plenary session digital publishing sabatier

Digital Publishing: Scaling New Heights

How do consumer, business, technology and

content trends stretch us to expand our view of

what publishing is and deliver to our intended

audience? Smart phones, mobile tablets, e-

Readers and the web drive the new “post paper”

market for magazine publishers but your business

models are still evolving.

Digital Publishing:

Scaling New Heights

Key Development Area: Content

Trends Affecting Digital Publishing

Key Development Area: Metrics & SEO

Key Development Area: Design, User Engagement & Features

Key Development Area: Business Model

Key Development Area: Production Technology & Delivery Options

Key Development Area: Advertising Sales

Scaling New Heights

Digital Publishing

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Trends Affecting Digital Publishers

Print audiences for news, opinion and

entertainment content (and the

advertising they attract) are shrinking

worldwide, and the rate of decline grows

every year.

In most countries, print now ranks as

either the #3 or #4 medium by audience

size and advertising spending (typically

after TV, the internet and radio).

Print Audiences


• While the decline of print media (newspapers and magazines) is

dropping more slowly in India than in other countries the trend is the

same – print is shrinking and online is growing every year.

Print Audiences


Implications:

• Print-only publishers should plan to incorporate online editions.

• Publishers with existing online editions need to maximize their

effectiveness and build a realistic online business model.

–This impacts the business model, editorial, design and delivery technology.

Print Audiences


Mobil in India is 4% in 2012

and growing fast with

market share doubling every

6 to 8 months.

.

Mobile


In the US, smart mobile device usage

has reached 50% and is still growing.

Mobile usage growth in urban areas across India is now

reaching 15% and growing much faster than the national average.

Future mobile growth in India will rise to 50% over the next five years as

device and data plans come down in price.

Mobile


• Developing and delivering mobile-

device friendly versions of any

publication – whether through

native apps, mobile-friendly

websites or through third-party

mobile content distribution

systems (Pressly, etc.) – has

become far less complicated and

expensive over the past two

years.

Mobile


Implications:

• Understand it

• Prepare your current and future publications for mobile growth

– Strengths / limitations of these devices / content consumption patterns on

mobile devices

– This impacts design, editing and delivery technology.

Mobile


• Social Media is already big in India and growing fast…

Social Media


• About 70% of regular web users in India have a FaceBook account

(60 million people), making India the #3 country worldwide for

FaceBook accounts.

• LinkedIn (14 million) and Twitter (17 million) are more than doubling

their audience in India each year.

• Social media use accounts for about an hour a day in India. Most

access it from home, then office, then mobile.

Social Media


Implication:

• Publishers should incorporate social media features (story post-outs

to social media, mini-sites on key social media platforms to attract

audience from those sites) into their digital products to take

advantage of this growth and high level of engagement.

– This impacts editorial, audience development, business development, and

delivery technology.

Social Media


eBook readers are growing quickly in sales and use across India, and

represent an excellent revenue source via content redistribution…

eBook Readers


eBook readers are selling fast in

India – Bowker's Global eBook

Monitor study earlier this year

showed that about 20% of

respondents in urban areas in

India had made one or more

eBook purchases over the

previous six months.

eBook Readers


Lower costs for the readers (starting now at about 5,000 INR) and for

eBook purchases (from about 30 INR) and better copy-protection are

making this channel increasingly important to Indian publishers.

The most common (and lucrative) approaches involve collecting

previously published content into single-topic medium-length (5,000 to

20,000 words) eBooks priced at 100 to 300 INR ($2 to $6 US) and the

publisher keeps 60 to 70% of that revenue.

eBook Readers


Implication:

• Indian publishers should take advantage of the growing eBook

marketplace and re-sell content in this channel.

• The conversion software to convert standard electronic file formats

(Word, InDesign, QuarkXpress, PDF, etc.) into copy-protected eBook

format for Kindle or Nook have become very cheap and relatively

easy to use.

eBook Readers

Understanding your publication's online analytics (web, mobile and

social media) grows more vital every day…


1 traffic drivers

Key data

content use and

preferences

Key data

3 audience loyalty

and engagement

Key data

2

Regular monitoring of your analytics and responding to the trends they reveal is very

important to any digital publisher.

Collecting detailed analytics

from your web site (including

mobile-friendly sites) or your

mobile app can be done without

spending any money at all with

products like Google Analytics.

Key Development Areas

Ideal digital edition (web site and/or mobile app) content mix:

– All (or almost all) the story/department/column content from the print edition,

posted when the print edition hits the street or slightly after

– digital-only additions to most major items from the print edition (detail or

background text, extra photos or a photo gallery, possibly a video or audio clip,

user poll, etc.)

Content


Ideal digital edition (web site and/or mobile app) content mix:

– Entirely new digital-only content (additional stories, blogs, columns, videos,

etc.; posted daily or near-daily between main issue dates – some of this may

well wind up in the next print issue; this is a ‘digital-first’ approach already in

use at a lot of newspapers)

– regardless of your print edition structure, shorter items (500 words or less)

work better than longer ones for most digital publications because of 'grazing'

content habits online

Content


Ideal eBook edition content mix – essentially the same as the print

version

With a copy-protected searchable PDF - usable on most eReaders -

you can get the exact look of the print version - this is usually called a

'replica' edition.

Content


Opting for the ePub3 format gives you a product more adaptable for use

on different screen sizes and horizontal or vertical orientation, but not

the ability to mimic the print look and feel.

(This is a regular eBook edition of the print magazine, sold separately or as part of a

bundle. Any special eBook products would each have their own content mix and a

similar overall design look & feel.)

Content


Digital products (website, mobile app, ePub edition) should share the

same overall design approach, colors and standing graphic elements

(logos, etc.)

The design for these digital products must be carefully matched to the

strengths and weaknesses of the devices used to access the product.

Design, User Experience & Features


A typical information architecture (IA) for a publication website (for use

by people with desktop, laptop, netbook and tablet devices) involves a

home page with story leaders and links to all key/recent items on the

site, sometimes placed in a sliding ‘carousel,’ along with direct links to

each site section.



Two-click Rule

No major site item should be more than 2 clicks from the

home page, and the top five or eight new items should be

teased on the home page with 1 click access



Think of an area of about 800 pixels wide by 800 pixels high as 'above the

fold' – the area where your most important content and links should all be.



In addition to the design detailed on previous slides, the

only other site design that should be used if at all

possible is one for smartphones.

While most mobile tablets can use the same site design

as a desktop or laptop, the smartphone has a far more

limited display – high-resolution, but typically not much

bigger than a business card.



Good smartphone design uses slightly-larger type (i.e.12-14

points) a single-column vertical approach (smartphones are

almost always used in portrait / vertical orientation) using

limited photo or graphic elements.

Example: Regular Site: http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Mobile Version: http://m.theglobeandmail.com

(Visit these with a smartphone to see these designs. The web

server automatically determines if a visitor is using a smartphone

and delivers the regular or smartphone design as appropriate.)


http://www.theglobeandmail.com



http://m.theglobeandmail.com


If you develop a mobile app or highly-

specialized website design themes for

smartphones and tablets, you can add

design features unique to those

devices using HTML5 and other

specialized languages


Slide-out

Slide-up

Slide-down

Extra content

Navigation elements

Light-boxes, etc.


Popular Publication Site / App Features:

– Favorites function (a Favorite button on every story page, hit it to add the

story to your Favorites list, which is a list of links on a custom page for each

site user. Revisit the stories anytime.

– Email this story link, post out to Social Media sites (FaceBook, Twitter,

LinkedIn, etc.) buttons on every story or blog page

– Body type size controls in the smartphone page themes for the site or a

mobile app



Recommended production technology for typical magazine sites (for all

devices): A WCMS (web content management system) which allows for

any authorized writer, editor, contributor or graphics person to post and

arrange content to the site (words, images, video, audio, slide shows,

etc.) without technical training.

Items can easily have SEO key words and page design type ('theme')

attached and start / end dates/times on the web site. Examples:

DRUPAL, JOOMLA, etc.

Production Technology & Delivery Options


Larger organizations can use a Hybrid WCMS to allow for single entry of

content by contributors driving output for both web and print editions

(high-res PDF). Examples, DTI, K4, DITTO, QPS, etc.

Typical format of web pages created: HTML 3 - 5 plus JavaScript and

CSS3 (Cascading Style Sheets).



Emerging format (also for delivery to any device type): HTML5 plus

Conditional CSS3: With this approach, best embodied in Adobe's

DreamWeaver 6, you can create a single page design template (theme)

that can dynamically adjust its own layout on the fly based on device

type and screen size.

Just one set of site page themes (designs) can adapt to any device from

a smartphone to a 30" screen automatically. This is generally referred to

as ‘responsive design’.

http://www.qz.com http://www.bostonglobe.com

Try changing the size of the browser window - watch it change from a 3-column normal

web page down to a little smartphone page on the fly …)


http://www.qz.com

http://www.bostonglobe.com

http://www.bostonglobe.com


Recommended technology & delivery options for a mobile app

(smartphones and tablets): A native 'shell app' for iPad and one for

Android devices. Both work exactly the same way – they have built-in

visual page design themes (horizontal and vertical for tablets and vertical

for smartphones) and standing graphic elements (logos, section heads,

etc.). Content is received in the app through an RSS feed from the web

site. The app can store a few issues to read offline.

Usually the shell app is free, but the actual content is sold as part of a

site/app bundle or as tablet app-only content on the iTunes or Android

online stores (30% to them).



Alternative approach for a mobile app: Arrange for an external company

to handle your mobile app deployment – you provide an RSS content

stream and they do the rest. Typically they charge 30-40% of subscription

and/or ad sales in the app for this service. (Example: pressly.com).



Digital publications can derive revenue from several sources, and best-

practices business models incorporate two or more of these

– Website ads or in-app sales

• Your own ad sales team or through ad agencies

– Sponsorships

– Site or app subscription sales

– eCommerce sales and transaction fees through the website

Business Model


Web site ads or in-app ad sales –

Automated ad network-based ads

(DoubleClick, AdSense, etc.) offer very

low CP/M rates (70-125 INR per

thousand ad impressions) are usually

only practical if your site or app draws

tens or hundreds of thousands of site

visits (or app users) each month

Business Model


A better approach is ad sales through your own ad sales team or through

ad agencies. This approach can generate much higher ad

CP/M rates, but to make it work you'll need to demonstrate that your

audience are exactly the type of people who select advertisers want to

reach.

– Advertisers and agencies like sites with a carefully-focused and loyal audience –

this means less 'spill', where their ads reach people who are not interested in their

products or services.

Business Model


Sponsorships – This is a higher-level sales approach where a few

carefully-selected large companies or organizations 'sponsor' a site or app

section for a week, month, etc.

– This approach can be tricky if the sponsor wants editorial / content input for the

section.

Business Model


Site or App Subscription Sales – Today some sites will offer a basic set of

site content and features for free (in order to maintain a good base traffic

level and paid ad impressions), and also sell a site access subscription

(more content and features, less ads) for a set fee per month or year.

(Mobile apps can also offer the same approach.)

Many times bundle deals are offered: print + full web site + PDF Replica

Edition or full web site + mobile app access, etc.

Business Model


Important pricing note!

If you have a print edition and you decide to charge for online content, do

not sell full website access for less than you charge for the print version, or

you'll risk losing your print customers (who generate much higher ad CP/Ms

than web users) over to your web site.

Charge the same as your print readers pay, but not less.

Combo print + digital bundles (print, full website, replica edition and mobile

app content) can be up to 50% more than the print edition by itself.

Business Model


eCommerce Sales and Transaction Fees through the Web Site – Under

this model, you sell access to other digital products (resource libraries,

special eBooks or other digital products, etc.).

– These can be high-margin sales.

Business Model


Every effort should be made to package your audience as carefully as

possible to potential advertisers.,

If your site draws a regular and loyal (frequent repeat visits) / engaged

(longer page visits and multiple pages viewed per visit) audience who share

interests, locations or demographics they represent a potential audience for

advertisers offering related products or services.

Advertising Development


From most advertisers' point of view, a site with a mostly 'drive-by' audience

who visit only once or twice per month (or less often) is not an attractive ad

medium, unless your site draws a huge crowd.

They would much more likely prefer a smaller, but regularly-visiting

audience.

Advertising works best with the same person seeing the ad several times.



While top, side and bottom banner ads are standard, advertisers will pay

more for interactive ads (where the user enters information about

themselves or their product interests directly in the ad and is then taken to

their site) or full-page interstitial ads (ads that appear when moving between

the pages of a story or between site sections).



• Content-aware ad placement systems (either through ad networks or

through your own ad delivery system) are also sought-after. They offer

customized on-the-fly ad placement on your site based on page content

matching the ad's product or service.

• Pop-up ads and flashing / irritating ads are generally frowned on by

advertisers, as are Flash-based ads (or other Flash-based site content) –

Flash does not work on mobile devices.



Your ad sales should be focused on a smaller group of potentially large

advertising clients, rather than the other way around. Maintain an ad sales /

ad clients database as your targeting method for regular ad sales contacts.

Print + web ad combo deals can be attractive sales-builders, but resist the

urge to throw in the web ads for little or no extra money than the print ad by

itself. If you do, you're effectively de-valuing web ads for every potential

advertiser who sees that deal.



All publication sites who sell subscriptions will use house ads onsite to

promote the paid product and link directly to a registration / subscription

page. Some publishers will also advertise in other (non-competing)

publications or sites of interest to audiences similar to their own.

Social media out-posting buttons (FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) on

each story page are an excellent free promotion method - your site users

post links to your stories on their social media pages, where they're seen by

many other potential site visitors.

Product Promotion


Some publications who sell site subscription use a soft ‘metered paywall’

approach, where a site user can view a certain number of site pages per

month before starting to get 'meter ad messages' that promote the paid

product.

– The more pages a user views over a month, the more meter messages are displayed

to him.

– At some point (perhaps 20 pages viewed), the site may lock him from viewing more

pages until the current month is over.

– All meter messages have a direct link to the subscription page.

Product Promotion


A 'hard' paywall (no-one can see much or any of the site without paying) is

effective only in highly-specialized business/trade publication sites or other

examples where the site offers absolutely unique / highly-valued content or

services.

Product Promotion

Many sites offer a three-stage approach to moving their audience

through increasing levels of loyalty and engagement with the site, and,

finally, paid purchase of a site or app subscription:

3. Subscribed

(Paid) user

2. Registered

user

1. Anonymous

user

They provide their email address (and perhaps a bit more

information) to get extra site content and features.

Full site access with all site features and content.

Only the basic site features and content

(With registered or subscribed users, a weekly/monthly email newsletter is a good

device to draw them back to the site regularly, but typical open rates are low: 3% to 8%/)


Good web site

analytics can be

easily obtained with

free or low-cost

external web

analytics reporting

services like Google

Analytics or Alexa.

Metrics & SEO


Metrics & SEO

Google Analytics – Basic Dashboard


• Much more detailed reporting can be collected with paid services like

Alexa Pro, Scout, Adobe Analytics (formerly Omniture), ComScore,

etc. but these can be quite expensive for small organizations.

Metrics & SEO


There are also mobile analytics specialists (like Juice Analytics) to report

on user demographics and content preferences inside your mobile app.

Metrics & SEO


Paid analytic products typically offer

external third-party audience data (paid

data sets or census data, etc) to overlay

your own data to give a clear view of your

audience

– Interests

– Demographics

– Buying habits.

Metrics & SEO


Fundamental web analytics to collect monthly and watch over time

(regardless of the source):

– Total Visits

– Total Unique Visitors (i.e.: different people)

– Average Pages Viewed Per Visit

– Average Visit Duration (direct measure of audience engagement)

– The fraction of your audience visiting once, twice, five times, ten times, etc. per

month (direct measure of audience loyalty)

Metrics & SEO


Fundamental web analytics to collect monthly and watch over time

(regardless of the source), continued:

– The % of single-page site visits ('bounces', lower is better)

– Geographic breakdown of site visitors by city, region or country

– % of Site Visits using a regular desktop/laptop and using a mobile device

(smartphone or tablet)

– Key traffic sources (search sites / other sites linking to yours / traffic from ads on

other sites or emails / links to your site from different social media sites, etc.)

– Most popular content on your site (sections and individual story/column/blog

pages)

Metrics & SEO


SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Using proper key words to

describe the subject of each story, blog or column (and your overall site)

is crucial to build traffic from search sites like Google Search, Bing, etc.

These are easy to add when posting the content items in most WCMS

systems, but you should develop and use a consistent ongoing set of

standard keywords.

– To find the best ones, do searches on the big search sites using the topics your

site covers with different key words and determine which ones seem to work for

you.

Metrics & SEO

“…Publishers have largely replicated their books, magazines, and

newspapers in digital forms. While this is a good start, publishers

won't complete the digital transition until they have created entirely

new digital media products that fulfill the promises made by digital

technology.”

Forrester.com

THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL

Thank You