How Do You Move From Print Advertising to Digital Advertising?

The following query was posed on LinkedIn by Mark Gordon, Webmaster at Prince William County Park Authority:

"We have a print magazine that we want to move to a digital format. Our current print magazine has advertisers that we would also like to take to the digital side. What steps would need to be taken to ensure that we charge a good price for this? We're not sure of the medium (pdf or other), but we would not be averse to having ads on our website (we currently only have google ads on our site. Is there something that speaks to the best way of doing this?"

My response to Mark:

First, and most importantly, you must ascertain if your target audience is READY for a move from the now-print version to a digital version of your magazine.

How? Ask them! You already have their attention with your print content, so develop a short survey and include it in your next edition. And, send the survey electronically, too. A great way to "test" your audience's acceptance of digital media. Sometimes the best information gleaned from a survey isn't related to a question and a response!

And, while you're at it, be sure to ask them HOW, if you should move to a digital format, they would want to receive it: via email with PDF of magazine attached, via email with link to website-archived magazine, via a reader like Zinio (with advertisers' interactive links), or a combination of media?

Be certain you have the email address of every current magazine recipient and reader. Again, ask for it and their opt-in in advance. (Think, too, about how will you reach readers that get an issue via pass-along.)

Don't push this one; you need to "pull" your audience along, providing what they want not what you want to give.

Plan to spend some money on obtaining email lists of prospective readers, too, in order to add/maintain value to your advertisers.

Making sure your audience WANTS a digital magazine is very, very important in today's social media frenzy. I can think of many magazines I currently read that I would unsubscribe in a heartbeat if they went digital-only. So proceed with caution to maintain readers AND advertisers. Depending upon your audience, perhaps you try to ADD a digital version to your current mix and test reaction/ readership. I've seen this done with great success. After you see your audience has not only accepted, but embraced, the new digital format, you can guarantee your advertisers with solid metrics and eliminate the print version (and all the related costs). And, for those few print-hangers on (and there will be a few), you have a solid reason for making the change, not just that YOU wanted to make the move.

As far as the pricing of online magazine advertising, you most definitely will be in a better position to maintain or even increase rates if you take some well-place steps FIRST to guarantee readership, stability AND growth.

Push Me - Pull You Marketing

Interactive Marketing – Blending Push and Pull Marketing

Pull marketing is like planting a seed (seed = interest in your company, brand, concept, etc.), nurturing it and watching it grow. Nurture happens when you interact with your audience to learn of their concerns and develop solutions to address those need(s). When your audience is ready to engage (buy, donate, etc.), then your marketing efforts puts you “top of mind”.

Blogs, social networks, online PR, online videos, interactive websites, white papers, speaking events, seminars and word-of-mouth are great examples of “pull” marketing.

Add a permission-based email newsletter sign-up (for example), and now you have converted that “pull” into a “push”.

To determine what and how to add “pull” to your current “push”, ask yourself:

1. Where do our stakeholders (customers, donors) need answers that we can provide?
2. What emerging trends can we address?
3. What problems can we identify to be ahead of the curve?

Better have a blend of both push and pull for ultimate success and true engagement of all stakeholders!

Marketing Outlook 2006

Adapted from Marketing News January 15, 2006

It will not be advertised, publicized, direct mailed, telemarketed or demonstrated at a trade show.

It will be podcasted, Web seminar-ed, provided its own satellite radio channel, blogged about, buzzed about and IMed around the world.

The choices are endless and they have one thing in common:
Somebody else is pulling the strings. The tipping point has been reached and your fate lies in customers’ hands as they take charge of the marketing and brand experience. And it’s no longer about the product or service, but about the experience the user has with your product or service. Your best bet appears to be one that’s hedged with a multipronged approach, according to many experts we consulted from various segments of the industry.

According to Scott Cone, Sr. VP of Lanham, MD-based Merkle, In., a direct marketing services company, "The big trend will be multichannel, where mail drives consumers to custom sites and email is timed to coincide with direct mail or supplement mail in a planned series of contacts."

Push versus Pull in Sales and Marketing

Remember the story of Dr. Doolittle and the pushmi-pullu (Push Me-Pull You), the two-headed llama?

The theories behind "push" and "pull" sales and marketing make me think of Dr. Doolittle's llama. That poor animal never knew whether it was coming or going, and it's survival was dependent upon learning when to PUSH and when to PULL.

Just like the pushmi-pullu, if you PUSH when you should be PULL-ing, you'll lose ground and/or your balance...and, ultimately, the sale!

One of the biggest mistakes made in marketing is to PUSH information about products and services in the hope this will result in attracting prospects. Unless your brand is already a household name (like Coca-Cola or Proctor and Gamble), PUSH-ing rarely attracts real numbers of new customers that you need.

An alternative to PUSH marketing is to PULL prospects in. If you want prospects to remember your brand when they have a need for your products or services, start by attracting their interest first. Generate interest by focusing on what your potential customers want and their problems that need to be solved. Use this "customer-centered" marketing strategy to PULL prospects in. Give ideas that can be really used . Repeat your focus again and again. Create the kind of interest that draws customers to you and your brand.

After you develop a relationship, then you can PUSH useful information out to your customers.

Are you PULL-ing prospects in or just PUSH-ing your information out? Review your marketing materials to see if you have it right. Take a look at your web site, brochures, newsletters, correspondence and proposals.

PULL Tactics: "Customer-Centered"
Use a blog...make it interesting enough to encourage people to subscribe.
In your marketing materials:
Begin with a clear identification of the niche market(s) you work with.
Lead with customer problems and concerns that you can solve.
Create a picture of your brand that your target market can identify with.
Provide useful ideas that your target market can use and that demonstrates your expertise. Offer something for free (even if it's just information) that is useful to your target market.

PUSH Tactics: "You-Centered"
Use a website that is simply an on-line brochure.
In your marketing materials:
Focus on you, your services and staff.
Focus on glowing testimonials and your client list.
Use business "speak", instead of language that anyone would understand.

While both tactics work, the challenge is knowing which to use and when.

The PUSH then PULL marketing sequence works when you want to get prospects to give you their contact information. You PUSH useful information out to select prospects on a regular basis. (Remember, most buyers won't make a purchase until they've had up to 9 contacts from you). When your prospects have a compelling need, they'll turn to you since they’ve had regular communication from you. At some point prospects will want more details about your services, credentials and testimonials. But this is often the last information they need.

Use PULL and then PUSH marketing strategies to get your sales really moving in the right direction.