Don Nicholas

Founder & Executive Publisher

Don Nicholas serves as Executive Publisher for Food Gardening Network and GreenPrints. He is responsible for all creative, technical, and financial aspects of these multiplatform brands. As senior member of the editorial team, he provides structural guidance, sets standards, and coordinates activities with the technology and business teams. Don is an active gardener whose favorite crops include tomatoes, basil, blueberries, and corn. He and his wife Gail live and work in southern Massachusetts surrounded by forests, family farms, cranberry bogs, and nearby beaches. Don is also the Founder of Mequoda Systems, LLC, which operates and supports numerous online communities including I Like Crochet, I Like Knitting, and We Like Sewing.

Articles by Don Nicholas

Increase Your “Stop Rate” to Sell More Subscriptions

Increase Your “Stop Rate” to Sell More Subscriptions

If you look at Shorenstein Center and Lenfest Institute's Digital Pay-Meter Playbook, you'll discover that one key metric you can measure, which identifies high-performing publishers, is your "stop rate." Your stop rate is

Using the MBTI to Build Better Multiplatform Publishing Teams: Working Within Personality Types

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Using the MBTI to Build Better Multiplatform Publishing Teams: Working Within Personality Types

While the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) began as a tool for self-discovery, it has become a widely used tool for building high performance teams in organizations. It provides users with

3 Most Important User Tasks for Subscription Website Homepage Design

3 Most Important User Tasks for Subscription Website Homepage Design

Successful website homepage design allows visitors to achieve their goals Is your website properly designed to meet the expectations of your visitors? Often times websites encourage visitors to take an additional

Digital Magazine Libraries: The Storehouse of the Future

Digital Magazine Publishing

Digital Magazine Libraries: The Storehouse of the Future

It strikes me as somewhat ironic that the word magazine which simply means storehouse, is becoming more true than ever as magazines go digital and digital magazine libraries make it easier than

The 8 Best Free Event Listing Websites for Virtual and In-Person Events

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The 8 Best Free Event Listing Websites for Virtual and In-Person Events

In-person, live events can be a fun and profitable revenue stream for any multiplatform publishing company. When passionate people are committed to a topic, they want to go to the

Digital Magazine Publishing

Decoy Pricing: The Biggest Little Secret in the Publishing World

How would you like to increase your subscription revenues by almost 60%? It can be done, and it’s not magic. All you need are a paid subscription website, a couple of

How to Write Copy for a Subscription Website That Sells

How to Write Copy for a Subscription Website That Sells

We all have a need to feel taken care of. How many things do you buy to fill that need? Don't we go to a restaurant not just for the food

Your Introduction Email Subject Line is Critical

Audience Development Strategy

Your Introduction Email Subject Line is Critical

“Hello, sailor. Can I buy you a drink?” “Do you come here often?” Of course these silly pick-up lines are good for a laugh, but do you know how to really introduce

The Tale of the Disappearing Hyphen in Digital Publishing

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Tale of the Disappearing Hyphen in Digital Publishing

Some people accuse me of being an academic wonk. At Mequoda we're often forced to make up our own lingo because you can't pioneer an industry to the digital shores

10 Things a Magazine Publishing Consultant Should Do for You

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

10 Things a Magazine Publishing Consultant Should Do for You

Over the years of attending in-person publishing events, we noticed a trend where a solid portion of the speakers invited to present are vendors and consultants, and a decent number

10 Tips to Convert Metered Paywall Visitors into Subscribers

10 Tips to Convert Metered Paywall Visitors into Subscribers

In the words of David Ogilvy, "a good advertisement is one that sells the product without drawing attention to itself." And when selling a web magazine, one of the best

The 10 Best Content Marketing Podcasts for Editors and Magazine Marketers

Audience Development Strategy

The 10 Best Content Marketing Podcasts for Editors and Magazine Marketers

Before we get into content marketing podcasts, let's talk about podcasting in general. Podcasting has had a culture that has been behind the scenes lurking in the background for well

The Magazine Pricing Guidelines Making Publishers with All-Access Products More Profitable

Digital Magazine Publishing

The Magazine Pricing Guidelines Making Publishers with All-Access Products More Profitable

Magazine pricing strategy has certainly evolved over the past decade. Back in 2013 we still believed that universal pricing was the best way to handle print, website, and tablet products.

Use Website Floaters to Increase Email Conversion Rates

Audience Development Strategy

Use Website Floaters to Increase Email Conversion Rates

When website users are asked whether they like pop-ups, they say no. They'll say they hate them. They'll tell you they're the most annoying things on the Internet. They might

How To Find the Best CMS for a Magazine

How To Find the Best CMS for a Magazine

There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all content management system. The best CMS for a magazine should be built with a publisher in mind. After all, you have a different

Building a Google Visibility Report: A Step-by-Step Guide

Audience Development Strategy

Building a Google Visibility Report: A Step-by-Step Guide

Our clients publish in many different niches: food, investing, archaeology, environmental infrastructure, natural health and clinical pathology among many others. When they first come to us, they have nothing in

What Are Online Magazines? 3 Digital Magazine Archetypes Every Publisher Should Know

Digital Magazine Publishing

What Are Online Magazines? 3 Digital Magazine Archetypes Every Publisher Should Know

Do you run or contribute to an online magazine? Most of our readers would consider themselves in the magazine publishing industry, that is true. But do you think you run an

Digital Magazine Marketing: 8 Ways to Promote your Digital Magazine Website

Digital Magazine Publishing

Digital Magazine Marketing: 8 Ways to Promote your Digital Magazine Website

If you’re making plans for your own digital publication, it behooves you to also plan how to make money from it with strategic digital magazine marketing. After all, buying a list

Mequoda Acquires GreenPrints Gardening Magazine

Mequoda Acquires GreenPrints Gardening Magazine

We are thrilled to announce that as of November 1, we have acquired GreenPrints gardening magazine in a complete asset-purchase agreement with GreenPrints founder Pat Stone. Acquired assets include GreenPrints

How to Start an Online Magazine With These Five Strategies

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Start an Online Magazine With These Five Strategies

Knowing how to start an online magazine requires first understanding the differences between an online magazine and the dozens of other publishing models available to you in the 21st century. These

What Is Multiplatform Publishing?

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

What Is Multiplatform Publishing?

Back in 2006 I read an article comparing the fidelity and convenience of watching a movie on an iPod, a home theater, or in a state-of-the-art movie theater. The author

How to Promote your New Digital Magazine Issues

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Promote your New Digital Magazine Issues

Because an amazing amount of work goes into producing each new issue of your digital magazine, promoting each issue should leverage the unique content included in that issue. We can spend hours researching and discussing the

The Portal Content Business Model Turns Strangers Into Subscribers

The Portal Content Business Model Turns Strangers Into Subscribers

Portals are seen most often because not only are they a profitable model on their own, they’re also intended to build and feed an audience for affiliated premium subscription websites.

7 Ways to Create a Freemium That Attracts New Email Subscribers

Audience Development Strategy

7 Ways to Create a Freemium That Attracts New Email Subscribers

We're all about the mighty freemium around here. Create content and give it away for free so that people know how good your premium content is – and they'll buy

What is a Magazine Membership?

Digital Magazine Publishing

What is a Magazine Membership?

A magazine membership includes two primary components; a magazine subscription and a magazine archive, or library. Magazine subscriptions, of course, are quite familiar to you if you are a magazine

The Pros and Cons of Being a Content Aggregator

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Pros and Cons of Being a Content Aggregator

Are you a content aggregator? If you source content from other sites, and then turn it into new material to riff off of, then you are. There are dirty rotten

Subscription Website Copywriting Tips: How to Use Better Words to Sell More Subscriptions

Subscription Website Copywriting Tips: How to Use Better Words to Sell More Subscriptions

Words are more than just symbols on a page that provide information. They communicate thoughts and ideas. They speak to the human psyche. They evoke emotions. But they don't do

How to Promote a Digital Magazine: 12 Strategies and 1 Major Must-Do

Digital Magazine Publishing

How to Promote a Digital Magazine: 12 Strategies and 1 Major Must-Do

How do you usually promote a magazine? Subscription and newsstand sales are the keys to driving advertiser interest in print magazines, but how does that change in the digital world? Blow-in

Digital-Only Magazines: A Publishing Trend That Continues to Grow

Building Email Circulation

Digital-Only Magazines: A Publishing Trend That Continues to Grow

The latest publishing trend isn’t just about magazine publishing in general. It’s a digital publishing trend: Launching digital-only magazines without legacy print publications behind them. Mequoda has a client who is

25 Email Design Best Practices for Publishers for Mobile and Desktop

Audience Development Strategy

25 Email Design Best Practices for Publishers for Mobile and Desktop

It’s been reported that the average email users spends at average of 51 seconds on each email newsletter they read. If this average pertains to your market, you need to

10 Little-Known Subscription Business Model Facts That Can Increase Revenue

10 Little-Known Subscription Business Model Facts That Can Increase Revenue

Most of the subscription business model facts you usually hear likely pertain to percentages and numbers that don't apply to you and instead reflect someone else's business. But the ten facts below

5 Essentials Every Digital Magazine Publishing System Needs to Be Profitable

Digital Magazine Publishing

5 Essentials Every Digital Magazine Publishing System Needs to Be Profitable

We started this year with the launch of Food Gardening Network, a digital magazine publishing system that is built to follow all of our best practices, conduct additional testing, and

How to Create the Right Organizational Structure for Multiplatform Publishing

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

How to Create the Right Organizational Structure for Multiplatform Publishing

Multiplatform publishing is the cornerstone of what we do at Mequoda. If you can create one content product, you can create many content products. If you've been following along with

How Free and Controlled-Circulation Magazines Are Using Haven WordPress CXMS

How Free and Controlled-Circulation Magazines Are Using Haven WordPress CXMS

Back in the 1990s, many publishers distributed their controlled-circulation or free magazine as a download from their website or something they would send out as an attachment to an email.

7 Email Frameworks That Successful Subscription Website Publishers Use

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

7 Email Frameworks That Successful Subscription Website Publishers Use

Are you looking for a proven email marketing template that is proven to grow your subscription business? How about seven? If that sounds like you, then you're invited to join us

Premium Digital Newsletters are Becoming the Latest “New” Old Digital Format

Membership Marketing Strategy

Premium Digital Newsletters are Becoming the Latest “New” Old Digital Format

The revival of premium digital newsletters has unsurprisingly begun. Some of us have been expecting it for a while. We can see this re-emergence as major brands vie for position

Audience Development Strategy

Does Email Contact Frequency Impact Email Engagement and Retention?

Little-known fact: If you send out an equal number of (1) content-rich email newsletters and (2) straight product spotlight promotions versus sending only promotions, email engagement improves. In fact, the

The Truth: How Online and Email Copywriting Sells

Audience Development Strategy

The Truth: How Online and Email Copywriting Sells

Words matter. Imagery matters, too. But, the purpose of imagery in direct marketing is not to please or entertain—the purpose of graphics in direct marketing is to get your audience

Digital Magazine History: Who Invented the Digital Magazine?

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Digital Magazine History: Who Invented the Digital Magazine?

Have you ever thought about digital magazine history? Magazines were originally invented in the 15th century, shortly after the invention of the Gutenberg press. Magazines were different from books because

Subscription Website Review: Exploring the Outside+ Premium User Experience

Subscription Website Review: Exploring the Outside+ Premium User Experience

Mequoda's Haven Wordpress system is a digital publishing and marketing system for subscription websites that will ultimately be one of many successful digital publishing business models deployed online that are

A New Day for Newspaper SEO

Audience Development Strategy

A New Day for Newspaper SEO

Earlier this year, I read with something between amusement and dismay a recent piece about how the Wall Street Journal, one of my favorite news sources, is trying to do

Audience Development Strategy

Free Email Newsletters Are Hot

I continue to read with interest how free email newsletters are the hot new thing. A recent Digiday article shared that The New York Times, who has 15 million email

Free Webinar Reveals 7 Email Templates You Need to Succeed

Audience Development Strategy

Free Webinar Reveals 7 Email Templates You Need to Succeed

I'll make this quick because I know you're busy. You’re invited to join us on October 13 at 1pm ET for a FREE webinar, The 7 Email Marketing Templates You Need to

An Informal Approach to the Best Website Design Review You Can Conduct

An Informal Approach to the Best Website Design Review You Can Conduct

As someone who's looked at your website every day for a long time, you probably have no business reviewing your own website. There are probably things in the back of

Join Us on Zoom and Get 7 Email Frameworks

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

Join Us on Zoom and Get 7 Email Frameworks

Do you want to know the secret to email marketing success? We have developed 7 email templates that will take your campaign from boring and bland, to jaw-droppingly engaging with

How to Develop and Sell Membership Website Subscriptions

How to Develop and Sell Membership Website Subscriptions

If you're one of the hundreds of magazine publishers who are still giving away your magazine content, it's probably time to stop and think about using that content to sell

Audience Development Strategy

The 3 Truths of Building a Magazine Audience

If you want to build a magazine audience, the foundational principles of Buddhism teach you that life is suffering, and that to live a better life, you must learn how

How to Sell All-for-One Subscription Products with a Membership Offer and Increase Online Profits

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

How to Sell All-for-One Subscription Products with a Membership Offer and Increase Online Profits

Some of your customers will want one of your products, and others will want more. But how many will buy the first and never return, and how can you generate

The Pros and Cons of Audio Conferences and Webinars

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

The Pros and Cons of Audio Conferences and Webinars

There are dozens of multi-media platforms we can distribute content on, but audio conferences and webinars have been the key to success for some publishers

3 Ancillary Media Platforms and Revenue Opportunities We Love

Multiplatform Publishing Strategy

3 Ancillary Media Platforms and Revenue Opportunities We Love

If you're looking for new ways to increase online revenues and profits, consider learning from three publishers who we consider to be doing a great job building their multiplatform media

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