The digital publishing industry is set to grow by over 10 percent between 2018 and 2022. Furthermore, the print publications are in steep decline. Therefore, many publications are switching to digital publishing to grow readers and revenue. If you want to switch to digital publishing, you need to choose a digital publishing platform. But as the digital publishing market grows so does the number of players in the industry.
This makes it difficult for publications to decide which is the best publishing platform for them. But you have to find out how to ensure you choose the best platform for you, keep reading below.
What Kind of Publication Are You?
It doesn’t matter what kind of publication you produce, everyone is asking the question of how to switch to digital.
That’s why whether you’re a magazine about automobiles, a poetry journal or a gardening products catalog, you’ve got the same decision to make.
It’s important not to jump to any decisions based on little or no information about the advantages and disadvantages of the different kinds of digital publishing platform.
You need to find out which digital publishing platform will provide you with the best opportunity to achieve a significant return on your investment.
Whatever kind of publication you provide, it’s important you focus on switching to a digital publication that is responsive to users. This means not taking the easy route via PDFs.
What’s Your Prefered Method of Payment?
Depending on the digital publishing platform you choose, you’ll have a different method of payment. It’s really important to check the terms and conditions of your agreement.
The main two types of payment are the following:
- Flat Monthy-fee
- Revenue Sharing Model (free-of-charge to set up)
How you pay for your digital platform depends on a number of factors. For example, your budget.
1. Self-Service Platforms
One of the most famous examples of the self-serve platform format is the erotic best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey. The popular novel started off as a self-published e-book.
With the self-serve platform, you receive high-quality tech at an affordable cost. However, it’s usually an extremely bare-bones package. That means that additional features and customer service support are in short supply.
And yet, many people make do with the abundance of ‘how to’ Youtube videos that provide all the information you need to switch to digital. Experts and enthusiasts take you step-by-step on the journey through the self-publishing process.
There are a number of ways you can self-publish through such publishing platforms. These include HTML5 or the IOS app.
If you’re searching for an introduction to dip your toes in the world of digital publishing, self-serve platforms could be the way to go. But if you’re producing tonnes of professional content, there’s plenty of other options that are more suitable.
2. Do-it-Yourself
Are you prepared to DIY your way through digital publishing? You can discover the tools you need to get started and away you go.
You don’t want to get bogged down in the DIY-style of digital publishing unless you know about plug-ins and digital design. If you don’t, then you need to have the time and ability to learn about it.
If you’re willing to put in the commitment to learning how to do digital publishing yourself, this could be the best option for you. But you’ll plenty of time and resources to produce a high-quality online publication.
3. The Full Service
Do you want to hand over the responsibility of switching your print publication to digital to the experts?
That’s why you’d choose to go with the full service. If you find a company that provides full-service digital publishing platforms, you’ll have much less to do yourself.
You can be confident that the design of your digital publication is of the highest quality. The web portal will be set up for you to monitor the activity that happens on your online publication. However, you the technical aspects will be fully handled by the experts.
If you have the money to invest in a top-quality full-service digital publishing platform, you should go for the full-service. This way you get what you pay for.
4. Customized Approached
Nowadays, many digital publications also provide apps on both native IOS and Andriod apps.
This is because an increasing number of people access the internet through their mobile devices. This means that while your website is really important, so is the quality of your app.
Do you want to create an app from scratch?
If you want an off-the-shelf template digital publication app, you should go with the customized approach.
According to research, the web builder WordPress now power over 30 percent of the total number of websites on the internet. If you want your publication to stand out from the crowd, you might want to go with a custom company.
However, it’s important to know that you have to willing to stump up the cash for such an undertaking. The custom features and design come at a cost.
The Best Digital Publishing Platform
Now you know how to choose the right digital publishing platform for you. There’s no doubt that digital publications are the future of publishing.
It’s important to consider what your readers expect from your publication. While switching to digital is definitely the right choice, you don’t want to compromise on value for your customers.
Are you searching for a digital publishing platform for your content? Check out our guide to the best publishing platforms around today!
