So Which Is It...Custom Publishing or Content Marketing?

The subject of this post is really a trick question...Simply because custom publishing and content marketing can be the same thing.

'Says Joe Pulizzi, founder of content marketing specialists Junta42: “We decided to go with ‘content marketing’ because brands didn’t get it—they automatically thought book publishing or print. The idea is that marketers need to be publishers today. When you talk to a brand, they get it right away.”'

The golden nugget in all things publishing has, is and always will be "King Content"...I've drilled this fact into many posts and other presentations. Success will be predicated on how we can mold, massage and present content...for whatever purpose.

FOLIO magazine presents these details by Matt Kinsman and Tony Silber:

The Content Marketing Revolution
How is content marketing a different business for publishers?

Each year the publishing world seems to become enamored with a new strategy that will redefine the industry. In 2011, that’s marketing services. Last month, Penton Media bought Washington, DC-based EyeTraffic Media, an online marketing firm, and in April is expected to announce a company-wide shift toward marketing services.

“If you look at Outsell, they say 60 percent of a marketer’s internal spend is going to their Web site and that it’s the biggest pain point,” says Penton senior vice president of marketing services Kim Paulsen. “We want to help companies do a much better job of utilizing their Web sites with great content and understanding social media. Companies all say they need a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, but they’re not sure what to do with it.”

Under the umbrella of marketing services comes “content marketing,” which really isn’t much different from custom publishing, it just sounds sexier (and more dotcom-friendly). “If you look at branded and custom content, it’s all the same,” says Joe Pulizzi, founder of content marketing specialists Junta42. “We decided to go with ‘content marketing’ because brands didn’t get it—they automatically thought book publishing or print. The idea is that marketers need to be publishers today. When you talk to a brand, they get it right away.”

Three big factors are driving the content marketing boom—brands’ focus on social media, search engine optimization and lead generation. “You need unique content for any of those three to work well,” says Pulizzi.

WATT Publishing is seeing dollars go to three particular areas online: ROI Integrated Marketing Programs (“After three long years of evangelizing measuring programs, we’re seeing traction,” says director of e-strategy and marketing Jeff Miller); virtual events; and custom programs/content creative that includes social networking and video. “We are providing a variety of new services including ‘ghost blogging’ and producing content intended to boost SEO,” says Miller.

A New Business Model

But while publishers may have offered successful custom publishing services in the past, content marketing as a business can be radically different from traditional publishing, from the client relationship to pricing and sales cycles.

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The Next Generation of Kindle Begins...Powered By You!

How would you like to directly publish your works to the Amazon Kindle Store whenever the mood strikes? Eliminate any middleman immediately...

Pretty cool, right?

Well Amazon is introducing a 'Direct Publishing' model that will allow authors and publishers to independently publish their books in the Amazon.de Kindle Store that will be available in  Germany, Austria, the U.K., U.S. and over 100 countries!

Damn, they're making publishing awfully easy! Now if they would only make the marketing just as easy...

Wonder how they will funnel the scripts into proper formats? That would be interesting to understand. I guess the only way to find out is to go ahead and direct publish something on Kindle using the new model, huh?

Anyway, these details are by Ray Willington from HotHardWare.com :

Amazon.de Allows Self-Publishing To Kindle E-Book Store

There's been quite a heavy flow of Kindle-related news this week, hitting just as rumors started flying that the company behind it may be interested in doing their own tablet, too. Amazon has just introduced a new Direct Publishing model that will allow authors and publishers to independently publish their books in the Amazon.de Kindle Store. What's odd is that this is starting in Germany, but maybe the company's using that nation as a launching pad, and maybe even a test bed.

The split is easy to remember: authors will earn 70% royalty on sales to Kindle customers in Germany and Austria, which mirrors the 70/30 split largely pioneered in Apple's App Store. Authors who choose this will have a huge audience; the Kindle e-book store can be accessed not only on the Kindle itself, but also on a ton of other devices and computers. German-language authors and publishers can utilize the new German KDP website to make their books available in Germany, Austria, the U.K., U.S. and over 100 countries worldwide. The popular KDP 70% royalty option, which allows authors and publishers worldwide to make more money on books sold to Kindle customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, is now also available for books sold in Germany and Austria. Additionally, publishers can now receive their payment in either Euros, British pounds or U.S. dollars.

The Amazon.de Kindle Store serves customers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, but we have no doubt that it'll hit other nations shortly. And so, the next generation of Kindle begins -- powered by you.

Read and learn more

Converting Content Into 'Paid' Content (Oh, Brother!)

Paid content is actually growing in popularity...I could hardly believe it!

But, how do you monetize good content? There are several models for paid content that are being experimented with...and successfully at that...

This from FOLIO magazine's Executive Editor, Matt Kinsman:

Building a Business on Content Sales
Publishers explore different pricing models, products

The appeal of paid content is growing. Last month, The New York Times embarked on one of the largest tests yet around paid content, introducing a subscription plan for the heaviest users of its site. The plan offers three digital subscription options across a variety of devices. All Digital Access-Web site, tablet, smartphone-costs $35 per month.

Meanwhile, printer R.R. Donnelley acquired Journalism Online and its Press+ service, which enables publishers to offer a variety of paid and metered content plans as well as mobile/tablet access, enhanced site functionality, and out-of-market-access.

However, paid content is far from a slam-dunk. The Atlantic has backed away from the launch of The Atlantic Premium, which would have offered a daily bundle of its online content for a monthly fee. "We're taking a step back on our entire mobile/digital strategy and revisiting everything right now," says president Justin Smith. "We're looking at the data from our apps so far and it begs the strategic question of whether we would consider any kind of metered model on the Web site. We're not ready to make that decision at this point. Our current high-CPM, ad-supported model is working."

The New York Times recently announced a 26-week deep discount to try to get readers behind the new paywall (The Times says that more than 100,000 users are paying so far).

Manageable Solutions

Smaller publishers are getting onboard as well. U.K.-based luxury title Lusso Magazine has introduced micropayment options for online premium content at its Web site that offer access to full-length features across up to five different devices. The payments will be processed through PayPal. While purchases are only made on the Web site (which receives about 40,000 unique visitors per month), a user can re-enter a supplied voucher code to read it on another device.
While b-to-b publishing historically has been built around the premise of free content, it also has the best chance for converting to a paid model.

And not everything requires paywalls or metered programs. Last fall, UBM Electronics' EE Times launched EE Times Confidential, a premium, subscription-based intelligence report. The report is a downloadable PDF that is currently published monthly and will increase to twice per month later in 2011 (a Web site offering current issues and archives will also be launched).

"When ad money is dwindling and whatever we do is defined by how much money we can bring in, [editors] are in a difficult situation to justify our existence," says EE Times content chief Junko Yoshida. "We've grown up in a world where the information is given away for free. We decided we wanted to change the game."

Read and learn more

The Worth of Global Publishing

Did you realize that global publishing's estimated worth is right at €80 Billion? (€ is the Euro money symbol...I forgot that, if I ever knew it!).

AND that global publishing is the second largest creative industry after television? It is currently bigger than music publishing, video games, entertainment software and audiovisual (DVDs and downloads) industries combined!

Arriving at the absolute true value of world publishing presents some roadblocks; for example, this "one crucial reason: the near-total absence of statistics for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, which together account for a fifth of the world’s population."

Ruediger Wischenbart, a leading world publishing and book consultant from Germany, is seeking to undertake an unprecedented project -– the compilation of a comprehensive database of global publishing statistics.

A very worthy but daunting cause, indeed...

Publishing Perspectives has interesting details and numbers furnished by Tolu Ogunlesi:

Q: What is Global Publishing Worth? A: €80 Billion

Publishing — including STM, Educational and Trade material -– is currently estimated at being worth €80 billion and is the second largest creative industry in the world, after television; and is currently bigger than the music publishing; video games and entertainment software; and audiovisuals (DVDs and downloads) industries combined. But the question of what global publishing is really worth is not likely to be a true reflection, for one crucial reason: the near-total absence of statistics for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, which together account for a fifth of the world’s population.

“It’s a struggle to find the most basic statistics in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Rudiger Wischenbart, a book industry consultant, told the audience at a panel discussion exploring that question, during the 2011 London Book Fair. “There’s only one country with good statistics –- South Africa.”

Wischenbart is seeking to undertake an unprecedented project -– the compilation of a comprehensive database of global publishing statistics. He explained that the findings are still “preliminary” at this stage.

A presentation by panelist Nasser Jarrous, Managing Director of Lebanese publishing house Jarrous Press, and a former chairman of the Beirut International Book Fair, provided insight into the politics of publishing industry statistics in North Africa and the Middle East.

Read and learn more

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Publishing Nuggets--Insights for You

Insightful publishing news bouncing around the web today...from mag advertising revenues increasing, tech advances in tablet apps, new custom Publishing Options for the Higher Education Community to Google's earnings falling short!

A regular treasure trove of incisive publishing and publishing-related learning material.

I present some of what I consider the most interesting:

IAB Reports 2010 Internet Ad Revenues Up Almost 15 Percent

2010 fourth quarter revenue increases 19 Percent over 2009 Q4.

I wanted to introduce the IAB (the Interactive Advertising Bureau) to you all in this one.

Grading the Tina Brown Newsweek

Packaging, graphics are much improved, but can she walk the “Newsbeast” line?

Sports Illustrated Launches App for Motorola Xoom

App is part of Time Inc.’s “All Access” digital subscription plan.

Could Google’s earnings feed doubt across the tech world?


Google’s earnings fell short of what analysts were expecting Thursday, sending shares in the tech giant sinking to a six-month low in after-hours trading.

Read and learn more at the Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue Blog

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What's With this 'YouTube Next'?

For those that might not know, Google bought YouTube back around 2006. Now they have purchased Next New Networks (NNN), a NYC-based startup in the online video production industry.

Many thought Google/YouTube purchased NNN to get into the content creation business…This is not the case. They just want the expertise, by way of NNN’s staff, to provide deeper and more professional content on YouTube (rather than skateboarding cats, etc). And they are going to do this by offering training in video production and audience development through a new program called YouTube Next.

This will benefit publishers tremendously! And by publishers I mean more specifically people who want to sell self-published books.

More details on my other blog: Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue

DOTGO and the Text-Messaging Publishing Suite--Interesting Stuff!

This is a suite that utilizes CMRL (Concise Message Routing Language) to allow people to text websites…And, everybody knows (I didn’t, of course!)… that text messaging is the world’s most powerful and direct marketing medium.

Having said this, and realizing I’m in unexplored territory in my knowledge base, I will introduce you to the expert in this field: DOTGO, a powerful mobile publishing platform, in this press release yanked from Bradenton.com (nice weather in Bradenton, FL., by the way):

DOTGO Launches Text Messaging Publishing Suite for All 100 Million Internet Domains

CMRL-Based Suite Makes Person-to-Website Text Messaging Available to All

Text-messaging technology leader DOTGO today announced the launch of its much-anticipated web-based publishing suite, allowing all 100 million Internet domains to take advantage of text messaging, the world’s most powerful and direct marketing medium.

The new web-based interface, called DOTGO Publisher, is built on top of DOTGO’s mobile markup language CMRL, the Concise Message Routing Language. With its release of the new tool, DOTGO has leveled the playing field for those seeking to use text messaging to promote their brands–from individuals and small businesses to leading media companies.

Prior to DOTGO, running a text messaging service was very expensive, time-consuming, and relied on software that was either technically complex or limiting. DOTGO eliminates these obstacles, bringing text messaging to all 100 million Internet domains, by introducing two unique ideas. First, DOTGO maps the first word of any text message sent to the phone number DOTCOM (368266) to the corresponding .com Internet domain name. For example, anyone with a cell phone can access a site like google.com by texting the word “google” to the phone number DOTCOM (368266). This means all 100 million Internet domain names now have a way for their users to text them. Users of .edu, .gov, .net, and .org domains can similarly use the phone numbers DOTEDU (368338), DOTGOV (368468), DOTNET (368638), and DOTORG (368674).

Second, DOTGO has developed the first and only markup language for text messaging, called CMRL, the Concise Message Routing Language. CMRL does for text messaging what HTML does for the web: it allows web developers to author the text messaging responses for their Internet domain names. The introduction of DOTGO Publisher brings the power of CMRL and DOTGO to all non-developers, and features a site builder for authoring CMRL, a message center for broadcasting messages, and analytics for showing detailed text messaging statistics for an Internet domain name.

Read and learn more

The Economics of Content Marketing and Custom Publishing

The new growth business in the online publishing industry is a new strategy (perhaps just a revamped strategy) called 'marketing services'

New marketing services businesses, such as Outsell (and soon Penton Media), offer an array of flexible services to help publishers and commercial information providers identify and grow markets and revenue.

Custom marketing means something totally different in modern publishing than it did in traditional publishing (TP) and that's why TP people still don't get the importance of the newer business model concepts that can grow online money with lower margins than existed under the old TP models.

I just love reading about and understanding (when possible) the inside numbers and strategies that make a business (especially the publishing biz) go (or fail). I admit, upfront, that I'm no expert in this territory; but Matt Kinsman, managing editor of FOLIO magazine, has a lot of answers with this post in FOLIO:

The Content Marketing Revolution
Content marketing is hot but how does it compare as a business?

Each year the publishing world seems to become enamored with a new strategy that will redefine the industry. In 2011, that's marketing services. Last month, Penton Media bought Washington, DC-based EyeTraffic Media, an online marketing firm, and in April is expected to announce a company-wide shift toward marketing services.

"If you look at Outsell, they say 60 percent of a marketer's internal spend is going to their Web site and that it's the biggest pain point," says Penton senior vice president of marketing services Kim Paulsen. "We want to help companies do a much better job of utilizing their Web sites with great content and understanding social media. Companies all say they need a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, but they're not sure what to do with it."

Under the umbrella of marketing services comes "content marketing," which really isn't much different from custom publishing, it just sounds sexier (and more dotcom-friendly). "If you look at branded and custom content, it's all the same," says Joe Pulizzi, founder of content marketing specialists Junta42. "We decided to go with ‘content marketing' because brands didn't get 'custom publishing'---they automatically thought book publishing or print. The idea is that marketers need to be publishers today. When you talk to a brand now, they get it right away."

While print still dominates the custom market ($24 billion was spent on print production and distribution in 2010, compared to $3.6 billion spent on other forms of content according to a new report from the Custom Content Council and ContentWise), three big factors are driving the content marketing boom today--social media, search engine optimization and lead generation. "You need unique content for any of those three to work well," says Pulizzi.

Read and learn more

Publishers, Here is a Superman Tablet Publishing Solution!

How about a simple and swift software goldmine designed to help media companies produce attractive tablet editions using existing staff, skills and systems...AND 'will attract larger and more loyal audiences through a reading experience created from a rich ecosystem of Web capabilities'...AND these amazing software-generated editions are also 'lightweight, making them quicker to download and easier to navigate.'

Introducing Atex Tablet editions.

More details from PRWeb in the San Francisco Chronicle
(SF Gate):

Atex Launches Tablet Publishing Solution

Atex announces its new Tablet Publishing solution designed to help media companies produce attractive tablet editions using existing staff, skills and systems. Editions built with Atex Tablet Publishing will attract larger and more loyal audiences through a reading experience created from a rich ecosystem of Web capabilities. Atex Tablet editions are also lightweight, making them quicker to download and easier to navigate.

Atex Tablet Publishing combines app-like navigation (scrolling, tapping, etc.) with a user experience developed using HTML5. This approach allows media companies to quickly design editions with hyperlinks, videos and social media sharing. There are no bulky PDF files or formats that take minutes to download. By designing the Atex solution in HTML5, Atex ensures that tablet editions will be available on a wide variety of platforms, including the iPad and Android-based devices.

For tablet production, Atex Tablet Publishing integrates with existing editorial infrastructures, making it easier to multi-purpose content across print and digital products. Articles templates are designed for automatic placement on tablet pages. Support for layout-driven workflow and WSYIWYG editing streamlines the content creating and revision process for teasers, headlines and other write-to-fit elements. Editors can review their tablet pages and layouts from a browser, which previews the look-and-feel of the tablet edition.

Read and learn more

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Upending the Book Business

Self-publishing success stories (both large and small) always uplifts my spirits! And I just came across another one that I know will do the same for you...in spades.

Yes indeed, Sir Self-Pub, attended and supported by his new hi-tech court, is the new Prince Charming come to save ignored authors and imbue them with magic publishing keys.

Elisa Lorello (pictured), a teacher at North Carolina State University, details her surprising journey to self-publishing awareness and stardom through an article in the Winston-Salem Journal:

Teacher is part of a self-publishing revolution

Elisa Lorello of Raleigh had no literary agent, no publisher and nothing to lose when she decided to self-publish her first novel, "Faking It," as an e-book for Amazon's Kindle.

At first, she got only a modest response, The Charlotte Observer reported. But when she dropped her price from $1.99 to 99 cents, sales began to soar. Early last year, "Faking It" hit No. 6 on Kindle's best-seller list, beating out big-name authors and giant publishing houses.

Today, digital sales of "Faking It" and its sequel, "Ordinary World," have topped 52,000, a figure many established authors would envy.

And Lorello, who teaches at N.C. State University, counts herself part of a self-publishing revolution that's upending the book business — giving authors more power and bigger profits while boosting the low-rent reputation of the self-published book. At stake? The future of the $24 billion publishing industry.

Until about a decade ago, authors usually needed traditional publishers to ensure wide distribution and a shot at significant sales. If publishers rejected a book, the most common way to get into print was to pay a vanity press. That process often ended with hundreds of copies stacked in the author's garage.

Now, digital books and print-on-demand technology let authors self-publish with little or no upfront costs. Self-publishing companies, such as Raleigh-based Lulu Enterprises, Smashwords and Amazon's CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing, don't print the books or take a cut until they sell.

Read and learn more

The Web is Dead? Say What?

Some experts and execs in media are saying the web is dead (RE digital publishing)...That the relay wand has been passed from the "open web" to the "app Internet."

Pure cow chips!

The main reason the open web will thrive and grow in offering good published works is the consumers never-ending pursuit of the cheapest (or most value) content in lieu of paying more for piled-on-costs items such as Apple's required in-app purchases and 30% cut for selling!

This insight from FOLIO magazine's "Login Section":

THE WEB IS DEAD?

Execs say the torch has passed to the "app Internet."

There was a question during a session at the DeSilva+Phillips Media Dealmakers Summit last month that crystallized what a lot of people are thinking about the future. "Are tablets and e-readers the future of media?"

For George F. Colony, CEO of Forrester Research, the answer was simple: "Yes. These devices are the nexus of media."

"Not only are tablets the future," Colony said, "but We think the Web is dead." "It may always be there," he said, "but it's not the future." "Nor are e-readers--devices like Amazon's Kindle." "There's one advantage to those things and that's that they can be read on the beach," he said. "That's not enough."

Not surprisingly, not everyone agreed. Some of the comments provoked strong response from FOLIO readers.

"Baloney," said Eric Shanfelt, founder of e-Media Strategist Inc. "The Web is thriving, growing and not even at full maturity yet, let alone being dead. Apps are a piece of the media puzzle, but the real money for media companies is still in Web and e-mail and will be for a long time to come."

Open-sourced, Web-based solutions remain attractive. "Apple's actions--essentially turning the eBook and eMagazine businesses on their head by requiring in-app purchases and a 30 percent cut for Apple--demonstrate why Colony and Forrester are wrong," said Len Feldman, author of The Feldman File Blog. "So long as Apple, or any company, can change the rules without warning, there's a strong incentive to use the Web as an open alternative."

And how many can afford to give up print? "The question that should have been asked of the attendees was: "How many of you will still be in business a year from now if all your print and event revenues went away today?" wrote one reader. "Those that raised their hands were the people that should have been on the discussion panel."

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