The top ten parenting magazines in publication today have more than 15 million readers combined. The top five parenting publications boast more than 2 million readers each. What makes them so popular? How does your parenting magazine rank among the best?
Can your parenting magazine develop a following comparable to those numbers? Creating a quality publication with loyal readers isn’t easy, but it is possible.
Check out these hot digital parenting magazine trends to look for in 2019. Read on to learn how to make them work for you.
Digital Parenting Magazines Multimedia Rich Content
Gone are the days of shopping for parenting magazines at the supermarket.
Digital parenting magazines continue to move towards a more dynamic experience for their readers. Unique pictures, fun and informative videos, and interactive pages fill online magazines for parents to choose from.
Many parenting magazines did away with print editions to deliver a more lavish experience online.
Content to Watch
Videos are where it’s at. Undeniably it’s the most versatile and popular form of content on the web.
The majority of consumers prefer video to any other content.
Do-it-yourself instructional videos are a favorite. People would rather watch than read how to do something.
People spend hours watching ones posted just for the fun of it, too. Video content keeps visitors interested longer than anything else. Followers watch a billion hours of video each and every day.
Search engines, like Google, love video content, too. A page ranks higher than competitors if it contains relevant video content. This makes it easier for parents to find their favorite magazines or discover new ones through searching for topics they’re interested in.
Interaction and Engagement
Parenting articles can’t just inform readers to be competitive. They need to entertain, inform, engage, intrigue, and entice a visitor to share with others just how awesome the content is.
2019 will see more content designed to allow visitors to interact and engage with other parents. In fact, more magazines than ever are creating communities rather than just publications.
Parenting Magazines Find Their Niche
One of the biggest trends for 2019 is the continuing move towards narrowing content to a niche. Thousands of websites available at the click of a button make it harder to compete for attention.
A magazine needs to offer something readers can’t find just anywhere, so more publications are focusing in on their niche.
Whether it’s toddlers, school-age children, or homeschooling tricks, finding a niche within the parenting magazine industry can help a magazine develop a loyal following and help drive traffic to the publication.
Niche content can help the magazine be recognized as an expert in its area rather than just one of the thousands trying to get noticed.
There’s an App for That!
More than half of the people accessing the internet do so from a mobile device. They’re reading on the go.
Rather than staring at the five-year-old paper parenting magazines in their pediatrician’s waiting room, they want to access the latest content from their favorite publication on their smartphone.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that one of the continuing trends for 2019 is for parenting magazines to have an app that allows easier, more accessible and engaging interaction with their publication.
Responsive Mobile First Design
Not everyone wants to download the app, so it’s crucial for readers to be able to access a webpage and magazine on a responsive site that’s easy to use and access on their mobile devices.
It’s not enough for your magazine to look good on your device. You need it to be responsive and look great on any device that visitors may be using.
If your site takes longer than a few seconds to load you could lose visitors forever as they go in search of sites that load faster. 40% of visitors abandon a page that doesn’t load within 3 seconds.
That means if your site loads slowly you could be losing almost half of your readers before you even have a chance to wow them with your incredible content. It doesn’t matter how good your content is if they leave before they see it.
Parenting Magazines are Becoming Social Butterflies
It’s not just about what’s in the magazine, it’s about relationships across the web. Parenting magazines are cashing in on the power of social media.
Creating and maintaining social media profiles, pages, and accounts can drive traffic to your site, develop a loyal following, and give you a chance to interact in ways you’ve never considered.
It also gives the readers who love you already the opportunity to share their favorite posts, comment, and review your magazine for friends and followers to see.
Social media can help parenting magazines get positive reviews and gain a solid reputation. The best way to do this is to respond to comments and reviews quickly, post regularly, and to always encourage followers to visit and share opinions on your content.
Networking and Guest Posting
New online publications, websites, and blogs are popping up every single day. The more there are, the harder it can be to get noticed and to gain new visitors.
Networking is a great way to reach potential readers. Whether you’re a brand new publication or you’ve been around for decades, networking is important to your growth.
Writing guest posts or articles for other magazines in the industry, doing interviews for podcasts, and connecting with magazine distribution newsstands can help you get the exposure you need.
You’re Not Alone
One of the biggest trends in parenting magazines and all digital publications is using quality publishing solutions to make the process easier.
You may know everything there is to know about parenting, but that doesn’t mean you know how to create an app or design a magazine. There are experts in that area that can help you realize your dream of sharing what you know best.
To learn more about creating a magazine in your niche or other publishing knowledge check out the rest of our publishing blog today.
