One of the main benefits of publishing a magazine in a digital format is being able to publish your magazine through an app.
Originally, print magazines had to be distributed through bookstores or newsstands. People had to visit these specialty stores to get their magazine on the market. Other than that, there were annual or quarterly subscriptions that entitled you to magazines being delivered right to your door.
As you can see, it all sounds very 90s. We now live in a different age. Bookstores have moved online and deliver books the next day, newspapers became online news sites and multimedia entertainment shifted from televisions and radio to mobile apps such as Netflix and Spotify.
Magazines can now take advantage of these changes by publishing their digital magazine on apps. Still need convincing? Let’s take a look at the benefits of having a magazine on the app store:
– Wider reach
Think of an app store as if all bookstores and newsstands were all consolidated and everyone had to go to that one place to get it. That’s what app stores are. Across the world, everyone, depending on whether they had an iOS or Android system, has to go to an app store which will either be Google Play or Apple App Store and they all have access to the same apps.
– Low-cost delivery system
When a reader installs your magazine app, they’ll automatically get their issue without any delay nor cost to you. There are no logistical or delivery fees that you have to add that would have been a minus point for your subscribers.
– No delays
Everyone who has your magazine app will automatically receive the issues as soon as you publish them. No late deliveries here because someone messed up somewhere in the supply chain.
– Consistent quality
You can expect your magazines to be delivered as you imagined them to be. With your own newsstand app, your readers receive magazines consistently and with the same high quality that you intended.
– Readers know where to find it
Having your own magazine on the app store means your readers will always know where to find it. It doesn’t matter whether they lost their phone and have to buy one or if they have a new iPad in addition to their mobile phone and they want to view their magazine on both devices. They will know where to find your app.
– Convenience
If you compare buying a magazine against getting a digital magazine app on an app store, it’s clear which of the two is more convenient for your readers.
– Additional insight
Going digital has the added advantage of having more insight. By having your digital magazine as an app, you can have real-time tracking with insightful metrics that can help you in knowing how well your content is performing. Optimization will be easier which will help in your efforts to monetize your digital magazine.
– Instant access
Once a subscriber pays the subscription fee, they don’t have to wait for the next month to start getting the latest issue. All they have to do is log into their app, and they can access the most recent issue.
– Branding benefits
Having an app adds a positive perception on your brand. Readers know that being able to publish apps take a whole different level of skill sets so by having an app on an app store, will reinforce your brand’s image.
– Exclusive content
You can publish exclusive content that’s only available to those who have your app. This further adds value to your magazine app and can be a differentiator if you have a blog or website that posts similar content.
– Live feeds
Increase reader engagement through live feeds. With a magazine app, you can incorporate a live stream of content to your digital magazine app so they don’t have to wait for the next issue to get their latest content.
Conclusion
You’ve just seen how placing your magazine on the app store has a lot of game-changing benefits for your publication, from the more obvious benefits of increased reach and delivery advantages to the newly added benefits such as live feeds, which have become only available recently with developments in magazine app technologies.
However, more than all of these benefits, what should convince you to offer a magazine app is the fact that your readers are consuming content in these ways: through apps and digital media. Even if you set all these benefits aside, it’s clear that you can’t ignore app stores as a way to distribute your content.
