Magazine Closings Beg the Question: Are Digital Editions the Answer?
This year has not been a great one for magazines. Popular consumer magazines including Gourmet, Domino, Best Life, Metropolitan Home and Cookie all said “Adios” and turned out the lights as advertisers slashed expenditures. Even the mighty Portfolio magazine, a publication with a historic launch budget of $125 million in 2007, was unable to survive the economic downturn. (See this article in AdAge for a complete list of 2009’s carnage).
Enter Digital Editions
As people search for more budget-friendly tactics, one option frequently offered is an eMagazine or “digital edition” of a publication. For those of you who have not yet seen a digital edition, think of your typical print magazine lying flat on your screen with neat features like zoom and curved page edges that flip when you “turn the page.” (Check out a preview of Fast Company magazine’s digital edition).
A digital edition is often seen as an easy way to eliminate the expenses associated with printing, shipping and mailing. While the editorial and design cost are often equal in both print and digital editions, without most of the production and distribution costs, there is no doubt that digital editions are cheaper than their print counterparts. And, since most of America is wired to the Internet and uses the Web to search for all types of information, a digital edition makes sense, right? Not so fast.
What readers want from a print magazine is not the same as what they want from a digital experience. People enjoy the portability and tactile experience that magazines offer. No matter how jazzy the user interface, digital editions cannot replicate the experience of consuming a physical magazine. And, while computer screens are getting larger and more brilliant, the basic design — “the user interface” — of a magazine feature story is not ideal for consumption via a computer screen.
While the cost savings of going digital may still seem attractive (or even mandatory), if your magazine is supported by advertising, beware of a potential decline in advertising revenue if you move to a digital-only offering. While more advertising dollars are being spent on digital media than ever before, in most cases, the total dollar amount for an online ad will be less than an ad in a magazine delivered to a subscriber’s home. In short, a trade of print ad dollars for digital dimes could make the costs savings seem less of a solution than it appears at first glance.
Don’t Replace... Leverage
More than a few publishers are asking themselves: Do I keep doing my print publication? Or, do I switch to a digital edition? The answer to both is yes. There are inherent strengths to each that if they are able to weather the current advertising environment, can make them stronger over the long term.
Associations and other membership organizations should especially proceed cautiously when considering the elimination of their print product. After all, to members, the print publication is likely the most tangible member benefit.
Rather than opting for a solution that replicates a print product on the Internet, why not use the strengths of the web to add new capabilities, expand the reach of the publication and find new readers? Put all your content online and make sure it can be easily found by search engines. Include a powerful search tool on your website to help visitors find what they are looking for. And, create new content for the Web – blogs, videos, etc. to draw readers back to the site on an ongoing basis. Finally, find other places to contribute your content to leverage your brand and expand your reach.
In the end, new display and distribution vehicles are a great benefit to both publishers and readers alike. They provide new and improved ways to engage, interact, build relationships and community. Despite the rough year for traditional magazines, print is neither dead nor dying. It’s just being supplemented with powerful new tools to strengthen the overall relationship between publishers and subscribers.
