Have you brought your online publishing business to terms with the fact that you are not alone in this digital ecosystem?
Have you also pondered whether everyone else is adapting more easily than you are?
Online publishing has grown rapidly. Ten years ago, we only had to worry about our traditional publishing competitors. Five years ago, we had to start worrying about bloggers. Now even retailers are starting to publish content.
How does a publisher survive in the digital ecosystem?
Yesterday we talked about the 3 Ways to Expand Your Online Business in 2010. We talked about hybrid business models as well as sponsor (ad) driven models and user (product) driven models.
What it all comes down to is “who is paying you to be in business?” Magazine publishers are used to the sponsor-driven model, where their publications are funded solely on advertising revenue.
Sadly, as advertisers choose to spend less money in print advertising and more in online advertising, publishers are faced with a dilemma: how can we make more money online?
User-driven publishers face a similar problem. While the economy is still down, B2B publishers are seeing less product sales than years before. B2C publishers are seeing the same. Their dilemma is identical: how can we make more money online?
The solution to either of these predicaments is entirely up to the publisher. Many user-driven publishers have chosen to build out new product lines, which include books, merchandise, webinars and other unique products. Most of the time, these products don’t depend on any original content but are simply created from repurposing existing content. We’ve watched dozens of successful publishers master this technique.
On the other hand, many up and coming online publishers have integrated the user and sponsor driven models to create a unique hybrid. With these business models, they accept targeted advertising on their websites. In some cases, advertisers will sponsor a topic on their website. In other cases, they might sponsor online events used to build email circulation and build an online relationship. In addition to advertising, they have their own arsenals of products that they create for their users.
Either way, we’ve been talking to dozens of online publishers who are taking the next steps to “digital enlightenment”.
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What the heck is “digital enlightenment” supposed to mean?
Well, one publisher we’re especially fond of took a series of fairly successful print newsletters, and turned them into a multi-million dollar company once he converted to a successful online business model. He actually ditched the print newsletters and turned them into digital subscriptions and a membership website.
He now hosts sponsored webinars that drive traffic, leads and brand recognition. He has a plethora of reports, created from repurposed newsletters. He gives his readers funny videos to build his online audience, and hosts several podcasts a month.
That’s what we’d call “digital enlightenment”. This publisher went from producing several print newsletters, to creating an online media empire.
The big secret – everyone is struggling, and we all need to be enlightened.
Whether you are sponsor-driven, ad-driven, a hybrid business model, or are still trying to pave your way, we have a collection of online video seminars available that you can get instant access to in our online training library, Mequoda Pro.
We have hundreds of Mequoda Pro subscribers who are looking for the same answers you are, and are continuing their education through our growing collection of training seminars. Our job with Mequoda Pro is to answer your questions with real-life case studies of publishers who are “doing it right”.
If you haven’t met these publishers at conferences, conducted in-depth interviews with them or bought them a beer at a networking event, you probably don’t know their unique strategies. We’re not ashamed to tell you that we’ve met and in some cases worked with these publishers, interviewed them, and have even bought a few beers to get the case studies we share with you in Mequoda Pro.
If you’re still deciding which revenue model works for you, our 60-minute Business Strategy seminar would be a great starting point in Mequoda Pro. In this seminar we show you several different business models and the publishers who are successfully deploying them.
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If you’re a sponsor-driven publisher, our Internet Advertising Basics seminar might be appropriate for you. Don’t let the name fool you though… we brought in online advertising expert Dan Ambrose to host this 90-minute intensive seminar that will help you develop your skills in advertising sales, marketing and strategy to achieve the excellence that will be an ongoing competitive advantage in the sponsor-driven online environment.
If you’re a user-driven publisher, and are looking to maximize your email revenue per subscriber with a bigger and better assortment of product offerings, our Digital Product Development seminar will inspire new product ideas and guide you in the right direction.
There are also plenty of seminars that are useful for all online publishers, such as Twitter for Publishers, Email Newsletter Marketing, PR & Link Building, Online Market Analysis, Website Conversion Architecture and great sessions for editors, like Online Content Management and Search Engine Optimization (yes, that’s the job of the Editor!).
In total, right now we have thirteen 30-90 minute online seminars in Mequoda Pro. These seminars include online tools and downloadable spreadsheets that you can use to start applying your new skills right away.
We also host webinars each month, which are deposited into the Mequoda Pro library about a week after the live event has occurred.
If you’re a frequent webinar attendee, you can save yourself $247 every month by subscribing to Mequoda Pro for only $297 for an entire year of access. If you’d like to provide yourself or your staff with ongoing training that doesn’t require trips out of the office, Mequoda Pro is the economical approach to on-site training.
In addition to all of the online sessions, members of Mequoda Pro have access to our Q&A forums, which means that you can ask any question about one of our sessions, or about your business, and our research team will give you a detailed, educated response in under 72 hours.
Are you ready to become part of the “digitally enlightened”? Join Mequoda Pro today.
