E-editions … a digital flash in the pan, or here to stay?

At the recent London Publishing Expo, there was a marked increase in the number of companies offering print-to-web publishing services. E-editions, if you prefer.

Caught between the tidal wave of misery crashing in daily from the newspaper sector and the deafening noise of the social media express, you don’t hear much about this publishing branch line.

So what’s going on? Will e-editions prove to be no more than a gimmick; a laboured attempt by newspapers to bridge the gap between falling circulations and an online future? Or will they mature into a profitable publishing tool?

Around four years ago, we all sat round our management tables like a bunch of children at a Saturday morning matinee and voiced a collective ‘wow’ at the online vision of newspaper pages turning, complete with curling corners and swishing sound.

Then we went back to work on what paid the wages: newspapers.

At the time, the only debate was around whether to impose subscription charges, or at least registration, on the e-editions of paid-for titles. I was firmly of the view that access should be free and easy. If we had 25,000 people (roughly the circulation of our paid-for) reading the e-edition online each week, what a fantastic problem that would be. In the event, audience didn’t go through the roof and the tracking information was so sporadic and unreliable as to be utterly useless.

When advertising started to tighten, we looked again at e-edtions and started charging advertisers extra for a web address link (with circulation falling, rates rising and precious few eyeballs on the e-editions. How’s that for marketing?) We could even, by technical jiggery-pokery, make the ad leap up and down, and glow. Wow.

You’d be right in guessing my view that e-editions weren’t doing us many favours (even if they were cheap).

But it’s not the whole story. Over the last few weeks I’ve looked closely at some of the platform providers, including Yudu, Pressmart, Nxtbook, Zmags and Ceros, and they all have the power to add value. Here’s how:

• Searchability. E-editions can now be fully searchable, which doesn’t just increase usability and SEO, but creates the basis of a legacy archive.
• Reader interaction. Readers can print and email pages, share them across their social media networks; bookmark and leave notes on stories, and use form facilities to request information or subscribe.
• Wider access. E-editions are kinder on the environment and ideal for those with impaired sight. Some platforms will open the text in a separate reader and even read it out loud.
• Added value. Video and audio add a whole new dimension to e-editions. But that’s just a start. For example, I’ve seen a great e-magazine with recipe videos, where the ingredients can be ordered at the click of a mouse, next to instant-entry competitions linked to advertisers.
• Marketing data. The best e-edition platforms now have excellent on-demand audience analysis tools. Alleluhia.

Local newspaper e-editions are not going to make a fortune. But they can strengthen advertiser relations with minimal effort, simply by using the available technology. Newspapers would be mad not to use improved e-editions as part of the justification for reducing free distribution, but they should not be a lever to hike advertising rates.

E-editions are most at home in the niche sector. Magazines are already well on the way (although innovative examples are rare), and newspaper publishers should be looking to exploit the niche opportunities in local markets.

There’s also strong potential for e-editions in the public, not-for-profit and education sectors, in support of print products. The added attraction is, of course, that e-editions can be updated. I look forward to seeing  how dedicated e-editions look on a next-generation e-reader.

The bottom line is, with little up-front investment required and hosting taken care of, this is one of the most cost-effective publishing options going.

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