Paddling the Waters of Digital Publishing Software

The trend towards digital print media is evident. Evident enough that I don’t feel it is necessary to direct you to statistics, facts or additional material that supports that statement. But the decision to ‘go digital’ is of course complicated by the numerous vendors offering varying degrees of potential solutions. As with any product there will be a price and quality variance. In order to help navigate the ‘digital publishing’ waters we have prepared a ‘Digital Publishing Purchasing Guide’ to serve as your paddle. Click here to download complete guide

Turbo Charging Ad Revenue with a Flip Page Edition

Selling ads in a printed publication is absolutely vital to the success of the publication. It is famously understood that a publication cannot survive on subscribers alone. And, to an extent, the same should be said for the digital version. If ad sales are the engine that keeps the print mobile running, digital ad revenues should be the aftermarket ‘turbo chargers’ that whip you through the finish line.

But all too often digital ads fall flat, scratching to reach the finish line, without using the aftermarket tools readily at their disposal.

Use these suggestions as a spark plug to ignite your ad fuel and blow by the competition.

1. Introduction Pages – An Introduction Page (to the left of cover or right of back cover) is a great placement location for an advertiser in a Flip Page edition. Since the Intro Page can be as large dimensionally as the publication it acts as a full page ad on the landing page of the actual publication. This is where the highest percentage of trackable page views will occur and should be considered prime real estate.
2. Margin Advertisements – Margin advertisements offer individualized ad placements with hyperlinking capabilities within the viewing window of your publication. These are an excellent means of upselling an ad to a current print advertiser or selling an ad to a ‘digital only’ advertiser.
3. Advertiser Index – The Advertiser Index is a dropdown list of advertisers integrated as an icon into the tool bar of the Flip Page edition. The Advertiser Index provides the name of the Advertiser as well as an internal link to the ad page within the Flip Page edition which provides immediate exposure of the advertiser to their audience. The Advertiser Index can be provided as an upsell to existing advertisers within the publication.
4. Custom Animated Ads – Ads can be more than a static image on a ‘browser page’. Using our custom design services we can create an interactive enhanced ad with the images and content within the print version.
5. Multimedia Ads – Flip Page editions provide the ability to build both Audio and Video into a publication page. Use this functionality as an upsell to your advertisers to compliment their print content with a TV ad, product spotlight video, radio spot, etc.
6. Custom Page Naming – Flip Page editions provide the ability to customize the name of a page as it appears in the middle of the toolbar. This is a great opportunity to add value to a client on a full page ad within the Flip Page edition.
7. Advertiser Tabs – The page tabs feature allows the Flip Page edition creator to add a page tab that appears on the left edge of the right side page. The page tab internally links the reader from the current page to the tabbed page. The name of the tab is customizable which also makes for a great value add that can be provided to an advertiser to help drive traffic specifically to their ad.
8. Call Back Cards – a Call Back Card is a customizable form that is supplanted into the Flip Page edition. A Call Back Card can be added within an advertising placement to encourage direct interaction between the advertiser and reader without leaving the Flip Page edition.
9. Direct or Hard Linking – Typically a Flip Page edition opens to the front cover of the publication. Using the Direct or Hard Link option allows you to determine the page which opens when the link is clicked. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight an advertiser within a publication.
10. Publication Analytics – Flip Page editions offer a full suite of analytical data that can be reported to the advertiser. Data such as Total/Unique visits, URL clicks, Video/Audio plays, Reply/Call Back card interaction, Total/Unique page views, as well as demographic information about readers can be reported to advertisers.
11. Specialty Pages – Specialty pages such as blow ins, gatefolds, barn doors, and belly bands create unique opportunities to highlight a specific advertiser within a Flip Page edition. Since the page cost of a Flip Page edition is incredibly economical, allow your client to position their ad in a 3 page gatefold spread rather than a single page full ad.

Flip Page Technology versus the Online PDF

“Well, we link a downloadable PDF of their print media to their website”. These words make me cringe. This may be due to the fact that it assumes that the online PDF is a suitable replacement for Flip Page technology but it is more likely the assumption that readers aren’t looking for a better online reading experience. I would doubt a common request heard by website designers is ‘We are hoping to refrain from an interactive online experience that would increase the opportunity of engaging our web traffic’.There was a time where papyrus scrolls were all the rage but 1500 years have passed since that was considered a suitable means for disseminating printed information. Since then our culture has steadfastly accepted the written word in a paginated form. Leafing through a book has become as second nature as moistening your dry finger tips to enhance the ability to turn a page. However, there has been a delay in transferring this habitual experience into a compatible web format. Web experiences (such as an online PDF) typically haven’t been proven to be effective methods of engagement. The purpose of a PDF is to provide a universal means to share and distribute documents without the hassles of incompatibility. With that objective in mind, job well done Adobe. However, you would be hard-pressed to find anything that documents Adobe claiming the PDF as an engaging print media marketing solution. Admittedly, there are shared features such as text search functionality, link composition, and universal accessibility that allow for comparison between the two file types. But it is what Flip Page technology offers in addition that enhances its status as a print media marketing solution. Since the purpose of print media is to capture the attention of its audience it seems logical that its digital counterpart should do the same. Flip Page technology has been proven to offer a more engaging experience in comparison to a typical web read including online PDF’s. Print media is also intended to be a cost effective means of reaching a large market. Being a web based technology that has access to all 2 billion web users, in 7 continents, Flip Page and online PDF’s have the ability to reach a large market. Unlike an online PDF we make it easier for that to happen. Email and Social Media sharing tools drastically increase the potential that the digital print media reaches far beyond its intended borders. A major focus of marketers is being able to objectify their spending with measurable data. Flip Page technology meets this demand. Unlike an online PDF that can offer minimal trackable data Flip Page software allows you to measure and report visitor tendencies such as visits, repeat visits, time spent, time visited etc. You can also identify user interaction such as click throughs, page views, unique page views, and downloaded content. You can also learn more about your market reach by country and city location of your readers. And there is plenty more available. For print media to be successful, regardless of media type, engaging your reader is paramount. Why not use a product that is designed for just that?

A case (Baker's dozen actually) for the Flip Page catalogue as a complement to it's print counterpart

1. Marketability - A Flip Page catalogue can be pushed through all of the online marketing channels with the potential of reaching billions of online users. Examples include websites, email campaigns and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. 2. Viral Marketing - Digital catalogues through Flip Page Publishing offer email and social media sharing capabilities providing an opportunity for consumers to push your online catalogue into the hands of more consumers outside your traditional market.

3. E-commerce - our Flip catalogues include customizable hyperlinks which allow you to connect a product image, sku, product code or anything else in the publication to it's ecommerce site or webstore to drive additional online consumer purchases.

4. Product Rollovers - Flip editions can add customizable product rollovers that can be used to link to URL's, provide additional product information, or both. Product rollovers also provide 'shopping cart' and 'wishlist' functionality.

5. Shopping Cart/Wishlist Functionality - Included in the Product Rollovers suite is the ability to select products within the catalogue to be added to the 'Shopping Cart' or 'Wishlist'. Shopping Cart items can be emailed, printed, or shared. Wishlist items are stored on the consumers computer for later retrieval and can be emailed at any point. Both 'Shopping Cart' and 'Wishlist' functions drive in-store sales by providing a simple product to consumer interaction.

6. Embedded Media - Flip Page editions preferably are not an online print reproduction. Flip versions allow for the inclusion of other media such as product videos, TV advertisements, sound tracks, music, YouTube and other hosted videos to provide the consumer with an immersive, interactive experience.

7. Mobile Support - A Flip catalogue can fit in your pocket and travel with you to the far corners of the earth. Flip catalogue versions are optimized for mobile browsing on iOS and Android platforms. Equipped with Search function, active links, thumbnail contents, email share and native swipe and zoom your consumers will find your catalogue wherever they are.

8. Analytics - The success of a Flip edition marketing campaign can easily be detailed by referring to the Flip catalogue analytics. Flip editions are able to track and report consumer engagement data such as visits, page views, URL clicks, media views, and reader demographics by day, week, month, or year in real time.

9. Apps - reach a growing market of App consumers with a custom branded native App.

10. Customization - At Flip Page, we are not trying to promote our brand, we are trying to help you promote yours. Our digital editions include customizable backgrounds, editable link colours, domain masks, customized page tabs, editable tool bars, logo placements, customizable help menus, customizable embed codes, white labelled URL's and more. We can even custom design a toolbar for you or even create a branded portal specifically for your Flip Page editions.

11. GeoPub Management -If your catalogue is segmented by markets, we can help distribute your catalogue to the intended market by placing GeoPub restrictions on the location in which the catalogue can be viewed.

12. Reader Registration - Gathering demographic data about your consumers is not limited to the information provided within the Flip Page analytics suite. Using Flip Page software you are able to create a customizable reader registration where you can gather information about your reader prior to permitting access to your catalogue. Similarly, you can opt to provide a prescribed number of preview pages prior to allowing access.

13. ROI - The inherent cost of a Flip Page edition is not prohibitive which drastically increases the potential for a significant return on investment.

Confirmation that the end of print on paper is not near

Last night, as per usual, I sat down with my son to read him a story prior to bed time. I attempted to 'spice it up' by reading him a couple of children centric 'ibooks' that we had downloaded to our iPad. The format was a relatively new introduction to my 3 1/2 year old but I assumed that his interest with his parents 'phones' may translate to the reading world. The introduction was relatively short-lived. With an absolute look of disgust, he turned to me and said 'I want to read a book where I can turn the pages'. I wanted to point out to him that with a simple swipe of the finger that he could emulate the 'page flipping' action that he so desperately desired. But this was not a sale that I was going to make.

In his 3 1/2 years my son has been read countless print books ranging from the timeless 'Goodnight Moon' to the Dr. Suess classics. Our hope was that an introduction to books would lead to an interest in reading. We hoped that an interest in reading would spur his imagination and creativity and allow him to become a veritable sponge of knowledge. Time will tell if our hopes as parents will ring true but I think we can conclude convincingly that we have created a print consumer for life.