We’re at an interesting point in the evolution of the digital magazine. Despite the fact that people like Peter Meirs and Michael Turro are insisting that digital magazine don’t work, more than 13,000,000 readers are enjoying more than 3,000 digital magazines.

And when you have that kind of critical mass, you attract advertising dollars. At last count, 34% of Nxtbook publishers are selling into their digital edition - not just using it as a cost reduction tool, but as a revenue generation tool. Along the way, some of them are reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.

To help these publishers, we’re pleased to release our 2008 Digital Revenue Generation Guide. A slimmer volume than the Best of Nxtbook, the Digital Revenue Generation Guide is designed for publishers to take to advertisers. There’s even a section for the publisher to add their own pricing information.  

None of this means that digital magazines won’t continuously evolve. But the human race didn’t just appear out of nowhere and neither - I suspect - will the magazine of the future. When it comes to technology, I’d bet on the evolutionists over the creationists any day. 

OK, that headline is really pushing it. Nevertheless, the MPA had the foresight to host a panel earlier this week called Digital Magazines in the Media Mix. This event was attended by several publishing professionals who sat in on a panel which included myself, Nxtbook customer Todd Christenson from Hearst, as well as representatives from Zinio (and Science Magazine - a Zinio client) and a rep. from Texterity.

Because the consumer market tends to be more fickle about digital magazines than B-to-B, my presentation focused on the success of custom publications and how consumer brands could use custom digital magazines to satisfy readers and forward-thinking customers. This was why we also brought in Todd, whose hugely successful Project Analog has been joined by another success: Project Lighting. I also spoke about some data contained in the recent Gilbane study about the success of digital magazines.

I enjoyed Jeanniey Mullen’s presentation for Zinio, which addressed the role of the consumer in all of this and led to some fairly healthy debate.

Darryl Walter spoke on behalf of Science Digital. Darryl’s been using Zinio for quite a few years and while I don’t think attendees came away thinking a digital magazine has radically altered their business, I came away feeling that they considered it to be an integral part of the mix.

Martin Hensel’s presentation from Texterity called into question the ability for publishers to make money selling only digital subs (preferring companion subs), but pointed out other benefits of going digital, as well.

All in all, it was an enjoyable time. Last week, the Gilbane study helped publishers to realize that more and more pubs (more than 3000!) have a digital edition and that they are being enjoyed by more than 13,000,000 readers. Now, the MPA has seen fit to see what all of the fuss is about. Could ABM recognition be far behind?

• Nxtbook Media - Today’s Digital Publishing Solution: Digital Magazine Samples
  Flipping .gifs are used to draw readers’ attention.
  (tags: gifs)
• The BDA wants prices for Blu-ray players and movies to remain high - High-Def Digest Forums
  Nxtbook readers can post the link to the page where any specific content appears inside the Nxtbook.
  (tags: forum integration)

It’s always nice to get these notes from clients:

We just received a letter from Hermes Creative Awards that Project Analog March 2008 won a Platinum Award (the highest) in the electronic media category under E-Zine and a Gold Award in the integrated marketing category under integrated marketing  campaign.

Hermes received about 4,000 entries from the United States and several other countries. The prestigious Platinum Award is judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition. Winners are recognized for their excellence in terms of quality, creativity and resourcefulness.

Congratulations to Hearst & the Wise Group for the award! 

Congrats to Nxtbook customer Elearning, which picked up a Maggie Award at last week’s WPA Conference. Check out the most recent issue of their magazine here.

For my money, yesterday was the best post Rex Hammock ever wrote:

Unfortunately, saying “print is a burden” implies that there are other options out there that are not burdens. Frankly, the web is a burden. Traveling to events IDG puts on is a burden. Trying to synch my phone and computer is a burden. As Scott Karp displayed in a post yesterday, trying to discover which among 2,000 different news stories on the same topic is a burden….

Bottomline: Print is not the burden. My time is the burden. If you publish a beautiful magazine with articles that really matter to me — that instruct, inform or celebrate something I feel strongly about, it is no burden on me. If you help me get to the information and insight I need to live a fuller life or conduct business in a more flexible and productive way, your blogging and tweeting and bookmarking does not burden me. Useless, redundant, meaningless, re-shuffled drivel is the burden. It can be delivered via print or on a weblog or a mobile device. Crap is a burden no matter what the medium used to deliver it.

This Tuesday (May 6th), we’ll be presenting at an MPA event in NY. 

Digital Magazines In The Media Mix
May 6, 2008 - 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Digital
magazines might well be the underused and under-sung part of the
magazine media mix. We know that research shows that readers of digital
magazines are more engaged with advertising than readers of the print
counterpart, in part due to the insertion of rich media or video into
the ads.

Digital magazines have been around for about a decade and
publishers seems more comfortable and adventurous in aggressively using
digital magazines as part of their media mix. This would include
subscription sales of course, but also: serving first issues, extending
international circulation, enhancing a rate base, utilizing as a direct
response premium and an e-commerce engine. There is increasing evidence
that publishers are using digital magazines, in strategic partnerships
with advertisers and cause marketers, to significantly extend and
monetize their brands.

This panel discussion will include representatives from
Zinio,Texterity and Nxtbook who will discuss the marketing
opportunities inherent in their products. We will also hear from
magazine publishers who are using digital magazines for advertising,
publishing, editorial, and circulation campaigns. Panelists will also
explore mobile and rich media applications for digital magazines.

Tickets are $225, but we managed to wrangle two free passes from the doorman. Seriously - if you’re in NY and would like to attend, drop me a note @ mgrimm [AT] nxtbookmedia.com . We’d love to have you join us! 

• Better Software - May 2008 - Page 43
  Example of animated sweepstakes offer, find the ladybug and click on it.
  (tags: flash-giveaway)

Yesterday, the Gilbane Group released their research report, "Digital Magazine & Newspaper Editions," the first industry-wide research report detailing the growth of the industry.

All sponsors of the report have complete unlimited digital rights to the content. As such, you can expect to see slightly varying applications of the content. In our Nxtbook version, here’s what you’ll find:

Data. All of the data compiled from the industry. In a nutshell, there are currently more than 3,200 digital magazines today with more than 13,000,000 subscriptions.

Nxtbook Case Studies. As a sponsor, Nxtbook was pleased to provide publisher success stories to the Gilbane Group. Click to learn what worked for Graduate Prospects, Bentley Sysems, Hearst, Marine Log & Information Today.

Buyers’ Guide. If you’re looking to buy a digital edition, what features are critical to your success?

Visionary views. What the brightest minds are saying about digital editions.

We hope you enjoy the Nxtbook version of the Gilbane study. We were thrilled to be one of the sponsors.
 

For the past six months, you’ve heard rumors about the "Gilbane study," the first report EVER to co-mingle data from the biggest names in North American digital magazine publishing (plus a few other companies). Rather than the company specific reports we all toss out from time to time, this was the first time that actual publishing activity and reader activity have been put together to create a comprehensive picture of the industry.

Here are two impressive numbers from the report: More than 13,000,000 subscriptions are being delivered across 3286 magazines  (mostly in North America). Wow - how’s that for a good number?

The report also includes a large Best Practices section, with many case studies featuring Nxtbook customers. 

We’ll be releasing our official copy of the report very shortly, but if you just can’t wait, drop me an e-mail at mgrimm [AT] nxtbookmedia.com, and I’ll send it you the old-fashioned way (PDF).