The Competitive Advantage of Digital Circulation

Digital Editions: Click Here to View

Home Business Magazine (HBM) is on the cutting edge of online magazine publishing. In addition to print circulation, each printed issue is produced and circulated in an identical Digital Edition that includes an iPad/iPhone custom app digital edition. HBM's Digital Edition is powered by Blue Toad, the industry's leading digital edition platform.

IPAD Digital Edition: HBM has a custom iPad App for viewing the Digital Edition that enables all pages and print ads to be viewed INTACT on the iPad. A custom App is a critical feature with an iPad as it allows the digital edition of HBM to be searched within the iPad. Click here for information on the iPad edition of HBM in Itunes. 

More than just an electronic version of the print magazine, the HBM Digital Edition is independently marketed and circulated, and is featured prominently on the HBM home page and most other web pages. A custom "Page Flipper" image on the HBM web pages draws readers in. Each Digital Edition issue delivers thousands of fresh readers, long after the Print magazine issue has gone off the newsstand. It is also “Search Engine Optimized (SEO),” to further maximize online readership. The Digital Edition can also be accessed on hand-held devices (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.). 

The Digital Edition receives thousands of additional readers each issue through "book-reading" websites such as Myebook.com and Scribd.com. HBM is producing “e-ink” versions of each print magazine issue, for viewing in the Amazon (Kindle Reader) and Barnes and Noble (Nook reader).

Why Digital Circulation?

Digital circulation reaches the markets of the future, and the future is NOW. For example, the lucrative 20-29 year old age group has largely abandoned print business magazines, but they are highly connected to digital media, and can be reached through digital circulation.

According to Foliomag**, a study of Digital Editions generated the following key findings about advertising in Digital Editions:
* Digital publications are viewed for 20 to 30 minutes. An average Web site visit lasts eight to nine minutes (in comparison, less than 50% of the issues of the average print subscription are even read by the subscriber!)
* 70 percent of digital readers were less likely to ignore Ads in digital editions than on web sites. They were perceived as less intrusive.
* Respondents found ads in digital magazines more helpful than ads in other electronic media and print publications.
* Elements that enhance the readers' digital edition experience are more videos (75%), extra photos (58%), slide shows (37.4%), audio (35.7%) and Flash animations (30.6%).
* Digital magazines are also seen as more authoritative (65%). more trustworthy (71%), easier to read (73%), better organized (78%), more focused experience (80%), more visually appealing (83%), and more interesting and fun to read (85%).
** Study included 5,612 readers of eight magazines with digital editions.

Digital Circulation Replaces Lost Print Circulation

Surviving the Newsstand Crash-Down: Digital circulation is a valuable replacment for declines in newstand/magazine rack sales. Since its peak in 1993, newsstand/magazine rack circulation for magazines has declined over 60 percent (ABC FAS-FAX Analysis reports). Business magazine percent declines are even higher. Rather than mislead advertisers by not reporting declines in newstand/magazine rack circulation (as some business publiications have done), HBM has drawn down newsstand/magazine rack circulaiton to reflect decreased market share. That lost circulation has been more than replaced with valuable digital circulation.

Controlled Circulation (Junk Mail) Magazines: Mailing magazines free to a controlled circulation mailing list (Junk Mail) had been a dominant means of circulation for small business publications, reaching their "hey day" in the early 1990's. But with the advent of email marketing (i.e. spam), aging market appeal, and dramatic drops in response, controlled circ has been rendered almost obsolete for business publications. Digital Controlled Circulation is the new way to make controlled circ work for business magazines.

Digital Circulation is NOT Free! From a custom App for the iPad, through custom digital viewers, specialized labor, and circulation investments, digital circulation is as or more expensive as printing ink to paper!

FREE Print Advertising Value in the Digital Edition

As the Digital Edition is an exact duplicate of the Print magazine, all print magazine advertisers (Display Ads, Classifieds and Business Directories) are included FREE in the Digital Edition. Print advertisers can add the following enhancements to the Digital Edition that include:

• URL Hyperlinks: Website URL addresses are hyperlinked, so that when a browser is hovered over the URL the visitor can click to visit the website. FREE for ALL advertisers!
• Video Ads: Insert a video that opens up and runs while the Ad is viewed.
• Audio Ads: Insert an audio Ad that runs while the Ad is viewed.
• PAGE ZERO: Full page ad that is displayed to the LEFT side of the Cover (page one) of the Digital Edition. Immediately viewed by ALL Digital Edition readers.

One Full Year of Advertising Results: The Digital Edition of your Print Advertisement will continue to deliver you print advertising value for at least one year after the print magazine issue has been removed from the newsstand.

Take your traditional print advertising into the new era of online publishing. Link your print and online advertising into one easy seamless advertising package.

Response and Digital Circulation - It's Not Dropping!

Many advertisers mistakenly assume that their response drops with digital circulaiton because their phone no longer rings. This is not true. Response actually goes up, copy for copy, with digital circulation compared to print. With Digital Circulation, however, the advertiser usually only hears from the prospect AFTER they have already checked out and vetted the advertiser.  This is done through detailed viewing of the business's website (listed in the Display Ad) and by searching through online reviews.

This compares to the "old days" of print display advertising, when an interested prospect would simply call a phone number printed in the display ad and request further information. The advertiser would immediately capture that "raw prospect" and get the opportunity to engage in selling activities with the prospects. But those days are over. Prospects now "invisibly" check out the company and business before ever making a live contact through email or the phone. But the response to the advertisement is still there, better than ever! Is your Online sales presentation compelling enough to get the prospect to contact your company to get more information?

For Information:

Contact Advertising Sales Points of Contacts (Click Here)