It’s Time to Succeed in Multiplatform Publishing

Build your digital publishing empire with our Multiplatform Publishing Handbook

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Dear Publishing Colleague,

Where were you in your publishing career a decade or so ago?

Were you excited about the Internet and its impact on our industry? Did you see a clear path forward, on your way to making millions in digital magazine publishing? Probably, like most publishers, you felt both optimism … and fear.

I hope you succeeded in mastering the Internet. I know most publishers did not – at least not yet. And today, much to our surprise, we have an even bigger challenge: the new world of digital publishing.

I’m Don Nicholas, and I’ve spent 30 years in the magazine publishing industry. Starting in 1997 I was busy turning my career as a consultant to print publishers into expertise for the Internet age. Based on my own experience, and extensive research into what was working for my clients, I published my book, Internet Marketing Strategy for Publishers, in 2004.

It was groundbreaking at the time, and has been downloaded some 50,000 times since then.

More than 10 years and one tablet revolution later, my newest professional goal is simple: To help each and every publisher successfully cross the new, digital divide.

And it’s time for an update of my groundbreaking 2004 book, and this is it: Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online.

You can buy it at Amazon if you’re not ready to be a Mequoda subscriber, of course, but I think you’ll see that free is a much better option!

Why you can count on this book as your multiplatform publishing guide

My company, Mequoda Group, is an acknowledged leader in developing digital publishing solutions. We’ve spent many years perfecting them and helping digital publishers achieve unprecedented success, even when many digital publishing companies are still struggling. In that time …

• My team has spent thousands of hours researching and documenting the most successful strategies and processes.

• We’ve broadened our case study background from a few dozen to more than 100 publishers who use what we call the Mequoda Method to make millions online.

• We’ve added to our research the added value of knowledge from having actually helped hundreds of media brands achieve profitability.

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• We’ve published dozens of free books and reports that were downloaded more than 1,000,000 times last year.

• We’ve developed one of the leading newsletters on the topic of multiplatform publishing strategy and digital publishing.

• We’ve refined our digital publishing strategies, expanded the platforms and fine-tuned the reporting tools.

All of this has gone into my newest book. It delivers a proven, integrated set of business processes, principles and tools for the digital publisher, whether you’re B2B, consumer, local, regional or national; multi-title or single.

How niche publishers like you can take advantage of multiplatform publishing

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online documents a seismic shift of historic proportions in our industry. You may be contemplating your own path into digital publishing and feeling a bit like Dorothy stepping over the threshold into Oz!

But my team and I have carefully organized what we’ve learned in digital publishing – and we’ve had the privilege of working with some of the biggest publishers in the world.

More importantly, however, we often work with independent digital publishers, and they are some of the most innovative publishers on the planet. You may think you’re not a big enough company to take advantage of digital publishing. But when you read my book, you’ll see that it’s the smaller, more nimble, ambitious digital publishing companies that make the most of the Mequoda Method. And you could be next.

After all, technology has made the tools you need more affordable than ever before, and smaller size is to your advantage for the first time in history. Meanwhile, the mega-publishers are stumbling along as rapidly as they can, afraid they’ll be left behind.

In short, don’t sit out the digital publishing revolution because you think it’s beyond you. Read Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

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Indeed, while much of the publishing industry continues to struggle to harness the power of the Internet, Mequoda has helped a large and diverse range of publishers succeed in ways others can only imagine.

Their secrets become yours when you read Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online.

I hope you thoroughly understand why niche publishers like you should waste no time in making the transition to digital publishing. And while my team and I can only personally guide a limited number of clients, we hope that Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online will help thousands – including you. Because no one should be left behind in the digital publishing revolution!

A complete set of principles for running a successful multiplatform publishing company

Now is the time to learn from what some describe as the industry’s most comprehensive set of multiplatform publishing strategies and leverage them to make millions. When you read my new book, you’ll discover how to drive traffic, turn casual visitors into an engaged audience, and finally to sell you content products in multitudes you’ve never imagined before.

You’ll learn how to uncover assets you didn’t know you had.

You’ll discover which platforms serve different members of your audience best.

You’ll learn how to systematically recycle your original content to satisfy both your readers and your bottom line.

You’ll find out how to drive traffic to your website organically, a strategy which surprisingly few publishers have mastered.

You’ll know how to hire the best and most efficient multiplatform publishing team.

And you’ll learn new strategies for your content, brand and revenue generation that will help you make millions in digital publishing – as it already has for dozens of publishers we’ve already helped, including …

• Computerworld
• Consumer Reports
• Eating Well
• Fine Gardening
• Men’s Health
• Morningstar
• Real Simple
• The Motley Fool
• Yankee Magazine

… to name just a few of the brands we’ve helped.

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How to get Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online

Taking the first step toward multiplatform publishing and digital publishing success is easy. Simply sign up today as a Mequoda Daily subscriber, and you’ll immediately get this book as a free PDF. That’s a $97 value!

(Bonus: You’ll be joining more than 12,000 subscribers who get our continually-updated, proven advice, guidance and strategies every day.)

Why am I giving away this book? Ah, that’s one of the secrets you’ll learn when you read it!

Of course, if you’re not ready to join those other subscribers in gaining digital publishing mastery day by day, you can also buy my book at Amazon. Either way, you’ll be taking a critical step in succeeding where so many others have failed. And you’ll be prepared to successfully make the leap across the digital divide.

So I urge you not to wait. Every day, we hear stories of challenges in the magazine publishing industry … ad revenues dying, subscribers disappearing, print products eliminated.  I don’t want you to be one of those stories.

Read Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online now, and join the ranks of millionaire publishers starting tomorrow.

Best regards,

Don Nicholas

CEO, Mequoda Group

PS: Our clients pay handsomely to gain access to the Mequoda consulting team’s expertise. But when you read Multiplatform Publishing Strategy: 60 Digital Publishing Secrets for Making Millions Online, you get the complete outline of our proven methods all in one place, to read and reference any time you need it.

PSS: Remember, as I explained above, multiplatform publishing is the perfect opportunity for independent publishers to capitalize on the digital publishing revolution. This is a time in history that you can’t afford to let pass you by. Download my book right now, so you can get started building your digital publishing empire today.

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According to one leading industry analyst, the best digital publishing strategies are built on innovation and classic tactics

Newsonomics author Ken Doctor writes in a recent Nieman Lab post that the resurgence of email newsletters, among other trends often associated with new media, are actually longstanding practices that have been adapted and updated for the best digital publishing. More to the point, Doctor says, digital publishers must find the right combination to succeed in the 21st century.

We couldn’t agree more, of course – our Mequoda Method is a multiplatform strategy that incorporates traditional print approaches along with capitalizing on available software, technology, and devices. 

Doctor cites the massive email lists for The Wall Street Journal‘s “The 10 Point,” The Daily Beast‘s “Cheat Sheet,” Quartz’s “The Brief,” and .Mic’s “Mic Check” as examples of platforms that can help foster crucial loyalty among news junkies while generating daily bursts of traffic that ultimately lead to higher ad revenue.

“It’s kind of funny that editors are rediscovering the value of editions, of predictability, of habit, here in 2015,” Doctor writes.

“The digital age, we’ve been told variously and intensely, is a revolution unlike any seen in any generation of publishing, perhaps since Gutenberg’s. As we’ve all lived through it, as publishers, journalists, and readers, that’s hard to contest. But at the same time, so much that is new is old. What’s increasingly clear is that the task of those producing the news is to make sense of what’s really new – immediacy, multimedia, mobile access points, and more – and what’s bedrock old. Then they must mix and match the two smartly. It’s not an easy recipe; there are no cookbooks.

“Let’s think about the old and the new in media. The new newsletter binge is a small part of the reconnection of circadian rhythm to the circuits of possibility all the new technologies offer. It’s as if the web has created a kind of content jet lag for a lot of people, and new remedies are just being trotted out, twenty years in.”

Here are some other areas that Doctor covers in his post:

Native Advertising

As Don has discussed in the past, native ads are nothing new – back in the print-only days, they were called advertorials. Now, though, the best digital publishing companies are developing new ways to maximize this stream – and how to deploy their editorial staff in doing so.

E-Commerce

Interestingly, Doctor compares Thrillist to QVC in wondering where the line is when it comes to publishers selling products – that aren’t editorial but nonetheless presented along with it – to readers.

Regulation

Even in the Age of Information and democratizing ideals of the Internet, media monopolies continue to exist –in addition, like the market forces of yesteryear were pressing on publishers, Net Neutrality will continue to be a concern in terms of access.

Paywalls + Subscriptions 

This section of Doctor’s post is a must-read for digital publishers, addressing the question of what readers will pay for when it comes to tiers, apps, and services.

Doctor said there’s no cookbook to produce the best digital publishing, and he might be right – but what about a handbook? Download our free Digital Magazine Publishing to find out!

To read more about Ken Doctor’s thoughts on the old and the new in best digital publishing practices, visit the Nieman Lab.

The post Best Digital Publishing Strategies Mix the Old and the New appeared first on Mequoda Daily.

For digital publishing companies looking to stay on top of trends, a handful of new articles on Digiday will help

With our blog, we aim to achieve a nice balance of posts that comprise the “Free Advice” we promise in our navigation bar. This combination includes best practices, case studies, and thought leadership to help digital publishing companies learn from each other.

Another big component, though, is our effort to monitor digital trends from across the web. We’re consuming media around the clock, and love to get the day started with some industry news.

One of our favorite sources for that news is Digiday, one of the best in the business, and they did not disappoint this week! Below, we’ve assembled a roundup of their coverage of digital publishing companies’ experiments, stumbles, and successes. Each article covers a key challenge for companies like yours, so we thought we’d share them.

5 Recent Stories for Digital Publishing Companies

1. Advertisers Are Responding Well to the NYT’s Digital Overhaul

Nearly a year after its leaked Innovation Report, The New York Times‘ web efforts are paying off. Digital revenue for 2014 was up 12%, Digiday reports, and the spike came from mobile, video, and native ads.

Advertisers appreciate the Times‘ loosening of content restrictions, but still hope that the company will find better social sharing avenues for the high-priced native ads the paper’s marketing team produces – and while they’re at it, reduce those prices by not always insisting on producing all of that content themselves.

Digiday reports also that the Times‘ video efforts are currently focused on quality, not quantity, which consumers appreciate – while advertisers wait for more opportunities.

2. Time Inc. UK Is Investing in Events 

In an effort to diversify revenue, Time Inc. UK is expanding its events business – most recently by acquiring U.K. Cycling Events (the publisher owns the titles Cycle Sport and Cycling Active). Other events have included wine tastings and fairs celebrating rural life, Digiday reports.

“We have been good about delivering readers content to inform their learning, but we haven’t been nearly as involved in their experience of actually and getting out and doing those things,” Paul Williams, managing director of Time Inc. U.K.’s specialist brands, told Digiday.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to be transformational from revenue and profit perspective and move the business from being over-reliant on our print business. It’s the usual Time Inc. story.”

3. For the Win’s Sharing Experiments  

Digital publishing companies are always looking for ways to harness the power of social media, and since USA Today‘s FTW was designed to dominate social channels, it’s certainly no exception.

But it does stand out for making a interesting decision recently – ditching its Twitter sharing button for mobile articles and pinning its hopes to straight SMS, instead. The results have worked out, to say the least: According to FTW, the SMS button has been used three to four more times than the Twitter button ever was, Digiday reports.

FTW has kept its desktop Twitter sharing button.

4. Capital New York’s Post-Paywall Report 

Capital New York’s business model is threefold: subscriptions, events, and digital ads. All are growing for the young company that covers politics and media – especially their subscriptions to their niche audience.

“We’re breaking through and selling a lot of subscriptions to major operations,” Capital New York’s Andrew Sollinger told Digiday.

“A lot of what we do is the antidote to people’s FOMO issue. We solve the problem of the stream by giving you one more thing to read. … What we discovered was, there was plenty of interest across the board. … We see a tremendous opportunity, because our content is habit-forming.”

5. Facebook Video Appealing to Publishers 

Facebook has seized on video as a revenue stream, while publishers are taking advantage of its newfound audience development potential.

While you may not get the benefits of a production partnership with the social media giant like Digiday reports The Young Turks did, you can still get in the game with your own multimedia.

Do you count yourself among digital publishing companies looking to stay ahead of trends and learn from other businesses in 2015? If so, check out our consulting services!

To read more of the latest stories on digital publishing companies, visit Digiday.

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Mergers & acquisitions, plus upbeat reports and new features from leading digital publishing companies

The year 2015 has seen a positive net gain so far for digital publishing companies, with sustained good news offsetting any bad. Overall, the industry has become more nimble in adapting to trends, technology, and unexpected developments. A sense of aggressiveness and anticipation has defined the year so far, as publishers have been more proactive.

Mequoda Members know how important it is to stay abreast of digital publishing trends when planning out a multiplatform strategy. Toward that end, we scan the industry headlines every day to find the news that impacts digital publishing companies. Today’s roundup comes from one of our favorite and most dependable sources, Talking New Media.

Software & Information Industry Association

The Software & Information Industry Association, representing the tech and content sector, has merged two of its holdings: the Association of Business Information and Media Companies will now join forces with the Content and Information Services Division.

“The combination gives members greater access and insight as they navigate growth and change in the information, media and technology industries,” new ABM/CISD Managing Director Michael Marchesano said in a statement.

“Members will be part of a stronger networked community, allowing them to innovate, create new partnerships, and share best practices for maintaining world-class global media and information organizations.”

Up next for the new super division? A new super event. The ABM’s Annual Summit and the SIIA Information Industry Summit will combine to form the AMB & Information Industry Summit. This year’s event, “The Intersection of Information and Technology,” takes place in June in Washington, D.C.

Meredith

Meredith continues to make the right plays. According to Talking New Media, the publisher’s top titles –  Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Fitness, Ladies Home Journal, More, Parents, and Traditional Home among them – are showing 77% growth in digital circulation year over year. TNM credits the gains to Next Issue sales, but also points out that digital subscriptions are up, as well.

Bonnier

Ed tech is emerging as one of the predominant trends driving publishing decisions, and Bonnier isn’t missing its chance stake a claim. Its Bonnier Business Press has acquired Clio Online, a Danish platform for digital learning materials in elementary schools.

“Clio Online’s strong market position makes it possible for us to enter a highly interesting market segment and develop it even further. Digital learning materials in schools are one of the final frontiers in the digitalization of content and society. By acquiring Clio Online, we provide ourselves with the best possible partner for bringing that digitalization to markets outside of Denmark,” Bonnier Business to Business’s Anders Eriksson said in a statement.

“The acquisition will provide a boost as well as a solid foundation for our current and planned efforts in corporate e-learning and knowledge products,”

Rolling Stone

Talking New Media reports that Rolling Stone is now adding music clips to its digital editions, ramping up the quality of its native product.

What’s your outlook for digital publishing companies in 2015? Let us know in the comments and download our Digital Magazine Publishing Handbook for free!

To read more about digital publishing companies making news, visit Talking New Media.

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Publisher networks are a trend for digital magazines, and IAC is a major new member of the club; plus, two big hirings for publishing executives

For some companies with multiple properties, publisher networks just make sense as a way to centralize operations and standardize content across all platforms for the purposes of more attractive options for digital advertisers.

Now, of course, we realize that not all digital magazines are in this position, but publisher networks are an industry-wide phenomenon that bears watching in the context of potential mergers & acquisitions, niche strategy, the future of web advertising, and the direction of multiplatform strategy.

MediaPost’s Publishers Daily covers the IAC’s move into publisher networks, as well as some personnel moves and the progress of Facebook Instant Articles.

IAC Is Latest Player in Publisher Networks

IAC — owner of The Daily Beast, About.com, Dictionary.com, and others — has announced the formation of IAC Publishing, an umbrella company to be led by former Ask.com CEO Doug Leeds, MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports. 

“The new organization is intended to help raise the profile of IAC properties and make it easier for advertisers to buy inventory across the network. It will also make it easier for them to benefit from IAC’s investments in data infrastructure as well as new advertising technology and products. IAC Publishing will also include a new ‘labs’ division focused on launching digital publishing sites in new verticals,” Erik Sass writes.

“The company hopes to capitalize on the momentum of its existing ad sales efforts. According to IAC, premium ad sales at About.com have increased by 30% year-over-year, while The Daily Beast’s in-house creative outfit, BrandBeast, is crafting custom content campaigns for ad clients including Land Rover, Fitbit, National Geographic Channel and Delta Air Lines.”

Digital Publishing Companies Bauer and Refinery29 Fill Crucial Positions

Bauer Xcel Media has tapped Allison Mezzafonte as a senior vice president of operations responsible for a redoubled digital effort, MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports.

“To build a digital division within a magazine publisher requires an adaptive nature and a willingness to take a user-first approach, making thoughtful decisions that are supported equally by a combination of data and editorial judgment,” said Mezzafonte, who believes Bauer Xcel Media “operates nimbly, embracing new media channels while scaling established ones.”

In addition, Refinery29 has hired Amy Emmerich as chief content officer in charge of 150 staffers implementing content strategy and distribution, MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports.

Facebook Instant Articles Launches in Asia

Fifty Asian publishers have signed on for Facebook Instant Articles now that the beta version has been released, months after the U.S. debut and days after Latin America, MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports.

“Instant Articles has been designed with extensive feedback from publishers,” Facebook Director of Global Media Partnerships Andy Mitchell, said, touting the ability of Asian publishers to offer “fast, interactive articles to their readers in the Facebook app.”

“The media format also introduces a suite of interactive features. Publishers can add features, such as zooming into high-resolution photos with a tilt of a phone, auto-play videos on the News Feed, interactive maps, audio captions and the ability to like and comment on individual parts of an article in-line,” Sara Guaglione writes.

Established publisher networks, what advice do you have for aspiring publisher networks? Share your tips in the comments!

To read more about publisher networks in the news, visit MediaPost’s Publishers Daily.

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Who are the companies and what are the trends making the latest media news relevant to digital publishers like you?

The latest media news this week includes news from the earliest media: print.

But we’ve also got more from the world of native advertising news, publisher video, and branded content agency doings.

MediaPost is on it as always, starting with an interesting item about millennial media consumption.

Print Magazine Surprise: Millennial Media Tastes Include You!

Believe it or not, we still believe in print. In fact, we believe that a true multiplatform publishing strategy must, with few exceptions, include a print product. And, good news: According to a study relayed by MediaPost’s MediaPsssst, the most coveted consumers on the planet agree with us.

“A recent study from Quad/Graphics entitled Millennials: An Emerging Consumer Powerhouse, found 90% of Millennials use coupons (digital and other) while shopping and over 50% use good, old-fashioned coupons received via U.S. Mail or in a newspaper or magazine,” Richard Whitman writes.

“The same study found that 54% of Millennials find printed retail catalogs received through the mail an important element of their shopping experience. 72% of these Millennials use retail inserts to price compare. Millennials were also found to be more likely than the average American to consume content in printed media for information on food, nutrition, fashion, beauty, celebrity news, entertainment and health and fitness.”

Latest Media News: Time Inc. Digital’s Harpoon Debuts

The agency aesthetic is taking hold at digital publishing companies, and Time Inc. is no exception. New in-house service Harpoon is making the latest media news, as MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports.

“Harpoon will provide a range of services spanning creation, targeting and execution for digital media campaigns, including real-time delivery and reporting on performance. Clients will be able to draw on Harpoon’s proprietary data analytics system, which incorporates Viant, a recently acquired company with an identity management platform,” Erik Sass writes.

“At launch, the company already works with a number of advertising agencies and clients, many with a regional geographic focus, including BVK Advertising, M2 The Agency, Paradise Advertising, Evok Advertising, Bulldog Media, Tinsley Advertising and Conquer Media.”

Sharethrough Providing Third-Party Native Advertising Content Service

As you know, native is an aspect of your operation that, realistically speaking, must often be handled by third parties. So, who will fill those shoes? With a scarcity of trustworthy, accountable companies, it’s nice to know there are some candidates out there, at least according to MediaPost’s Native Insider.

“Sharethrough is making it easier for publishers to manage and monetize native advertising. The ad-tech firm, which enables publishers to sell native advertising that appears in-stream or in-feed, on Wednesday said it’s made ‘Sharethrough Mediation’ available to all Sharethrough for Publisher (SFP) customers,” Tobi Elkin writes.

“Sharethrough Mediation is a feature of SFP, a native supply-side platform that enables publishers to optimize native ad revenue by using multiple native partners to get the best value for each impression. With the goal of boosting ad revenues, Mediation automates the implementation of multiple ad network tags to direct impressions to the best-performing demand partners.”

AOL Banking on Benefits of Video Advertising With New Products

AOL keeps plugging when it comes to video endeavors, and the latest media news they’re making bears that out, MediaPost’s Publishers Daily reports.

“AOL launched two new video ad units for publishers on Tuesday, an expansion to its ONE by AOL: Publishers platform that launched in January. The new features — Out-Stream and SideView — target a growing challenge for publishers: viewability,” Sara Guaglione writes.

“According to a blog post by Robert Leon, head of AOL publisher product commercialization and solutions, the two new video players ‘enhance viewing experiences and extend revenue opportunities for publishers.'”

What’s your latest media news? Share it with us in the comments!

To read more of the latest media news from the publishing industry, visit MediaPost.

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Decoding the latest digital ad metrics, and checking in on ad tech and a digital renaissance for a legacy title

Digital ad metrics rise, fall, resurface. New ones are invented every so often. But they’re something digital publishing companies must keep track of, because ROI and consumer action are what advertisers are (rightfully) focusing on when they make traditional IOs as well as programmatic ad buys.

Clicks and impressions have always seemed to us counter-intuitive ways to measure the success of your content. After all, they don’t truly reflect audience engagement, which is what both digital publishers and advertisers are after. On the other hand, time spent and attention earned do just that, and currently the industry is trying to figure out the best way to track those.

AdExchanger.com tackles just that topic in recent coverage, as well as a couple of other key topics.

Digital Ad Metrics Based on Attention Are In Demand

Viewability has been the holy grail for years when it comes to digital advertising, but now the search is for attention and time spent. AdExchanger.com has a progress report.

“But viewability, after all, is just a baseline for just showing up, not the be-all and end-all, said Daniel Rothman, director of insight at the Financial Times, which has been experimenting with a cost-per-time model on its website for the last 16 months. … Transacting on impressions doesn’t make sense, Rothman said, because it values and prices each impression equally regardless of exposure time as long as it hits the minimum threshold for viewability – 50% of pixels in view for one second for display and two seconds for video. Same goes for mobile,” Allison Schiff writes.

“From the summer through the fall of 2014, FT embarked on a study with five large brand clients to measure the impact on traditional brand recall metrics of time spent engaging with ads. Using Millward Brown to quantify the results, FT found that when active users were served 100% viewable ads for five seconds or more, brand lift increased by 79%, while familiarity went up by 55%, brand association grew by 51% and brand consideration saw a 58% boost. … But although a number of FT’s brand clients have renewed their cost-per-time campaigns, buying on time is still the exception rather than the rule, partially because though the buy side understands the value in the concept, their legacy systems aren’t built to handle it.”

Publisher Tech: Hearst Redefines Itself in Age of Digital Platforms

How is Hearst handling the tech-heavy state of the publishing industry? By becoming a tech heavyweight, AdExchanger.com reports in an interview with Hearst Head of Corporate Tech Allen Yuan.

“We’ve removed the differentiation between the mobile and desktop experience. Fifty percent to 70% [of Hearst’s audience] are on mobile, so we pay attention to performance metrics like load time. Particularly on mobile, people are engaging with our content off property. We’ve invested heavily in aligning with partners to build out the mobile experience. We’ve made investments in AMP, Instant Articles, Snapchat Discover, as well as a joint venture with Snapchat with Sweet, which is a new [content] brand,” Yuan told Sarah Sluis.

“Where there are solutions in market, we want to leverage the development that third parties have built. The areas we tend to do homegrown are where we want to differentiate, or where the solutions in market don’t solve what we are looking for. Machine learning is probably a great example of that. A lot of the great solutions we are looking for are not in market yet. We have data scientists, software engineers building toward insights we can’t get through the marketplace.”

Variety’s Online Publishing Renaissance Puts It Among Best Digital Magazines

Another worthwhile recent interview over at AdExchanger.com, this one with Variety Group Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, who has helped turned around the Penske property’s fortunes.

“I have many challenges ahead of me. As publisher, at the end of the day I want to grow revenue and grow this brand. We are marketing to marketers, so we said, “Let’s make this brand beautiful.” That includes the print product and online. We’ve tripled the size of the newsroom. I doubled the business side. Our new CMO [Dea Lawrence, formerly of TubeMogul] comes from the tech world,” Sobrino-Stearns told Sluis.

“Part of our strategy is not to give Variety away. We have invested a lot in the print edition in the past few years. Digitally, we want to grow our traffic numbers, but we want to be authentic in our approach: We’ve never deviated from the message of providing information for the entertainment community. We had the highest traffic in March of any of our competitors. Now we’ve introduced video, and that’s growing our numbers dramatically digitally. … Digitally, it’s completely changed. Brands have stepped up. Native advertising was something we sold years ago, but we’re starting to partner with really big brands. Also, tracking and reporting. Buyers didn’t ask us for that before, but now they want to see an ROI on what they sponsor.”

Which digital metrics are you tracking? Tell us about your approach in the comments!

To read more about digital ad metrics and other industry trends, visit AdExchanger.com.

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The latest news for digital magazines publishing on social media: Instagram, Line, Facebook, and more

If you’re publishing on social media – and if you’re not, contact us immediately for a free 30-minute conversation, things just got real! – you know that the goal posts keep getting moved, albeit in a (mostly) good way. Just when you think you have things figured out, somebody comes up with another networking and sharing concept that could add another layer to your content distribution strategy.

Sure, this means more learning curves and probably more work, but it’s worth it if provides multiplatform publishers with more options and maximizes audience development opportunities.

And it does. Digiday has recent coverage on Instagram’s next step, a Japanese messaging app’s appeal, and how a Conde property is refining its activity on Facebook and other channels.

Instagram Stories Compelling for Those Publishing on Social Media

The latest shiny object in social media strategy has quickly caught on with digital publishing companies, Digiday reports.

“Well, that didn’t take long. Not three days after Instagram debuted Stories, a very Snapchatty feature that allows users to share slideshows of images and video independently of their profiles, publishers of every stripe have pounced on the opportunity to show off some more off-beat storytelling sensibilities. There was a time when stodgy publishers would wait out new social doodads to see if they were mere fads. Those days are over,” Lucinda Southern and Max Willens write.

For instance, British Vogue “has been posting short Stories each day, providing office tours and behind-the-scenes looks at fashion shoots. Posts related to the next issue usually do well, and similarly on Instagram they’re getting ‘tens thousands of views within hours,’ said editor Lucy Hutchings. ‘We have found that views initially appear to be higher for Stories than those on video posts and exceed the average number of likes we see on a photo post.'”

Time Inc. Toes the Line, Amassing 125K Followers in One Week

The “Time Inc.-everywhere” strategy developed under CEO Joe Ripp since the legacy publisher’s spinoff from Time Warner in 2014 has most recently taken it to Japanese messaging app Line, where its finding success on par with other digital publishers, Digiday reports.

“Messaging is the new social network. Like other publishers, Time magazine is getting on board, sharing articles on Japanese messaging app Line. Time has been using Line to send out a story or two a day, all in English. Followers can also get news on a specific topic by messaging words to Time including science, entertainment and tech,” Lucia Moses writes.

“Line has been a testbed for experimentation by other publishers such as The Economist, which has used it to share its weekly print cover and the BBC, animated videos. Publishers like Time are drawn to Line for its personalization features and services it offers beyond communication, like bill payment and taxi services. For Time, with more than a third of its web traffic coming from overseas, it’s a way to deepen its awareness with international audiences without heavy investment.”

Glamour UK Gets Big Boost by Publishing on Social Media

One major Conde Nast property is seeing big gains due to its efforts publishing on social media, Digiday reports.

“Glamour UK, the Condé Nast women’s lifestyle title, has grown its social media following by half a million since February to reach over 8 million across platforms. This number is made up of its 3.3 million Facebook fans, other social media accounts and internal Google Analytics of its web traffic,” Southern writes.

“[Publisher Jamie] Jouning pins much of the growth in its following on Facebook Live, which the publisher has been experimenting with from the beginning of the year, creating nine videos in June alone. June was a good month; data from Tubular Labs shows that during this month Glamour UK’s Facebook videos had over 8 million views, in April this was just 2.2 million, and in May 1 million,” Southern writes.

Are you publishing on social media? Where have you found the most success? Share your experiences in the comments!

To read more about publishing on social media and other industry news, visit Digiday.

The post Options for Publishing on Social Media Keep Expanding appeared first on Mequoda Daily.

Spend two days with us, and you could become a success story like these publishers.

If you’re a magazine publisher in the digital age, you’re certainly savvy enough to succeed. And perhaps you’re satisfied with your revenue and business growth as they are.

But do you know the strategies other successful publishers have used to boost revenues by as much as 20% within two years? To doubling or even tripling them over the next five years? Do you believe it’s even possible?

If not, you should “meet” some new mentors who can prove not only that it’s possible, but also show you exactly how they did it – so you can do it too. You’ll learn their stories in detail at the Digital Revenue Summit, and you can register right now to ensure a seat at the next one.

Who are these mentors? They’re multiplatform publishing superstars, and just a small sample of the publishers who’ve achieved drool-worthy success using the techniques and methodology we’ll teach you at the Summit:

1. Clay Hall, Aspire Media
2. Chris Kimball, America’s Test Kitchen
3. Stuart Hochwert, Prime Publishing
4. Phil Ash, Capitol Information Group
5. Bryan Welch, B The Change Media
6. Charlie Spahr, American Ceramic Society
7. Bill Bonner, Agora Publishing
8. Bob Brady, Business & Legal Resources

You’ll learn all of the details of their success at the Digital Revenue Summit. But allow me to share right now just a few of the strategies they’ve implemented on their way to success.

“The team I worked with at Interweave successfully transitioned a leading print enthusiast media business into the digital age. The folks at Mequoda were an important part of this team and the company’s most valued strategic advisor. We could not have done it without them.”Clay Hall Former CEO Interweave

Perhaps you’re wondering why Clay Hall is the former CEO at Interweave. It’s because after learning the strategies we’ll teach you at the Digital Revenue Summit, the company he built grew so large that he sold it to giant F+W Media for a substantial profit.

Would you like to learn the same secrets he knows? Discover them by attending the Digital Revenue Summit.

“We’ve used Mequoda principles, analytics and advice to more than double our revenues over the past three years.”Stuart Hochwert Founder and CEO Prime Publishing

Prime has built one of the country’s largest cooking and crafting digital publishing companies from scratch in less than five years, based on the Mequoda strategies that Hochwert has mastered.

Having built an audience of some 5.7 million active subscribers, and keeping them highly engaged with his Mequoda-designed email program, allows him to sell advertising spots in multitudes across his sites. To create a profitable audience like that, start by learning what Hochwert knows at the Digital Revenue Summit.

I think you’ll agree these publishers are superstars – and that they are admirable mentors for your company. Remember, you’ll learn all of the secrets to their success at the Summit … so why not download the program guide, and read about the same techniques that these mentors already learned?

I look forward to “introducing” you to these mentors, and to helping you find your own path to multiplatform publishing success.

The post Meet Your Multiplatform Publishing Mentors appeared first on Mequoda Daily.

Spend two days with us, and you could become our next success story.

If you’re a magazine publisher in the digital age, you’re certainly savvy enough to succeed. And perhaps you’re satisfied with your revenue and business growth as they are.

But do you know the secrets to boosting revenues by as much as 20% over the next two years? To doubling or even tripling them over the next five years? Do you believe it’s even possible?

If not, you should “meet” some new mentors who can prove not only that it’s possible, but also show you exactly how they did it – so you can do it too. You’ll learn their stories in detail at the Mequoda Subscription Marketing & Publishing Intensive, and you can register right now to ensure a seat at the next one this May 17-18.

Who are these mentors? They’re multiplatform publishing superstars, and just a small sample of the publishers who’ve achieved astonishing success using the techniques and methodology we’ll teach you at the Intensive:

1. Clay Hall, Aspire Media
2. Chris Kimball, America’s Test Kitchen
3. Stuart Hochwert, Prime Publishing
4. Phil Ash, Capitol Information Group
5. Charlie Spahr, American Ceramic Society
6. Bill Bonner, Agora Publishing
7. Bob Brady, Business & Legal Resources

You’ll learn all of the details of their success at the Intensive. But allow me to share right now just a few of the strategies they’ve implemented on their way to success.

“The team I worked with at Interweave successfully transitioned a leading print enthusiast media business into the digital age. The folks at Mequoda were an important part of this team and the company’s most valued strategic advisor. We could not have done it without them.” Clay Hall Former CEO Interweave

Perhaps you’re wondering why Clay Hall is the former CEO at Interweave. It’s because after learning how to leverage the Mequoda Method at the Intensive, the company he built grew so large that he sold it to giant F+W Media for a substantial profit.

Would you like to learn the same secrets he knows? Discover them by attending the Intensive.

“We have used the Mequoda Method to create two successful online magazines that generate subscription revenues that are completely independent of our advertising driven legacy business model.” Stuart Hochwert Founder and CEO Prime Publishing

Prime built one of the country’s largest cooking and crafting digital publishing companies from scratch in less than five years, based on the Mequoda strategies that Hochwert mastered.

Having built an audience of some 7.6 million active subscribers, and keeping them highly engaged with his Mequoda-designed email program, allows him to sell advertising spots in multitudes across his sites. To create a profitable audience like that, start by learning what Hochwert knows at the Intensive.

I think you’ll agree these publishers are superstars – and that they are admirable mentors for your company. Remember, you’ll learn all of the secrets to their success at the Intensive … so why not download the program guide, read about the same audience development, content repurposing, email promotion and hundreds of other Mequoda Best Practices that these mentors already learned?

I look forward to “introducing” you to these mentors, and to helping you find your own path to multiplatform publishing success.

Your satisfaction with the Subscription Marketing & Publishing Intensive is guaranteed. If you decide at the end that you haven’t learned exactly what you need to dramatically increase your revenues, I’ll cheerfully refund your registration cost.

As an Intensive attendee, you’ll also be entitled to a FREE 30-minute conversation with me afterward, to address your specific issues.

The post Meet Your Multiplatform Publishing Mentors appeared first on Mequoda Daily.