Valuable Information, Check. Unique and Engaging Content, Check. Attractive Design, Check.
Well done! Now, you are all set to publish a magazine.
Becoming a magazine publisher can change your life forever. It is one of the most rewarding tasks you might ever come across where you can impact thousands and even millions of people worldwide.
However, it is equally challenging as every step taken towards your goal is crucial for the magazine’s success. I won’t sugarcoat it; it takes immense focus, perseverance, hard work, and patience to publish a magazine.
One of the essential questions to ask yourself before embarking on this journey is what platforms are you going to choose — Digital? Print? Or both?
You’ll never regret investing the time to think about this before you begin. To make it easy for you, I am putting forward a few important facts to be considered
Print or Digital?
Both print and digital have their own pros and cons. Though print has an obvious advantage of existing for so long, digital has swiftly and impressively gained popularity.
Ever since the appearance of digital, it is rumored that print is soon going to die. But we still see print being demanded, read, and circulated in the market. Reason being the feel of paper, its smell, and the sound of fluttering pages, print supporters just love the immersive and sensorial experience while reading the print content.
On the other hand, digital has created its own space with innovative technology-driven features.
Let’s read about three of the major benefits of producing digital content:
Instant Access: Users love digital because they can access tons of information on-the-go. Just type in the search space, whatever you desire to look for and Go. That’s it and you’re done, it opens up the door to exhaustive online information. Obviously, it’s not possible with print until we’re carrying multiple books.
To buy a new magazine or get a new subscription, there is no need to stand in long queues. Instead, they can be accessed on a single click at the comfort of our home. Moreover, digital also gives us the opportunity to instantly share the content with our friends and family across various online platforms.
Boosted User-Engagement: Digital content is enriched by a plethora of interactive features integrated seamlessly. Usability is enhanced with the help of excellent graphical user interface, cleaner layouts, and navigable pages.
With decreasing attention spans of modern readers, the digital medium provides chunks of content made attractive by embedding rich multimedia. This greatly enhances user-engagement, improves retention, and helps in gaining the new audience.
Storage: Digital content can be stored in the mobile space, over the cloud, and even in the form of various applications. You may choose to archive your articles and keep the important stuff with you forever, unlike print which even uses a lot of physical space. Some of those printed books often remain stored in our cupboards and never taken out to be read the second time.
What about coexistence?
Often perceived as rivals, these two platforms can be efficiently utilized simultaneously to make the most of both worlds. This is a viable option as the print is here to stay and also digital is certain to grow. Digital content consumption has become our habit and has been closely entwined itself into our lifestyle and daily activities.
This concept of co-existence is tried and tested. It has already been identified and implemented by the majority of top players.
Bottom line
Approaching your customers only through print and overlooking the digital platform limits your market scope and leaves you deprived of all the advantages that technology has to offer. At the same time, it is suggested not to abandon the print altogether as a lot of users still prefer the physical sense of glossy magazines.
It is safe to adopt the multi-platform approach and reach your customers through both of these communication mediums. All in all, this pairing of the print publication with a digital edition should be profitable and be appealing to the readers.
Lastly, unlike bygone days, you can independently control your choices. Don’t shortcut this foundational step of magazine publishing process.
Think over and choose wisely!