Publisher's Paradox: Change What You Print

Paradox: As publishers, we blame our consumers' changing content consumption habits for the decline in print subscriptions, but we are not changing what we print to reflect our audiences' evolving content consumption behavior. What's In A Name? In 1920, The Hudson Bay Company (a Canadian department store) debuted the first issue of its company magazine: The Beaver. The magazine, initially devoted to "serving the interests of those who serve The Hudson Bay Company," evolved over the past ninety-four years into a Canadian history magazine owned by Canada's National History Society. As the digital world evolved the publishers of The Beaver noticed an increasing decline in interest for its digital content. It didn't take long to realize that a quick search for "Beaver Magazine" on any reputable search engine resulted in a whole host of porn and smut links having nothing to do with their venerable title. (I imagine you're aware that the word "beaver" is a sexual euphemism.) Parents, teachers, even internet providers had spam-filtered searches for any words that might expose their customers and children to less-than-savory content. Unfortunately, for the publishers of The Beaver, it meant that their content was filtered out as well. Changing Its Print Product to Reflect the Realities of the Online WorldIn April of 2010, The Beaver debuted on newsstands with an entirely new nameplate. Canada's History Magazine better reflected the content the publication created and the new reality that its original title had been associated with the wrong kind of online destinations. The Beaver simply embraced the idea that the content consumption habits of the online world meant significant changes in the print product were needed. And it worked. The Publisher's Challenge What are you doing to change what you print? How can we blame consumers for canceling their print subscriptions when we haven't redefined what role the print product plays in the digital world? I challenge you to put yourself in the shoes of your primary audience. Spend the day consuming the content they consume, visiting the websites they visit. Then, ask yourself what you could do to make your print product more valuable given the experience you've just encountered. If we're going to increase the value of the print magazine for as long as we can, we're going to have to change the content we provide in the magazine. We must define how the print product adds value to their lives. Steal These Slides I invite you to steal these slides and present the Change What You Print paradox to your team: http://www.slideshare.net/tpldrew/pub-paradox-technology-isnt-killing-print-publishers-are About Publisher's Paradox Your publishing world has been turned upside down in the last decade. Call it digital disruption or the death of print -- it doesn't matter. You're still challenged with driving reliable revenue for a thriving market. The problem is you need your entire staff -- from editorial to audience development -- to think differently and try new things. You need new ways to drive new revenue. Each week, best-selling author Andrew Davis will help you get the most out of your weekly staff meeting. He'll uncover another of the puzzling paradoxes in the publishing world and arm you with a Powerpoint slide you can use to inspire your team to rethink the ways you drive revenue, build audience, and can ultimately succeed in a challenging environment.

Content Strategy

Publisher's Paradox: Change What You Print

Andrew Davis

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Andrew Davis