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Written by Nathan Chan | November 5, 2020

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How do you create a digital magazine from scratch?

At Foundr Magazine, we get countless messages every day asking us how to start a digital magazine. When it comes to creating a digital magazine from scratch, it’s not as simple as people make it seem (and it sure wasn’t easy for us, we promise you that).

That’s why, for the first time ever, we’ve decided to completely unpack our own process for our readers, and share all of the behind-the-scenes secrets we’ve learned along our journey so far. Foundr is always about actionable advice, so we have an actionable, step-by-step, easy-to-digest article that lays it all out for you.

Let’s start at the first step: the beginning.

How We Started Our Own Digital Magazine

Foundr Magazine started like any company: small. On March 5th, 2013, Issue #1 of Foundr was published. It made $5.50 in profit with 79 downloads that day.

It’s a little different from what we publish today, isn’t it?

When it comes to launching your first digital magazine, chances are it won’t be perfect, but it’s a necessary step you need to take in creating that perfect version. The Foundr magazine you may be familiar with today wasn’t always that way, and issue 1 is proof of that.

Even today, we are still tweaking and improving our magazine. Our cover has been graced by some of the world’s biggest entrepreneurs, including Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, Marie Forleo, and Daymond John, but we never forget that it all begun with that first issue.

Launching a digital magazine takes a lot of work, but it’s super fun and can be an incredible platform for your business. We’ve broken down our process of creation into easy to follow steps, helping you to understand all the important stuff for planning a digital magazine.

READ MORE: How to Build a Profitable Marketing Strategy

So, You Want to Start a Digital Magazine?

A digital magazine is good for nearly any business, but there are a few questions you need to establish early on. Asking yourself these questions will give you a clearer idea of why you want to create a magazine, but more importantly, it will help guide your decisions further down the track.

Is a Digital Magazine Right for Your Business?

The first thing you need to do before launching your own digital magazine, is you need to make sure that it’s the right move for you and your business.

First off, check to see if there are successful digital magazines in your niche. If not, this may be a red flag that a digital magazine is not well-suited for your target audience. It may be that your target audience is older, and prefers print magazines. Or perhaps there isn’t enough varied content in your niche to create regular publications. You can only find out by doing research to prove your concept.

What’s Your Financial Situation?

Another consideration is money.

Startup costs required to create a quality digital magazine can be relatively high (as detailed below). To compound the problem, digital magazines do not have high price points—in some niches, you’ll find the prices hovering around only $0.99 an issue. In order to recoup your investment and start generating profit, you’ll have to amass a large audience, which may require some further investment.

A digital magazine may not be what gets you to a very high-income point in the short run. That’s not to say that magazines don’t make plenty of money. For example, Forbes magazine generates millions per year. But here at Foundr, we’ve found that a magazine is valuable beyond the profits it directly brings in. Those who will be winning in the future of media will no longer be companies that focus solely on publications.

The reason?

Generating revenue from ads, the primary model used by media historically, is no longer a viable option. You’ll be better off using your magazine as a tool to create diverse revenue streams rather than as the end destination.

Our suggestion? Use your magazine to create a mass of loyal followers, generate some recurring capital, and become positioned as an authority in your niche. Then, it’s all about developing a multi-platform strategy. You want a magazine, but you also want a podcast, a blog, digital products, social media presence, a newsletter, and more.

A magazine is the perfect multi-functional, front-end product for your business:

• Marketing: It’s a great way for people to learn about your company and offers huge value to interested customers.
• Building relationships: Magazines build trust between your business and your audience. Here at Foundr, we’ve also been able to use the magazine as a method to build trust and relationships with influencers as well.
• Recurring revenue: Magazines are born for subscriptions, and if you play your cards right, you can depend on them for consistent and recurring income.
• Influence: Nothing spells influence in your niche than having a quality magazine going out regularly. It’s more work than a blog, but the dividends in influence are proportional.

As great as this all sounds, keep in mind that magazines take as much work and time as any other business. Our CEO Nathan Chan worked on Foundr Magazine for a full year as a side-hustle before he was able to quit his job and grow his company.

But if you’re up for committing to the work, then read on.

The Tools You Need to Create A Digital Magazine

Digital magazines are easier than physical magazines for several reasons. There’s no need to worry about the logistics and expense of physically delivering the magazine, finding a good printing house, or worrying about misdeliveries.

Nonetheless, the technology landscape for setting up, distributing, and getting paid for your digital magazine issue is important. You need to have the right tools to build your magazine on a solid foundation. Lots of digital magazines will cut corners when it comes to tech, and as a result, they will freeze, break, and readers will bounce. Don’t let this be you!

Foundr Magazine only uses the best tools to support our digital distribution, and we vouch for all of the products that we use below. They’ve all been in use consistently at Foundr for more than two years, successfully distributing our magazine to our now 20,000+ readers per month.

READ MORE: How to Develop Powerful Business Core Values and Mission Statements

Using an App for Your Digital Magazine

When it comes to digital magazine technology, the core decision you’ll need to make is: app or no app?

You can certainly host your magazine on the web, and countless magazines do.

However, there’s something awesome about being able to flip through a magazine on your iPhone, anywhere, and anytime. Most importantly, you can get an app in front of a whole slew of new eyes through app distribution platforms.

This is why Foundr took the app route.

Our first issue of Foundr magazine was sold on the App Store and Google Play. We chose to get in front of a market that had buyers. Steve Jobs conditioned customers visiting the App Store to be prepared to pay for content. What’s more, these stores handle all of the billing, delivery technology, and might even help you with marketing (via “Featured” apps and other sections).

For these reasons, we’ve come to the conclusion that building an app to support your digital magazine is a much stronger play than a web-only magazine.

Digital Magazine Tools

MagCast is the technology that Foundr Magazine used to create our app, and from which we publish all of our issues. It allows you to upload your magazine’s PDF through the platform, and publish using the technology. MagCast takes care of the rest—they build your app and set it up in the App Store. They also make it easy to configure your magazine to look good in app form.

• Monthly: $ 297
• Quarterly: $ 787
• Annually: $ 2,997

Mag+ is another magazine app creation platform, which fulfills a similar function as MagCast. We don’t use it here at Foundr, but there it is for your consideration.

The pricing for Mag+ is variable, with flexible options depending on your needs. They have a “Pay As You Publish” option, as well as an “Unlimited Option”, but as this is your first digital magazine, these options may not be suitable for you.

• Monthly: Ranging from $499-$699
• Annually: Ranging from $5389- $7549

Issuu is a web-only magazine publisher. It’s of particular interest to those who are planning on using their magazines as ad revenue-generating machines. Issuu is great for beginners as it allows you to create for free.

• FREE, and up to $279 annually

FlipSnack is a handy little website that transforms your PDF into an interactive flipbook, which can then be presented on your website. This is the technology that we use to upload past and present copies of Foundr Magazine.

FlipSnack has a tonne of other useful tools for digital creators, including printing services and SEO management, so have a look through and see if it suits your magazine’s goals.

• FREE to $948 a year

Apple iTunes Store and Google Play

You need a place to distribute your magazine, and where else to go except the iTunes App Store and Google Play, where there are huge audiences waiting for your content. These stores already have the authority, audience, and infrastructure there for the taking. You’ll have to get registered with these platforms and follow their terms of agreement and pricing.

Apple iTunes Store:

• $99/year + 30% of the revenue from your sales

Google Play Store:

• $25 charge to register + $100/year + 30% of the revenue from your sales

When you start your magazine on a shoestring budget, it’s all about wearing many hats (publisher, editor, writer, interviewer, etc.), and it might stay that way. But if you decide to grow, you can start to flesh out your process and bring on a team. At this point, you may need to expand into productivity and management software. Otherwise, the technology for deploying a digital magazine isn’t too complex, and definitely within reach of the most tech-averse entrepreneur.

READ MORE: 10 Instagram Growth Hacks For More Engaged Followers (Without Running Ads)

Create Awe-Inspiring Designs

Today’s online business landscape is so incredibly competitive, no matter what product you’re selling. That means that you need to find new ways to impress your market and grab their attention.

One key way to do this is with a stellar, standout design.

How many digital magazines have the same serious covers, with predictable font choices, colors, and layouts? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the truth is, those things don’t stick out anymore.

You can’t stand out by fitting in, just look at these covers you’re competing with:

Great design is a minimum requirement.

When it comes to digital magazines especially, your potential buyers will not invest in a copy of your work unless it looks great. That’s just part of the experience they’re paying for. Great design also gets you to that trust threshold required for someone to hand their money over the internet. It’s legitimizing.

But the design that gets your digital magazine thousands of readers has to go far beyond this threshold. You can’t just be great—you need to be awesome.

Here at Foundr, everything we put out not only has great design, but we strive to make it unique, edgy, and even daring. We know that our magazine is read mostly by young people, who are full of energy and ready to make a change in this world through entrepreneurship. Our design has to convey that energy:

There are no shortcuts or formulas to good design. It really is just a question of hiring the right person for the job. Finding a quality designer isn’t easy, nor is it cheap. You shouldn’t expect to pay bottom dollar for top work.

There are plenty of websites that connect you to remote designers. These are great because they give you access to a global pool of talent:

These websites include:

• Behance: Search through the portfolios of thousands of designers and post a job to get applications.
• Dribbble: Search through portfolios of both individual designers and agencies. Pitch to them individually instead of posting a job and getting deluged by applications.

You might have to go through a few designers or agencies before finding the one that matches your vision and market. Here at Foundr, we went through two designers before landing one designer we work well with.

To find the right designer, always have a trial period or a test project. It could be as simple as having them create a short PDF based on a checklist.

The quality of the designer’s work is just as important as the speed with which they create it. Equally important is the relationship that you have with the designer. Do you jell with them? Do your working styles meld nicely?

In the end, you need to pick a designer you can trust. There is nothing that bothers creatives more than when clients micromanage their work. Many designers will drop clients that do not give them enough creative control.

Round-Up Top Content

You’ve got your magazine looking good, and you’ve got the right tech to put it out into the world. Now it’s time to focus on providing useful content for your readers.

Foundr Magazine is made up of three different “types” of content:

• General content related to entrepreneurship
• Feature articles based on top entrepreneurs we interview
• Virtual Mentor Q&A section

We round the magazine out with an editor’s note at the beginning and Actionable Takeaways at the end. The overarching goal of all of our content is to give great, actionable, fun-to-read content for our audience, who will then take this knowledge to apply it to their business-building efforts.

Overall, we keep the magazine relatively short compared to your standard print publication, at between 10,000-12,000 words an issue. Most articles are between 2,000-5,000 words, with our features and front features leaning on the longer side. We also tend to run shorter pieces at the beginning of each issue.

As a good general rule, we find our readers enjoy the content they can take away and do something with afterward. Whether it’s something that inspires them or gives them precise instructions, we recommend making sure that your content is helpful to your readers in some way.

We’ve also found that it’s best to also include some pieces that are lighter in tone and subject matter since most of what we cover is about the business world. We like to insert some lifestyle pieces that would still add value to a busy entrepreneur’s life, but also offer a bit of a break.

READ MORE: How to Start a Podcast on a Budget

How do we manage to get such amazing content?

The first step to creating meaningful and engaging content is finding excellent writers.

Spend some time searching for a good writer, and always ask to see examples of their work to gauge whether or not their writing style is what you need.

At Foundr, we firmly believe that you get what you pay for. While we do look to keep costs as low as possible, you cannot expect a life-changing magnum opus from a writer if you are offering them peanuts. Be fair with your budget, and consider whether the writer’s budget is doable for quality content.

The second step is getting a great copy editor.

A copy editor will take your magazine from good to high-quality.

They root out those grammar and spelling mistakes that you will miss during writing and editing. It depends on the editor, but ours also assesses the entire product and returns headline suggestions and stylistic feedback, such as the order of the articles, to produce the most polished and cohesive issue possible.

This person provides a fresh, outside set of eyes to go over what you’re creating, and offers insights you would likely miss.

When starting out, you may not be able to afford a professional copy editor right off the bat. Even if you are able to, it’s good to have an understanding of what these people do, and how it is important to creating a quality publication.

First and foremost, copy editors police your use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But they also help ensure a consistent writing style for your magazine.

This means making sure the way you spell certain words, punctuate quotations or present things like titles and headings is the same throughout your writing. It might seem inconsequential, but readers will notice when your publication has all kinds of crazy punctuation, or “startup” in one sentence and “start-up” in the next. This will give your readers the idea that the publication is unprofessional, sloppy, and not worth the money.

A great default tool for this is the Associated Press Stylebook. It’s the style bible for most of the professional media world. It can be old-fashioned at times but is the standard-bearer of all the media rules of the road.

As you grow and bring on more writers, you’ll find that having an internal “Style Guide” specific to your magazine will prove extremely helpful. A Style Guide is like a rule book that you set up, which outlines the conventions that your particular magazine follows—that is, the length of articles, how you handle things like headlines, first and last names, titles, the spelling of branded words, etc.

This can serve as a reminder to yourself, and a quick reference for any new editors or writers you are bringing onboard.

At Foundr, we have a style guide that we use with all our copy. Simple things like “US English only”, and “no curly quotation marks” are what helps to keep us consistent.

In the end, the style of your magazine will come down to what you feel will speak more to your audience.

If your publication is aimed towards more professional career people, it may not make sense to adopt a casual tone. If your publication is aimed towards a very tech-savvy audience, it may make more sense to throw in technical jargon or acronyms without much explanation.

Whatever the style of your magazine might be, it’s important to define it and stick to it.

READ MORE: Psychographics 101: Everything You Need to Know; How It’s Used in Marketing

Creating the Layout of Your Digital Magazine

Your magazine will need to have some kind of layout and will most likely have recurring sections.

For example, we have a recurring section called “Life Hacks” as well as our “Virtual Mentor” section, where an industry expert or entrepreneur answers questions sent to us via our Virtual Mentor email box.

In terms of layout, we place our content between the editor’s note from Nathan Chan, and our concluding section, “Actionable Takeaways,” where we list the best actionable ideas from the magazine issue.

How should you layout your magazine? There is no set way, but as with everything, get some inspiration from your own favorite magazines. Grab a few copies of your favorite digital magazine and study each one for:

• How it organizes its layout
• Which recurring sections it contains
• Use of visual points of entry
• If they have themed issues
• The length and tone of their articles (First-person? Long narrative stories?)

Historically, magazines are separated into some main sections:

• Front of the Book (F.O.B): This is the first third of the magazine. It contains elements such as contents, the masthead, letters to the editor, recurring features like Q&As or book reviews, regular columns, mini-stories, infographics, product reviews. The F.O.B. usually tends to be heavy on quick, visual pieces, not long pieces of text. It can sometimes extend to the first half of the entire magazine.
• The Well: Also known as the “Feature Well” is the heart of the issue. It holds the main stories, including the cover story. These articles take up big chunks of the magazine and are longer, with large pieces of text and illustrative photos mixed in. Sometimes a special issue will have closely themed features, but usually, the topics vary.
• Back of Book (B.O.B.): This is the last portion of the magazine. It’s usually pretty short, and usually contains one or two shorter pieces to round things out. Sometimes it includes additional resources for readers. Often magazines will have a one-page recurring feature on the last page of every issue.

Whatever you do, keep in mind that variety is a worthy goal for any magazine, new or old. Even in the Feature Well, keep your readers engaged by avoiding too many very long stories in a row.

Don’t be afraid to mix things up a little, keeping in mind that your consistent and recurring features create something that readers can look forward to, while variations provide pleasant surprises.

READ MORE: FREE TRAINING: Explode Your Instagram Account With Our IG Hacks Masterclass

Get Interviews with Hard-to-Reach People

Interviewing hard-to-reach people will likely be something many, if not all, digital magazines will be interested in doing. Whatever your niche, your magazine will benefit immensely from having a leader or influencer in your field appear in your magazine.

Nathan Chan was struggling to get people to accept interviews with his then small and unknown entrepreneur magazine. Everything changed when Richard Branson was interviewed and featured on the cover.

Nathan knew that he needed a big name to propel the magazine and raise its profile. He aimed right for the top with Richard Branson.

Branson has quite a few books out there, so Nathan thought to first contact the book publishers. From there, he found out who the head of PR was for Branson, which leads him to his main contact person at Virgin.

He then pitched to that assistant at Virgin.

Find your target’s gatekeeper, whether that’s an internal head of PR, their personal assistant, or an agency that represents them.

But the effort wasn’t over yet. Nathan had to call this PR person four or five times, leaving voice messages each time. When he finally caught her over the phone, Nathan made his case and emphasized that he really wanted Branson on the cover of his new publication

The PR person then agreed to an email interview, and the rest is history. The Branson issue was a major turning point for Foundr, with our interviews only getting better and better from there.

The Branson issue and the many other rockstar entrepreneur interviews we’ve done have had what is known as the “Oprah Effect” for Foundr Magazine. That’s when you’ve interviewed so many awesome and successful people, that people become interested in what YOU have to say.

That makes YOU the new influencer.

READ MORE: 3 Ways to Create a Facebook Sales Funnel That Will Convert Customers on Autopilot

Promoting and Marketing Your Digital Magazine

When starting Foundr Magazine, we were able to grow at a rapid pace by using many different marketing tactics and strategies. That initially meant throwing things against the wall and seeing what stuck. In the early days, Nathan had to work out and test many channels that were effective for growing Foundr. Below is what worked the best.

Social Media

Nathan was trying out loads of different marketing tactics over social media but was struggling to gain traction.

That was until he tried Instagram.

Once he broke the Instagram marketing code, he started seeing consistent growth in email sign-ups and magazine sales. Instagram has been the top channel for Foundr Magazine’s growth.

On Instagram, Foundr managed to generate 10k followers in two weeks, built an extremely powerful sales funnel, and landed some huge exposure for the brand.

When it comes to Social Media, there’s too much opportunity to put just in this article alone. We have a tonne of content, how-tos, and other hacking guides, so be sure to check out our other articles when you’ve finished with this one.

Keyword optimization for the App Store is not as complex as web SEO, although it is no less essential. You want your magazine to rank for key search terms in your niche.

If at all possible, you need to get your keyword into the title of your app. For us, “entrepreneur magazine” is a major keyword for our market, and is featured in our app title: “AA+ Foundr – A Young Entrepreneur Magazine.”

Using keywords can also get you in the top five apps pages, allowing you to piggyback off of the successful and well-known apps. For example, Foundr Magazine benefits from the fact that we show up along Entrepreneur Magazine in the top five apps under “entrepreneur.” We also show up when people search for “Forbes” or “Harvard Business Review.”

You can use tools like Sensortower to help you research your keywords, your competitors’ keywords, and more.

Don’t worry about the competitiveness of the keyword, get it into your title if at all possible. As always, perform A/B testing to refine the keyword that you include in your title.

READ MORE: We Went From 0 to $50,000 in Sponsorships in 4 Weeks & How You Can Too!

As mentioned earlier, the design and look of your magazine is of prime importance. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. They are browsing the store, looking for something cool to read. Your front cover is therefore a marketing tool. Spend time working the covers and headlines because they are the difference between a reader and someone who brushes you aside.

Free App and a Free Issue

Without question, your magazine app must be free to download. This will reduce the friction getting from the App Store to your actual magazine. Up the ante by offering a free magazine issue. Offering even a couple of free issues is very effective in creating long-term subscribers.

At Foundr we give one of our best interviews (Richard Branson) and our guide to 10,000 Instagram followers for free, using our free app. Our 20,000+ monthly readers speak to the effectiveness of this tactic.

The more (positive) reviews you have, the better you will rank in the app store. To get good reviews, you need to make sure that your magazine is of top quality. Furthermore, you need to make sure that your technology works perfectly—no crashing, no unnecessary slowness, no annoying technical glitches. That’s why we recommend you go with a dependable publishing technology company, like MagCast, which will take care of that whole aspect for you.

Otherwise, you can collect positive ratings by prompting users to review you in the digital stores, preferably a few times over the course of the user’s interaction with the app.

Influencers

Foundr Magazine does double duty when it comes to influencers. Not only do we get to offer incredible value to our readers by interviewing the top entrepreneurs from around the world, but these Influencers also promote their features to their own audiences, serving as a valuable source of marketing.

Even if you aren’t looking to do interviews for your magazine, you can still network with influencers in your field and ask them to promote your work (for a fair exchange, of course).

READ MORE: 30 Expert Tips on How to Get 10k More Followers on Instagram

Making Money: Pricing the Digital Magazine

The production costs of your magazine will be much lower than a traditional magazine, and as such, you may be tempted to have this reflected in your price.

Don’t guess at your magazine price. Do a methodical competitive analysis. That is, go into the channel through which you will be distributing your magazine—whether that is the App Store, Google Play, or the web—and check out your competitors in the space.

Collect the prices, calculate the median and average. See how these magazines structure discounts for longer-term subscriptions and back issues.

For example, here’s how Foundr has structured its pricing (all pricing in USD):

• Individual issues cost $4.99
• 1 Month Subscription costs $2.99 (savings of 40%)
• 1 Year Subscription costs 21.99 (savings of 63%)

As we’ve done, incentivize your audience with savings for longer-term subscriptions, which offers them a deal, and provides you with higher per-customer revenue.

READ MORE: Building the Perfect Sales Funnel for Your Shopify Store

Ready to Start Your Online Magazine?

When it comes to launching your own digital magazine, the most important takeaway from this post is to explore different revenue models for your magazine. As mentioned above, traditional media based on ad revenue is on its way out, and we are seeing an emergence of new and exciting models.

Magazines are now hosting conferences, creating courses, selling coaching, and even creating physical products. It’s an exciting time to be a creative entrepreneur in media. At this turning point, the most daring and creative among media entrepreneurs will define the winning business models and become leaders in the field.

But what do you think? Do you think this new model will succeed? Are you thinking of starting a digital magazine? Comment with your thoughts below.

About Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan holds a Master of Business from Victoria University and is widely respected as one of the brightest minds of his generation. An expert at entrepreneurship, he started Foundr -- a global media and education company that reaches out to millions of people across the world. In the last seven years, Nathan has interviewed some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time such as Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Mark Cuban, and Tim Ferriss. He currently leads the team at Foundr as their Chief Executive Officer.

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How to Create Your Own Digital Magazine

Written by: Orana Velarde

You should always be on the lookout for innovative ways to communicate with your audience. Don’t let your content strategies go stale by sticking to the same types of content year after year.

Audiences and consumers expect brands to evolve, grow and expand their communication platforms. Adding a new type of content — like a digital magazine — can revive any strategy.

All brands benefit from content that brings value to their readers, helping convert them to loyal customers. Digital magazines are an excellent way to open up to new followers and hold on to old ones by showing them you’re evolving. Digital magazines are also a great way to improve brand awareness .

In this article, we’ll take you through a step-by-step guide to create your own digital magazine, plus a lively collection of digital magazine templates that will help with inspiration and give you a head start.

Let’s get started!

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit digital magazine templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

Table of Contents

What is a digital magazine, types of digital magazines, why should you create a digital magazine, how to create a digital magazine, 5 tips to improve your digital magazine, 11 digital magazine templates.

When digital magazines first came into the online marketing scene in the 90s, they were simply digital versions of print magazines. Not anymore!

Now, they're commonly launched as digital versions without an initial print run. Digital magazines used to look just like their print counterparts, but now they can be as simple as a static PDF or as engaging as an exciting interactive experience . 

Digital magazines are not like social media ads or landing pages for a brand. They’re not a selling asset, like a brochure .  The purpose of a digital magazine is to communicate, inform or entertain. 

Plus, content types that aren’t promotional tend to perform better. That’s why 90% of the most successful marketers get optimal results by prioritizing their audience’s informational needs over sales-y messages . 

Digital magazines come in many different forms. So it's important to determine which is the right type of digital magazine for your business.

As we already mentioned, digital magazines have evolved since their inception — what once started as static PDFs that mirrored printed magazines has become a standalone marketing and communication tool for businesses across various industries.

Over the years, the functionality improved so content would be easier to read on mobile devices. Then, they got more interactive, and now a digital magazine can be a complete experience.

Choose the digital magazine style that makes the most sense for your goals, and select the content type that fits with your brand voice and values. 

Below are all the types of digital magazines available to create through several online platforms — including Visme .

Interactive Experiences/HTML5 Live Link

The best and most impactful type of digital magazine is the one that offers an interactive experience. Either as a website, landing page or as a live link created with a tool like Visme.

By creating an interactive experience, your digital magazine can include video, animations, popups and hyperlinks for internal or external navigation. These features will make any digital magazine stand out from the competition, plus they’re super easy to make with Visme.

When you create an interactive digital magazine, share it as a live link for free access or use it as a lead magnet , thus adding value to your content marketing strategy exponentially.

Interactive or Static PDFs

PDF magazines are either static or interactive. At their inception, they were static PDF files downloaded and shared via email or file sharing. Nowadays PDFs are interactive and engaging by including elements that call attention and inspire the readers to participate.

As you might have guessed, Interactive PDFs are infinitely better than static PDFs, especially for digital magazines. A static PDF brings no extra value to the reader apart from the content. The classic PDF has lost its luster due to how technology has evolved. PDFs, especially static ones, are difficult to read on mobile devices if they’re not optimized for responsive viewing.

If you’re thinking of creating a PDF digital magazine, it’s in your best interest to go with the interactive option.

An additional option for digital magazines is to share each issue as a flipbook .  The original digital flipbook style was designed for viewing on desktop, and was extremely difficult to read on mobile devices. This has changed in recent years, with flipbook creation platforms adding mobile options to their publishing suites. 

Issuu, for example, started as a simple flipbook platform and now offers digital publishing solutions for mobile and social media. You simply upload a PDF file and Issuu takes care of the rest. The only downside to this digital magazine style is the lack of interactivity. 

Image Source

Mobile Apps

Initially, mobile digital magazines were an interactive alternative to static PDFs. But as technology improved, other digital magazine creation solutions popped up, making publications easier to handle. That’s why it’s not common to start a digital magazine journey with a mobile app — it takes a lot of time and upkeep.

The best time to integrate a mobile app version of a digital magazine is when the desktop version already exists, and there’s a considerable reader base.

When the app version is ready, offer it to your existing readers as another option. Make sure to design the UI for both Android and iOS so you’re not excluding any of your readers. Create a memorable app icon so it’s easy to find on the phone screen.

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The last digital magazine-style on our list is the one that resembles a blog. But don’t be mistaken; the only similarity with a blog is the visual layout of the articles. Even though they resemble each other in formatting, blogs and blog-style magazines differ in terms of content. 

Magazine articles are more journalistic in style than blog entries. The navigation is more like a magazine than a blog, with articles grouped into issues. The benefit of making your magazine look like a blog is that it’ll be easy to read and browse. Readers will feel comfortable with the layout. That said, you can add some personality to the design to make the structure even more unique.

Any content strategy can benefit from the incorporation of a digital magazine. Strategies with a variety of outputs and touchpoints reach more people. Plus, people prefer to consume content in different ways.

Here are the top reasons why you should consider creating a digital magazine.

You have a print magazine and want to go digital.

If you have a print magazine with a loyal reader base, it’s an excellent time to consider going digital. Going from print to digital can be either an addition to your strategy or a completely new one.

For example, magazines like The New Yorker added a digital version without getting rid of the print version. Others, like Computerworld and Teen Vogue, went completely digital and stopped publishing print versions altogether. 

The benefit of adding a digital magazine to your already existent print pub is that your audience will get to choose how they prefer read your articles. You can create subscription plans that include both print and digital options — or one or the other.

Deciding to stop the print pub and transition to purely digital is a bold choice. The dual production efforts are highly successful when the original magazine is rich with illustrations and custom graphics.

Going back to our example, The New Yorker has beautiful visuals that people like to have in print. Magazines like Computerworld didn’t have that advantage.

You want to use your digital magazine as a lead magnet.

Digital magazines as lead magnets are great for business owners and marketing teams building their customer base. Lead magnets like ebooks and checklists are grea t, but essentially serve as one-offs. On the other hand, a digital magazine will regularly keep your audience's interest piqued with new issues and articles. 

Entice new readers with free articles, and then offer a starter subscription with a low-cost option for the first few months. Once that trial period is over, the subscription cost can increase, but be sure to offer easy unsubscribing options so no one feels trapped.

When your digital magazine grows and your reader base expands, you can start offering merchandise, creating a mobile app and hiring more writers.

Using a digital magazine as a lead magnet is a long game strategy; it’s not the best choice if you don’t have the resources to follow through.

If you use Visme to create your digital magazine, you can email-gate the content by requiring registration when they visit your link or embedded content. Just head to the advanced sharing settings to turn this option on.

You want to increase your digital presence and brand awareness.

Digital magazines don’t always have to be behind a paywall; they can be free as well. The choice is up to you and your brand values.

Having a free digital magazine can be a great way to connect to your audience without asking for anything in return. In this case, it’s a brand awareness strategy instead of a revenue generator.

Another brand marketing angle is to offer the newest issue for free until the next issue is published. Then all archive issues are only available under subscription.

This is an excellent way to build brand awareness that then converts to leads. The trick to this strategy being successful is the quality of your content. Readers will only stick around or come back if your articles bring value and offer interesting insights that other publications do not.

Are you ready to create your own digital magazine? As long as you follow the steps, you’ll be on your way to a successful digital magazine launch. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Set a Goal for Your Digital Magazine

The first step, much like any outbound project in your content strategy, is to set a goal for your digital magazine. What do you plan to achieve with the publication?

• Will the magazine be a monetized asset, or will it be a free offering?
• Do you plan to inform, pitch or entertain your audience?
• How big do you want your digital magazine to grow in the future?
• How often will you publish a new issue?

Write down your goals and projections, and annotate some roadmap ideas on how to achieve them . Create a brainstorm or mind map, plus add to-do lists and detailed notes about what needs doing.

Use a project plan to help get all ideas and roadmap steps organized. This template has pages for goals, Gantt chart roadmaps and objectives.

Step 2: Select the Right Software

Test different platforms to create your digital magazine. Some online tools offer solutions from design to publication, while others only offer a platform for publishing and sharing an uploaded PDF. Here’s a list of some of the most common digital magazine makers:

• FlippingBook

Most of the digital publishing platforms that promote a digital magazine maker offer only flipbook-style options. Knowing what we know about how flipbooks — made with static PDF files — are not ideal for mobile viewing, you thankfully have better options.

For example, Visme offers the whole gamut of options. From static and interactive PDFs to interactive experiences shared as a live publication to view online.

The video below shows how to create a document with Visme. All the documents created with Visme can be turned interactive with just a few clicks! If you still want to use a flipbook style magazine for your website, upload a Visme created PDF to any flipbook site. Additionally, Visme live links are responsive for desktop and mobile. Your digital magazines #madewithvisme will look great on all devices.

Step 3: Choose a Topic or Overarching Theme

Now that you’ve laid out your goals and chosen the software you feel the most comfortable with, it’s time to pinpoint a topic or overarching theme for your digital magazine.

Consider your brand’s market position and what your customer base already loves about your company. What are the questions they’re asking the most through the support channels? What types of comments are they making on your social media?

Think of an overarching theme intimately tied to your industry that will bring value to your client base. This is crucial for your digital magazine to make an impact; otherwise, they won’t be interested in reading it, let alone subscribe to it.

Use a brain map to develop themes and topics that will help later with the content strategy.

Step 4: Create a Content Strategy

Your magazine as a whole has an overarching theme, then each issue is a detailed or tangential aspect of the overarching theme.

For example, if you own a consulting company for Human Resources teams , your main topic can be “Human Resources and the Future of Work.” Then each issue can concentrate on specific aspects of this work, with opinion pieces, research articles, personal stories, etc.

Create a content strategy for the first few issues, designing a document template that you can later recreate and tweak as needed. Assign tasks to yourself and your team so that each aspect of content production is taken care of. Put together a Gantt Chart to help you follow through and stay on track.

Step 5: Write the Articles 

Now it’s time to write the articles. Consult your content strategy to see how many articles you need to write and decide if you’ll write them all yourself or if you’ll hire other writers to help. Writers can be members of your team or freelance writers brought in specially for the magazine project.

When writing and editing, remember to stay true to your brand voice and values. The content in the magazine represents how you see your brand growing for the future. A digital magazine project means brand message expansion, so put those storytelling skills to good use.

Step 6: Plan the Visuals

Start planning out the visuals for the cover and the inside pages as you’re working on the written content. When you use a digital magazine maker like Visme, you’ll have thousands of images and videos at your fingertips. If your brand has company visuals or similar, upload them to the software you chose. 

Visme has a media library feature where you can store images and videos organized by folders and tags. Having a productivity resource like an organized media library makes it easier to build a digital magazine — or any visual project you have in mind.

Start your own digital magazine with help from Visme!

Choose from dozens of professionally designed templates Bring your information to life with a stunning digital magazine Customize anything to fit your brand image and content needs

Step 7: Choose a Template

Browse through digital magazine templates to find the one you love. Look at the overall layout to find one that matches your brand’s visual architecture. This is important because when you’re adding the content to your magazine, you don’t want to waste time redesigning the whole thing. The idea of using a template is to save precious time while also creating something beautiful.

The template you choose might not have enough pages for what you envision your magazine to have, but it’s easy to duplicate or add more pages as you add the content. Remember to continue the visual style on new pages so they don’t stand out like sore thumbs. 

Magazine Templates

Technology Magazine

Adventure - Magazine Cover

Brides - Magazine Cover

Sports Magazine

Lifestyle Magazine

Fashion - Magazine Cover

Create your magazine View more templates

Step 8: Design a Magazine Cover

Now it’s time to design the cover for your digital magazine. On this layout, add the title of the magazine, a few titles of the best articles inside, the issue number and date, and optionally, your logo. Use an eye-catching visual or photo that makes sense with the topic and your brand message. 

If you have an interview featuring an interesting character from your industry, use a good-looking photograph of them for your magazine cover. Other options include a stock photo of something that illustrates the overarching theme of the issue.

For example, the template below for an Organic food digital magazine uses an image of tomatoes. Alternatively, get conceptual and use a collage or illustration that depicts the main topic of your magazine.

Not totally sure how to get started with your magazine cover design? This infographic walks you through the anatomy of an magazine cover that should help you put everything in the right place.

Step 9: Edit and Proofread Your Content

Before publishing your digital magazine, the last step is to edit and proofread all the articles and check that all the interactive features are working as they should. Ask professional editors or proofreaders for help; we don’t recommend you do everything yourself, as that creates blind spots. 

Also, go through your brand guidelines and brand voice parameters to analyze if all articles, visuals and interactive features are following the guidelines for visual and messaging brand styling. Taking the time to do this is crucial for creating impactful and relevant content for your business.

Step 10: Publish Your Digital Magazine

It’s time to publish your digital magazine!

As you saw above, there are many options for publishing, from PDFs to flipbooks to interactive experiences. Regardless of how you choose to publish your digital magazine, it’s in your best interest to create a space on your website where the magazine issues are collected, archived and promoted. 

If you're charging a subscription for your magazine, you’ll need a way to collect payments. You can do this via an ecommerce service on your site that redirects the reader to the magazine issues once they’ve paid. Once they’ve signed up and paid, direct them to an embedded version on your website or to the published Visme link.

If you’re using the digital magazine as a free lead magnet, add an email capture to your Visme published digital magazine and let readers experience it as a live interactive link. Then click Share and Publish for Web to launch your new issue.

Creating a digital magazine is a straightforward project when you follow the steps above. But there’s always room for making your digital magazines amazing.

That’s where the following tips come in. Call them our Pro Tips for the success of your digital magazine.

1. Make it interactive.

The first and most crucial tip we can offer about creating digital magazines is to make yours interactive. Turning your magazine into an experience will set it apart from the rest. The types of interactive features you can add are:

• Embedded videos
• Embedded quizzes
• Embedded forms
• Hover effects

Use digital tech to your advantage. Offer readers more than just textual content. For example, you can add a short survey asking their opinion of the magazine or as a fun quiz.

2. Use big and bold fonts

Readers will view your magazine on all sorts of digital devices. Make sure the text is easy to read on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The no. 1 solution for this is to use big and bold fonts. Make titles noticeable and body text easy to read with fonts that aren’t too thin or mushed together. 

Use extra line space and space between letters to create a better visual flow for your readers. Choose a font pairing that won’t compete with your visuals. The first option is always to use brand typography, but sometimes you can get a little creative in digital magazines. Just make sure it doesn’t take away from the flow and is still easy to read.

Inside your Visme editor, choose a pre-designed font pairing that will look great straight out of the box. Ungroup the pair to adjust the layout between title and subtitle.

3. Focus on quality

Whether your magazine is a free publication or a paid subscription, it needs to be worth reading, downloading or sharing. Focus on the quality of your digital magazine. Consider all the details from the theme to the articles to the visuals and interactive features.

Make sure all articles are relevant to the topic and your brand voice. Use a discerning editing stance when finalizing the text; hire editors if none are on your team. Hire designers, illustrators or photographers to create exclusive content for your magazine. You don’t want your digital magazine to look like a mass-produced digital publication; make yours stand out.

4. Make it easy to navigate

Digital magazines, like websites or apps, need to be easy to navigate. Readers should go from page to page with simple pagination and have access to a table of contents that links to the desired article they want to read .

If you’re creating an interactive PDF, add a home button on each page, so the reader can easily find the Table of Contents after skimming or reading an article. 

Live online links created and published with Visme have an incorporated pagination feature and a table of contents accessible from every page. All you need to do is add relevant titles to each page, so there’s no confusion.

5. Analyze the performance of your digital magazines

What good is creating new content for your brand if you’re not tracking its performance? When you make a digital magazine with Visme and share it as a published live link, you can access an analytics dashboard.

Track how many opens, reading time spent and demographic data about your readers and subscribers. Collect emails to add to your mailing list and nurture your readers through your email provider.

Analyze the data to tweak and test changes on your future issues and articles. To know if your initial readers enjoy the digital magazine, include a short survey to ask for feedback or suggestions. Visme offers several surveys and form integrations to easily embed questionnaires to help you analyze the impact of your digital magazine.

Now that you’re ready to start creating your digital magazine, it’s time to find a template that matches your vision. You can also look at templates for initial inspiration while still building the content strategy. 

Here are 11 digital magazine templates from Visme that you can start using right away.

1. Sports Magazine Template

This sports magazine template has a modern feel, with cutout images of athletes laid over bold backgrounds. The bold, all-cap titles stand out and are easy to read and skim.

2. Technology Magazine Template

This tech-related digital magazine template has a clean-cut design with lots of white space. The content feels easy to read and skim. Page 7 includes a minimalist comparison infographic to support a comparative article.

3. Food Magazine Template

Choose this digital magazine template if you’re creating a digital magazine about food. There are pages for text articles, plus layouts for recipes with images. The overall design is graphic and exciting and easy to customize.

4. Lifestyle Magazine Template

The pages of this lifestyle digital magazine template are full of creative typography and unique visual layouts. Use this design if your brand is creative and offbeat. It will be easy to stand out with a composition as unique as this.

5. Business and Advertising Magazine Template

Business-related content doesn’t need to be corporate and dry. Bright colors and full-page images create an impact that will call attention to the reader. With your content and a good dose of interactivity, this template will be a great addition to your content strategy.

6. Ecommerce Magazine Template

Minimalist and stylish layouts are perfect for ecommerce or product feature magazines. This magazine template uses a lot of white space to give a feeling of freshness and novelty. Plus, to create visual contrast, some pages have full-size images with vibrant darker colors.

7. Travel Magazine Template

Travel magazines always depend on great photography to support the stories on the pages. This magazine template is an excellent example of boxed content laid over imagery of beautiful locations and places.

8. Fitness Magazine Template

Duotone designs work great for a variety of magazine topics. This fitness magazine offers a great starting point for any type of content. Select this template if you’re looking for a unique visual story to go with your content.

9. Interior Design Magazine Template

Blocked designs are easy to read and feel dependable. This style of magazine template will look great for an interior design magazine or any other topic that can benefit from a contrasting creative look.

10. Health Magazine Template

Digital magazines that use a repeating pattern on every page set a visual cue for the entirety of the issue. This health magazine template includes a vertical line on the left of each page where you can have the page number and even the title of the article on that particular page. 

11. Fashion Magazine Template

Creative content will fit well with this fashion magazine template. Pages with colorful design elements make content stand out and fun to read. The white space creates a unique layout that’s perfect for any creative digital magazine.

Over To You

Now it’s your turn. What type of digital magazine will you create for your business? Will it be a static or interactive document that you can share via email or embed into your website? Or maybe you want to be bold and create an interactive experience with Visme!

We lean towards the latter, a live HTML5 link with interactive features that will keep the reader engaged, entertained and looking forward to more.

Try Visme for your digital magazine creation . If you’re already creating content with Visme, adding a digital magazine to the mix is easy. We offer several digital magazine templates that you can share as PDFs or live links for interactive experiences. We can’t wait to see what you create!

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About the Author

Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com

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Table of contents, a comprehensive guide to starting a magazine business.

• 14 June, 2024

Establishing Your Digital Magazine Business

When starting a digital magazine business, it is essential to lay a strong foundation by defining your content strategy and crafting a content marketing plan. These steps will help you create and deliver valuable content that resonates with your target audience and drives the success of your digital magazine.

Defining Your Content Strategy

A solid content strategy is crucial for attracting and engaging your audience while achieving your business goals. It serves as the roadmap for creating, distributing, and managing your content effectively. According to HubSpot , a good content strategy is the foundation of the Attract and Delight stages in a buyer’s journey that follows the inbound marketing framework.

To define your content strategy, consider the following:

Audience Analysis: Understand your target audience, their preferences, and pain points. Conduct market research, analyze competitor publications, and gather insights to tailor your content to their needs.

Content Goals: Clearly outline your content goals, such as brand awareness, thought leadership, lead generation, or customer retention. Align these goals with your overall business objectives.

Content Types: Determine the types of content that will resonate with your audience, such as articles, interviews, features, or multimedia content. Consider the format and tone that align with your brand identity.

Content Calendar: Develop a content calendar to plan and schedule your content creation and distribution. This ensures consistency, helps you stay organized, and maximizes efficiency.

SEO Integration: Incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to optimize your content for search engines and increase organic visibility. This will help drive traffic to your digital magazine.

For a successful content strategy, it’s important to prioritize quality over quantity. Focus on delivering valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage your target audience.

Crafting a Content Marketing Plan

Crafting a content marketing plan is essential for effectively promoting your digital magazine and reaching your target audience. According to Mike Khorev , content marketing is vital for attracting a targeted audience with valuable, relevant, and consistent content.

Consider the following steps when crafting your content marketing plan:

Content Distribution Channels: Identify the digital channels where your target audience is most active, such as social media platforms, email newsletters, or content syndication networks. Determine the best channels to distribute and promote your content.

Mobile Optimization: Optimize your content for mobile devices, as a significant portion of your audience will consume your digital magazine on smartphones or tablets. Ensure a seamless and user-friendly experience across different screen sizes.

Native Advertising: Explore native advertising opportunities to amplify your content reach. Collaborate with relevant publishers or influencers to promote your digital magazine to their audience.

Influencer Marketing: Leverage the power of influencers in your industry to expand your reach and gain credibility. Collaborate with influencers who align with your brand values and have a significant following.

Marketing Automation: Implement marketing automation tools to streamline your content distribution, track performance, and nurture leads. Automation can help you deliver personalized content at different stages of the buyer’s journey.

Remember, a content marketing plan should be flexible and adaptable. Continuously monitor and analyze your content’s performance, make data-driven decisions, and refine your plan based on audience feedback and industry trends.

By defining your content strategy and crafting a content marketing plan, you will establish a strong foundation for your digital magazine business. These steps will help you create valuable content, connect with your audience, and drive the success of your online publication. For more guidance on starting a digital magazine business, check out our comprehensive online magazine startup guide .

Creating Engaging Content

In the digital landscape, creating engaging content is essential for the success of your digital magazine business. By offering valuable and captivating content, you can attract and retain a loyal audience. In this section, we will explore two effective strategies for creating engaging content: leveraging ebooks for lead generation and harnessing the power of videos.

Leveraging Ebooks for Lead Generation

Ebooks are an effective tool for lead generation. They are longer and more in-depth than blog posts, providing valuable information to your audience. By requiring website visitors to submit a lead form with their contact information in exchange for downloading the ebook, you can generate leads and grow your subscriber base.

When creating an ebook, focus on a specific topic that aligns with your digital magazine’s niche. Provide comprehensive and well-researched information that addresses your audience’s pain points and interests. Make sure the content is engaging, visually appealing, and easy to read.

To promote your ebook, create dedicated landing pages on your website that highlight the value it provides. Use compelling headlines, persuasive copy, and visually appealing graphics to entice visitors to download the ebook. You can also promote it through your social media channels, email newsletters, and digital magazine publishing platforms to reach a wider audience.

Harnessing the Power of Videos

Videos are a highly engaging content medium that can captivate your audience and drive traffic to your digital magazine. They offer a dynamic and visual way to convey information, making it easier for viewers to consume and retain the content. Videos are also highly shareable across social media platforms and websites, which can help expand your reach and increase brand visibility.

When creating videos, consider the preferences and interests of your target audience. Develop compelling scripts, use high-quality visuals, and incorporate storytelling techniques to keep viewers engaged. Videos can be used to showcase interviews, behind-the-scenes content, tutorials, product reviews, and more.

To effectively harness the power of videos, distribute them through various channels. Embed videos on your website, share them on social media platforms, and include them in your email newsletters. Optimize your videos for search engines by using relevant keywords in titles, descriptions, and tags. This will help improve their visibility and attract more viewers.

By leveraging ebooks for lead generation and harnessing the power of videos, you can create engaging content that resonates with your audience. These strategies will not only attract new readers but also contribute to the growth and success of your digital magazine business. For more information on starting a digital magazine business, check out our online magazine startup guide.

Mastering Digital Marketing Tactics

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, mastering effective digital marketing tactics is crucial for the success of your digital magazine business. By employing strategies such as SEO, SEM, and local search marketing, you can increase your online visibility and attract a wider audience.

Importance of SEO in Digital Marketing

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plays a vital role in digital marketing, and recent strategies like HTTPS requirements have impacted SEO results. To maintain a favorable search engine placement, it is essential to follow Google’s recommendation of switching to the HTTPS format to avoid being labeled as “non-secure” ( Mike Khorev ). By optimizing your website’s content, structure, and meta tags with relevant keywords, you can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This, in turn, can drive organic traffic to your digital magazine and increase your chances of attracting potential readers.

Exploring Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) focuses on increasing visibility in search engine results pages through paid advertising methods. Google Ads, for example, offers various ad formats, including graphic display ads, YouTube video ads, text-based search ads, and in-app mobile ads. By leveraging SEM, you can create targeted ad campaigns tailored to your business style and target customers. This enables you to reach a wider audience and drive traffic to your digital magazine ( Mike Khorev ).

Harnessing the Power of Local Search Marketing

Local search marketing has gained increasing importance in recent years. With the advent of platforms like Google My Business, businesses can now appear in search results and Google Maps based on user keywords. To leverage local search marketing effectively, it’s crucial to optimize your online presence. This includes managing your Google My Business profile, encouraging online reviews, building a positive social reputation, and implementing inbound marketing strategies through social media. By focusing on local search marketing, you can target specific geographical areas and attract readers who are more likely to engage with your digital magazine ( Mike Khorev ).

By mastering these digital marketing tactics, you can position your digital magazine business for success in the competitive online landscape. Remember to continuously monitor and adapt your strategies based on industry trends and audience preferences. The effective utilization of SEO, SEM, and local search marketing can help you expand your reach, attract a larger readership, and ultimately achieve your business goals. For more guidance on starting a digital magazine business, refer to our comprehensive online magazine startup guide.

Monetization Strategies for Online Magazines

When starting a digital magazine business, it’s essential to develop effective monetization strategies to ensure sustainable revenue generation. In this section, we will explore two key strategies for monetizing online magazines: revenue models and maximizing revenue through advertising.

Revenue Models for Online Magazines

Online magazines can adopt various revenue models to generate income and support their operations. Here are a few common revenue models for digital magazines:

It’s important to note that each revenue model has its own advantages and considerations. Depending on your magazine’s content, target audience, and growth strategy, you may choose to implement one or a combination of these models. For more information on developing a comprehensive business plan for your digital magazine, check out our guide on digital magazine business plan .

Maximizing Revenue through Advertising

Advertising is a fundamental component of monetizing an online magazine. By strategically incorporating advertisements, magazines can generate revenue while providing valuable content to their readers. Here are a few advertising strategies to consider:

Display Advertising : Display advertising is a common and reliable revenue stream for online magazines, especially for those with high traffic. Google AdSense is a good starting point for placing display ads on a magazine website, driving ad click revenue for sites with higher traffic. To maximize revenue, optimize ad placements, and consider using ad networks that specialize in serving ads to your target audience.

Sponsorship Ads : Sponsorship ads can be lucrative for online magazines, allowing for premium visibility areas where only sponsored ads can be displayed. To attract sponsors, showcase the valuable traffic flowing through your site and ensure that sponsored content aligns with the demographics and interests of your audience. Building strong relationships with sponsors can lead to long-term partnerships and recurring revenue.

Native Advertising : Native advertising offers a way to monetize online magazines by integrating paid media ads that blend naturally with the user experience of the surrounding content. Platforms like Outbrain and ShareThrough provide solutions for publishers to incorporate native advertising effectively. While it can be challenging for niche B2B topics to attract enough ads, native advertising can be a valuable revenue stream when implemented strategically.

Subscription Offers : Offering “freebies” as a lure to premium content can help online magazines attract subscribers. By providing valuable content, magazines can sell subscriptions by showcasing authority, top content, and figures, ultimately aiming to add value to the audience’s experience and lifestyle. Additionally, creating “Best of” lists, featuring top products or services in a specific niche, can be a great advertising opportunity and attract native advertisers and sponsors.

Remember, a successful advertising strategy requires a deep understanding of your target audience, their preferences, and the types of ads that resonate with them. Continuously monitor and optimize your advertising efforts to maximize revenue while maintaining a positive user experience. For more insights into monetizing a digital magazine, refer to our guide on monetizing a digital magazine .

Developing a Target Audience Strategy

A key aspect of starting a successful digital magazine business is developing a target audience strategy. Understanding and effectively reaching your target audience is essential for building a loyal readership and driving engagement. In this section, we will explore two crucial steps in developing a target audience strategy: understanding your target audience and segmenting your target audience.

Understanding Your Target Audience

To create content that resonates with your readers and attracts the right audience, it is important to have a deep understanding of your target audience. By analyzing your customer base, conducting market research, and analyzing competitors, you can gather valuable insights about your target audience’s preferences, needs, and behaviors. This information will help you shape your content and marketing strategies to effectively reach and engage your audience.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of your target audience, consider the following steps:

Analyze your customer base: Study the demographics, psychographics, and purchase behavior of your existing customers. Identify common characteristics and patterns that can help define your target audience.

Conduct market research: Conduct surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather information directly from your target audience. This will provide insights into their motivations, challenges, and preferences.

Analyze competitors: Study your competitors’ target audience and identify any gaps or opportunities in the market. Understanding how your target audience overlaps with your competitors’ audience can help you differentiate your magazine and tailor your content accordingly.

Create personas: Develop detailed personas of your ideal readers. These fictional representations of your target audience will help you visualize and empathize with their needs, aspirations, and pain points.

Define who your target audience isn’t: It’s equally important to identify who your target audience is not. This will help you focus your efforts on reaching the right audience and avoid wasting resources on uninterested or irrelevant individuals.

Continuously revise your understanding: Keep updating your understanding of your target audience as trends and preferences evolve. Regularly collect data and feedback to stay in touch with your readers’ changing needs.

Tools like Google Analytics can provide valuable insights about your website visitors, allowing you to gather data on demographics, interests, and behavior. Additionally, media kits from publishers, Nielsen Ratings, and social media platforms can provide further insights into audience segments and help you target your marketing efforts effectively.

Segmenting Your Target Audience

Segmenting your target audience allows you to create data-driven, highly personalized messaging that resonates with specific groups within your larger target audience. By dividing your audience into segments based on factors such as interests, purchase intention, and subcultures, you can tailor your content and marketing efforts to each segment’s specific needs and preferences.

Segmentation strategies can include:

Demographic segmentation: Dividing your audience based on factors like age, gender, income, and location.

Psychographic segmentation: Categorizing your audience based on their interests, values, attitudes, and lifestyle choices.

Behavioral segmentation: Analyzing your audience’s behaviors, such as purchasing patterns, engagement with your content, and interaction with your brand.

Purchase intention segmentation: Identifying segments based on their likelihood to purchase, such as potential customers versus existing customers.

Segmentation allows you to deliver targeted content, offers, and advertisements to each specific segment, increasing the chances of resonating with and converting your audience.

By understanding your target audience and segmenting them effectively, you can create a digital magazine that appeals to their interests, solves their pain points, and fosters a sense of connection and engagement. This targeted approach will help you attract and retain readers, ultimately contributing to the success of your digital magazine business.

The Evolution of Digital Magazines

As technology has advanced, the world of magazines has undergone a significant transformation. From its humble beginnings on floppy disks to the vast array of online platforms available today, digital magazines have revolutionized the way content is consumed. In this section, we will explore the evolution of digital magazines, from floppy disks to choosing the right format for your online magazine.

From Floppy Disks to Online Platforms

In the 1980s, the first digital magazines emerged on floppy disks, which were then mailed to readers who could access the content on their computers. PCLife was a pioneer in creating digital magazines in this format, offering a multimedia experience with music, animation, and interactive elements. By the mid-1990s, floppy disks were largely replaced by CD-ROMs, capable of storing significantly more data.

Fast forward to the 2000s, and the internet revolutionized the magazine industry once again. Print magazines made the transition to the online realm, reaching a wider audience and providing instant access to content. With the advent of websites and online platforms, digital magazines became more accessible and interactive than ever before. Readers could now access their favorite publications with just a few clicks, enjoying a seamless digital reading experience.

Choosing the Right Format for Your Online Magazine

When starting a digital magazine, choosing the right format is crucial for success. While there are various formats available, it’s important to consider the advantages and drawbacks of each. Let’s explore some popular formats:

PDF Magazines: PDFs offer an easy and cost-effective solution for online magazines, particularly if you already have a printed version. However, there are limitations to using PDFs for digital magazines. They often have fixed layouts designed for printing, which can make viewing on mobile devices challenging. Additionally, PDFs may hinder lead generation, subscriber growth, and revenue generation due to limited control over distribution and data collection.

Flash Magazines: Flash technology was popular in the early 2000s, allowing for rich multimedia and simulated page turning similar to printed magazines. However, Flash has significantly declined, with many devices no longer supporting it. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid using Flash for online magazines.

Native App-Based Magazines: Native apps provide an exceptional reading experience on mobile devices, offering full control over the look and feel of the magazine. Developers can incorporate dynamic, personalized ads, offline reading capabilities, and rich multimedia. Native apps also enable tracking and measuring reader behavior. However, developing native apps can be time-consuming, expensive, and subject to platform approval from Apple or Google.

Considering the pros and cons of each format is vital when determining the best fit for your online magazine. It’s essential to evaluate factors such as user experience, accessibility, distribution, and revenue potential. To learn more about starting and growing your online magazine business, consult our online magazine startup guide.

As technology continues to evolve, so will the landscape of digital magazines. By embracing the right format and utilizing the latest tools and platforms, you can create a captivating digital magazine experience that engages and delights your audience.

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How to Create an Online Magazine in 10 Steps

Written by Matt Berringer

January 1, 2022

Digital publishing represents a massive opportunity for traditional publishers and marketers alike. We’ve been in the information age for some time now, and the digital world is still evolving at warp speed. High-value curated content has never been in higher demand, considering roughly 45.3% of U.S. consumers have read a digital magazine in the last 30 days, according to 2018 data.

Online magazines let print publishers find their share of the massive audience of digital natives waiting to discover their content. Small and mid-sized business marketers can incorporate online magazines into their content marketing mix. This high-quality, in-depth format can extend brand awareness and drive more customers into the sales pipeline.

If you’re ready to start an online magazine for your company, this guide is for you. Learn more about this format and the steps to take to get your own publications ready for launch, or see pricing for Interactive Magazine Platform .

Jump to a topic or speak with an expert:

• Identify Your Goals
• Determine Your Unique Value
• Establish a Budget
• Identify a Publishing Platform
• Create a Content Plan
• Decide on the Structure
• Create a Brand Strategy
• Identify a Revenue Model
• Develop a Marketing Strategy
• Talk to an Industry Expert

Common Uses for Online Magazines

Many marketers and publishers use online magazines to:

• Access reader analytics:  If you send out paper collateral or printed publications, you have no way of knowing what happens once they’re in your readers’ hands. With an online magazine on the right publishing platform, you can get detailed analytics. See how long readers engage with your articles and what pages they spend their time reading. These metrics give you immediate feedback so you can create more impactful content with every issue.
• Establish additional revenue sources:  An online magazine can help all types of publishers gain new sources of revenue. Print publishers can attract new subscribers who prefer digital media. They can also earn income through well-placed digital ads.
• Promote products or services:  Marketers often use online magazines as a form of in-depth content marketing. They may provide entertainment or helpful information to their target customers and pepper in promotions for their products and services along the way.

Industries That Benefit From Online Publications

Businesses across many industries use online publications as part of their content marketing strategy. Some of those companies include:

• Traditional publishers:  Publishers who have long been creating print magazines their readers love can reach new audiences in the digital landscape. An online edition can be an excellent freebie for print subscribers or available as a stand-alone subscription for digital natives.
• Higher education institutions: Schools can use digital magazines for alumni news or general marketing purposes. Published regularly, these assets can deliver campus news to alumni , students, professors, donors and other stakeholders.
• Sports leagues:  Those in the sports industry can update their fans on important team news with a monthly newsletter or produce exclusive content for their season ticket holders with a digital magazine.
• Travel and leisure companies: Hotels, resorts and state and local tourism commissions can use digital magazines to cover popular events and local attractions and generally encourage readers to visit.
• Associations:  Industry and trade associations like to keep their members updated on industry news, upcoming conferences and other initiatives the organization embarks on. An online magazine is an excellent way to engage members.

Learn More about Publishing Platforms

10 Steps to Creating an Online Magazine

Think digital magazines are right for you? Let’s talk about how to launch one for your own business.

1. Identify the Goals of Your Digital Magazine

First things first — what are you trying to accomplish?

Clearly defining your goals is the first step in any project. Like any publication, an online magazine requires you to make decisions regarding what type of audience you’re hoping to reach. This includes how you would like readers to engage with your content. For example, a digital magazine looking to gain subscribers will function differently than an online piece designed to sell a product.

Regardless of your primary goal, another vital part of starting an online magazine is to define your voice and overall brand style. You can often do this by creating style sheets or brand standards.

Decide early on the overall tone of your online presence and stick to it. When you become successful, you can curate a trustworthy team to help carry the workload while remaining true to your brand.

Learn more about content KPIs & Metrics:

• Developing KPIs
• How to Monitor Performance
• Modernizing Old Metrics
• What Causes Early Bounce

2. Determine What Makes You Unique

How can you develop a plan for sustained success through valuable differentiation? There are some key elements required for a sustainable online magazine business. Most importantly, though, you need to find how you will stick out in a crowded digital media landscape.

Will your content or your creative elements be unique? Will your marketing tactics be differentiated? And will those elements be valuable to your audience? We all need to ask these questions. The content we create must come off as striking and useful to readers so it’s most likely to attract return visits and subscriptions.

Once you’ve uncovered your value proposition and tested it as valuable to a segment of your target audience, it’s crucial to find an intuitive, engaging platform to host your content.

3. Establish a Budget and Estimate Your ROI

Depending on your purposes for creating a digital magazine, your budget can look quite different. If you’re a traditional publisher who already produces content for a printed periodical, digitizing it will require a publishing platform, some related technology and technical skills. If you’re starting a digital magazine from the ground up, you’ll need to budget for an editor-in-chief, writers, designers and other employees to manage content creation.

Once you have your content in hand, the main cost differentiator is in the platform you choose. On a shoestring budget, you can publish your magazine for free as a PDF. However, you’ll still need to find a way to host it online, so even this method is not a true no-cost option. Other low-cost publishing platforms may retain the rights to your work or display their own ads within your publication.

For the best returns on investment (ROI), we recommend starting at the mid-range level. Offering a better user experience and accessing reader analytics will help you grow your digital audience over time. Flipbook magazine publishing tools provide an excellent solution for a mid-range price , while high-end responsive design publishing tools will boost your ROI with a highly engaging user experience.

4. Identify the Best Platform

Every publishing option presents its own benefits and limitations. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what makes the most sense for your brand. While affordability is important, it is also necessary to strive for an impactful experience that will keep bringing your readers back for more.

Common Types of Digital Magazines

When choosing a platform for your magazine, start by considering what’s out there. There are many digital publishing solutions , and they each offer different advantages and disadvantages. Your options to create digital magazines online include:

• Flash magazines:  At one point, flash magazines were a popular way to deliver rich, engaging digital viewing experiences. They offered simulated page flipping alongside multimedia content. Since  Adobe announced Flash would meet its end  in 2020, flash magazines are now a thing of the past.
• PDF magazines:  The practically free way to go digital is to publish your magazine as a PDF. This option might be as simple as clicking “publish as PDF” on your document design software. However, this method comes with some drawbacks. PDFs are not mobile-first and add friction to the user experience. Because they have a fixed layout, mobile viewers often have to master a “pinch, zoom and slide” finger dance to view it. They also offer little analytics beyond how many downloads the document receives.
• Native app magazines:  Publishers with a loyal readership willing to download a separate app to view content can create a stunning mobile-first experience with their digital magazines. While they take a lot of effort to develop, the payoff is high. Publishers can control the digital experience, include multimedia content, use targeted advertising, and engage their readers with notifications.
• Flipbook magazines:  Also called the digital replica, a flipbook mimics the traditional print experience. Documents appear as they would in print and offer the satisfying experience of flipping pages. They’re a middle-of-the-road cost solution that elevates the experience above a traditional PDF. They also provide publishers with enhanced reader analytics.
• HTML5 magazines:  These publications use the same coding as a website, allowing for a responsive design. Text and graphics will reflow to any screen size for an awesome user experience from anywhere. They can be hosted online and require no downloading whatsoever. Plus, they offer detailed analytics and incredible design flexibility.

Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the options at your disposal.

See Examples of Great Content Experiences

What Are the Differences Between a PDF and a Flipbook?

The PDF is a widely-used platform for sharing digital content. It is inexpensive and easy to customize, but it lacks an overall impact. A standard PDF leaves much to be desired in terms of interactivity and can cause serious frustration when reading on a mobile device. We all know the pain of pinching to zoom on our phone screen.

Additionally, once downloaded, a PDF can no longer be tracked as the experience moves offline. In a time when data about your readers is so important, PDFs can leave you feeling out in the cold.

Flipbooks offer a more functional solution where you can actually recreate the feel of a print magazine in digital format. This is great for the desktop environment and functions well on tablets. Still, like the PDF, it becomes a bit of a challenge on a mobile device, as pinching to zoom is often a necessity.

In this way, PDFs and typical flipbooks offer lower-priced options that allow you to control the published content. They may fall short in impact and ease of use.

Here you’ll find an example of a Norwegian Cruise Lines flipbook in our nxtbook4 platform. It’s important to note we go beyond the standard flipbook interface by giving options for a scrolling text version of the content. This allows the reader to see the content without pinching to zoom.

See more examples.

When and How Should You Use Apps for Your Digital Magazine?

If phone compatibility is your priority, apps are a great add-on for sharing your online magazine. They also help you understand user engagement, as you’ll be able to track your most effective content.

Going with a native app has numerous advantages and disadvantages. First, it allows you to be an active part of the design process. Compatible with smartphones and tablets, apps are easy to use and will provide a seamless experience. The downside is that they can be challenging to create and often costly — especially if you don’t have a team dedicated to making sure the app runs smoothly.

If a native app is your preferred platform, read more about how Nxtbook Media can make this easier for you.

A subscription app is another option for those without a team of app developers. In this scenario, your online magazine exists on an app alongside various other publications. You may get more viewers due to the popularity of these platforms and the marketing done on your behalf by the app owner.

Unfortunately, this does limit your ability to control the design and functionality of the publication. The platform’s rules may limit what and how you share your content. Also, the subscription app developer will take a hefty cut of the subscription to your online magazine. In some cases, you give over the rights to your content when you place it on a subscription app. Be sure to read the fine print!

What Is a Responsive Online Magazine Solution?

Responsive digital magazines are adaptable to any device. In essence, no matter what device you are on, the content will reflow. This means no more pinching to zoom! Using this technology, your readers can fully participate in remaking the design on desktop, resizing it to an experience that fits best in their current content consumption. These platforms can even include video and audio. They’re ready for any and all content you could produce. By supporting rich media and mobile viewing, they can effectively increase magazine engagement.

Just as flipbooks and apps do, these responsive magazines provide data that gives you feedback for improving your publication. Using this data, you can track your readers’ behavior and cater your content accordingly.

Interested in how a responsive online magazine looks? Check out our work with Disney and the adaptability of our very own responsive platform , PageRaft.

See the costs of a content experience platform.

5. Create a Content Plan

Some brands planning to enter the digital publishing landscape are already creating content worthy of an online magazine. If you’re stuck or need support before creating your publication, there are great sources that can help.

You can find content writers easily online, and there are sites to  connect you with great writers who are eager to contribute. Stock photos and videos are also excellent ways to increase the appeal of your site or magazine. Images from  Unsplash , Pexels  and Pixabay are some of our favorites.

Before you know it, you’ll master the art of content creation, and you may even need to expand your team of editors and designers to help you maintain your growing online magazine. We believe you can do it!

Learn more about creating content experiences

• Building a Content Calendar
• Content Experiences at Scale
• How to Create Responsive Digital Content
• How to Find Content

6. Decide on a Structure for Your Magazine

Having a predetermined structure for your magazine will make it easier to manage. You’ll always know how many articles and pages of content you need to fill each issue. You’ll also have some regular topics that you know you need to cover. Break your table of contents into sections that are relevant to your reader — such as “Current Events,” “Arts and Culture” and “Sports,” or whatever makes sense for your niche. Decide how many articles or pages will fit into each section.

It’s also a good idea to map out every issue. If you’re planning on creating a flipbook-style magazine, consider how the left and right-hand pages on each spread will speak to each other. Set page limits or word counts to help you better manage articles that span multiple pages and how they’ll appear in the final layout. You may have predetermined slots for splash images or full-page ads.

If you’re planning on creating an interactive magazine with a responsive design , your finished product won’t look quite like a typical print edition. Users will navigate by scrolling or swiping left to right. Each article will fit onto one page, which the reader can scroll down on infinitely. Therefore, you don’t need to hit a specific page limit or word count with each article. They can be as short or as long as necessary to cover the story in depth, and pictures can appear wherever you like.

With a responsive magazine, your main concern will be structuring the publication to have enough articles. Since each piece will take up just one “page,” no matter how long, you’ll need a wide variety of individual articles to flesh out the publication. You’ll also want to pay attention to ad placement and how it breaks up the flow of your articles. Ads can take up an entire page or appear as thin columns between two articles.

Learn More from the Nxtbook Team

7. Choose Design Elements and Create a Brand Strategy

Some of the most famous print magazines actually obscure part of their own logos with the headshots that appear on their covers. That’s because these publishers have mastered branding so well that onlookers don’t even need to read the title to recognize it instantly. While your publication may not need to stand out on the rack the way a print edition does, digital magazine design is just as critical. A consistent visual style will help readers connect with and remember your brand.

Your visual identity will communicate what you stand for and who your content appeals to. Focus on sending the right message every time by developing a brand strategy , complete with a brand book of rules for all your designers, writers and editors to follow.

Consider the fonts, colors, photography style and graphic elements you want to associate with your brand.

Besides the design elements, your branding strategy should also include directives for language use, such as tone of voice and word choice. Even the most multimedia-rich magazine will be driven by well-written, consistent content. Ensure it all sends the right message and feels like it’s written by one person, even if your team is hundreds strong.

8. Consider Some Common Magazine Revenue Models

You’re likely creating an online magazine because it’s a potential money-maker . If you’re a marketing manager at a small business, a high-quality digital periodical can be a cornerstone of your content marketing strategy. By drawing in an audience, you’re also expanding your customer base. If you’re publishing articles as your main business, you have several potential avenues to monetize your content. Some of your options include:

Subscription Model

Just as with print magazines, you can charge your audience a monthly or annual subscription fee in exchange for access. The most successful publishers offer a range of subscription tiers and options. An all-access plan at the highest tier may allow readers to access digital publications, exclusive videos and extra content. Some subscription plans may combine print with digital, letting readers access both versions. Other options may allow readers to access the digital version only.

Advertising Model

Another way to make money on your content is advertising. Free magazines often have a wider readership because there’s no friction involved in accessing them. Some people think of the internet as a means to free information and may not be willing to pay a subscription for something they usually get for free. Publishers who don’t require subscriptions use advertising as their primary source of revenue. Periodical publishers generated $9.68 billion in revenue in 2019 through ad sales alone.

The right brands will pay well to get in front of the right audience. By developing a niche, loyal audience, publishers cultivate fertile ground for advertisers. They can embed ads directly or create sponsored articles that blend quality content with brand or product mentions.

If a reader must have a subscription to view your magazine, they’ll likely meet a paywall when they first try to access your content. A paywall is a barrier that allows your publications to rank in search engines without letting readers see it before paying. They may pay for access to the individual article or pay a subscription for unlimited access.

You can also customize your paywall to appear part-way through your magazine. This gives readers a taste of your content before asking them to pay to continue. Additionally, you can customize the paywall to kick in after they’ve viewed a certain number of issues or articles.

Magazines as Lead Generation

Content marketers may not be in the business of selling or monetizing their publications. Instead, they’re using helpful articles to convince customers to buy their products or services. A digital magazine may be premium content within that strategy. While prospects can still access it without paying, they offer up their email or contact information in exchange. This strategy plays the long game. The content itself can help push them further along in the buyer’s journey, and the marketing team now has contact information they can use to send more marketing materials their way.

Learn more about monetizing your content:

• How Digital Platforms Save on Costs
• How to Get ROI From Content

9. Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

Once you’ve created your magazine, you must consider distribution. How will your audience find it? How will you carve out a loyal audience? A solid marketing strategy for your publication should encompass five steps:

• Prepare for launch:  First, set a goal for how many downloads you want to receive in your first month. Consider the people most likely to read your publication and announce your launch where they’re likely to see it. If you already have a following on your website and social media channels, tease your launch there. Look for press opportunities where you can build anticipation for your new magazine.
• Create buzz: As soon as your magazine goes live, keep the momentum going by gathering reviews. Email blogs and reviewers in your niche and ask them to review you. If you’ve created a stand-alone app, ask your downloaders to leave reviews and ratings on the app store.
• Promote on all channels:  Add buttons to your email newsletter that take users directly to your new publication. Post snippets of your articles on social media and encourage your followers to read more.
• Let your readers preview:  While your current customers or followers may be your first subscribers, your magazine should also help you grow your audience. Find some way to let new visitors sneak a peak to increase the likelihood they will subscribe.
• Use reader analytics: Get better with each issue you publish with the help of detailed data. Look at how long your readers engage with your content and what articles are most popular. With this data, you can create the magazine your readers most enjoy interacting with. By satisfying your audience’s needs, you’ll increase loyalty and continue to find new readers.

Learn more about marketing strategies:

• How to Market Your Digital Content
• Develop an Effective Content Marketing Plan
• Developing a Digital Brand Strategy

10. Talk to an Industry Expert

Internet content is rapidly growing, and hence, so is competition for the eyes of readers. Now is the time to look beyond a PDF and embrace an interactive online magazine experience that truly garners your audience’s attention.

Nxtbook Media offers two excellent digital publishing solutions you can use for your online magazine. Our nxtbook4 software provides one of the best flipbook publishers for user experience. We also offer the fully responsive PageRaft platform for content creators curating a digital-first experience. We’d love to chat with you more about your digital publishing needs and show you what our software can do. Feel free to schedule a no-obligation demo  so you can see just how awesome your digital magazine can be.

For more on how to make your digital content shine with Nxtbook Media, read all the latest from our blog  and stay in touch through social media.

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• Digital Publishing
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• Internal Communications

How to Plan, Create and Publish an Online Magazine

Updated: July 2, 2024 Published: September 21, 2022

As digital transformation sweeps across entire industries, the advent of an online magazine opens up unprecedented opportunities for businesses looking to innovate in marketing, advertising, and audience engagement. Whether you're a startup eager to carve out your niche or an established enterprise aiming to expand your reach, launching an online magazine could be the game-changer you've been searching for.

Why opt for an online magazine? The reasons are manifold. From crafting a global presence that knows no bounds to tailoring content that resonates with your target demographics, online magazines offer a dynamic platform to showcase your brand's ethos, innovations, and insights. Beyond mere promotion, they serve as a conduit for fostering community, sharing thought leadership, and, importantly, understanding your audience through tangible engagement metrics.

Here's everything you need to know about creating an online magazine for your business.

• Why Online Magazine?
• Planning Your Digital Magazine

Creation: Bringing Your Vision to Life

• The Publishing Phase
• Distribution and Management

Why Should You Create an Online Magazine?

An online magazine can expand your marketing and sales strategies and do much more for your business. It doesn't matter what industry you're in; an online magazine can help you stand out.

A major reason to create an online magazine is to provide prospects and customers with information about your products, services, and company. Like social media, an online magazine can promote your business and products.

An online magazine creates a global footprint. You can reach more of your target audience by publishing an online magazine. More people can learn about your products and offer them if you reach a wider audience. Furthermore, it can help you promote ideas and thoughts within your field.

An online magazine makes it easy to track reader activity. It delivers insight into your readers' actions and how to optimize the magazine’s content and performance.

An online magazine is cost-efficient, allowing you to reduce printing and postage expenses significantly.

Ready to begin? Let’s break down each stage of the digital publishing process.

The Planning Stage: Mapping Out Your Vision

Before creating an online magazine or publication, map out your goals and strategy. Planning will revolve around the magazine’s editorial focus and target audience, so start by generating ideas.

What kind of content will be published? Is there a specific topic the magazine will cover? These ideas can help sell your product or help your business gain better visibility.

The next part is establishing a target audience. What demographics are being targeted? Consider age, gender, geographical locations, interests, and hobbies. Understanding your target audience helps to deliver content that makes an impact.

After identifying the target audience, outline the content style for the online magazine. The style can be changed later if something's not working after the planning stage. Some styles to consider are opinion pieces, surveys or quizzes, how-to articles, informational pieces, and profiles. The editorial mix can change as the magazine evolves.

With a clear idea of the magazine’s content, you can focus on the different ways to present it. For example, digital magazines deliver more engaging and interactive content than print. It includes videos, photos, audio, slideshows, gifs, feedback forms, and surveys.

The more detailed your planning, the easier the next stage will be, although staying flexible is important.. Be prepared to experiment with your content until you find a formula that works.

The next stage in creating a digital magazine is developing the content. It is when you write and edit the articles for the first issue. Again, you’ll need to take your time.

The higher the quality of the content, the more readers it will consistently attract. If you're worried about writing and editing a large number of articles, start with a few. It can establish the editorial framework. Then, you can build on the content in later issues.

Curating articles for the first issue is only half the battle. The next step is to determine the layout of the issue. Placement and design can contribute to a magazine's reader-friendliness and professional appearance.

The layout should reflect the magazine’s style and tone. Choose photos, fonts, and colors carefully while paying attention to the layout's details.

Be sure to keep your color palette and designs simple. Too many colors or different fonts can be distracting and make it difficult for the reader to enjoy the magazine.

Publishing: Going Live

After developing the content, it’s time to focus on publishing. There are a few things to consider:

How and where would you like to publish the magazine? What is the most effective way to put your magazine in front of as many people as possible?

The best option may be to work with a third-party platform that hosts online magazines. These platforms make it easy to create and publish content.

At Joomag, we offer templates and robust features that can help customize your content, including static PDFs.

Additionally, we offer engaging and interactive elements that digitally bring your magazine to life. We’re talking about videos, slideshows, audio, photos, and interactive plugins.

Just as important, Joomag offers in-depth analytics to measure and optimize your content for maximum ROI.

Utilizing a third-party content creation platform is beneficial when creating, publishing, distributing, and managing content.

You can learn more about digital publishing here .

Distribution and Management: Maximizing Reach and Engagement

Now that you understand the basics of creating a digital magazine, let’s focus on distribution and management.

Publishing online isn't enough if you want to reach your target audience effectively. Your magazine must be distributed in different places and by various means.

For example, a newsletter or reminder email can be sent to subscribers when a new issue is published. You could also get your readers to opt-in to text or push notifications. An online magazine can be embedded on a website or delivered via a mobile app.

Posting on social media may be the most effective distribution channel. The magazine can be marketed using your company's social media profiles, personal social media profiles, or both.

To maintain and expand readership, you must manage the magazine’s analytics to track reader engagement with the content.

One of the best things about Joomag is that we do it for you!

We can help you track how readers engage with content on an individual, page-by-page, or publication basis and offer sophisticated tools to filter and segment audiences.

Understanding what readers like and dislike about your magazine is crucial. Therefore, management is a key element in creating your online magazine.

Without it, you could struggle to reach your readers effectively or gain a consistent readership.

Create an online magazine today!

Now that you know how to make an online magazine let’s take the leap and begin creating your own.

Book a discovery call to learn how Joomag can help you launch a digital magazine in minutes.

Enhance Every Aspect of Your Publishing Process with Joomag

Joomag is revolutionizing the way businesses approach online magazine creation, offering an all-encompassing platform that caters to every facet of digital publishing. From transforming initial concepts into interactive digital experiences to transcending the boundaries of traditional formats, Joomag simplifies and elevates the publishing process. Our platform doesn't just stop at delivering in-depth analytics and advanced retention and conversion tools; it ensures your publications captivate through aesthetically appealing, mobile-optimized, and reader-friendly formats.

With Joomag, crafting your online magazine becomes an effortless endeavor. Our tools guarantee that your publication flawlessly adjusts to any screen size, providing a seamless and engaging experience for your readers. Features such as scrollable text, zoomable high-definition images, playable videos, and listenable audio clips breathe life into your content, transforming passive readers into active participants in your brand's narrative.

Q: Why is an online magazine beneficial for my business?

A: An online magazine expands your marketing and sales strategies, provides valuable insights into reader behavior, increases your global reach, and is cost-efficient compared to traditional print magazines.

Q: What should be my first step in creating an online magazine?

A: Begin with planning. Determine your magazine's goals, target audience, content style, and how you'll present this content digitally to engage your readers effectively.

Q: How can I ensure my online magazine's content is engaging?

A: Focus on developing high-quality, relevant content that resonates with your target audience. Use Joomag's interactive features, like videos and slideshows, to make your content more engaging.

Q: What platform can I use to publish my online magazine?

A: Joomag offers robust features for creating, publishing, and managing your online magazine, including templates, interactive elements, and in-depth analytics.

Q: How can I effectively distribute my online magazine?

A: Utilize multiple channels for distribution, including email newsletters, social media, embedding on your website, or through a mobile app. Joomag can assist in optimizing your distribution strategy.

Q: How can I track and improve reader engagement with my online magazine?

A: Joomag provides sophisticated analytics tools to track reader engagement on a detailed level, allowing you to understand preferences and improve your content strategy accordingly.

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Magazine Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Magazine Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Magazine business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Magazine businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Magazine business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Happy Trails Magazine is a startup magazine company located in New York City, New York. The company is founded by Lawrence MacGuire, who has experience in traveling and offering podcasts from around the world. Now, with the expertise of knowledge and business acumen, he has determined he can confidently start and effectively grow a successful magazine company. He believes his experience of strategic planning, marketing skills, financial capabilities, and wide and deep knowledge of traveling practices will provide everything needed for long-term growth and profitability.

Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive array of articles of interest for a wide variety of travel-loving customers. The Happy Trails Magazine will be the premiere travel magazine, providing services and products to each customer, while supporting the strategic goals of the company. Happy Trails Magazine will be the ultimate choice in tourist travel for customers to ensure that every need and desire of all travelers is fully and completely met.

Product Offering

The following are the services and products that Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

• Unique and exclusive content creation
• Experienced writers who provide superior journalism and reporting
• Photography from around the world
• Art and illustrations that support the travel articles
• Special offers of travel and related products for publication subscribers
• Online magazine offered in addition to hard copy publication
• Fun quiz and explorer’s facts for readers
• On-time delivery every month

Customer Focus

Adults within the New York City region. Customers who love to travel. Global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

Management Team

Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company, including Derek Flanagan, as his Operations Manager, and Sherry Culver, as the Senior Administrative Manager.

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.

Tracey Newthorn is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer. She will be the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine.

Alex Hawkins, an experienced magazine editor, will be the Executive Manager & Senior Editor of the Happy Trails Magazine. His former position was as the Senior Manager of Horizons Over Hawaii Magazine for over 20 years. His experience with travel and journalism leads to the new position of executive management.

Success Factors

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of Happy Trails Magazine
• Comprehensive menu of accurate and complete travel-related stories, as well as multiple photographic demonstrations of places to visit and things to see.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Outstanding photography and illustrations that highlight the beauty of world travel
• Happy Trails Magazine offers the best pricing in town. Their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for Happy Trails Magazine.

Company Overview

Who is happy trails magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine is a newly established, full-service consumer magazine published in New York City, New York. Happy Trails Magazine will be the most beautiful, consumer-relatable, and cost-effective choice for a global reading and subscribing community. Happy Trails Magazine will provide a comprehensive menu of editorial articles, In-Style pictorials, Go-To suggestions for hotel/travel bargains and special discounts for any reader to enjoy. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive website with multiple gateways to information and related services.

  Happy Trails Magazine will be the premier travel magazine in the publications industry. Led by the team of experienced professionals, the magazine will entice travelers to explore the world, while advertisers and interested parties will enjoy purchasing ads, placing click through ads and offering specials throughout the hard copy and digital magazine. Happy Trails Magazine removes all headaches and issues of traveling globally and ensures all travel negatives are addressed and diminished, while delivering the best customer service.

Happy Trails Magazine History

Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort chain with over 500 hotels for the past ten years. During his prior employment, he recognized that many of the world’s finest destinations have been passed over in favor of traditional, favored locations. After much research and industry information-gathering, he started the Happy Trails Magazine to appeal to youthful travelers and old alike as they traveled the world.

Since incorporation, Happy Trails Magazine has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered magazine, Happy Trails Magazine, LLC to transact business in the state of New York.
• Has a contract in place for a 10,000 square foot office at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include Happy Trails as a source for advertising.
• Began recruiting a staff of 3 and 2 office personnel to work at Happy Trails Magazine.

Happy Trails Magazine Services

The following will be the services and products the Happy Trails Magazine will provide:

Industry Analysis

The travel magazine industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $24684 billion. The growth will be driven by an exponential interest in travel exhibited during the recent pandemic years, as most consumers were sequestered with no ability to travel. The industry is also expected to grow now as people begin to explore once again, looking for places off the beaten path. While travel costs remain high due to shipping and supply line issues and the economy, consumers find delight in exploring travel magazines and the pleasure of escape they offer.

Costs will likely be reduced as the process of production and print continue to fall due to technology advancements. The software that drives the consumer-provider relationships will also change, as most redundant or fairly simple administrative tasks will be given software solutions rather than handed over to a live publication agent.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Customer Segmentation

Happy Trails Magazine will primarily target those young adults and adults who live within the New York City region. They will also target customers who love to travel, including global customers who want to read about travel and enjoy excellent magazine articles. Advertisers who will purchase space and positions in the monthly magazine release will be welcomed. Collaborators who partner with Happy Trails Magazine to effectively market products and services.

• Young adults through seniors
• Those who love to travel
• Those who want to travel to exotic, almost unknown destinations
• Those who enjoy viewing beautiful photography
• Those who like to read magazine articles about travel
• Advertisers and interested parties who want to sell through or collaborate with Happy Trails Magazine

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Happy Trails Magazine will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Sunset Magazine

Sunset Magazine, started in 1953 by a married couple, Ernest and Columbine Trentom, who were experienced global travelers. They began the magazine in a home office and quickly built their subscriber base to over fifteen million at the height of popularity. In recent years, the popularity of Sunset Magazine has waned, due to the loss of advertisers and poor construction of the magazine during production. The subscriber base has moved to new, more trendy, travel accommodations and travel styles.

Sports Illuminated

Sports Illuminated was founded by Cissy Travers, an ardent sportswoman and enthusiast of global sports events. With distribution to over 10 million readers, Ms Travers maintains complete control of the magazine and related ventures, which include sporting goods sales, sports apparel sales and global sports items.

The magazine was founded in 2001, when Cissy Travers took a medium-grade local magazine in upstate New York, and began to manage the content within. During the following five years, she single handedly engaged sports writers of the highest caliber and photographers who traveled the world on behalf of the magazine to shoot pivotal sporting events. Since that time, the magazine has continued to grow as new sporting events are added globally every year.

Taft & Hanson

Taft & Hanson Magazine was established in 2003 by Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson, a couple who traveled throughout the United States in their luxury recreational vehicle. The magazine is dedicated to the ultra-expensive and luxurious recreational vehicles manufactured and on the roads of America, with each monthly edition highlighting both the features of the vehicles and the features of traveler’s retreats around the nation.

The magazine is published once each quarter and is available by subscription only. Each edition is priced at $125 per copy. Designed to entice readers to purchase new recreational vehicles as they are released from manufacturing, the magazine makes it’s return on investment by selling to manufacturers and consumers alike.

Rogert Taft and Renee Hanson travel extensively throughout the nation, each reporting and writing about various aspects of living the “luxurious recreational vehicle life,” and the accommodations in which they choose to stay, which is used by the magazine publishers as another form of revenue in advertising. The magazine has earned a five-star rating by the Travelers Trailers International and has a following of over 100,000 subscribers.

Competitive Advantage

Happy Trails Magazine will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Happy Trails Magazine will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of skilled employees who are able to provide a comprehensive travel experience via the magazine and website.
• Additional value added with each subscription via a number of special offers found in Happy Trails Magazine labeled, “For Subscribers Only!”
• Unbeatable pricing for customers; subscribers are offered the lowest pricing of any travel magazine on the market.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for magazine is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Happy Trails Magazine has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to hospitality and lodging clients. The contacts and clients will follow them to this new company and help spread the word of Happy Trails Magazine.

Professional Associations and Networking

Trade Associations for travel and travel accommodations will be joined and actively pursued by the Happy Trails Magazine staff. Professional Networking in the New York City region will also be conducted to increase visibility and engage additional subscribers and advertisers.

Print Advertising

Limited print advertising will be offered within travel magazines and news periodicals. The bulk of the advertising will be found on the internet within various social network channels.

Website/SEO Marketing

Happy Trails Magazine will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services and products that the magazine provides. The website will also list their contact information and list their top-rated travel spots and special discounts for subscribers. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “travel magazine” or “travel reading near me,” magazine will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of the magazine will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for the Happy Trails Magazine. Operation Functions:

• Happy Trails Magazine is owned and operated by Lawrence MacGuire. He recruited managers from his former place of employment at a nationally-known magazine company.
• Lawrence MacGuire is a graduate of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in the Art of Hospitality and Travel. He has been employed by a global resort travel magazine affiliated with over 500 hotels for the past ten years.
• Derek Flanagan will take on the position of Operations Manager, with a professional background of several years in management within the travel magazine world.
• Tracey Newthorn is the Artistic & Photographic Manager of Happy Trails Magazine. She is a graduate of University of Ohio, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business in the hospitality industry. She has spent the past two summer sessions in international travel and is an accomplished photographer.

Milestones:

Happy Trails Magazine will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the magazine
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for magazine advertisers
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into magazine office
• 7/1/202X – magazine opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Happy Trails Magazine are the fees they will charge to subscribers for their services, in addition to charges they solicit from advertisers who place ads in their publications. .

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff the magazine. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Happy Trails Magazine is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its travel magazine. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Subscribers Per Month: 750
• Number of Advertising Accounts Per Month: 50
• Average Revenue per Month: $550,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Magazine Business Plan FAQs

What is a magazine business plan.

A magazine business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your magazine business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your Magazine business plan using our Magazine Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Magazine Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of magazine businesses, some examples include: Entertainment magazine, Home and living magazine, Business magazine, Digital magazine, and Online magazine.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Magazine Business Plan?

Magazine businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Magazine Business?

Starting a magazine business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A Magazine Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed magazine business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your magazine business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your magazine business is in compliance with local laws. 3. Register Your Magazine Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your magazine business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your magazine business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 7. Acquire Necessary Magazine Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your magazine business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your magazine business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful magazine business:

• How to Start a Magazine Company

How to Create and Distribute a Digital Magazine

Delight your readers with an engaging and easy-to-read digital publication., why a digital magazine.

So, why bother with having a digital magazine? One word – evolution . Digital magazines have been gaining popularity in recent years. Across the board, print media has taken a beating and magazines aren’t an exception.

While many prefer to tout the decline of print magazines with the rise of digital ones, we should instead see it as a natural development – a welcome one where our magazine content can reach a wider audience by offering digital editions. Transitioning from a print-based magazine can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to, especially if you have the right tools.

Switching to digital magazines takes some planning and thought . But in general, there are five rules to follow in order to publish a digital magazine and they anchor on the magazine being user-friendly, insightful, interactive and enticing . While all of those are also required of a print magazine, you need to know how to apply those same principles when working with a digital magazine.

How To Choose The Format

Today, three popular formats are dominating the digital magazine industry: PDF, HPub and .Folio .

Selecting the right format for your digital magazine mostly depends on two factors.The first is how you want the magazine to be viewed . Basically, you need to decide whether you want a pure replica of the print version with added multimedia, or a reflow that adapts the content to whatever device the reader is viewing the magazine on. Each format presents magazines differently and will therefore ultimately affect reader experience.

If you value the integrity of the design and look and you’re not too concerned with interactive content, then PDF will suffice. But if you want multimedia content as well as responsive and innovative design to varying degrees, then you will need to look at the other two formats.

The other factor to consider in the selection of formats is which one can your digital publishing tool support . The most commonly used by the industry is Adobe DPS although there are a few valid alternatives you can find here and here , such as DesignD, Paperlit, DC Catalog, Tumult Hype and Origami Engine. Each has its own strengths and drawbacks, so be sure to get an in-depth look at each before deciding which tool to use.

Paperlit is a platform specially designed for digital magazine publishers.

Aside from the numerous multimedia content benefits that they can bring, they can be easily used to create digital reflows , which has now become the new standard for digital magazines. If the format doesn’t sound too familiar, it’s because, unlike the other formats, HPub isn’t a standard developed by the digital publishing giant Adobe. But this is why HPub is more versatile .

HPub is the closest format to websites which means you can have all the functionalities and dynamism of web content incorporated into your digital magazine. Aside from this, most readers today are already used to navigating through web-based content and adopting the same feel in your magazine will help in user-friendliness.

Where To Publish Your Digital Magazine

If you’re reading this, then you’re starting to think now about making the move to digital. The next question is: how do we distribute it? There are two main ways to publish your digital magazine. One is to publish it on a website, and the other is through your own magazine app.

Therefore, choosing between on-site and in-app magazines is one of the first decisions to take. Deciding which path to go through will bring its own advantages. For example, on-site digital magazine distribution allows a mutually-beneficial relationship between the magazine and the website as they both attract readers for the other. But in-app digital magazines have the advantage of always being on your readers’ pockets through their smartphones.

If you decide to distribute your magazine through a website, there are some common embedded digital magazine pitfalls and tips that you should be aware of before moving forward. The same goes for app-distributed magazines. Magazine apps are one of the more popular ways to distribute digital editions, and they are useful in raising your circulation numbers .

Then there’s also the question of what platform or tool to use to publish your magazine. Currently, ISUU, Joomag and Paperlit are some of the most common tools for publishing magazines. Best of all, you can start for free!

Once you have the ins and outs of where and how to publish your digital magazine, you should also think about which channel to use to generate revenue from selling subscriptions. Shopify is one of the most popular platforms available. While Shopify is fast becoming the leader in e-commerce platforms, a lot of the benefits can also be applied to digital publications. Aside from Shopify, there are other alternatives as well, from app stores to well-known online marketplaces. An example? PubCommerce , the e-commerce for digital magazines . It allows publishers to sell their content online (both subscriptions and single copies).

How To Create And Optimize Your App

We all know that using a magazine app to distribute your digital magazine is one of the most popular ways used by digital publishers today. And rightly so. With magazine apps, you can easily keep track of important digital magazine metrics .

However, when building your own magazine app, there are a few essential features that every digital magazine app should have especially when it comes to factors such as formats, functionalities expected by your readers, easy navigation and being able to support interactive content .

Apps aren’t all made the same. There are well-made apps, and there are bad apps. Don’t get carried away building a magazine app that lacks certain features. Be sure to steer clear of the most common mistakes to avoid when building your app.

How To Distribute Your App

If you want to publish a magazine app, it’s safe to assume you want to target those on mobile phones or tablets. After all, there are plenty of benefits of having your magazine on the app store , from unparalleled reach to unrivaled accessibility.

Despite these benefits, it’s still vital to have an app store strategy for both Apple and Android . There are a few pointers to think of, from the planning and preparation phases to submission and post-publication of your app on the app store. App stores are all different , and so you’ll have to think of a strategy for each.

Aside from thinking about features and functionalities when publishing on app stores, you also have to think about the financial side . Subscriptions aren’t the only way to make money from magazine apps. In fact, they can be a kind of e-commerce channel now.

But before that, you should know that from the outset, it costs money to have apps on app stores. The most common form is through commissions. You’re looking at up to 30% cuts made by app stores if you don’t play it smart. However, with the right guidance, you can avoid these commissions when selling your magazines.

World’s 10 best digital magazines

In such a scenario you need to know what makes a digital magazine great!

Download our presentation of the World’s 10 best digital magazines

Paperlit Can Help You In Each Step

You’ve seen above and through the various articles how complex digital magazine publishing can be. Even if you plan well for every step of the way, there are just so many processes to be managed, from building your magazine to distribution, and it can get overwhelming. So what’s the final solution? You need one publishing tool that makes digital publishing easy every step of the way. Paperlit is a platform specially designed for digital magazine publishers. Throughout every step of magazine publishing, can be used so you can concentrate more on being creative and generating quality content!

Publishers looking to overhaul their business by taking the digital plunge can start with Paperlit. Get a quote now!

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Magazine Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Magazine Business Plan Template

If you want to start a Magazine business or expand your current Magazine business, you need a business plan.

The following Magazine business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning Magazine business plan.

You can download our business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of your Magazine business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Magazine Business Plan Home I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

How To Start An Online Magazine: A Step By Step Guide

Well hello there, potential magazine-maker! You're about to embark on an enjoyable and fulfilling adventure if you're thinking of starting an online magazine.

Are you mentally prepared, though? 🧐

Creating and launching a successful print or digital magazine requires long hours and hard work.

However, it comes with great reward by bringing together the excitement of creative expression and business , not to mention the opportunity to work with many types of people from editorial to design and marketing.

While the world of print publishing has had to endure some losses and adapt to the increasingly digital world, magazines still are and will continue to be a popular source of entertainment and insight.

They've just moved online .

And that, friends, is good news! Because it means it's easier to make them and more people have access to reading them.

All the hugely successful print magazines have turned into fantastic online magazines, such as RollingStone , Vogue , Harper's Bazaar , National Geographic , and The New Yorker .

Below, we're going to give you a step-by-step guide on everything you need to know about how to create, launch and monetize your online magazine successfully.

Before we get started on the steps, let's distinguish between the different types of online magazines real quick.

What Are The Types Of Online Magazines? 💁🏼‍♀️

The steps to creating an online magazine 👣.

Important disclosure: we're proud affiliates of some tools mentioned in this guide. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra).

Back in the day, it was simple - there was print and only print.

Now, the world of written content has much more variety and encompasses online magazines, digital magazines, blogs, news sites, apps, and more.

It's easy to end up clumping these together, but there are differences worth knowing.

❖ Online Magazines

These are magazines that are hosted, distributed, and read online. With online magazines, there wasn't, isn't, and never will be a print element.

❖ Digital Magazines

This refers to any magazine that can be read on an electronic device (for example, laptop, iPad, or mobile device).

❖ Digital Editions

The name pretty much says it all – these are the digital editions of your regular print magazines.

Online and digital magazines utilize technologies such as videos and links, making them a lot more interactive (and often profitable) than digital edition magazines, which come without any bells and whistles – they are the digital version of their print counterparts.

❖ Flipbook Magazines

Flipbook magazines are embedded on websites and replicate the page-flip feel of a magazine. This makes it more engaging and adds a bit of that real-life, tactile experience.

Speaking of engagement, digital magazines created with software such as Flipsnack are also a great way to connect with your readers. By enhancing them with interactive features , you’ll make your publications look more attractive and keep your audience more engaged and interested in flipping through them.

Add videos, virtual tours, links, captions, GIFs, and whatever else you find necessary to hook your readers.

❖ HTML5 Magazines

These use a responsive layout design that adapts to the screen of the device it's being viewed on, instead of the more fixed layout of a PDF or flipbook.

HTML5 magazines are created with coding technology such as CSS, HTML, and Javascript.

❖ Magazine Subscription Apps

Native apps such as Issuu, Amazon Kindle, Readly, and Zinio allow you to subscribe for a monthly or yearly fee which allows you to access thousands of digital magazines through their platform.

Distributing your magazine through an already-established app is a great way to reach a large user base and save yourself the trouble of creating your own app.

It’s important to do your research and understand each type of online magazine so you can choose the right one for you.

In this guide, we will focus more broadly on the steps needed to create an online or digital magazine.

Let’s get into it.

Developing a magazine from scratch is a mighty task!

It's both an entire business and a large creative project that will need creative collaboration, business development , and content strategy.

With a large and complex project like this, it's important to break it down into a step-by-step plan that will guide the process and keep it exciting instead of overwhelming.

1. Before You Do Anything: Research 📖

Just like when you write an article, the research and planning needed to start an online magazine is half the work on its own. Writers must design a content brief, do their research, and take any other steps before even putting pen to paper.

It’s a lot like the tip of the iceberg analogy 🧊

The finished piece is what you see – concise, neat, and (hopefully) a pleasure to read.

What you don’t see is the rest of the iceberg – mind maps, hours of research, and a lot of rewriting.

This notion stands strong when it comes to starting an online website.

While there are certainly several technical steps you need to take to get your website up and running, the research beforehand is going to be just as, if not more, time-consuming and intricate.

Read our tips on how to become a better content writer 🖋

2. Establish The Basics - What's The Vibe? 🏝

The first step to starting an online magazine is to decide what you want it to be about.

You'll be asking questions like:

• What is the magazine topic?
• How are you going to curate your magazine?
• Is it a tech, fashion, or travel magazine?
• When you visualize your magazine’s appearance, is it more Vogue or National Geographic ?
• Is it going to cover current affairs in a certain sector or review new films and series?

You will need to look at existing magazine templates and research the type of magazine format you would like.

You'll want to know things like:

• Are you going to model your online magazine according to an online publication or a print publication ?
• Will you be using a magazine template or creating your magazine from scratch?
• What type of mobile experience are you looking to give your audience?
• What are your business goals ?

3. Find Out If People Are Interested 🤓

Once you have decided on the basics, you need to find out if there is a market for what you want to offer .

If not, it might be worth going back to the drawing board, or adjusting your idea to accommodate the needs and desires of a potential audience.

You'll be able to gauge peoples' interest levels through various market research techniques.

Doing market research is a vital step in creating any product. You have to know that people are going to want what you intend to offer.

There is tons of info online about how to conduct market research, so you won't be short of guidance on how to do it 🙂

Understanding the interests of your audience will be an ongoing process.

You will have to adapt your content to accommodate your audience constantly, so don't think this is just a once-off in the initial stages.

An authentic desire to connect with an audience and build a community is an important part of creating an online magazine and is vital to your success.

4. Develop A Business Plan 🗺

Once your research is done, and you have a clear vision of where you’re going, it’s time to develop a business plan (or business model).

This is where the real work takes place.

A business plan is the foundation of your project. It will help guide where you're going and detail goals and objectives to help you succeed. It's like a map to the success of your online magazine project.

Your business plan will include things like:

• A mission statement ( 👈 find some inspiration here)
• A description of what the magazine is about
• Who will read it
• How it will make money
• How you'll market it

There is tons of information about how to create a business plan online.

How lucky are we to live in times with unlimited access to information right? 🤯 💚

5. Name It And Domain It  👩‍💻

Once you’ve established some direction, it's time to set up a domain .

A domain is the address people will type into the search bar to access your online magazine.

Your domain name will reflect the name of your magazine.

Think of it like this : if your website were a restaurant, your domain name would be the street address.

Your domain name will have to be the same as the name of your magazine, such as www.vogue.com , or perhaps something abbreviated like www.nyttimes.com.

You can buy your domain name through many domain name registrars, such as Blue Host and Domain.com . Each registrar has different pricing and packages, so you’ll need to do your research into what exactly you’re looking for and what your budget allows.

Choosing a domain is sometimes the easiest OR the most challenging part.

You might have known the name of your online magazine for years, easy peasy!

Or you might be changing the name every five minutes (a common struggle for creatives and entrepreneurs) .

You might have a name you ♥️, but the domain is taken 😕 #buzzkill .

The domain registrar site you are using will help you with alternative suggestions , and you will find the right thing.  

6. Target 🎯

Decide who your target audience is and what you will offer them. Google Analytics is a great tool for discovering information about your magazine readership.

Suppose you’re eventually going to be charging subscription fees to monetize your magazine.

In that case, you will need to offer your audience something they do not already have access to – something they are willing to pay for . You need to think about and strategize how you will set yourself apart from your competitors.

7. Invest In Startup Costs 💵

First, let's look at the costs involved in starting and running an online magazine. We'll tackle the intricacies of monetizing the magazine later. Keep reading.

It’s important to know that you might not make money for the first while and might be spending a little to invest without making a profit.

Because you need to let your audience get to know you and give them a reason to keep coming back.

If you are going to be building your website for free (for example, on WordPress or another trusted CMS ) and promoting it for free via social media, you won't be spending money.

Still, it will also likely not look and read as professionally as it would if you took the route of a paid app , sponsored ads, or web designers. It all comes down to your budget.

Startup costs aside, most of your expenditure will go to the creatives (writers, copywriters, freelancers, and web designers) you outsource.

Initially, your budget will likely be quite small , and so you’ll either have to be doing a lot of the creative work yourself, or you’ll have to find creatives willing to work for what you can afford.

Somewhere along the line, you'll hopefully generate enough revenue to get a marketing manager or small team who can help with marketing tactics to get your magazine more exposure, which will help you acquire subscriptions.

To sum up, your main startup costs will involve:

• Magazine creation tools
• Hosting and domain subscriptions
• Advertising
• Social media marketing
• Creative work such as design and content writing

8. Choose Your Tools 🛠

Aside from the obvious – paper versus no paper – the biggest difference between a physical and online magazine is accessibility.

Although the primary goal of both types is to create premium content, digital publishing and print publishing are very different.

Digital publishing is way more accessible than print because it allows more people to create their own magazines and larger audiences to access publications from any part of the world.

Because compiling an online magazine is not quite as straightforward as write-print-sell, it can be argued that a lot more back-office work goes on with online magazines.

The big question you will need to ask is, app or no app?

However, this is a good time to add that things may differ a little here, depending on if you are starting an online magazine, digital magazine, or digital edition.

If you’re going to go the digital magazine app route (which many argue saves a lot of time) , there are many to choose from:

• Publuu magazine maker

👆 These are some of the most popular magazine software platforms used, but there are many more to choose from.

As with domain names, you will need to research what you require and what your budget allows, and then you can decide on one from there.

9. Create The Content

Now that the behind-the-scenes and admin elements of starting an online magazine are in check, it’s time to move on to where the magic happens.

⭐   The content ️⭐️

This is the core of your product, so it has to be high quality if it's going to get anywhere.

Again, much of this will vary on the type of online magazine you’re creating, how big your team is, what your budget is, and who your audience is.

For this step, let’s assume your magazine is a small to medium-sized startup and you’re outsourcing freelancers.

9.1. Writing  ✍️

Your business plan will be the guiding force when it comes to keeping the content on track.

The focus of your magazine, the content plan, and the target audience will determine the style of writing used in your articles and the type of writers you work with.

A good idea is to create a style guide for your magazine.

Style guides keep content consistent when you have a variety of contributors and connect with the audience through a tone of voice they learn to become familiar with.  

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Research how your competitors are writing about your magazine’s chosen topic (tone, style, and length) and find what inspires you, what's practical, and how you'll differentiate yourself in terms of style.

When you advertise for writers, give a brief description of the type of writer you are looking for.

For example, if your magazine is a formal tech magazine, you will note that you require writers who specialize in formal writing and have knowledge of technology.

From there, shortlist candidates and send them a test article subject along with the style guide you compiled.

Once you get the articles back, you will have a pretty good idea of the type of writers you are looking for and begin building up a contributing writer database.

Freelance sites are also an option for sourcing writers. A strong editorial team is vital for a successful online magazine. You will also need to decide on the writing and content tools you and your writers will utilize.

There are several SEO and grammar optimization tools available that can improve your magazine’s content.

• Frase helps writers generate content briefs quickly and effectively
• Grammarly allows writers to improve the spelling, clarity, and engagement of their work.‌‌

9.2. Visuals

Photography and graphics play an enormous role in the success of an online magazine.

Opening an online magazine with fun and eye-catching images enhances the user experience and can grasp potential readers.‌‌‌‌

Again, back to the business plan. The source of your images is going to depend on your budget.

If you have little or no budget to start with, you are going to have to rely on either your own photographs, those taken by a photographer you know who has given you permission, or ones you have found online that you have legal permission to use.

• A few stock image sites like Unsplash allow the public access to free usable images.
• If you have the budget for photos, you could hire a freelance photographer or pay for a subscription to a stock photo site like iStock .

Don't forget that video is also a part of visual content in online magazines, so consider whether you're going to include a video element and to what extent.

9.3. Design

The final part of the magic is the design and layout of your online magazine. Content, photography, and design make up the holy trinity of magazines.

When it comes to magazine design and magazine layout, you really are better off with a pro.

The design process of an online magazine is intricate, and having someone on board with a background in graphic design will be a real advantage.

If your budget allows for it, we recommend hiring one immediately as part of your initial magazine creation process. They say we eat with our eyes, and the same goes for the content we consume – if something is visually enticing, we read on.

10. Make Money 🕺

Finally - back to the money .

Now it’s time actually to generate revenue. Once your magazine is up and running, you’re going to want to start bringing in some profit.

Although generating revenue through print magazines was a lot more straightforward, it was also limited.

Online and digital magazines can utilize many potential revenue streams, including digital ads, audio content, affiliate links, and website banners.

Ads, Ads, Ads (but not too many)

The fastest way to creating a new website revenue stream is with ad income, and Google Adsense is usually the obvious choice.

There are many different types of display ads such as banner, classified, and of course, sponsored content or “native ads.”

Note: You can advertise anything, but your readers are more likely to engage with it if it relates to your magazine.

Get 'Em To Subscribe (smartly)

Subscriptions are a traditional and popular advertising revenue for magazines but become trickier with online magazines.

If you put everything behind a paywall, many potential readers are turned off and immediately look elsewhere.

On the other hand, if your entire magazine and editorial content are freely available, your readers have no reason to pay a subscription fee.

The trick is to find that sweet spot in the middle regarding digital magazine subscriptions. A model that works quite well offers plenty of free online content but only allows readers access to the best content behind a paywall.

11. Build Your Team 👩‍💻 👨🏽‍💻

You get to work with all kinds of people when creating a magazine.

In the beginning, most content creators and entrepreneurs wear many hats. They will be marketers, accountants, and writers all at once.

But a time will come when you need to hire and outsource.

Building your dream team is a vital part of any project. It's not just about finding people with the right skills; it's also about finding people who believe in the project, who you get along well with, and find creative synergy with.

The types of roles you'll have in your online magazine team are:

• Writers, editors, and proofreaders
• A marketing and social media manager
• Photographers
• Copy editors
• Video creators and editors

It's usually grouped into the editorial team (everything related to writing, images, and video) , the marketing team, and the management team.

As your magazine grows, your team will grow.

Plus, you'll get creatives coming to you to have their stuff featured in the magazine, which will minimize in-house creation.

Ready To Get Started? 😃

Starting an online magazine from scratch is no small feat.

Online magazine publishing is hard work and takes a lot more marketing strategy and effort than a regular blog post or social media post on a company profile.

Whereas blogs are often started for fun and as a hobby, many online and digital magazines’ ultimate goal is to generate revenue eventually.

But here's the good news: the journey can be so rewarding financially and personally.

If you're willing to put in the work, stick to a business plan, and make certain sacrifices, you've got a potentially great road ahead of you. Buckle in 🚗

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The definitive guide to making a digital magazine

Digital magazines are making a comeback. 

To most readers, this might sound strange. for many years, digital magazines have represented some of the worst aspects of digital publishing..

Many digital magazines feel like a poorly implemented afterthought, and are hard to find, clunky to read, and visually uninteresting.

Usually, digital magazines read like a print magazine, but worse. 

The good news is that this is changing. Publishing and marketing teams are increasingly investing in high quality content, which has helped drive a resurgence in digital magazine publishing. You can learn more about the rise of digital magazine platforms in our guide.

These teams are focusing on building immersive reading experiences natively on the web. They’re a far cry from the all-too-familiar ‘web PDF’ feel of many digital magazines. A great example comes from Imperial College, London . 

After nine months of publishing digital stories, Imperial saw 142% higher average unique pageviews and 50% higher average time on page. 

In this guide, we’re going to give you ten tips on how to make a great digital magazine — and get great results. We even practice what we preach. You can read about how Shorthand killed its blog and launched a magazine .

First things first, though: What is a digital magazine?

What do the BBC, Tripadvisor, and Penguin have in common? They craft stunning, interactive web content with Shorthand. And so can you! Publish your first story for free — no code or web design skills required. Get started.

What is a digital magazine?

A digital magazine — otherwise known as an online magazine or, once upon a time, an e-magazine — is a magazine that has been published digitally using the web or an app.

Unlike print magazines, digital magazines can include links, more high-resolution images, video, audio, and web animations. They can also take advantage of cheaper and potentially wider distribution than print magazines.

Digital magazines have been embraced by a diverse array of organisations, from corporates and universities, to non-profits and more traditional magazine publishers.

If you're looking for examples, check out this collection of excellent digital magazines .

Types of digital magazine

Digital magazines have been around since the dawn of 'digital' itself, and have passed through a range of stages since that point, from floppy discs to Flash (RIP). 

Today, there are five main methods for creating a digital magazine. The model you choose will depend your readership, budget, marketing strategy, and business model. 

An embedded PDF magazine

We've all experienced clicking through to an online magazine and seeing — with a sigh — that it has been published as an embedded PDF .

There are a range of services that allow PDFs to be embedded in a website, and organisations in a rush to create a 'digital' version of their magazine often use this method first.

The result is often a flip-book style copy of a print magazine, or a link to a PDF file. 

Unfortunately, embedded PDFs — and PDF files in general — make for a terrible digital user experience. They're especially poor on mobile devices. They don't give reliable analytics; they're also not usually accessible; they aren't great with SEO; and they generally won't perform as well as the alternatives.

Conclusion:  We know content teams sometimes love PDFs, but they simply aren't suitable for modern digital audiences. We've published more about their limitations in our article on the decline of the PDF .

An apple or android app

The next option for creating a digital magazine is to build a magazine app. The great thing about apps is that they make for a great experience on mobile, including iphones, ipads, and android devices. They also have built in distribution though the App Store and the Google Play Store. 

However, the cost of building a bespoke app is prohibitive for most content teams, and the generic app templates — which are cheaper — won't always meet your needs. If you are interested in building an app, you also need to be sure that you can have a rock-solid strategy for getting that app in front of your readers.

Conclusion : Apps can look amazing, but they are very expensive to create and maintain. It can also be difficult to get your app to stand out from the crowd. 

A Kindle e-magazine

With the rise of Amazon's Kindle, many traditional publishers opted to distributed electronic versions of their magazines using the Kindle news stand. These magazines are very easy to read on Kindle devices, and make for a great reading for those tired of reading on brightly-lit screens. 

Unfortunately, Kindle e-magazines are extremely limited in their functionality. You won't be able to include many images, and many readers won't experience them in colour. 

Conclusion:  This is a good model for established magazines that publish very 'writerly' content. But the visual experience is poor, and the audience is generally limited to Kindle power users. 

A collection of posts published to a CMS

For those wishing to simply get their magazine content online, a simple option is to use your existing CMS and publish each post to a unique URL path. With a landing page representing that magazine's 'table of contents' and cover, readers can navigate your magazine in the same way as they would any other content on the web. 

Your magazine, though, is typically different than short-form content published to your blog. Generally speaking, magazine articles have more attention — and resources — paid to their production. This results in higher quality content, which is intended to have a greater impact than ordinary blog or news articles. 

For this reason, many content teams are reluctant to publish this content using the vanilla visual presentation of their CMS. 

Conclusion : This is a good option for content teams looking to simply get their content on the web as quickly as possible, though it is unlikely to match the impact of more visually impressive and immersive content.

A digital publication of visually immersive digital stories

The final option is to create a digital publication of visually immersive stories. These stories typically have a distraction-free visual presentation, with high-resolution media. They also often use advanced visual storytelling techniques, such as scroll-based animation. 

The benefits of immersive storytelling include higher time-on-page, lower bounce rates, and better click-through-rates and conversions. You can read more about these benefits in  Shorthand's case studies . 

Immersive digital stories are usually built using a digital publishing platform. There are a range of factors to consider when choosing a platform, which we've outlined in this post,  An introduction to digital storytelling platforms .

Conclusion: Immersive digital storytelling is fully responsive and accessible, and is a great way to get better results from your magazine content. Some platforms have plans that allow unlimited stories, which makes it easier to scale your digital magazine content production.

Why create a digital magazine?

There are 6 key reasons why you might wish to create a digital magazine

1) You want to move away from print. Print magazines are great, but they're also expensive to produce. Also, younger generations increasingly engage primarily — and even  solely  — with digital products.

2) You want to supplement your print magazine. Sometimes, print is perfect for much of your existing readership, especially if they are predominantly from an older generation. In this case, many organisations create a 'digital edition' of the print magazine, which can sometimes act as a lead-generator. This is a good way to boost your reach without alienating an existing print readership.

3) You're launching a new magazine. Unless you have a strong distribution channel in place, your best bet from launching a new magazine is to go digital-first.

4) You want to ensure unlimited access. Print is a great format — but it can't easily scale. If you want your content to be seen by as many people as possible, digital is best approach. As many legacy publishers have discovered the hard way, it's hard for a print article to go viral on social media. 

5) You want to generate revenue. As the last two decades of media have shown us, the best way to generate revenue from digital content is to create 'premium' content for subscribers. Pricing for a digital magazine subscription can vary hugely depending on your niche. Regardless, people aren't going to pay for content that looks and reads as everything else on the web. Read more about generating revenue from content in our guide to content monetization .

6) Brand storytelling for your product or service. The final reason to create a digital magazine is to create content that will help you sell your product or service. Immersive brand storytelling is a great way to educate and entertain potential leads as you drive them through your sales funnel. Learn more about brand storytelling .

Now that we've covered the basics, let's move on to the remainder of our guide with ten tips on how to make a successful digital magazine.

1. Make it easy to read

Too many digital magazines are little more than PDFs, optimised for modern web browsers.

While these publications successfully mimic print magazines — including the ability to horizontally ‘flip’ through pages — they generally have a poor reader experience. 

Why is this? The first generation of digital magazines were, in effect, derivative versions of print titles. Rather than repurpose their magazine for online readers, publishing teams went with the easiest solution, which was to simply export a PDF of their magazine into an online magazine builder. 

While this makes sense for busy publishing teams, it has produced a swathe of magazines that can be frustrating to read. 

One solution is to build your magazine content using software designed and engineered to make the most of the modern web. Modern digital storytelling platforms allow publishing and marketing teams to create great reading experiences — without requiring you to hire a web designer or developer. 

The University of Queensland have long published Contact Magazine, and have produced some amazing digital stories. One favourite of the Shorthand team is Fear vs Reality , covering research into shark encounters in Australia. The piece makes great use of video, photography, and animated maps — all beautifully rendered on whatever device the reader happens to be reading on. 

2. Put the ‘digital’ in digital magazine

The classic magazine layout — a few dozen or more pages, stapled together in the middle — is a great format for print. But let’s face it: it’s a terrible layout for digital. 

If you’re looking to make a digital magazine, don’t try to mimic the behaviour and layout of print. 

Instead, embrace the norms of web publishing. Publish each piece of content to its own URL. Interlink as needed. Incorporate high-resolution images, video, and data visualisations. Animate natively in the browser. Create interactive infographics and other interactive marketing elements. Ensure quick page loading. Optimise for all viewports and devices. 

It’s already a long list, and we were just getting started. Unfortunately, none of this can be done — or done well — with an uploaded PDF. 

3. Embrace quality

A digital magazine is not a blog. Typically, magazine stories have progressed through an editing and quality-assurance process — particularly feature stories. A designer may have also worked on illustrations and other visual assets. 

A magazine publication is also much more of an ‘event’, with hard deadlines and — depending on the title — dedicated marketing campaigns attached. 

This emphasis on quality should extend to its publication on the web. A digital magazine should have a ‘premium’ look and feel, with text cleanly presented and easy to read. Images should be high resolution, and optimised for all browsers and devices. Ideally, feature stories should also incorporate scroll-based animation techniques to maintain the attention of the reader.

While magazine content doesn't need to be longform, there are some reasons to go long, which we outline in our guide to longform content .

4. Avoid developer & web design bottlenecks

One reason why so many digital magazines are published as PDFs or flipbooks is that alternatives have been simply much too expensive. Bespoke web templates require both developers and web designers to be on hand, which is not always possible in publishing and marketing teams. 

The good news is that some digital storytelling platforms use flexible ‘content blocks’ or templates, which will allow you to build great and visually impressive magazine stories — without hiring a developer. This makes it much easier (and cheaper) for your team to build stories that look amazing on the web.

Shorthand is the leading digital storytelling platform.

Create stunning, immersive reading experiences in record time. no code required..

5. Animate your stories

Don’t sell your stories short. As we’ve argued throughout this guide, digital magazines aren’t just print magazines that happen to be on the internet. Make the most of cutting-edge web technologies for your magazine, including those that empower non-developers to implement compelling storytelling techniques. 

One technique used by the world’s best digital storytellers is scroll-based animation effects. For example, in a little bit of magazine inception, the social enterprise magazine Pioneer's Post animates their story on The Big Issue magazine with several pairs of static images. It's a very simple technique for adding life to stories, and can be created and implemented without writing any code or learning any animation programs. It can be just as easily applied to graphs, maps and photos as to illustrations, as we outline in our guide to data storytelling .

6. Work from themes & templates

Digital magazines have the potential to suck up an inordinate amount of time, particularly with designers beavering away on layouts in software like InDesign. 

When building content for the web, though, it’s best to work with pre-existing templates and themes. This will make it possible to reliably produce great-looking stories with your brand identity — including colours, fonts, logo, and more — automatically applied, and automatically fully-responsive. 

Image captions

7. Don’t build an app

A few years ago, it seemed like nearly every publisher was building an app — for better or worse. To put it mildly, not all of these investments paid off. The rise of ‘app overload’ meant that most apps on most devices are never opened. 

The lesson is clear: unless you’re the New York Times, most people aren’t going to download your app just to access your content. And even if they do, they probably won’t open it more than once. 

Done well, app development is expensive — and, done poorly, it’s a major reputational risk for your brand.  

These days, publishers can tell amazing stories natively in the browser. Digital storytelling platforms can automatically optimise stories — including their visual assets — to look amazing on phones and tablets. This is good for SEO, and it’s great for your readers. No app required! 

Web content can also live behind a paywall, which means you can publish great digital content online and keep your existing subscription model. 

8. Don’t start with a PDF

Desktop design software isn’t necessarily fit for purpose for the production of digital magazines. If you have design capacity, focus your efforts on designing stories within the parameters of an existing storytelling platform. 

This will automate many of the fiddly things — like responsive design — and enable a more impressive reading experience. Crucially, this experience will be optimised for readers on the web, and won’t just be a print-afterthought. 

9. Automate the hard stuff

Our final tip is important for publishing and marketing teams working on a budget. Digital publishing is tricky to get right. Standards are rising, browsers are becoming more powerful, and readers are accessing content on multiple devices and screen sizes. 

Unless you have a developer and web designer permanently on hand within your team, it’s best to let specialist storytelling platforms handle the backend magic — along with all the tech wizardry that goes into handling browser and software updates. This will save you money in the long run, and ensure that you can focus your efforts on the creative side of publishing amazing stories for your digital magazine.

Ready to get started? Publish your first story free with Shorthand, and learn more about how your amazing magazine stories can be published natively on the web. 

10. Reward yourself

Job well done..

Publish your first story free with Shorthand

Craft sumptuous content at speed. No code required.

How to Start a Magazine Business

Starting a magazine business can be very profitable. With proper planning, execution and hard work, you can enjoy great success. Below you will learn the keys to launching a successful magazine business.

Importantly, a critical step in starting a magazine business is to complete your business plan. To help you out, you should download Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template here .

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

15 Steps To Start a Magazine Business:

• Choose the Name for Your Magazine Business
• Determine the Type of Magazine Business You Will Launch
• Develop Your Magazine Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Magazine Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Magazine Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Magazine Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Magazine Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Magazine Business Equipment
• Develop Your Magazine Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Magazine Business
• Open for Business

1. Choose the Name for Your Magazine Business

The first step to starting a magazine business is to choose your business’ name.  

This is a very important choice since your company name is your brand and will last for the lifetime of your business. Ideally you choose a name that is meaningful and memorable. Here are some tips for choosing a name for your magazine business:

• Make sure the name is available . Check your desired name against trademark databases and your state’s list of registered business names to see if it’s available. Also check to see if a suitable domain name is available.
• Keep it simple . The best names are usually ones that are easy to remember, pronounce and spell.
• Think about marketing . Come up with a name that reflects the desired brand and/or focus of your magazine business.

2. Determine the Type of Magazine Business You Will Launch

The next step is to determine the type of magazine business you will launch. The four main types of magazine businesses are:

• Print Magazines – These are traditional printed magazines that may be sold in stores or through subscriptions.
• Digital Magazines – Digital magazines are digital-only publications, usually published on a website or app. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.
• Video Magazines – Video magazines are like “television shows” but distributed solely online. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.
• Podcast Magazines – Podcast magazines are audio-only publications, usually distributed via streaming services or podcast apps. They may have subscription fees and/or advertising revenue.

3. Develop Your Magazine Business Plan

One of the most important steps in starting a magazine business is to develop your magazine business plan . The process of creating your plan ensures that you fully understand your market and your business strategy. The plan also provides you with a roadmap to follow and if needed, to present to funding sources to raise capital for your business.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

• Executive Summary – this section should summarize your entire business plan so readers can quickly understand the key details of your magazine business.
• Company Overview – this section tells the reader about the history of your magazine business and what type of magazine business you operate. For example, are you a print magazine, digital magazine, video magazine or podcast magazine? 
• Industry Analysis – here you will document key information about the magazine industry. Conduct market research and document how big the industry is and what trends are affecting it.
• Customer Analysis – in this section, you will document who your ideal or target customers are and their demographics. For example, how old are they? Where do they live? What do they find important when subscribing to magazines like the ones you will offer?
• Competitive Analysis – here you will document the key direct and indirect competitors you will face and how you will build competitive advantage.
• Marketing Plan – your marketing plan should address the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
• Product : Determine and document what products you will offer 
• Prices : Document the prices of your products
• Place : Where will your business be located and how will that location help you increase sales?
• Promotions : What promotional methods will you use to attract customers to your magazine business? For example, you might decide to use pay-per-click advertising, public relations, search engine optimization and/or social media marketing.
• Operations Plan – here you will determine the key processes you will need to run your day-to-day operations. You will also determine your staffing needs. Finally, in this section of your plan, you will create a projected growth timeline showing the milestones you hope to achieve in the coming years.
• Management Team – this section details the background of your company’s management team.
• Financial Plan – finally, the financial plan answers questions including the following:
• What startup costs will you incur?
• How will your magazine business make money?
• What are your projected sales and expenses for the next five years?
• Do you need to raise funding to launch your business?

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

4. choose the legal structure for your magazine business.

Next you need to choose a legal structure for your magazine business and register it and your business name with the Secretary of State in each state where you operate your business.

Below are the five most common legal structures:

1) Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business entity in which the owner of the magazine business and the business are the same legal person. The owner of a sole proprietorship is responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. There are no formalities required to establish a sole proprietorship, and it is easy to set up and operate. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and inexpensive to establish. The main disadvantage is that the owner is liable for all debts and obligations of the business.

2) Partnerships

A partnership is a legal structure that is popular among small businesses. It is an agreement between two or more people who want to start a magazine business together. The partners share in the profits and losses of the business. 

The advantages of a partnership are that it is easy to set up, and the partners share in the profits and losses of the business. The disadvantages of a partnership are that the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the business, and disagreements between partners can be difficult to resolve.

3) Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a type of business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of an LLC for a magazine business include flexibility in management, pass-through taxation (avoids double taxation as explained below), and limited personal liability. The disadvantages of an LLC include lack of availability in some states and self-employment taxes.

4) C Corporation

A C Corporation is a business entity that is separate from its owners. It has its own tax ID and can have shareholders. The main advantage of a C Corporation for a magazine business is that it offers limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The disadvantage is that C Corporations are subject to double taxation. This means that the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and the shareholders also pay taxes on their dividends.

5) S Corporation

An S Corporation is a type of corporation that provides its owners with limited liability protection and allows them to pass their business income through to their personal income tax returns, thus avoiding double taxation. There are several limitations on S Corporations including the number of shareholders they can have among others.

Once you register your magazine business, your state will send you your official “Articles of Incorporation.” You will need this among other documentation when establishing your banking account (see below). We recommend that you consult an attorney in determining which legal structure is best suited for your company.

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Not only does BusinessRocket have a 4.9 out of 5 rating on TrustPilot (with over 1,000 reviews) because of their amazing quality…but they also guarantee the most affordable incorporation packages and the fastest processing time in the industry.

5. Secure Startup Funding for Your Magazine Business (If Needed)

In developing your magazine business plan, you might have determined that you need to raise funding to launch your business. 

If so, the main sources of funding for a magazine business to consider are personal savings, family and friends, credit card financing, bank loans, crowdfunding and angel investors. Angel investors are individuals who provide capital to early-stage businesses. Angel investors typically will invest in a magazine business that they believe has high potential for growth.

6. Secure a Location for Your Business

Having the right space can be important for your magazine business, particularly if you’d like to meet clients or advertisers there. Some magazines outsource the printing, but you might opt to print them on-site.

To find the right space, consider:

• Driving around to find the right areas while looking for “for lease” signs
• Contacting a commercial real estate agent
• Doing commercial real estate searches online
• Telling others about your needs and seeing if someone in your network has a connection that can help you find the right space

7. Register Your Magazine Business with the IRS

Next, you need to register your business with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will result in the IRS issuing you an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Most banks will require you to have an EIN in order to open up an account. In addition, in order to hire employees, you will need an EIN since that is how the IRS tracks your payroll tax payments.

Note that if you are a sole proprietor without employees, you generally do not need to get an EIN. Rather, you would use your social security number (instead of your EIN) as your taxpayer identification number.

8. Open a Business Bank Account

It is important to establish a bank account in your magazine’s name. This process is fairly simple and involves the following steps:

• Identify and contact the bank you want to use
• Gather and present the required documents (generally include your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address)
• Complete the bank’s application form and provide all relevant information
• Meet with a banker to discuss your business needs and establish a relationship with them

9. Get a Business Credit Card

You should get a business credit card for your magazine business to help you separate personal and business expenses.

You can either apply for a business credit card through your bank or apply for one through a credit card company.

When you’re applying for a business credit card, you’ll need to provide some information about your business. This includes the name of your business, the address of your business, and the type of business you’re running. You’ll also need to provide some information about yourself, including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Once you’ve been approved for a business credit card, you’ll be able to use it to make purchases for your business. You can also use it to build your credit history which could be very important in securing loans and getting credit lines for your business in the future.

10. Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Every state, county and city has different business license and permit requirements.

Nearly all states, counties and/or cities have license requirements including:

• General Business License : getting your Articles of Incorporation as discussed above
• Sales Tax License or Seller’s Permit : for selling products
• Zoning Approval : typically at the city or county level, this provides authorization for construction or use of a building or land for a particular purpose

Depending on the type of magazine business you launch, you will have to obtain the necessary state, county and/or city licenses.

11. Get Business Insurance for Your Magazine Business

There are a few different types of insurance that you may want to consider for your magazine business.

General liability insurance : This covers accidents and injuries that occur on your property. It also covers damages caused by your employees or products.

Product liability insurance : This insurance is important to have if you are selling products through your magazine business. This type of insurance can help protect you financially if someone gets injured by one of your products.

Business owner’s policy (BOP): The policy combines general liability and property insurance into one policy. This can be a helpful option for small businesses as it can be more affordable than purchasing the two policies separately.

Other business insurance policies that you should consider for your magazine business include:

• Workers’ compensation insurance : If you have employees, this type of policy works with your general liability policy to protect against workplace injuries and accidents. It also covers medical expenses and lost wages.
• Commercial property insurance : This covers damage to your property caused by fire, theft, or vandalism.
• Business interruption insurance : This covers lost income and expenses if your business is forced to close due to a covered event.

Find an insurance agent, tell them about your business and its needs, and they will recommend policies that fit those needs. 

12. Buy or Lease the Right Magazine Business Equipment

Most magazine companies don’t need much equipment. To start a magazine business, you probably only need a computer, phone and internet access. You might also need office furniture.

When starting a magazine business, you can  purchase or lease the necessary equipment. This may include:

• Computers : Computers are necessary for any type of magazine business. You will need computers to design and layout your magazine, as well as to manage your business finances and records.
• Printers : You will need printers to print out your magazine pages. You may want to invest in a color printer if you plan to print in color.
• Scanners : Scanners are helpful for scanning in photos and other graphics for your magazine.
• Software : You will need software to design and layout your magazine, as well as to create PDFs of your finished magazine pages. A popular software package for magazines is Adobe InDesign.
• Office Supplies : You will need office supplies such as paper, pens, pencils, staplers, scissors, etc. to run your magazine business.

13. Develop Your Magazine Business Marketing Materials

Marketing materials will be required to attract and retain customers to your magazine business.

The key marketing materials you will need are as follows:

• Logo : Spend some time developing a good logo for your magazine business. Your logo will be printed on company stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so forth. The right logo can increase customer trust and awareness of your brand.
• Website : Likewise, a professional magazine business website provides potential customers with information about the subscriptions and information you offer, your company’s history, and contact information. Importantly, remember that the look and feel of your website will affect how customers perceive you.
• Social Media Accounts : establish social media accounts in your company’s name. Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other social media networks will help customers and others find and interact with your magazine business.

14. Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Magazine Business

There are many different types of software that you may need to run your magazine business. The most important software for printing and designing magazines is Adobe InDesign. This software allows you to create layouts for your magazine, as well as to create PDFs of the finished pages. You can also find other software designed specifically for magazines, such as QuarkXPress and PagePlus.

You will also need accounting software to manage your business finances. Popular accounting software packages include QuickBooks and Peachtree. Other software that may be helpful for a magazine business includes contact management software, such as Salesforce, and design software such as Photoshop.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is also beneficial. Some of the most popular CRM programs include Salesforce, and Zoho.

15. Open for Business

You are now ready to open your magazine business. If you followed the steps above, you should be in a great position to build a successful business. Below are answers to frequently asked questions that might further help you.

How to Finish Your Magazine Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Magazine business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

How to Start a Magazine Business FAQs

Is it hard to start a magazine business.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the difficulty of starting a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry and market conditions. However, with a well-executed business plan and some hard work, you can start a successful magazine business.

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to start your magazine business without too much difficulty.

How can I start a magazine business with no experience?

If you have some journalism experience, that can be helpful when starting a magazine business, but it is not essential. There are many resources available to help you get started, including online how-to guides, books on magazine publishing, and even online courses.

Another option is to partner with an experienced magazine publisher. This can give you access to their expertise and knowledge, and can help reduce the risk associated with starting a magazine business.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help from others in the publishing industry. There are many people who are happy to share their knowledge and advice.

What type of magazine business is most profitable?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry and market conditions. However, in general, magazine businesses that focus on niche markets tend to be more profitable than those that compete in more general markets.

Another factor that can affect profitability is the size of the magazine. Generally, smaller magazines are more profitable than larger magazines, as they have lower overhead costs.

Finally, the type of advertising that a magazine business attracts can also affect its profitability. Ads for luxury goods or services tend to be more lucrative than those for mass-market products.

How much does it cost to start a magazine business?

The cost of starting a magazine business will vary depending on the size and scope of the business, as well as the type of software and services used. However, in general, the cost of starting a magazine business can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. 

The cost of starting a magazine business typically includes expenses for printing and postage, software and services, marketing and promotion, as well as any staff wages or freelance fees. 

Before starting a magazine business, it is important to create a budget and stick to it. This will help ensure that you are able to cover all expenses associated with launching the magazine.

What are the ongoing expenses for a magazine business?

In addition to the initial start-up costs, there are a number of ongoing expenses that are associated with running a magazine business. 

Some of the expenses you may incur when starting a magazine business include:

• Software licenses and subscription fees
• Website design and hosting fees
• Printing and shipping costs
• Staff salaries
• Advertising and marketing expenses
• Office supplies and equipment
• Professional services such as graphic design or legal advice 

It is important to factor in all of these expenses when calculating how much money you need to get started. You should also consider how much you will need for ongoing operations, such as staff wages, printing costs, and advertising fees.

How does a magazine business make money?

A magazine business makes money by selling advertising space to businesses and individuals. Advertisers typically pay a fixed price for a certain number of print ads, which are then placed in the magazine.

Magazine businesses can also make money by charging readers for subscriptions. In some cases, magazines also sell back issues and other merchandise such as T-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs. 

Finally, magazine businesses can generate revenue by providing consulting or other services to clients. For example, a magazine might offer marketing or branding services to help businesses promote their products or services.

Is owning a magazine business profitable?

Yes, owning a magazine business can be very profitable. 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on a number of factors. However, in general, owning a magazine business can be profitable if you are able to attract enough advertising revenue and subscribers.

The profitability of a magazine business will vary depending on the specific industry, geographical location, and other factors. However, there are a few things you can do to increase the chances of your magazine business being profitable. 

Some of the key things you can do to make your magazine business more profitable include:  

• Offering a variety of services, such as marketing, branding, and advertising
• Developing a strong online presence, including a well-designed website and social media platforms
• Focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to content
• Charging a fair price for your services
• Building relationships with clients and partners
• Offering discounts and promotions
• Networking with other magazine businesses to share resources
• Becoming familiar with digital marketing, such as SEO and social media
• Nurturing a niche

By taking the right steps, you can make your magazine business successful and profitable. Investing time and money into developing a strong foundation for your magazine business is essential for long-term success. With the proper planning and dedication, you can have a profitable business.

Why do magazine businesses fail?

Magazine businesses can fail for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of planning, poor execution, and not understanding the needs of their target market.

If you're not proactive about planning and executing your magazine business correctly, it's more likely to fail. It's also important to understand the wants and needs of your target market in order to create content that is valuable to them. 

One of the main reasons that magazine businesses fail is a lack of planning. This can include not having a detailed business plan, not doing research on the industry, and not targeting the right customers.

Another reason is a lack of marketing and sales skills. This can include not creating a sales process and not have a clear and strong value proposition.

The last main reason is a lack of financial management skills. This can include not having a realistic budget, not tracking expenses, and not investing in the business.

Who are key players in the magazine market?

The magazine market is made up of a variety of different players, including small businesses, large enterprises, and even individuals.

Some of the key players in the market include:

• Bertelsmann SE & Co.
• CorporationTime Inc. 
• Meredith Corporation
• American Media, Inc.

However, there are many other players in your specific target market, and it is important to research the market to identify the key players that may have the most direct influence on the success of your business.

How much should I charge for my magazine services?

Magazine fees can vary depending on the type of magazine services being offered, as well as the size and scope of the project.

However, some common magazine fees for projects and advertising include:

• A flat fee per issue
• A flat fee for the entire project

Examples of magazine advertising rates are:

• Full page ad: $1000
• Half page ad: $500 
• Quarter page ad: $150

It is important to consider how much time and effort you are putting into the project, as well as how much value it will bring to your client. It can also be helpful to compare your fees with those of other magazine businesses. 

Some magazine rate examples are:

• $5.99 per issue 
• $29.99 for an annual subscription 
• $9.99 for a back issue

The best way to determine the right fee for your magazine services is to research the rates of similar businesses in your industry, and to also consider the value that you will be providing to the client.

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How to create a digital magazine in 7 steps

9th June 2023

Jane Robathan / Calculating...

Content marketing ,

Content production ,

Digital magazines are perfect if you want to try a new content format, or you’re a print pro looking to diversify. And they’ve really moved on in terms of features.

This guide explains

• How digital magazines have evolved to become fully immersive experiences
• How you can increase readership in a few clicks
• How to get started, fast

What’s a digital magazine?

Digital magazines present magazine content interactively online, make it accessible across different devices and can potentially return reader analytics – if they’re good. Pages have high-touch layouts, just like their glossy print counterparts.

Pages are instead flippable and combine dynamic content for a deeper reading experience – think of GIFs, polls, videos, or links to other content.

Types of digital magazine

Most digital magazines started as static PDF documents or pages on websites with very little interactivity.

Unlike traditional print and PDF magazines, digital magazines can be an interactive experience for the reader. Knowing which type to choose is ultimately down to your content goals and wider marketing strategy. We’ve created a short list here to help you decide.

The PDF route

It is still somewhat viable to use PDFs as your format for digital magazines, though you will likely run into some problems. PDFs are designed to look the same across all systems however this doesn’t always ring true for mobile and with the ever-increasing use of mobile platforms and devices you may find users struggling with this format as well as lacking any interactive elements.

Using the same coding as websites, HTML5 based digital magazines offer a huge breadth of creativity and interactive options. It does require having a team that can build this for you, which can increase the costs and time taken to create each issue of your publication.

Mobile apps allow your readers to view your content anywhere at anytime on their mobile device. This is a fantastic option if you have a dedicated readership that are willing to download an extra app to access your content, though these steps can be off-putting to newer users.

Flipbook (Like Turtl!)

We may be a little biased, but we believe Flipbook-style digital magazines are the way forward. These can be hosted on any platform and replicate the look of a traditional print magazine with page-flipping animations and interactive elements unavailable to PDF users. You will also see detailed analytics which will help not only understand your audience but how you can change your content for increased readership and engagement.

What’s the difference between a digital magazine and an online magazine?

They sound similar, but digital and online magazines have big differences.

It started when print magazines became able to upload PDF pages of an entire magazine issue to an online platform for distribution. The question of how to get people to pay for an edition was tricky – back then, they’d rather ‘own’ a physical copy. Online magazines still exist, with and without paywalls, allowing people to flip between pages of a beautifully designed magazine online. And some have evolved a little further.

A digital magazine takes functionality up several notches. This type of magazine is built to deliver an immersive, engaging and interactive reading experience. Content is created, managed and housed on a digital magazine platform like Turtl’s, which gives an authentic reading experience by putting readers in control over how they consume content.

Readers can view or listen to video or audio, easily navigate and digest content, while text, forms and images can link out to other content.

Both online and digital magazines have advantages over print:

• Cost and sustainability – no, paper, toxic ink or fuelled distribution is needed
• A new audience touchpoint has been created

Why you need digital magazines in your B2B content marketing strategy

When you plan your content marketing strategy , you need a variety of content formats that work across multi-channels to serve your customers with the right information, at the right time.

You also have to consider logistics: budget, resource, time.

Creatively and logistically, platforms developed to make and host digital magazines are more likely to have tools in place to attract, track and increase a magazine’s readership while easing its launch and distribution. You should be able to do it all on one platform – making your readers and your content team, very happy.

Customer brand engagement

The holy grail of content marketing : customers that actively engage with your brand and content.

Digital interactive magazines are great lead generators if you’ve got a long-term content strategy and a well-stocked team of writers. If your content’s relevant and interesting enough, you’ll get magazine subscription sign ups that can lead to product sales further down the line.

Your magazine could also be the product if you put it behind a paywall. Offer free articles or a first free issue and you’ll generate subscriptions if the content meets your customers’ needs.

Engagement goes both ways. So should your content. Digital magazines have some nifty interactive elements that make engagement a two-way street. With polls, quizzes and forms, it won’t just be social media metrics that give insights into how your customers interact with your brand.

Increase customer reach

If you have a print magazine, you could reach more of your audience if you take it online. You’ll create more touchpoints for your customers as the format’s more shareable across email or social channels.

An alternative content format

Digital magazines still fly slightly under the content marketing radar. But the numbers speak for themselves. Turtl’s digital magazines can increase engagement by up to 10x.

Newsletters, case studies and blogs are produced in their hundreds of thousands each day. Digital magazines are an alternative that cut through the noise, bland webpages, and reams of PDFs.

• pull your content topics together more coherently for readers
• create better user journeys and give readers the autonomy to self-serve through content
• act as a storytelling device across one piece, or a whole issue of magazine content
• educate or entertain readers to open up your brand

Keep your content up to date

You can make real-time updates to your content much faster than other content formats.

When you combine it with the analytics that show how your customers are engaging with the content, you can make improvements such as moving or changing CTAs or buttons, or swapping articles around on the fly.

Fewer resources and quicker production time

With their own platforms, you don’t need to rely on development teams to code your digital magazines, avoiding bottlenecks. All content management is scalable and is managed within your marketing team. Using Turtl’s digital magazine software , brands have saved up to 90% on content production time and resources.

Stretch your budget further

If you’ve got a print magazine, you’ll know about material and distribution costs. A digital magazine is cheaper to create. Plus, a creation platform creates more content than just magazines.

Generate revenue

If your revenue goals reach further than customer acquisition, digital magazines are an easy way to generate revenue, through subscription models and selling advertising space.

Where digital magazines fit in your B2B content marketing strategy

Digital magazines are versatile and there are lots of ways you can maximize their use in your content marketing strategy.

TOFU or awareness:

Mofu or consideration:, bofu or decision:, what content to include in your digital magazines.

You don’t need to be a seasoned print pro to create an interactive digital magazine. Here are some suggestions for the type of content you could create, as well as repurpose from elsewhere, to add to your strategy.

• Product features
• Ads – your own or third-party
• Editorials, eg how to’s, top 5
• Opinion pieces
• Case studies
• Thought leadership articles
• Brand awareness
• Existing blog content
• Existing newsletter content

Put the ‘interactive’ in interactive digital magazines

Make the most of your digital content and bring your articles to life with interactive elements.  Turtl’s digital magazines  let you include all these elements (and more) to engage your readers and drive subscribers.

• Video/animation
• Charts and tables

Easy to create and manage within your CMS

Little to no resource or budget required

Easily shareable

Trickier to package up your content and distribute it when it’s spread over many webpages with different URLs

The editorial doesn’t hang together as coherently as a magazine

The content style of a blog and a magazine differ

How to create a B2B digital magazine in 7 steps

1. set your strategy.

You’ll need to think about:

• What is its purpose and what types of content you need?
• Where in the funnel does it sit? Are you generating new leads or nurturing current customers?
• Will it be free, will some of it free or will it be under a subscription model?
• What do you want readers to think/feel/do after reading it?
• How often will you publish?

2. Plan it out

• Create a content calendar
• Mock up templates in the CMS or platform
• Decide on topics to cover and the content type to fit
• Think about elements that will enhance the content, eg videos, images, polls
• Plan production timescales, including writing, editing and sign- off

3. Get writing

• Commission and brief your subject matter experts (SME)s
• Plan your content briefs
• Decide on word counts
• Plan your CTAs
• Keep in tone of voice and house style

4. Build your magazine

• Design your front covers and content pages
• Create and drop your copy into article templates
• It has a built-in branding toolkit, so once you’ve set up your brand guidelines you’ll never fall outside of them
• Templates are already set so you can simply drag and drop content boxes in and paste your copy in
• Add interactive elements with a drag and drop editor

5. Edit, proofread and sign-off

• Check your copy for errors
• Check all your links, CTAs and interactive elements work
• Get a fresh pair of eyes from a colleague
• Send it through your sign-off workflow
• Send it out into the world! Whether that’s uploading to your website through a PDF or flipbook file, uploading to Kindle, an app, or creating the URL for your Turtl Doc
• If needed, set up your subscription model with a payment structure and an ecommerce service to take payment
• Promote it through multi-channels such as email and socials

7. Analyze and iterate

If you used Turtl to create your magazine, you can track its performance using the analytics dashboard . You’ll see what’s worked well, and what to improve, based on readers’ behaviors. You can then make changes in real time, based on your insights.

How to get the most from your digital magazine

Put your readers first.

Do your research – what do your readers want to read about? And how will you meet their needs? Do keyword research to see what they’re searching for.

Make it engaging, but accessible:

• use alt text for images
• make sure the format works with screen readers
• check your text and visuals work together
• make titles, headings and sub-headings clear and distinct
• use white space and readable fonts for easy reading

Make it interactive

Don’t just copy your print magazine. Readers will engage up to 10x more when there’s a variety of content and elements they can interact with.

Get audience insights

You can access different audience data, depending on what format your magazine takes. Turtl’s digital magazine software shows you audience behaviors, so you can update your content in real time, based on evidence.

Simple ways to promote your digital magazine

If your magazine’s goal is to generate leads, you’ll need to cast your distribution net wide. Luckily, digital magazines are easy to promote thanks to their easily shareable format. So whether you’re sharing a link or a document, traditional channels work well:

• Email or newsletter
• Social channels

Tips to monetize your digital magazine

Finally, here are our suggestions to maximize your magazine’s purpose and make some money:

• Advertising and sponsorship models: Sell your ad space or allow other brands to sponsor an issue. You can charge different amounts depending on the size or placement of the ad.
• Subscription-based revenue models: A way to ensure predictable income. You can set up payment by issue or by month. If you have a print magazine, you could create exclusive digital content that the print version doesn’t have to drive sales.
• Paywall strategies: Also known as gated content . You offer up some content for free, but the reader must subscribe to carry on reading.
• Single copy sales : Not the most profitable, but gives your customers the power to pick and choose your content.

Digital magazine examples

We’ve pulled together some examples of digital magazines that use Turtl so you can get some inspiration for your publication!

IR Magazine Fall 2022

Standard chartered industries in transition, workday’s smartcio, the turtl takeaway.

Print magazines are great for coffee tables, but content marketers can tap into a new content stream using this traditionally aspirational, much admired format. High-quality layouts are easily achieved, but by going digital, you get a truer understanding of your readership.

Curious to learn more?

See how IR Magazine raised subscription rates by 62%, bumped up average read time, and reduced production bottlenecks. Just by using a digital platform designed for magazine creation.

See what you can do

Convert one of your existing PDFs to a Turtl Doc for free now

More about Turtl

Turtl Format

Create interactive documents that amplify engagement and provide actionable insights

Create stunning editorial layouts and drive engagement with video and reader polling. See which topics your readers care most about to improve future issues.

Inspiration

What could you create?

Discover our collection of interactive content from leading businesses who publish with Turtl

Who is Turtl for?

For marketers serious about creating content to drive pipeline and revenue.

Content trends, tips, and insights to your inbox:

By submitting this information, I agree to the privacy policy and to receive the Turtl newsletter.

What is Turtl?

© Copyright 2024 Turtl. All rights reserved.

Create an Interactive Magazine from PDF

• Automatic file conversion – not tech-savvy? Not a problem! FlipHTML5 does all the work for you so you don’t need any technical or coding skills. Just upload your PDF file and watch the magic happen.
• Professionally designed templates, themes, and backgrounds – get an impeccable layout for your digital magazine with FlipHTML5’s premade templates. Enhance the overall appearance with beautiful themes and backgrounds.
• Powerful online multimedia editor  – Give your readers an immersive experience they won’t soon forget when you insert audio, videos, photo galleries, popups, animations, and more with the improved multimedia editor. Give your advertisers an edge by including hyperlinks to their websites/online stores in the digital magazine . Do it all online without downloading any software.
• Outstanding appearance and navigation – have readers flip through the pages of the digital magazine like they would a printed one. FlipHTML5 has page-flipping effects and sound; pages can flip vertically or horizontally. Readers can navigate pages by tapping page corners or using the next and previous buttons.
• Free storage and web hosting – Upload your finished digital magazine to the FlipHTML5 cloud for free storage. You can also host your magazine there if you don’t have a website. If you do have a website, grab the embed code and see the ezine flipping on your own website.
• Varied publishing options – take advantage of online and offline publishing options. Publish to FlipHTML5 where readers worldwide can view your magazine, publish directly to your website without the need for FTP, or export to your computer and publish on USB or CD/DVD.
• Seamless sharing – Share directly on social media or via email with a unique URL for each digital magazine.
• Accessibility at its best – FlipHTML5 optimizes magazines for the finest viewing experience on browsers and mobile devices. It supports Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Readers just need to click the magazine link to read it any time, no download required.
• SEO options  – Boost your digital magazine’s ranking on search engines with FlipHTML5’s various SEO options. Customize page titles and keywords for maximum visibility and extract the text of the magazine to publish as a text version so it can be easily searched.
• Hundreds of digital magazine examples – explore FlipHTML5 and get help jumpstarting your magazine project with numerous examples of e-magazines from publishers worldwide.

Part 2 – Exquisite Digital Magazine Examples Made from PDF

1. blue heart magazine.

With a clickable table of contents and active hyperlinks throughout, this digital magazine example takes you places. It has 74 pages, so hosting on FlipHTML5 is the best option. Otherwise, it might slow down page loads and take up bandwidth if being hosted as PDF on the user’s own website.

2. Campfire Travel

Features instructions on how to make the most of the interactive components – click to: watch a video; play a game; send an email; go to a website; and navigate between pages. Several multimedia elements are embedded within the pages. Instead of being a plain print/PDF magazine, this interactive magazine example takes audiences on a wonderful reading journey online.

Publish Your Digital Magazine with FlipHTML5

3. The Gates Magazine

An excellent example of an e-magazine that showcases some of the properties currently on the market. It has links embedded in the images so viewers can click to find interesting information hidden within the pages. This digital magazine example helps convert readers into website visitors and even paying customers.

4. BLOOM Magazine USA

Right on the front page, it amazes readers with an auto-playing video that showcases their logo – BLOOM. This digital magazine example also features stunning animations, videos, clickable ad buttons, audio interviews, and useful hyperlinks throughout the book.

5. BARNES Magazine

It makes a strong first impression on readers with its own custom logo linking to the company’s website, consistent brand colors and interface design. This example of e-magazine takes up the full screen of a reader’s device and immerses them in a distraction-free reading experience.

Impress Your Readers with an Interactive Magazine

6. Cotton Ball Lights – Christmas Edition

Packed with hotspots and hyperlinks to product pages, it’s a marketer’s dream. The example of e-magazine makes it extremely easy for customers to purchase when flipping through the pages. Just click on the product item and jump to the product/check-out page directly. The easier you make it out for your customers to buy, the more deals you can close.

7. NMAG IN ONE

This interactive magazine example wows readers with high-quality images, hotspots, slideshows and multiple YouTube videos. The refined navigation bar with shadow effects not only adds a layer of elegance to the magazine but also makes it easier to navigate from page to page. It also integrates several voting forms and gives each candidate a hotspot leading to their social media page.

Create a Winning Magazine to Wow Your Readers

8. Marketingedge Magazine

Chock-full of videos, shopping links, clickable social media buttons, hotspots, and a clickable table of contents. The digital business magazine also inserts an auto-play slideshow of the top merchandise products on the front page, giving viewers an idea of what to expect in this magazine.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the top tool for creating interactive magazines from PDF as well as viewed several digital magazine examples, you’re ready to take on the digital publishing world. Feel free to take inspiration from any of the digital magazine examples above to make your own masterpiece.

From Dull to Dynamic – Boost Your Content with FlipHTML5

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Free Digital Marketing Plan and Digital Media Templates

By Joe Weller | January 18, 2021

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You’ll find a collection of essential free digital marketing plan and digital media templates for marketers, enterprises, small businesses, startups, and others. Plus, tips to help you plan and manage digital marketing projects.

On this page, you'll find many helpful digital marketing and digital media templates, including a simple digital marketing plan template  and a  digital marketing project plan checklist template .

Digital Marketing Plan Template

Use this template to build national, local, public relations, and social media digital marketing plans. Track your campaign’s success in month-by-month columns, and use the content strategy section to ensure the best industry tools are at your disposal. 

Excel | Google Sheets

Digital Strategic Marketing Plan Template

This digital strategic marketing plan template helps you identify the objectives of your marketing campaign, so you can plan, implement, and track its success. Note your marketing plan objectives, target market, budget, and other details on the template. 

With this fully customizable template, you can include marketing-specific components for running powerful digital marketing campaigns. 

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Excel | Google Sheets  | Smartsheet

Digital Marketing Project Plan Template

Use this basic project plan template for week-by-week and month-by-month views into a digital marketing project. Assign task IDs, task names, priorities; track status; designate an owner; and add projected and actual start and end dates and progress notes. 

Keep apprised of your digital marketing project plan’s individual tasks — and gauge its success — with this easy-to-use digital marketing project plan template.

Download Digital Marketing Project Plan Template

Digital Marketing Project Plan Checklist Template

Track your digital marketing project plan’s progress with this checklist template. Enter major and minor actions, along with the corresponding task, assigned team member, deadline, and completion status. Cover every detail in your digital marketing project plan with this checklist. 

Download Marketing Project Plan Checklist Template

Excel  | Google Sheets

One-Page Digital Marketing Project Plan Template

This single-page digital marketing project plan template offers a streamlined tool to plan, implement, and track all project stages. Add your business summary, objectives, project plan problems and solutions, competitive-advantage details, target marketing, marketing strategy and objectives, and financial requirements.

You can also enter information about your marketing channels, products, promotional details, prices, and performance standards, as well as how you’ll measure results. This efficient, one-page template provides an overview of how well you are implementing your digital marketing project plan. 

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Small-Business Digital Marketing Project Plan Template

Map action items with this small-business digital marketing project plan template. Use this fully customizable template to document digital marketing goals, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats . Specify your target market, digital marketing strategy , and research results. 

Download Small Business Digital Marketing Plan Template

Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Digital Marketing Project Plan Template for Startups

This digital marketing project plan template is ideal for startups because it features a pre-built plan and startup-specific tools. Add your executive summary, vision statement, goals, target market, marketing strategy, and financial details to the template.

Find more tips and solutions for startups by reading “ Free Startup Plan, Budget & Cost Templates .” 

Download Digital Marketing Project Plan Template for Startups

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9 Digital Magazine Examples with Professional-Grade Formatting

November 14, 2023.

Digital magazines can either be a joy to read or a burden.

It all depends on the design of the content and the underlying technology.

In this article, we showcase 9 high-quality digital magazine examples—each with something interesting to teach us about how to design and format content for digital screens.

We don’t recommend creating a digital magazine by embedding a PDF into your website because PDF files are very hard to read online using any device. Readers have to pinch and zoom their way around the page to read columns and sections.

Instead, we’ve hand-picked digital magazine examples that use modern, mobile-optimized technology —mostly using our web-based reader , but also within native apps and Apple News+ —so you can see examples that offer a great reading experience.

And at the end, we offer key takeaways from the examples to serve as a checklist when creating your own digital magazine .

1. TIME for Health

We kick things off with some bold and simple full-screen digital covers from TIME for Health . One of the most popular magazines in the world, TIME offers free digital health and wellness magazines. There are a variety of special issues that each cover a specific topic like sleep, diet, habit-building, and anxiety. Not only are these issues examples of high-quality digital magazines, but they also serve as an example of giving away free content to grow brand awareness and subscriptions for premium content.

2. Outdoor Photographer

In this example, Outdoor Photographer is shown inside Apple News+ , a monthly subscription to more than 300 magazines and newspapers. As you can see, content is shown in a single column so it’s easy to read on any device. At eMagazines, we offer support to Apple News+ publishers , handling content design and delivery on your behalf.

In this example, we see Esquire’s branding evident in the font style and color, while the background is kept clean and simple. At any time, readers can click on the magazine cover to be taken to a Table of Contents widget that makes it easy to navigate through the different articles.

4. Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly offers the best entertainment industry content across movies, TV, books, events, and celebrity news. In this example, we can see what ads look like in digital magazine format. Ads are shown full screen to give them the attention they deserve without detracting from your main content. Readers can easily swipe past ads to keep reading.

5. Good Housekeeping UK

Good Housekeeping UK offers another example of a digital magazine. Here you can see the cover feature shown in a mobile device. The magazine’s branding is evident in the font style and color, but the white background and single-column format remain. Why? This design is the easiest to read on laptops, phones, and tablets. The content will automatically fill the screen, no pinching or zooming required.

6. Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated offers a great example of digital magazine content inside its native mobile app. Readers can view back issues and download content to their devices for offline reading.

Keep in mind that most publishers don’t need a branded mobile app , and you should only create one if you have a solid plan for content and profitability. Most publishers are better off releasing digital magazine content via a web-based platform that doesn’t require passwords or downloads.

7. Better Homes & Gardens

Better Homes & Gardens offers a great example of a digital magazine that includes audio for every article . With 73% of Americans over the age of 12 listening to audio content at least monthly, it’s a good idea to offer audio versions for all of your content. If you use digital magazine software with AI audio generation , all you need to do is upload the print file of your magazine and choose an on-brand real human voice. The software will then reflow your file into a digital magazine and add the audio file at the top of every article. You can then test each audio button before publishing the magazine and distributing it to your digital subscribers.

In this example, we see how basketball magazine SLAM has made their extensive library of back issues available to their subscribers. Readers can search by year, player, team, or topic to find all of the issues with relevant content. It’s not only a fun form of nostalgia, it’s also a lucrative way to capture mega fans of certain players or eras.

You can also offer access to all of the back issues of your magazine . Either offer this for free as an incentive to drive subscriptions for new content, charge per issue, or charge a one-time fee for access to the entire archive. The right strategy for you really depends on your target audience and other content offerings.

9. LOCAL Life

Serving Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, South Carolina, LOCAL Life is the regional go-to for restaurants, events, culture, and business news. As you can see, the magazine looks amazing when viewed in a tablet. As with our other best-practice examples, the single-column content and white background really allow the content to shine. Like Better Homes & Gardens, LOCAL Life makes use of realistic AI audio for easy audio generation.

Key takeaways from these digital magazine examples

It’s time to sum up all of the lessons learned! Here are some essential key takeaways when developing your own digital magazine:

• Responsive design: Truly responsive design looks great on computers, phones, and tablets without forcing the reader to pinch and zoom.
• Single-column content: Adopt a single-column layout for easy readability on any device.
• White backgrounds: Offer a clean and easily readable design.
• On-brand fonts: Maintain consistent branding through font style and color.
• Navigable table of contents: Create a navigable Table of Contents widget so readers have an easy way to navigate through different articles.
• Web-based magazine software: Unless you have a good reason to create a mobile app, opt for a web-based digital magazine for a great reading experience.
• Article audio: 73% of Americans listen to audio content monthly. Easily add audio to every article by using digital magazine software with AI audio generation.
• Full-width ads and images: In digital format, images and ads should be displayed full-width for great visibility, no matter how large or small they appear in your print magazine.
• Access to back issues: One of the best parts of the digital format is that readers can easily access your back issues. Make them available to subscribers for free or for an additional cost.

All of the above examples were created with eMagazines. Want to create your own mobile-optimized digital magazine without creating a mobile app?

Learn more about our mobile-optimized reader and get in touch with us to learn more .

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Digital Magazine: How to Plan Your Content Strategy

In today’s digital age, crafting a compelling content strategy for your magazine is crucial. A well-planned strategy ensures that your magazine consistently delivers value to its readers, building trust and engagement. Starting with thoroughly understanding your audience’s preferences, you can tailor content to their interests.

Table of Contents

Incorporate a mix of articles, multimedia elements, and interactive content for a dynamic reading experience. Collaborating with talented contributors and ensuring consistency in voice and quality further elevates your magazine’s reputation. You’ll remain ahead in digital publishing by remaining adaptable and measuring your magazine’s performance.

How Do You Plan Your Content Strategy for Your Magazine?

To establish a thriving digital magazine, laying a robust groundwork is indispensable. The magazine frame should be built around the foundational aspects of a coherent content strategy. One of the initial steps in this process is to define your target audience clearly. Knowing who your readers are and understanding their interests, needs, and online behaviors is the cornerstone to creating content that resonates and engages.

Identifying the Target Audience: Who Are You Writing For?

Before any other steps are taken, pinpointing who your digital magazine aims to reach is crucial. Knowing your target audience is foundational because every other decision you make – from the style of writing to the multimedia elements incorporated – hinges on their preferences and expectations.

Are your readers professionals looking for in-depth analyses, or are they young adults searching for trendy, bite-sized content? Understanding these nuances will shape the magazine frame, ensuring its content is relevant and resonant.

Setting Clear Objectives: What Do You Aim to Achieve?

Every digital magazine needs a direction and clear goals that drive its creation. Are you aiming to inform, entertain, or persuade? Is it a combination of all three? Establishing these objectives upfront aids in streamlining content decisions.

Suppose you seek to educate your readers about sustainable living. In that case, your magazine will prioritize informative articles, expert interviews, and how-to guides. Conversely, lighter pieces, storytelling, and visually rich content might dominate if entertainment is the main agenda.

Matching Content Types with Readers’ Preferences

Once you’ve set clear goals and understand your audience, the next step is to decide the type of content that will take center stage. It’s essential to remember that while variety enriches the magazine experience, only some content types will suit your readership.

Infographics might be a hit for a magazine targeting business professionals. Still, long-form articles might be the choice for a scholarly audience . Surveys, focus group discussions, or even a close analysis of popular digital magazines in your niche can offer insights into content preferences.

Crafting the Perfect Magazine Frame

With the foundational aspects, you’re ready to design the magazine frame that encapsulates your content strategy . This involves mapping out how frequently you’ll publish, which themes or topics recur, and the balance between different content types.

Consistency is critical whether you opt for thematic issues or a more eclectic mix. Your readers should find a rhythm, a predictable structure that keeps them returning for more.

In the digital age, where readers are flooded with information, laying a solid groundwork ensures your magazine stands out. By defining your audience, setting clear objectives, and tailoring content types, you’re catering to your readers and building a brand they can trust and relate to.

How Do You Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Magazine?

Crafting an editorial calendar is not merely about organizing content for timely publication; it’s about synchronizing the magazine’s rhythm with its audience’s pulse.

A key aspect often overlooked in this planning phase is the strategic placement of advertising. The seamless integration of advertising in the magazine serves as a revenue stream. It adds value for readers when done right.

Benefits of an Editorial Calendar

Predictability and Consistency: A structured editorial calendar ensures consistent publication, which readers come to expect and rely upon. This consistency boosts reader loyalty, increasing the effectiveness and reach of advertising in the magazine.

Optimal Resource Utilization: By planning, editors can efficiently allocate resources, ensuring that content and advertisements are of the highest quality.

Strategic Ad Placement: Knowing what content will be published and when allows for strategic ad placement, aligning advertisements with relevant content, thus increasing engagement rates.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Editorial Calendar

Define Your Timeframe: Decide whether your calendar will be monthly, quarterly, or yearly. This helps plot content and identify the best times for particular advertisements.

List Key Dates and Events: Incorporate national holidays, seasonal events, and industry-specific dates. Aligning content with these dates ensures relevance, and strategically placing advertising during high-readership times can boost visibility.

Categorize Your Content: Segment content into features, interviews, reviews, etc. This will help identify where specific advertisements would be best placed for maximum relevance and impact.

Allocate Space for Advertising: Designate specific slots or pages for advertisements. Doing this ensures a harmonious blend of content and ads, avoiding a cluttered or overwhelming layout.

Review and Adjust: As you progress, track which content and ad placements get the most engagement and be ready to adjust the calendar accordingly.

Staying Relevant with Seasonal and Trend Alignments

One of the most significant advantages of an editorial calendar is its ability to keep a magazine’s content aligned with seasonal events and industry trends. For instance, a fashion magazine might feature summer styles in May, making it an ideal time for swimwear advertising in the magazine.

Likewise, a tech magazine might focus on industry trade shows, making ads for new product launches lucrative advertising in the magazine.

Creating an editorial calendar that thoughtfully incorporates advertising in the magazine ensures that the content is engaging and timely, and the advertisements are also seen as adding value rather than mere interruptions. This synergy elevates the entire reading experience, making content and commercials resonate more effectively with the audience.

How Do You Source and Manage Contributors for Your Magazine?

Behind every captivating magazine layout lies a skilled team’s combined creativity and expertise. Writers, photographers, and designers work collaboratively to create a harmonious flow that grabs the reader’s attention and provides a seamless reading experience. To achieve this synergy, sourcing and managing contributors effectively is essential.

Finding the Right Contributors

Writers: A magazine’s voice is shaped predominantly by its writers. Sourcing them requires a keen understanding of your magazine’s target audience and objectives. Writers can be found on LinkedIn, in writing communities, or attending writers’ workshops and events.

Look for individuals with the necessary writing skills and understand the nuances of magazine layout, ensuring their content aligns well with the overall design.

Photographers: The visuals in your magazine play a pivotal role in creating an immersive experience. To source photographers, explore online portfolios, photography websites, and social media platforms like Instagram. It’s essential to select photographers whose style complements the magazine layout and resonates with the magazine’s ethos.

Designers: The backbone of the magazine layout is its design . Freelancing platforms, design agencies, and industry events can be great places to find talented designers. The right designer will balance aesthetics with functionality, ensuring the magazine layout is visually appealing and reader-friendly.

Vetting Potential Hires

Portfolio Review: Before hiring, always request and thoroughly review portfolios. This will give you a sense of the individual’s style and quality of work. Ensure the content or designs align with the vision of your magazine layout.

Trial Assignments: Consider giving short assignments to potential contributors. This allows you to gauge their professionalism, timeliness, and output quality.

Check References: If provided, speak with previous employers or clients to understand the contributor’s work ethic and reliability.

Managing Relationships for Smooth Workflow

Clear Communication: Ensure that roles, responsibilities, and expectations are communicated clearly. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions also help in maintaining clarity.

Provide Guidelines: Offer contributors style and branding guidelines for a cohesive magazine layout. This ensures uniformity and reduces the chances of misaligned content or design elements.

Respect Deadlines: While it’s vital for contributors to adhere to deadlines, it’s equally crucial for editors and managers to provide feedback and approvals promptly. This mutual respect for time ensures a smooth workflow.

Nurture the Relationship: Recognize and appreciate the efforts of your contributors. Regular positive and constructive feedback helps in professional growth and fosters loyalty.

Creating a captivating magazine layout requires a well-coordinated effort from a team of talented individuals. By effectively sourcing, vetting, and managing contributors, the magazine’s aesthetic appeal is enhanced, and its content becomes more compelling, engaging, and relevant to its readers.

How Do You Ensure Consistent Quality and Voice for Your Mangazine?

The allure of a digital magazine is often attributed to its stunning magazine design. However, beyond the eye-catching visuals lies the essence of consistent quality and voice. These elements together form the bedrock of a magazine’s identity and determine its resonance with the audience . While captivating designs pull readers in, the quality and consistency of content keep them engaged. Here’s how you can ensure these elements stand out in your magazine.

Establishing Robust Editorial Guidelines

Editorial guidelines are the compass for your contributors, guiding them in the right direction. By clearly defining what’s expected in terms of style, tone, and content structure, you set the stage for consistency.

Style and Tone: Clearly define the writing style preferred, whether it’s formal, conversational, or humorous. This goes a long way in ensuring a consistent voice throughout. The magazine design should also reflect this tone. For instance, a playful tone might be complemented by vibrant designs. In contrast, a more severe tone could be paired with minimalist aesthetics.

Formatting Rules: Outline how content should be structured, from headings and subheadings to including images and multimedia. Consistent formatting enhances the magazine design and ensures an organized reading experience.

Referencing and Citing: To maintain credibility and quality, provide clear guidelines for citing sources. This ensures that all information is accountable and verifiable.

Regular Training for Consistency

With the digital landscape evolving, regular training sessions are vital. These sessions can:

Introduce New Trends: Keep your team updated on the latest magazine design and content trends. This ensures that your magazine remains contemporary and appealing.

Reinforce Guidelines: These sessions emphasize the importance of adhering to editorial guidelines and discussing any recent deviations and corrective measures.

Promote Skill Enhancement: Offering workshops on writing, design tools, or photography can enhance the quality of contributions and foster a culture of continuous learning.

Fostering a Shared Vision

The heart of consistency lies in a shared vision. Maintaining a uniform voice and quality becomes natural when every contributor is aligned with the magazine’s mission and values.

Regular Discussions: Organize brainstorming sessions and encourage contributors to share their insights. This promotes a sense of ownership and alignment with the magazine’s goals.

Feedback Mechanism: Create a two-way feedback channel. While you provide feedback on their contributions, allow them to voice their suggestions or concerns about the magazine design and content strategy.

Celebrate Milestones: Recognizing achievements, whether a spike in readership or a successful issue, fosters a sense of collective pride and unity.

The beauty of a digital magazine is as much in its captivating magazine design as in its consistent voice and impeccable quality. Implementing robust guidelines, ensuring regular training, and promoting a collaborative environment pave the way for excellence in every issue.

What is the Importance of Original Content for Your Magazine?

The pressure to continuously produce content can be overwhelming in the vast digital landscape. But it’s crucial to remember that quality should never be sacrificed for quantity in the race to stay relevant. A magazine mockup might be visually appealing, but without original content, it remains just that – a mockup devoid of substance and soul.

The Detriments of Plagiarism

Using another person’s work without giving appropriate credit, known as plagiarism, carries severe consequences:

Damaged Reputation: In the information age, readers are more informed than ever. They can quickly discern borrowed content, leading to losing credibility for the magazine.

Legal Repercussions: Copyright infringement can lead to legal actions, which can be financially and reputationally damaging.

Loss of Authenticity: Using copied content robs the magazine of its unique voice. Instead of standing out, it becomes just another clone in the vast digital arena.

Originality: Building Credibility and Trust

Original content is the cornerstone of building credibility. Readers who recognize that a magazine consistently offers fresh perspectives are more likely to trust its content. Benefits of originality include:

Unique Brand Identity: Just as a distinctive magazine mockup can set a magazine apart, so can its unique content. Original articles, interviews, and features help establish a distinct brand voice.

Engaged Readership: Readers appreciate fresh perspectives and insights. Original content can increase engagement, with readers spending more time per article and returning for more.

Boosted SEO Rankings: Search engines prioritize original content. Your magazine can increase visibility and attract organic traffic by consistently producing unique pieces.

Generating Unique Content Ideas

Brainstorming Sessions: Regular brainstorming sessions with contributors can lead to a treasure trove of fresh ideas. Encourage free thinking, and even seemingly outlandish ideas can be honed into engaging content.

Reader Feedback: Your readers are a goldmine of information. Engage with them through surveys , feedback forms, or comments to understand their interest. Often, their queries can lead to in-depth articles or features.

Stay Updated: Encourage your team to stay updated with industry news, trends, and developments. This not only helps in producing timely content but also offers a fresh take on current events.

Use Real-life Examples: Stories grounded in real-life experiences are original and relatable. They add a personal touch to the magazine mockup, making it more engaging.

In wrapping up, while a captivating magazine mockup draws readers in, it’s the original content that holds their attention and brings them back for more. Emphasizing quality and authenticity over sheer volume will solidify your magazine’s reputation as a reliable information source. This approach is vital in the constantly changing digital landscape.

How Do You Decide on Videos, Infographics, and Interactive Content for Your Magazine?

The world of magazine art has evolved dramatically with the advent of digital media. Beyond captivating written content, modern readers crave a multisensory experience that multimedia elements can deliver. From dynamic videos to informative infographics and interactive content, these elements enrich the reader’s knowledge and define contemporary magazines’ cutting-edge nature.

The Power of Videos

In the fast-paced digital age, videos can quickly convey a wealth of information, making them a favorite among audiences. Their dynamic nature captures attention, making complex topics easily digestible.

Engagement Boost: Videos increase the time readers spend on a page. Whether it’s an interview, a behind-the-scenes glimpse, or a tutorial, moving visuals engage readers more effectively than text alone.

Versatility: Videos cater to various content types. Be it a fashion magazine art showcase or an in-depth documentary piece, videos enhance the storytelling process.

Shareability: Videos often garner more shares on social media, expanding the magazine’s audience and enhancing its chances of going viral.

Infographics: Merging Design with Information

Infographics are a unique blend of magazine art and information. They break down complex data into visually appealing and easily understandable formats.

Simplifying Complex Ideas: Infographics can convey data-driven content or processes visually engagingly instead of lengthy paragraphs.

Enhancing Retention: People tend to remember visual information better than textual data. A well-designed infographic can leave a lasting impression.

Boosting Social Shares: Like videos, compelling infographics are frequently shared across social platforms, further expanding your magazine’s reach.

Interactive Content: Engaging Readers Actively

Interactive magazine art and content transform passive readers into active participants, offering a more immersive experience.

Personalized Experience: Features like quizzes , polls, or interactive sliders allow readers to engage according to their preferences.

Increased Engagement: Interactive elements can significantly increase page interaction rates, ensuring readers stay longer and engage deeper with your content.

Feedback Mechanism: Interactive features can also serve as direct feedback channels, helping you understand your audience’s preferences and opinions.

Deciding the Right Mix for Your Magazine

Know Your Audience: Analyze your readership’s demographics and preferences. A younger audience might prefer interactive content and videos, while a more professional audience might value infographics.

Nature of Your Magazine: A tech magazine might benefit from interactive demos, while a magazine focused on art might prioritize high-quality videos showcasing artists’ processes.

Technical Considerations: Ensure your magazine’s platform seamlessly supports multimedia elements, offering a smooth user experience.

The art of modern magazine design and magazine art is a harmonious blend of compelling text with multimedia elements. Incorporating videos, infographics, and interactive content based on your audience’s preferences and your magazine’s nature will elevate the reading experience, ensuring your magazine remains a front-runner in the digital age.

What are the Editing and Proofreading Strategies for Your Magazine?

Every successful magazine publisher knows that producing compelling content is only half the battle. The other half involves refining that content, polishing every sentence, and ensuring it’s error-free. In the world of magazine publishing, the role of editing and proofreading is paramount. These processes not only elevate the quality of the content but also enhance the publication’s credibility. Here’s how magazine publishers can master these essential tasks.

Different Approaches to Editing

Editing is not a one-size-fits-all process. Depending on the content and its purpose, different editing approaches can be employed:

Substantive Editing: This is a deep dive into the content, assessing its structure, coherence, and flow. It’s about ensuring that the piece conveys its message effectively and aligns with the magazine’s objectives.

Copy Editing: This involves fine-tuning the content, focusing on grammar , punctuation, consistency, and style. Ensuring that each piece aligns with the publication’s style guide is crucial for magazine publishers.

Content-specific Editing: Depending on the nature of the magazine, there might be specialized editing needs. For instance, a technical magazine may require fact-checking. In contrast, a literary magazine might focus on the nuances of language and expression.

Tools and Techniques for Effective Editing

With advancements in technology, magazine publishers have a suite of tools at their disposal to aid the editing process:

Editing Software: Tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor can assist editors by highlighting potential grammatical errors, suggesting style improvements, or assessing the readability of the content.

Style Guides: Establishing a magazine-specific style guide ensures consistency across all pieces. It covers everything from tone and voice to specific formatting rules.

Collaborative Platforms: Tools like Google Docs or Microsoft Word’s review features allow real-time collaborative editing, streamlining feedback and revisions.

The Meticulous Art of Proofreading

Proofreading is the final frontier, ensuring the content is flawless before reaching the readers.

Multiple Reads: Reading the content numerous times is often beneficial, focusing on different aspects – from spelling and punctuation to layout and formatting.

Fresh Eyes: After editing, a different person should do the proofreading. A new pair of eyes is more likely to spot overlooked errors.

Printed Proofreading: Sometimes, errors missed on a screen become apparent on paper.

Magazine publishers often prefer a printed round of proofreading before finalizing the content.

While creativity and compelling narratives are the heart of any magazine, rigorous editing and proofreading are its backbone. These processes are non-negotiable for magazine publishers, ensuring that every piece they publish stands out in quality, clarity, and credibility.

How Do You Implement the Content Strategy for Your Magazine?

The role of a magazine editor extends far beyond simply overseeing content creation; they are the orchestrators of the publication’s content strategy. As we explore content strategy to a close, it’s essential to understand how a magazine editor can bring that strategy to life, ensure its success, and make necessary adjustments over time.

Key Takeaways: The Magazine Editor’s Toolkit

Clear Objectives: Every successful content strategy begins with clear objectives. Understanding the end goal is crucial, whether it’s increasing readership, enhancing brand visibility, or driving engagement.

Diverse Content Types: As explored earlier, modern readers seek a multifaceted experience. A varied content mix is essential, from in-depth articles and multimedia elements to interactive features.

Quality Assurance: The editing and proofreading stages are non-negotiable steps. Every piece of content must meet the highest standards to maintain the magazine’s reputation and credibility.

Actionable Steps to Implementation

Create an Editorial Calendar: A magazine editor should oversee the creation of an editorial calendar, aligning content with critical dates, events, and industry trends. This ensures timely and relevant content throughout the year.

Collaborate with Contributors: Foster a strong relationship with writers, photographers, designers, and other contributors. Regular brainstorming sessions and feedback loops can lead to consistent, high-quality content.

Regular Training: Given the digital landscape’s evolving nature, conducting periodic training sessions is beneficial, and ensuring that the team is up-to-date with the latest trends and tools is helpful.

Measuring Success and Making Adjustments

A magazine editor’s job continues after publication. Monitoring performance and gathering feedback are critical components of the role.

Analytics Tools: Google Analytics and similar tools shed light on content performance and traffic origins. They also highlight how readers engage with and respond to the material.

Reader Feedback: Encourage readers to leave comments, participate in surveys, or engage on social media. This direct feedback can offer invaluable insights into what’s working and what needs adjustment.

Strategy Review: Periodically, a magazine editor needs to reassess and modify the content strategy, considering performance metrics and reader feedback. Flexibility is vital, Whether incorporating more multimedia elements, focusing on specific topics, or adjusting publication frequency.

In wrapping up, a magazine editor’s role is pivotal in crafting and implementing a content strategy. A magazine editor can ensure that the magazine meets and exceeds its objectives by understanding the critical components of a successful strategy, collaborating closely with contributors, and staying attuned to performance and feedback.

What is the primary role of a magazine editor in content strategy?

The magazine editor oversees the content strategy’s creation and implementation, ensuring alignment with the magazine’s objectives. They collaborate with contributors, ensure content quality, and adjust the strategy based on performance and feedback.

Why is an editorial calendar important?

An editorial calendar aligns content with critical dates, seasonal events, and industry trends. It ensures timely and relevant content, helping plan in advance and manage resources efficiently.

How can I ensure consistent quality in my magazine’s content?

Focus on rigorous editing and proofreading processes, establish clear editorial guidelines, and conduct regular training sessions for your contributors. Collaboration and feedback loops with contributors are also crucial.

What types of multimedia content should I consider for my magazine?

Consider incorporating videos, infographics, and interactive content like quizzes or sliders. The choices should be based on your audience’s preferences and the nature of your magazine.

How often should the content strategy be reviewed and adjusted?

While the strategy should have a solid foundation, periodic reviews based on performance data and reader feedback are crucial. Reviewing the strategy at least quarterly is advisable, but adjustments can be made as frequently as needed.

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