As the landscape of publishing is quickly moving toward the digital age, it seems more and more relevant to seek education about publishing trends. This year several publishing summits including the Folio magazine Publishing Summit are important to add to your calendar. The Folio summit conference this year in Miami on February 20-22 will be an exciting event.

The Magazine Publishers of America has also scheduled the 4th Digital Conference with their “Magazines 24/7″ theme. This magazine publishing conference will be held in New York on February 27th, and a second day (the 28th) has been added.

Magazine ad sales are always difficult for the publisher that does not have the resources to hire full time advertising sales employees. This usually means that the publisher wears the ad sales hat. This might not be a problem for a passionate publisher that knows how to pitch and present her publication to the right companies. (more…)

Just out of Adobe Labs is Adobe® Digital Editions 1.0 which provides publishers a new tool for presenting ebook content.
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As big publishing brands realize the opportunities online I expect to see more acquisitions like Meridith’s purchase of Healia and Condé Nast’s acquisition of reddit for Wired Digital.

Content technology tools will play a key part of the advantage these major publishers have over smaller publications if they can leverage the digital tools before more nimble niche competitors. (more…)

An excellent direction for magazines as they confirm niche dominance is the addition of a magazine wiki.

“By offering users the opportunity to work collaboratively on a matter of common interest to them and the magazine, the sites extend the magazine’s brand and value to readers.”

MediaPost tells how reference wiki pages will be the hot trend for publishers for late 2007. MediaDailyNews (more…)

Magazine publishing software is getting more innovative in this digital publishing age. Some new online digital software tools are giving innovative options to publishers for electronic online digital editions. Publishers are learning how their paid circulation or trade publications can benefit from digital delivery and instand conversion or results for advertisers.

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As more magazines come to the realization that their readers expect social interaction from the publications website, we can expect to see more technology acquisitions like reddit and Hearst Magazines eCrush.com.

A viable trade and consumer focused magazine brand will have both an interactive website and digital magazine edition by the end of 2007 or will probably be quickly losing market share to the competitor that has decided to take this space away…

Anything reasonable that can help magazine publishers demonstrate their value to advertisers gets a thumbs-up in my book. Brandweek’s Todd Wasserman covers the new mobile phone campaign several print magazines are using to attract m-commerce transactions. (more…)

While publishers sometimes feel like they are pulling teeth to get their advertisers to hit deadlines for print media creative, it’s worth asking for other digital media advertising creatives. Why you ask? Didn’t we just admit it’s tough enough already just to get this issues print ad? Here’s my magazine advertising tip of the month.

By asking your media buyers about other creatives, you are forcing your publishing team to open the door to alternate forms of advertising. If your advertisers DO have other creatives your now able to ask about those media formats and placements. You’ve opened the door to discuss how your magazine brand can also offer website, digital edition, event, streaming, etc… placement for this advertising. (more…)

It’s hard for a small publishing business to compete with larger publishing and media companies. The smaller titles have always had their niche and community to connect with readers. However, digital initiatives are allowing innovative publishers to reach and connect with more and more people online and to offer them social interaction that was once only the playground for the niche pubs.

So for those independent publishers that have waited to improve their website, create a blog, start their podcasts, and begin using a digital edition the competition is about to heat up.

In an interview with Advertising Age, Ann S. Moore, Time Inc. chairman and CEO states,

The days of selling single media are seriously waning. Having a robust digital strategy is critical for every media brand…

Moore continued based on the focus of using “Trust and Transformation” to define their own strategic business philosophy, also the title of her speech for the October Association of National Advertisers meeting.

So if you’re not sure how to start a digital strategy for your publication, just start looking around and see how the major magazine media companies are implementing electronic tools to extend their brands online.