A Case for Custom Publishing

With a troubling economy causing magazine publishers to focus even more intently on generating additional revenue streams, custom publishing is one area that more traditional publishers are exploring. However, while a custom publication can be a profitable way to serve an existing client or attract a new one, it also can present new challenges for a traditional publisher that is not use to serving both an audience and a company in this manner. Christopher Leach, editor-in-chief of HealthMatters magazine—which is published on behalf of Florida-based Liberty Medical Supply by EPS Communications of Woburn, Mass.—spoke with Publishing Executive Inbox about how traditional publishers can turn a client relationship into a successful, quality publication.INBOX: How can a custom publishing program enhance a traditional publisher's business? What potential exists for publishers with custom publishing?CHRISTOPHER LEACH: A custom publishing program gives traditional magazine publishers an opportunity to generate ancillary revenue from existing advertisers or from new clients. In a down economy, with advertising revenues declining in traditional media, custom publishing is an area that continues to grow.The difficulty traditional publishers have is making the necessary cultural shift, and many have failed. Custom publishing requires a focus on the customer, because the customer "owns" the magazine.An additional issue in traditional publishing companies is that the apparent synergy between the advertising, marketing and C-level contacts of the parent company are often jealously guarded by traditional sales and marketing staff who see custom publishing as a possible drain on their revenues, and thus, compensation. It is vital that a mainstream publisher, who is entering the custom publishing business as a way to gain additional revenue from existing clients, recognizes this issue and builds in cooperation and compensation plans accordingly.INBOX: How can a publisher make a case to a corporation for a custom publication? What are the key benefits to emphasize?LEACH: Customized content—free of competitive messages and developed for a target audience—offers the greatest benefit. It can be used for retention, acquisition, cross-sell and sometimes other missions. One example, IBM's Think Research, was designed to showcase the IBM research division's achievements to impress present and future customers and to affect IBM's perceived value among institutional investors.A second example, Booz Allen Hamilton's Strategy+Business magazine, was conceived as a way to show existing and potential customers the quality of the firm's thinking and to gain a competitive advantage over firms like McKinsey and Bain. Strategy+Business continues today as a successful commercial venture supported in part by advertising and newsstand sales.INBOX: When producing a custom magazine like HealthMatters, how do you maintain the balance between serving the interests of your audience and serving the interests of the corporation (without sacrificing one or the other)?LEACH: People don't want to be sold to; they want to be entertained and informed. Savvy custom-magazine recipients understand who is sending the publication to them and why. They will overlook that fact if the content is compelling enough that it can distract them from other publications and other media. The secret is telling great stories that still fall within the marketing context of the magazine. It's an art, not a science.How much you visibly brand a company within a custom magazine depends on the audience and the products. BMW owners expect BMW Magazine to promote the company's brands. But publications like HealthMatters that dispense medical information and advice have to be careful to maintain objectivity and balance or the value of the magazine will evaporate.INBOX: Some people perceive custom publications as having a lack of quality compared to traditional publications, particularly editorial-wise. How do you respond to that?LEACH: That is absolutely untrue in most cases. As with any great magazine, the reader's experience begins in the mind of an inspired editor. But you also need a client who understands that readers "get" the message and don't want to be hit over the head with marketing messages. … Quality sells. Successful custom publications have it and unsuccessful ones don't.INBOX: How important is a corresponding Web presence when producing a custom print publication (compared to a traditional publication)? What is the Internet strategy for HealthMatters?LEACH: A Web site is a critical companion to any magazine—traditional or custom—these days. Readers expect a Web presence. Our own site, HMDiabetes.com, is an extension of the magazine. It has much more content—additional sidebars, videos and other features—than a conventional magazine. It also attracts many visitors who are not readers, who have not been driven to the site by the magazine, but who have found the site through a search.HMDiabetes.com is an interesting example of a Web site that goes far beyond the progenitor magazine in terms of content because it has a much broader audience. With HealthMatters, we know who our readers are and what their information base is; they are all under a doctor's care or they wouldn't be in our database, so we can assume some sophistication, and we know a lot about their demographics. That's not so for the Web site, which should attract anyone who has diabetes or knows or cares for someone who does. …

General

A Case for Custom Publishing

Janet Spavlik

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Janet Spavlik