In working with many publishers, we’ve watched the emergence of exciting (and some not so exciting) new digital magazines, and have started to determine what the challenges and opportunities are in this arena. What are the trends, where are the successes, and how can a publisher be unique and stand out in this new market?

Creating an effective digital magazine has many facets, and requires big picture focus on multiple business aspects in order to achieve success. It’s not just about creating cool content; it’s also about what it takes on an issue-by-issue basis to produce a quality product effectively. With new players, new content, and new tools, the lack of an effective and agreed upon production process will create chaos and failure. To reach success financially, that process must be optimized to be sustainable. We can learn lessons from early adopters if we keep these strategies in mind.

If you are just getting started with digital publishing, or think it might be time to review your strategy, here are some suggestions to set you on your way:

  1. Define the product visually – What’s the design vision, how will it take advantage of the device and interactivity, who makes the final design decisions?
  2. Determine content workflow – How will content be created, by whom, at what cost, and what’s manageable on an issue-by-issue basis?
  3. Templatize! Determine what’s repeatable (that doesn’t mean it has to be boring) and build those standards to save time. This will allow you to devote quality time to the areas that can truly benefit from more attention.
  4. Mock it up and do a dry run. Don’t plan to put together and publish your first issue without practice and planning. You’ll blow your budget on the first issue, skewing your success metrics, and that will cost you points with the bean counters.
  5. Learn from your dry run – Document practices, who does what, what you can do better and faster, AND what you can’t.
  6. Don’t forget about file management  – There are many more pieces and parts to manage with a digital magazine, and more points of failure related to those parts, than a traditional print magazine.
  7. Don’t forget about the distribution and delivery process – Distribution and delivery is not an afterthought. You need folks who know what they’re doing and can be accountable for making sure your app gets in front of consumers successfully.

These are just a few of the best practices we’ll be talking about, here on the TFP blog and in our newsletter, in the coming weeks and  months. We’re here to help start the conversation, to bring to light best practices, lessons learned, and success metrics. We’ll be sharing our knowledge and reaching out to you to weigh in with your experiences and opinions. Look for additional posts, webinars, white papers and tips to help you publish more effectively.

Send us Comments and Questions:
Has your organization published a digital magazine? What were your biggest stumbling blocks and most notable successes? What strategies did you find most helpful in the process of creating and delivering your end product?

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Posted by: Margot Knorr Mancini

Margot Knorr Mancini
A thought leader in the publishing industry, Margot Knorr Mancini has helped numerous publishers redefine their missions to become nimble content generators with the ability to repurpose content easily and efficiently. As Founder & CEO of Technology for Publishing, her analytical mind allows her to remain a step ahead of the industry, recognizing early trends and developing pivotal best practices.
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