Will digital magazines replace print?

Confused by all the recent hype you’ve been reading on digital publishing?  Don’t feel alone.

I’m not an internet or Web guru. I’m a publisher of magazines (in their print form) and I love the whole experience from start to finish of putting together a well thought, beautifully laid out, editorially enticing publication.  I’ve loved magazines since my early days of clipping through McCall’s for the paper dolls and have boxes stored under the stairs in the basement (don’t tell my husband) of a variety of publications that have grabbed my fancy over the years because of their cover, the recipes, articles, or just because I couldn’t bear to throw them away.  Paper, ink, the whole process is in my blood.  Yet who can ignore all the recent hype about the coming digital age and I believe it is only in the very beginning stages. 

There is a lot more to digital publishing and publications (and going to be even more in the future) than just the page flipping or send to a friend standard features we are currently seeing.  We are now moving into a world where pages can tell a story behind a story, where with the push of a button an audio or a video can play to enhance the experience, and at any minute something can fly out of a page corner and surprise you. Enter the complex and engaging world of digital publishing and while I’m not giving up on the print world just yet, I have to admit that the potential of what can now happen on a page in a digital magazine really intrigues me.  I love the idea of reading a travel story online only to be able to right then and there take a virtual tour if I feel like it and then even actually booking the reservation if I am so moved or looking at a clothing boutique ad and at the click of the button see a fashion show video or bring up their entire catalog of fashions for the upcoming season.

Does this replace what I still want to take with me to bed at night for my reading night cap?  Not at all, but in many ways I actually think the digital component can add to the print version and vice versa.  As our director of marketing, Pam Houser pointed out this month in her newsletter, Business 4 Brunch, Print Marketing is a vital outbound approach to drive customers to you online.  Recent research by iProspect and Jupiter Research indicated that over 65% of online searches were driven to search by offline channels. So you see, the need for print does still exist.

But what’s a publisher to do?  Abandon print, incorporate digital into the plan, at what level?  I think the best option we have is to continue to create cost effective print sources that can maintain a readership hold in the market while building expanded, fully featured digital components.  Many publishers today are simply converting their print versions by creating online  replicas, but take caution.  A conversion of a print version alone may not be enough to actually engage, connect, or convince your audience to take the time to go online and read your publication.  With the easy availability and access to such features as video, slideshows, links, hotspots, etc. you need to move forward with your digital pages keeping these features in mind.  After all, it won’t be long before page flippers alone become the dinosaurs of the digital age.  When the technology is out there and available (as it is today) you are going to have an audience who will want and demand it.  Look at what has happened to cell phones and ipods.   A phone is not a basic phone any longer and an ipod doesn’t simply play music anymore.  The technology was available for these items to carry these additional features and it wasn’t long before consumers were demanding them.  Do you know one person under 30 who has a phone that only operates as a phone these days? 

Digital publishing is in its infancy stages of development and I think we have a lot more exciting things coming in the future that in turn I hope will inspire those of us still in print publishing to turn out some exciting new magazine concepts and ideas. For the time being I am going to continue with print while embracing the new world of digital and finding interesting ways to make it all work together.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear about your digital adventures in publishing, email me at info@easychairmedia.com.

Kristie Melendez, EasyChair Media CEO & Publisher