earlier PDF based versions. The 2007 Digital Magazine Reader Survey, conducted by Texterity, a leader in the digital magazine industry, found that 89% of respondents read the digital edition the same week and 42% read it immediately or the same day. In addition, 88% of those surveyed were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their digital magazine experience.
Digital magazines subscribers present a varied demographic. In the Texterity survey, the average reader was 45 years old with over 17 years of work experience in their industry of interest. Yet, many magazines with a readership of 18-30 year olds are turning to digital editions to boost their subscriber numbers in this age group - a group that is harder to capture as print subscribers.
This high satisfaction rate can be attributed to the many benefits that digital editions offer readers:
- Digital delivery means instant delivery. This is especially key for the international market, where delivery time of a print magazine can take up to a month or more. Digital subscribers can now read a publisher's information in a more timely manner.
- Increased interactivity with advertisers. In a recent poll conducted by the Harrison Group for Zinio, a publisher of digital magazines, eighty- five percent of the survey participants felt the interactive advertising format was beneficial. In the Texterity survey, 90% took some type of action with a product or service. The majority of respondents, 65%, visited the advertiser's web site.
- Ability to store the magazine on their computer and reduce paper usage. Many readers prefer the more earth-friendly electronic edition that can easily be retrieved at any time in the future.
- Faster ability to find specific content of interest. The browser based platform of digital magazines provides readers with the ability to search on keywords. For example, a digital subscriber to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine interested in math resources for their child can simply search on the term "math" and instantly find all of the articles and advertisements related to math.
- Instantly bookmark articles and advertisements of interest. Once a reader locates an article or advertisement of interest, they can instantly bookmark the page for future reference. Plus, by using the clickable table of contents, readers can readily access their favorite regular columns in the magazine.
- Quickly share articles or advertisement information with friends. With digital editions, readers can instantly share an article or product information with friends via email. It's simpler and faster than making paper copies or remembering to take the print magazine along to share at a later time.
Digital editions provide benefits to publishers, as well:
- Digital is a creative way to turn website visitors into subscribers. The availability of a sample digital issue on a publisher's site allows visitors to browse the magazine - an instant "try before you buy". Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine says, "We love that visitors to our website can instantly see the high quality content of the magazine and the variety and caliber of advertisers. Keeping up with the latest educational resources is important to parents and teachers, and the sample digital magazine gives potential subscribers a peek into the high level of quality TOS provides."
- Saving on print and distribution costs. Increasing fuel costs are reflected in higher costs for printing and mailing traditional paper magazines. The fuel and raw materials savings has become increasingly important to publishers.
- Increased options for advertisers. The digital format provides more creative ways for advertisers to present their products. Links to specific pages, video or audio files provide a more enhanced interaction with the consumer that cannot be achieved with a traditional print ad.
- Instant delivery upon subscribing. Instantly deliver a first issue to subscribers and increase customer satisfaction. This is especially attractive for publishers who print quarterly. Rather than the customer waiting until the next quarter's issue, the last issue published can be immediately delivered.
- Subscribers can easily spread the word about the magazine. When reading a digital edition, readers can instantly share an article or advertisement with a friend. Readers can instantly put a copy of your magazine "in the hands" of potential subscribers.
- Ability to sell back issues indefinitely. Suarez says, "In the past, many of our most popular issues have quickly moved to sold-out back issue status, but now with the digital version, we will be able to keep that content available indefinitely!"
With all of these benefits to both subscribers and publishers, it's no surprise that digital magazine subscriptions are on the rise and gaining popularity with today's readers.
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