In recent years, digital publishing platforms have proliferated the world over. While that is good news for publishers, it is also overwhelming at the same time. How do you choose the ideal platform for creating digital magazines when you have a variety of choices at your disposal?
There are a few important factors laid out in this blog post to help you choose the right platform for creating digital magazines. Even though the list is not exhaustive, it’s a useful guide for publishers who want to refer to a checklist before investing in a platform. In fact, publishers can also use this as a definitive guide if they want to migrate to a different digital publishing platform.
Top Questions you Need to Ask Before Choosing a Publishing Platform for Creating Digital Magazines -
Can Your Platform Create Responsive eMagazines?
Nowadays, readers use various portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets to read online magazines.
The revenue generated from digital magazines crossed 8 billion USD worldwide in 2015. This prolific growth can be attributed to the increase in the number of mobile devices that users can access anytime, anywhere.
In 2020, the revenue was projected to surpass 18 billion USD. For this very reason, your magazine should be responsive or adaptive to different screen sizes.
Imagine a scenario where a reader accesses your newly published digital magazine through their iPhone, only to find that the content is all over the place.
That would be an unfortunate scenario. And it would certainly be a deal-breaker for new readers.
What's the Solution?
You would want to create interactive magazines that hook the reader’s attention and look aesthetically pleasing to their eyes.
That is why you don’t want to invest in a platform that just converts your content into a PDF. Even though PDFs look good on desktops, they are not exactly fun to read on a tablet or mobile device.
PDF is essentially a static document format that looks like a digital replica of a printed page. Therefore, they are not the ideal choice for creating online magazines.
Also Read: 10 Best ebook creation software
You should go to the interactive, responsive route while publishing your magazine.
KITABOO lets you achieve this goal. You can publish highly-engaging digital magazines enriched with interactive features on this platform. Apart from that, it offers a hassle-free distribution of content with DRM protection to prevent piracy.
Does Your Platform Support Native Android & iOS Apps?
As a publisher, you must have come across web apps that support online magazines.
No doubt, they provide a great experience for a desktop or laptop user. However, as established in the previous section, most magazines are read on mobile devices.
That means the platform of your choice should be able to convert your content into native Android and iOS apps. And it should do so in a cost-effective manner.
If you own a publishing house or a company, a branded app could be a valuable asset considering the number of consumers it can reach!
Moreover, it’s a huge plus for your brand identity, similar to social media handles and websites. Not to mention the fact that it’s a whole new profitable outreach channel.
Suggested Reads:
How Does Your Platform Charge for Services?
Not all digital publishing platforms have the same business models. If you intend to generate good revenue, you should read the details very carefully.
In a broader sense, most platforms charge via the following two methods:
1. Monthly Subscription Fee
It’s a flat fee that you pay to the digital publishing platform for accessing their services. This is more suitable for professional publishers who create digital magazines on a regular basis.
In this method, you have greater control over your revenue since you are paying only a fixed cost for continued access. Depending on the platform, you may find multiple plans at different price points to choose from. Those plans may vary with the number of magazines you want to publish and various other factors.
Apart from that, some of the platforms may charge you an upfront fee for creating your online magazine from scratch.
2. Revenue-Sharing Model
In this business model, digital publishing platforms may not charge an upfront fee or monthly subscription fee at all.
However, this free-of-cost set up comes with a caveat. A certain percentage of the revenue generated from your e-magazine goes to the platform.
Therefore, you have less control over your income. The revenue-sharing model is more suitable for micro-budget publishers but not independent, established publishers.
Do You Prefer Designing Your Own Magazine?
If you have content that needs to be converted into an online magazine, then all you should be needing to do is upload it.
The platform should allow you to add audio, GIFs, animations, and videos fairly easily once your magazine is ready.
However, many publishers would want to create a magazine from scratch, that is, without uploading any existing content. In that case, you should choose a platform that has a simple editor – or better yet, has both options for you!
Most editors in digital publishing platforms are quite easy to use with a drag and drop feature. You won’t need any design or coding experience to utilize them.
Guide:
How to Create an Interactive eBook
Does Your Platform Have a Backend Analytics Dashboard?
As a publisher, you might prefer a data-driven approach to creating your magazine. Certain metrics need to be tracked to determine the success of your content.
Some useful metrics for publishing your content are listed below:
- Number of clicks on external links
- Average session length
- Number of unique visitors
- Source of traffic
- Number of sessions
- Heatmaps of scrolls
You may already be familiar with these metrics since they are vital for your marketing strategy and customer relationship management.
However, for tracking them, you need a platform that has a detailed backend dashboard.
A publisher is essentially a business or a start-up owner. You want to work on negative feedback, resolve problems, and incorporate the suggestions offered by your readers.
Even though the above-mentioned metrics may differ for single issues and subscriptions, the ability to analyze the performance of your magazine is what matters the most. Any publishing platform that offers you this ability is a massive advantage.
To Sum Up
That concludes our list of factors to consider before choosing a platform for creating digital magazines. Online publishing platforms allow you to create digital magazines in just a few clicks. The above checklist would come in handy when you invest in a new platform or migrate to a different one.
Considering all the factors mentioned above will help you in selecting a platform that not only publishes content, but also enrich and enhance the reading experience.
Discover How An Ebook Conversion, Publishing & Distribution Platform Can Help You
Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish & securely distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.
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