According to a recent survey called »The Case of Advertising in Interactive Digital Magazines« by Josh Gordon, founder of Smarter Media Sales, digital magazines outperform other electronic media when it comes to ad engagement and reader experiences. This is the first study exclusively conducted on readers of interactive digital magazines.

The survey found that digital editions readers were less likely (70%) to ignore ads in digital magazines than ads on Web sites. 71% of respondents said ads on digital editions were less intrusive than Web sites, while 79 percent said ads in digital editions were more credible or trustworthy.

The study also found that respondents found ads in digital magazines more helpful and interesting than ads in other electronic media. 63,2% of respondents named ads in digital magazines the most interesting, followed by TV ads (53,8%), Radio (34,8%) and e-mails (22,4%). Banner ads (16,4%), Website pop-up ads (2,3%) and ads on mobile phone (1,9%) were ranked the least interesting.

Digital magazines »more engaging«
82% of respondents find digital magazines more engaging than Web sites with similar content. In terms of overall reading expirience, respondents chose digital magazines over Web sites:

Digital extras
The study reveals that when »digital extras« like video and Flash animation are embeded into articles, they encourage reader engagement for both editorial content and advertising messages. More than half of interactive magazine readers read the article first and then play the »digital extras«, but one in five respondents play the »extras« first.

»Digital extras« extend the time spend reading interactive magazines by motivating readers to read articles they would otherwise have skipped. About one in five respondents said they play the »digital extra« before moving on to another article, while 44% said »digital extras« give articles they had no interest in a second chance to be read.

Of all »digital extras«, 75,2% of respondents said video enhanses their reading expirience most, next most popular enhancement is extra photos (58%), followed by slide shows (37,4%), audio (35,7%) and Flash animation (30,6%).

The presence of »digital extras« is one of the most noticable differences between interactive digital magazines and digital replicas of print magazines. And as it turns out the key one when it comes to reader engagement.

Source: http://www.smartermediasales.com/digitalmagazines.html

Targeted personalised comunication is the the most effective way of reaching your new and existing customers. Personalisation is the art of forming long-term relationships and establishing loyalty with your customers. With technologies that allow you to place the customer’s name or other details in interesting ways, you can really attract the recipient’s attention.

eDition enables you to do just that. You can personalise your publication from your client's database. Greeting your reader on the cover of your magazine or placing personalised massages within your digital publication. It's really up to you. Combined with the eDition mailing service, your on-line publication becomes a powerful marketing tool for generating new revenue.

To view an example of how personal you can get, please visit our client's site http://www.capsule8.com/go.html . Just enter your name and flip through your very own publication.

We’ve been so busy this year, and our clients have been launching some great eMags on eDition platform. First up is a new issue of Mazda's Zoom Zoom launched in the USA and Australia.

Barclays bank have launched excelent interactive online magazine Smart Living from Barclays.  Each issue is packed with fashion, lifestyle and home features, plus money-saving ideas and retirement and financial planning tips.

In January Marks and Spencer launched their hugely sucessful M&S Magazine in eDition format.

And last but not least breathtaking Esprit eMag presenting Esprit's Spring 2010 campaign. Launched simultaneously in seven different countries and three different languages as part of the new cross-media-campaign »The Spirit of 68«. Real treat for all fashion lovers.

By: James Barnes, Sales Manager
eDition will be attending the Publishing Expo at Olympia on 24th & 25th February - The must attend event for anyone working in the changing world of publishing. We can't wait to meet up with some old friends and make plenty of new ones while we demonstrate the software from our stand using the simulated virtual page-flip machine.

Publishing Expo is the key UK event dedicated to the publishing industry. It combines a showcase of suppliers demonstrating exciting new products with a free education programme incorporating seminars, workshops and demonstrations, all offering the latest up to date information.

It attracts thousands of publishing professionals involved in producing magazines, newspapers, brochures, newsletters, directories and catalogues - covering print, digital, electronic and online. It offers the latest ideas, the contacts, the products, the services and solutions to enable publishing teams to compete effectively in their markets.

In 2010 Publishing Expo will again take place at Olympia from 24th - 25th February, and will feature more exhibitors, more seminars and workshops - and more visitors, all coming to do business at what is the UK's only dedicated exhibition for publishing professionals.

We look forward to seeing you there!

More details about the event can be found here:
http://www.publishing-expo.co.uk/edition-digital
http://www.publishing-expo.co.uk/when-where

Mazdas first fully interactive ZoomZoom magazine has gone live with eDition. The magazine, published by Redwood, has already been labeled one of the best online eZines. It is published for Canadian Mazda owners so it is available in both English and French. Click on the magazine cover to take a look.

You have made the first step. Your publication bursted to life in an attractive web format.
But the number of your readers is still below expectations. How can you attract the readers to look at your digital edition?

Use the eDition web teasers
Interactive graphic elements can be a very useful tool in this respect – something that will draw attention (Look! There is something interesting going on!). And that could be a minimised flipping version of your digital edition. eDition web teaser is a link to your actual publication and can add a great deal of distinction to your web site.

All editions in one place – the eDition Gallery of editions
eDition includes a very interesting function – Gallery of editions. This function is particularly useful when you want to present several issues of the same publication on a small place. Positioning of the Gallery is quite simple – you choose the desired size and form and then place the automatically generated code onto the spot in the web page where you want the Gallery to be shown.
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The Send-to-a-friend function
As a standard functionality eDition offers your readers the option to notify their friends about the interesting content of your publication. With a simple click on the button in the toolbar they can send a link to the chosen page in your web edition via e-mail. All that remains for you to do is to make your content interesting enough so the readers would wish to share it with others.

The Facebook application
eDition also offers a special application for Facebook users. When installing it in their Facebook profile they can save there publications of their choice. At the same time Facebook friends get the opportunity to view eachothers saved publications.

Social bookmarks
This application is another alternative to increase the number of your readers. The existing readers can simply add a link to your web edition to their own profiles in web communities like Facebook, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Reddit, Digg and Technokrati.

And how will you know you were succesful in attracting new readers?
The eDition statistics offers you the possibility to follow the frequency of sent links to your web publication by e-mail. And not only that – read about other valuable statistical options in one of our next posts.

Recent research by the American company Texterity in cooperation with BPA Worldwide, which has captured 33.784 readers of at least one of the 164 magazines and newspapers distributed digitally (55 different publishers), states:

- that 90% readers are very satisfied or satisfied with the new e-format
- 92% read the digital edition within a week and 52% read it immediately or in the same day
- 91% of readers are otherwise active while reading the edition; more than half of them visit the advertised website

The main reason for the use of digital publications is still environmental awareness, while users also rate simplicity of search and effective storage among the top three advantages of the digital edition. Interestingly enough, there is no significant difference in e-dition popularity among people of different age, profession or sex.

Other reasons for reading publications in digital format given by the readers were:

"It''s wonderful, I can read it everywhere"
"You can read it anywhere on the planet"
"It allows me to read content in the x minutes while the computer is doing something else" (virus scans, backups…)
"I can read it while travelling"
"Cheaper + simple delivery"
"It''s more convenient and faster to share with the entire team"
"It has embedded links to other interesting content"
"More practical for reference"
"Various interactive content is just a click away"

Research has also shown that digital edition readers most frequently blog about the content they have read, and often bookmark the advertised sites.

And a final cheering fact: research has also shown that readers of digital editions show significant fidelity to the publication with 61% of them reading at least 3 of the last 4 editions.

All magazines record ever rising numbers of readers who prefer the digital edition to the printed one. There are a number of reasons for this: some of them „think green“, some can only manage things digitally because they are always on the run, and some are simply tech enthusiasts and love all things digital.

The established independent research company BPA has published its research on the subject, determining who is on top in digital readership. As expected, the top 20 places go to technical magazines, which have recorded on average a 2% increase in exclusive digital readership. Oracle magazine has the lead with 118.000 of 516.000 readers going digital. The Renewable Energy Focus has the largest portion of readers who rely solely on the digital version, with an amazing 67% share.

According to the Gilbane Group, the number of B2B publications in the last year increased by 300%, and digital consumer information by 200% (as well as the number of its readers). On the basis of the information gathered it was established that the number of digital publishers will rise from 3.286 in 2007 to 8.000 in 2009 (by 247 %), while the number of digital publications will rise from 13,5 mio. to 31,5 mio. (by 236 %).

Digital format for publishers with creative ideas

By estimate, the digital edition gets the wind under its wings as soon as it reaches a 25 – 30% share of subscription. Besides meeting the needs of the readers, the new digital media can be exactly what the publishers need. Many examples show that the digital edition helped to realise business models which would otherwise fail. By using this technology, publishers could opt for niche covering of the entire global market with highly specialized content (specialized readership over global area), or simply decrease the delivery cost to remote regions.

The modern magazine tries to adapt to its readers to the best of its ability. Most publishers stick to both the printed and digital edition. Mainly for fear, that going digital could cause them to lose their advertisers. However, research show that this will not be the practice for much longer.

Porsche Slovenija has just released their 3rd issue of their interactive multimedia magazine Carzine. It''s cool, it''s interactive, it''s engaging. Check it out!

The vocabulary of the modern mobile community has recently been enlarged with words like podcast, webzine, tube, blackberry, feed, widget, streaming, web 3.0, apps, … Perhaps the question is no longer  “will internet ever replace paper”, but rather when  this will happen, as Kathleen Kennedy,  head of Strategy at Technology Review, says. Is this expectation ahead of its time?

The mindframe of marketing experts is already shifting from traditional towards interactive media. The prominent research institution Forrester predicts that expenses occured by interactive advertising will  largely be covered by  the decrease in the purchase of printed adds. In USA, this will happen later this year. Research also shows that only 7 % of the marketers are not yet considering interactive media.

Readers too, are turning to the internet. There is simply sooo much content there. Some readers, of course will never replace their hard copy newspaper with the digital version, but there are also readers who will never go back to a printed newspaper again. They love the hyperlinked  media rich documents and spend more time on them than the conventional reader spends daily on the printed edition. Thus you have the chance to benefit financially from the high quality free content you put online.

If  new readers are not interested in the „dull“ printed edition, the highly structured „user friendly“ design of the web site won''''t win them over either. Content is still key, but this new breed of readers are not inclined to search the internet for the latest news. They want something cheerful, entertaining and new, all neatly packaged in an attractive way.

eDition – your chance to profit

Maybe you yourself have started with the deployment of your editions to the interactive graphics of internet publishing. Beside an interesting experience, the latter offers to its readers the  use of podcasts,  music players, YouTube and similar more or less  novel features while at the same time allowing the  publishers to preserve total control over  the final outlook/display of the edition.

This solution could not have come at a better time. The costs of paper and postal services have gone up and are still rising. The price of ink, paper, print and delivery can make up to half of the expenses of running an edition. This new option is also tempting for the advertising professional. Readers can, by simply clicking on the picture of a new sports car, experience the view from the car while driving in the Swiss Alps... or hear the demo from their latest record by clicking on the picture of a rock star. No elaborate teaser or free tester can ever surpass that full-on onslaught on the senses. This is where the money is – go get it!