Is converting to online publishing a good excuse or a good business model?
Are the days of old really gone, where we’ll no longer get to enjoy a morning paper and a cup of coffee? Will all print publications convert to online subscriptions and RSS feeds? Well, if they haven’t started maybe they should.
In the last year, over 400 traditional newspapers, such as the 150 year old Rocky Mountain News, and magazines, like Vibe, have stopped their print publications all together.
As traditional print seems to be disappearing rapidly, can converting to online publishing and calling it “going green” be the answer?
As more people turn to the Internet for news, fewer subscribe to news printed on paper. As circulation dwindles, so does advertising revenue. Newspapers can no longer afford large operations. So the decline of print continues.
There will always be a place for the printed page, just not with the demand it once held. As technology advances and quality improves, demand for print will continue to decrease.
So, how can you stay one step ahead?
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Follow the Big Guys
Take a lesson from some of the big guys like The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. They have both successfully implemented online publishing into their business models. In fact, their online business units have their own business models. And this all went down before “going green” was hip or even considered. Distributing content digitally was just good business.
The key to online publishing is striking a balance in your business model. If you’ve already begun the path to online publishing, you are one step ahead of the pack. Don’t slow down, they’re gaining on you.
Here are a few articles we’ve written lately on some strategies for recycling, reusing and re-purposing content:
- How and When to Repurpose Paid Content
- How One B2C Publisher Repurposes Magazine Content
- Why you Need a Formal Editorial Policy for Driving Website Traffic
- How One Publisher Increased Traffic 114% This Year with Free Content
- Raiders of the Lost Content
Is Mequoda “Going Green”?
Mequoda Daily has never been a print publication, it was born green.
The three basic rules of online publishing are: recycle, reuse, and repurpose content.
We are big proponents of “evergreen” content as well as archiving content online for greater distribution. Get the word out about all of your great “evergreen” content through a well-crafted press release. Read Online Press Release Guidelines for more on that.
One word of advice, if your company has not already committed to “going green” a sudden switch will be construed as a gimmick. However, if you are committed, use this to your advantage. At the end of the day, readers are more concerned with quality and reliability than the gimmick of “going green”.
Want to join dozens of other publishers who are looking for new ways to re-create their existing print brand online?
Join us at the next Mequoda Summit and learn how to incorporate online publishing into your business model while discussing with other like-minded publishers how they’ve begun repurposing previously paid content on the web.
