Face of magazine publishing today

Magazine publishers can no longer afford to depend on their print edition to bring in the revenue. With production costs increasing publishers need to start considering their options; these options include digital, online and mobile editions. Publishers that do not adopt a multi-platform approach to publishing are going to find themselves falling behind in the new publishing landscape.

Publishers need to recognize that they are no longer magazine publishers but content providers. Reading habits are changing and the methods of obtaining content are no longer only via traditional print media. Audiences are using a variety of media channels to obtain information and South African publishers are finding themselves competing more and more with international content providers.

This trend is set to increase as more South Africans are accessing the internet according to the APMS 2007B survey released by The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) (www.saarf.co.za) on Thursday 13 March. Once broadband really arrives in South Africa this trend is going to have a huge impact on the way in which we interact. Introducing modern media channels to compliment existing offerings is the only way to ensure that you stay ahead of the game.

Digital editions or digital magazines provided enormous added value for advertisers, which can increase revenue for the publisher as advertising rates can be adjusted to reflect these added benefits. As well as boosting advertising revenues, the subscription models can bring in further revenue through new and audiences that previously would not have been reached.

Benefit to the publisher

-          Quick production time – digital magazine can be produced quickly.

-          Maintain the look-and-feel of the print edition.

-          Realistic page-turning and other visual effects to look like a print edition.

-          Production and distribution costs reduced.

-          Reach a wider audience.

-          Total control over paid subscriptions.

-          Strengthen the brand the magazine.

-          Staying ahead of its competitors.

-          Generate an equivalent HTML version

o   Enable auto read services.

o   Increase web browsing functionality.

o   Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

o   Page ranking on search engines.

-          Include multimedia; news feeds, video and sound clips.

-          Increased revenue through advertising and subscriptions

Benefit to the reader

-          Lower subscription fee due to reduced production and distribution cost.

-          Immediate delivery.

-          Search capabilities allowing quick and easy word and phrase searches.

-          Archiving the publication for easy reference.

-          Thumbnails views.

-          Incremental zooming.

-          Interaction with the writers and advertisers

Benefit to the advertiser

-          More interactive dynamic, animated, interactive advertisements.

-          Embedded multimedia; video and audio clips.

-          Customer interaction.

-          Statistics system providing detailed reports:

o   Unique visitors.

o   Links followed.

o   Pages viewed.

The Harrison Group in conjunction with Zinio recently conducted a survey (detailed results will be released on 20 March) which indicates that 44 percent of readers find advertising in digital editions to be more appealing, more so than print advertising and 37 percent of the respondents reported that they were more likely to engage with advertising in the digital edition.

What does this mean for print publishers?

There is no reason why publishers should not continue to produce their print editions but, they can now offer an alternative to their readers who can subscribe to receive a digital version of you publication, at a lower cost. This will mean that the print and your distribution costs are lower as all that is now needed is to notify the subscriber that the publication is available.

 About Sapphire Dawn
Sapphire Dawn will support you in reaching this changing market and increasing demand for content on various channels. Through our full service offering; after consulting with the client we will conceptualise and design the publication and deliver the final print magazine, digital edition and produce the content for the online version. Editorial and photographic services are also available and we can advise on the production of your advertisers new and exciting multi-media advertisements.
For more information please visit Sapphire Dawn or contact Clinton on + 27 79 707 7785 or clinton@clintonlord.co.za