Digital Editions Continue to Shine in the B-to-B Space

Almost 10 years after their debut, digital editions continue to be a reliable source to which audience developers—particularly in the b-to-b space

By Chandra Johnson-Greene
Monday, November 10, 2008

---

Almost 10 years after their debut, digital editions continue to be a reliable source to which audience developers—particularly in the b-to-b space—can turn in order to increase circulation, deepen audience engagement and offer advertisers alternative ways to reach the right readers.

Offering subscribers digital editions in addition to (or in replacement of) the print version can improve a publisher’s circ operations, for example, in terms of customer service. “By offering digital editions, you are appeasing your subscribers who don’t want the print version whether it’s because it’s not portable enough or because you have to wait for it in the mail,” Anne Drobish, associate circulation director, audience development, NewBay Media, says. “Plus, we don’t have to worry about magazines getting lost in the mail, and if it doesn’t go through via email, it takes a matter of seconds to fix.”

Defer to Customer Preference

Ronda Hughes, audience development and show logistics director, Advanstar Communications, which currently offers 30 digital publications with more planned for next year, agrees that her company’s decision to offer digital editions is also largely based on customer preference. “We play on our customers’ preferences very passively at first by saying, ‘Which would you like, print or digital? You tell us,’” she says. “What we’re finding is that, depending on the market, between 5 and 10 percent of our print file transfers to digital and it’s because they can get it faster and it can be archived. If someone prefers digital editions, we’d be silly not to offer it to them. It could cause us to lose a subscriber.”

Drobish, who’s in charge of 15 trade publications that each have a digital edition, says it’s also a simple way to display good company branding. “For people who may not know about the print magazine, but may be familiar with the Web site or the trade shows, it’s a good way to get the product out there and try to brand your name. In our case, it worked because NewBay was comprised of several acquisitions, so we used digital editions to make our company more recognizable from a subscriber and advertiser viewpoint.”

Both agree that foregoing mailing and printing costs is also a big plus. Offering digital editions can be an efficient way to save money without spending additional money, Hughes says, and can allow you to reduce your print circ, which eliminates waste, adds Drobish.

Advertisers also view digital editions as a bonus. “They have so many more options in how they can display their ads, whether it’s through hot links or animation,” Hughes says. “But what’s even better is that whatever you can do in print, you can do in a digital edition. If you want to sell a belly-band ad or a fake cover, you can. But now you have even more space to work with.”