Print magazines are hardly dead yet—but you can’t deny that the technology behind digital publishing is pretty damn cool. Here are 5 digital magazine trends to keep in mind for 2015:
Interactivity is rewarding
The ability to make magazine pages “come to life” is such an exciting opportunity for publishers. Creating interactive media for your reader will lead to more engaging content—holding their attention for longer periods of time. Whether it is animated story introductions, behind the scenes videos, audio interviews, visual quizzes, or bonus material, giving your reader more to explore on their tablet will create anticipation for your magazine each month. If your digital magazine isn’t interactive, what’s the point of difference between choosing it over your print version? Don’t miss out on sales to more innovative publishers. Be interactive.
But wait, is that even an ad?
Interactivity’s ability to hold readers’ attention will give way to better advertising. With the format of digital magazines, readers can “jump past” ads faster than having to physically flip through paper pages. On certain platforms, publishers can track which pages are being read more than others and can measure the length of time spent on a page. Therefore, advertisers are forced to think more creatively if they want to be successful. Ads will appear less like traditional print ads and look more like editorial spreads, with call to action woven in discretely. When it comes to digital magazines, absorbing content will be the winner. Advertisements will shout less and give more.
Scrapbooking is still relevant
In the height of Pinterest’s popularity, many digital magazines now offer the ability to save inspiration from their magazines on your device. Hearst has already developed a way for readers to digitally clip and save favorite photos, recipes, and articles to a your own scrapbook folders.
Serial publishing is hot, again.
It’s how Sherlock Holmes, The Three Musketeers, and The Count of Monte Cristo were first published. Stories published in parts week-by-week or month-by-month are making a comeback. More and more magazines are taking advantage of this format to build hype and retain readership.
“The Long Tail” is still changing the game
Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) makes it easy to create and distribute your own interactive magazine online. With the tools from DPS, smaller publishing companies and independent authors will join the ranks of larger titles. As Chris Anderson writes, “When the tools of production are available to everyone, everyone becomes a producer” (The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More). Look out for smaller niche companies publishing new digital magazines in 2015.
