The digital magazine footprint increases in surprising ways
When the tablet computer first hit the market, how long did you think it would take before it made significant waves?
Before answering this, realize that at the time of launch, publishers thought they were prepared for this channel but didn’t know how to exactly enter the world of digital publishing. Some introductory period was needed to figure out what could be done with their content, how they could package it and if the iPad or any tablet to follow was worth the investment of time and money.
Now, with that in mind, how long did you expect it to take before digital took over, to some extent?
Data released this fall from GfK MRI reports that 11% “of US adults’ exposures to magazines are exclusively via digital platforms.” And who knows exactly how quickly that number is rising. Conde Nast, for instance, experienced significant growth in only two weeks, as nine of their titles saw subscription sales go up by 268% after Newsstand’s launch. 
The iPad started the tablet revolution on April 10th, 2010. From that time till now, is it at all surprising to you that 11% of all magazine exposures being digital?
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Problems still remain for digital magazine publishers
Although the growth of digital magazines has been promising, there are still areas that need to be addressed.
For instance, some legacy publishers are still missing the boat on how to offer their content. Enter the subscription website, a way publishers can offer their content and retain all profits and user information.
The Apple and Amazon digital stores should be part of your content mix as well, in case potential audience members are browsing in those locations for the topics you cover. Although not ideal, due to a 30% profit loss to Apple, it’s a more preferable option than losing potential audience members.
As the digital magazine publishing industry continues to evolve, we will keep you updated on our latest findings.
