Crossing the digital divide appears to be unreasonably difficult for traditional print media. I am still not sure why they are struggling to get the formula right, though I suspect it has a little to do with snobbery – the view that journalists shouldn’t have to think about search engine optimisation. On the other hand, I just read this on the Age website: “MORE girls of the motor show: it’s not just the cars that are making Europe’s biggest motor show a glamorous affair” so I’m not sure that there is a sacred place to stand. Either way, just dressing up print content and adding a few ‘weblogs’ is not a digital solution (I’m looking at you, National Times).
But what happens when you are working with a publication which is ultimately print-by-nature? Arguably everything can be taken online, but when you are talking about magazines, they exist to entertain in any location, to be portable, light and pretty. Putting aside the possibilities of e-readers ’till later, their interaction with the digital medium is murky. The way some prominent magazines have chosen to interact with the web displays the spectrum of different relationships between a periodical and its website, from timid to an all-out embrace of the digital world.
Strategy 1: Putting magazine content online and charging for it
Case Study: The Monthly
The publication which first made me think about this dilemma was the Monthly. The only politics, culture and arts magazine of its kind in Australia, the Monthly print version is appealingly designed and high quality. They do what they do very well and for this reason, their need to put resources into their online offering is not high. The editor outlined their approach to online content in September’s email bulletin;
As News Corp and Fairfax discuss the prospect of charging for online content, the Monthly has found a comfortable position, leaving access to the current issue subscription-based but making archived content free.
They are playing it very safe with this model, because in no way is the website detracting from their printed content. But I see a few missed opportunities:
- To access the paywalled content, you need to buy an online monthly or combined online + print subscription. Before I do that, I’d like to know what I’m getting. A short (even 48 hour) free trial would provide this teaser. Or why not a digital edition? See the New Yorker.
- The layout is not very strategic. To view all the articles available, you need to scroll down. It is not clear which issue they are from, leaving the user to guess – never a good thing with the small attention span of the online reader. The subscriber-only content is towards the bottom, the problem with this being that they have missed a marketing opportunity to entice people to sign up. This is a difficult balance as too many roadblocks will lose people, but just a little taste above the fold that says “this is the very latest stuff but you can’t read it” would help with subscriptions.
- The written content is exactly the same as the magazine. I think this is ok, as it is what people expect from the publication, but applying some of the excellent images and design used in the print version would benefit the website. And maybe just breaking up the paragraphs a little more.
- They use the same categories as the magazine – also fine, but I think some extra classification would help the reader – for example tagging. Simple, effective folksonomy.
- Slow TV, the Monthly’s online video channel: brilliant.
- No exclusively online content – other magazines have done this, and it works without detracting from their magazines. See below.
Strategy 2: Put limited magazine content online, no paywall and some online exclusives
Case Study: Granta
Granta is a quarterly literary publication with a worldwide readership. Their approach to an online model has parallels to the Monthly in that, like most magazines, they use it as a teaser for the real deal (print version). Yet, in this case, I think the balance is slightly better.
- The website has tagging, clear categories, and is fairly well designed.
- There are no paywalls – but limited content. This may work better as a marketing tool as you never feel refused or left out but might love the content so much you want more. Also, they can ask you to sign up for the site without paying anything, which is a good way for them to capture an extensive email list.
- The online only content. I think this is important because it extends the website beyond being a marketing tool. This increases the all-important level of credibility of the website as online users don’t feel like second rate customers, and a ‘special’ relationship is built straight away. It also increases a sense of trust for the editorial team because they are web-savvy and not old-fashioned about how they approach online content.
Strategy 3: Put some magazine content online, generously supplemented with web features
Case Study: The New Yorker
Heading even further into the digital embrace, the New Yorker magazine has made themselves a website, and by that, I mean, it is a fully functional product in its own right. While their site is still a teaser for the print magazine, it contains a lot of online content; including blogs, audio and video.
They don’t offer a subscription to the site, but you can subscribe to receive ‘digital copies’ of the magazine. Their articles appear in the same form as they would in the print version – but it has been designed well so includes the relevant images and design. Obviously in this case we are dealing with an experienced, well-funded and well-staffed publication, who probably have dedicated website editorial staff.
Strategy 4: Go online
Case Study: Time Magazine
Time.com is most definitely a fully souped-up website with all the bells and whistles. No worries about being sensitive about their print publication.
Will it affect their print sales? It mightn’t matter. Time Magazine’s Managing Editor, Richard Stengel, was recently interviewed by GalleyCat, mediabistro’s book publishing newsletter, and talked about the digital future of magazines. He has seen the future, and it is e-publications:
I was an early convert to the Amazon Kindle, and one of the things we saw was that people were buying content, even apart from books, when it wasn’t that great–or as good as it was online or in print. To me these devices are in some ways, one of the future forms of journalism and content … What is a magazine story on an e-reader, when e-readers are full color, when there’s video and audio? We’re looking into all those things right now. To me, it’s a very fruitful category going into the future.
So what should magazines do?
First of all, while magazine websites might be primarily a marketing tool, it pays to spend a little bit of time taking advantage of the digital medium. Obviously this takes a budget, and they aren’t all the New Yorker or Time. However small design changes and a bit of a nod to online content might engage a new audience and even increase their interest in a print publication.
There are various predictions about the future of media in general, and magazines in particular. Perhaps Stengel is right, e-readers will take off and everything will go digital. On the other hand, as Margaret Simons reports in Crikey today, Professor Jeffrey Cole has given newspapers 6-10 years before it is all digital, but magazines might avoid or at least have a longer reprieve before needing to go online.
In the end, whether they are preparing for a digital future or just engaging in e-marketing, it is worth doing it properly and intelligently. Magazines don’t need to throw everything into their digital presence, but at least should offer their readers, online or otherwise, a solid engagement with the online medium.
Posted by bowerbirdblue 
