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I read a great article regarding the iPad and single copy sales. It is an interesting look the choice publishers have regarding whether they post the magazine as an eBook (which would be the easy route) or a redefined iPad experience.
If publishers take the easy route, they already have the content in a PDF style layout that can easily be converted into an eBook. The easy route also allows publishers to count the eBook downloads as single copy news stand sales (circulation) via ABC or BPA standards. Although publishers can boost their circ numbers and put little extra work into an eBook platform, are we selling ourselves short?
Users already have very high expectations for the iPad and are looking to be wowed by their interaction and overall experience. Putting a PDF version of your magazine into an eBook certainly isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off. Offering a more dynamic experience that includes video, links, touch interaction with articles and ads (picture taking your finger and moving a car 360 degrees in an advertisement), shopping directly from the app, and other innovative layers to the existing content will at least meet reader’s expectations if not exceed.
So the deluxe iPad experience won’t drive circulation – but it WILL drive web traffic and WILL fetch higher cpm’s from advertisers than your web site. As a valuable extension of your brand, an iPad experience can give your content distribution to non subscribers and win the lion’s share of market from competitors with a “one path” or “no path” strategy.
Anytime/Anywhere content strategy is here. Where are you?
