With reported increases in profitability, digital publishing strategies are proving successful
Digital magazine publishing on tablet devices has turned into a weekly topic for us that continues to present new information to share.
We dove into the process of sharing the most up-to-date digital magazine publishing content with you by releasing our Digital Magazine Publishing Strategy Basics free report earlier this month. The 42-page free report shares digital publishing information, including tips and strategies, with additional content pertaining to the industry’s possible evolution.
Today, I have some recent statistics to share with you on success experienced by digital publishers.
First, there is the story of HarperCollins UK, who has reported a “fantastic” start to their financial year. In an article, CEO and publisher Victoria Barnsley stated, “we’ve enjoyed huge success with our e-book strategy, with sales up by more than 270% year on year. HC sold more than 100,000 e-books on Christmas day and we have now passed the 100,000 milestone for 3 of our titles, boosting our digital revenues which now account for 20% of overall UK trade revenues.”
Next, there is the story of media group Future, who we briefly discussed earlier this week.
Since October, Future has experienced a digital revenue increase of 41%, which has helped offset the declines they’ve seen from print.
In the US specifically, digital revenues were up 24%, while digital advertising accounted for 45% of all advertising revenues. The publisher says the US is on track to be profitable in 2013.
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Existing barriers for digital publishing
I recently came across a graphic summing up the current state digital publishing.
In addition to some predictions on adoption rates and eBook penetration, they listed six barriers for adoption of digital content.
The most promising thing I can determine from this list is that many of the barriers are weak. For instance, 35% of those surveyed cited e-reading devices being too expensive. However, as more devices enter the market, prices will drop. We’ve already seen this to an extent with the Kindle Fire being priced at $199.
The complication of devices was also cited. This grievance may be aired without ever attempting to use one of the devices, since the touch screen functionality offers intuitive use.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the fourth most cited barrier was “I have never thought about it so far.”
Clearly, the barriers holding back a deeper adoption of digital content and devices can easily fall at any time.
The road to adoption
Digital publishing, including digital magazine publishing, digital book publishing and digital newspaper publishing, is being revolutionized on a daily basis. We aim to keep you informed with the timeliest information, and the digital publishing strategies that are bringing success during this evolutionary time.
If you have specific questions related to digital publishing, please ask in the comments below.
