Publishing Business Today: December 13, 2011
2011 Video Recap: Publishing Business Conference & Expo
Editor’s Note: Publishing Business Insider to Go Daily
By Noelle Skodzinski
Get ready to gain access to more great publishing news and information. On Dec. 1, Publishing Business Insider will become a daily e-newsletter, called Publishing Business Today. In addition to exclusive content, previews and special offers regarding the Publishing Business Conference & Expo, the daily e-newsletter will be incorporating Publishing Executive‘s e-newsletter (Publishing Executive Inbox) and Book Business‘ e-newsletter (Book Business Extra). The new Publishing Business Today will serve as the primary and most comprehensive resource for daily news in the book and magazine publishing industries.
We’re excited about this opportunity to deliver more news and a wider perspective on the publishing industry to you. The line between content creators is increasingly blurring, with magazine publishers producing content in book formats, and book publishers producing digital content and developing websites with news and other content. And all publishers are interested in technologies, news and trends regarding digital formats, social media and audience development. So having all the content in one place will enable you to pick and choose what is of most interest to you from a broader array of stories.
Your feedback on the new e-newsletter is welcome anytime. E-mail me at nskodzinski@napco.com, or our e-newsletter editors, James Sturdivant (jsturdivant@napco.com) and Brian Howard (bhoward@napco.com).
I hope you enjoy the new Publishing Business Today.
Publishing Business Conference & Expo Registrants Get a Free Kindle Fire
The Publishing Business Conference & Expo (PBC) has announced that it will be providing attendees who register for a full conference pass to the 2012 PBC by Dec. 1 with a Kindle Fire as a thank-you gift. “Each year, we provide a thank-you gift to attendees that enables them to try out new technology on the market that is relevant to the industry,” says Noelle Skodzinski, PBC director. “Last year, we offered an iPad, and the year before that a Sony Reader.”
For more information or to register, visit the Publishing Business Conference website.
The Kindle Fire
Sneak Peek at Speakers/Sessions for the Publishing Business Conference & Expo
Planning is underway for the 2012 Publishing Business Conference & Expo, March 19-21, at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square. Here are a few highlights of sessions and topics you can expect to see addressed this year:
• The annual Digital Magazine & Mobile Symposium
• An intensive 3-part E-book Conversion Workshop
• A half-day event on Creating Your Social Media Strategy
• International Trends in E-book Consumption: Bowker will be revealing highlights from its first-ever major study of this scope.
• Maximizing the Use of Mobile Response Codes (QR codes, tags, etc.)
• Audience Development for Magazine Publishers
• Marketing/Discovery for Book Publishers
• The Transformational Nature of the Cloud
• Driving Sales & Revenue for Magazine Publishers
• Developing a Successful E-commerce Strategy
• The Publisher-Author Relationship in Today’s Marketplace
… and much more.
The Publishing Business Conference staff also is thrilled to announce a dynamic keynote address by Marcus Leaver, president, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. (a Barnes & Noble company) about his perspective on shifts in the industry and moving forward into a profitable future in publishing. “Marcus is a very creative thinker and often makes shifts in the way his company does business before many are aware of how much certain trends will impact their businesses,” says Noelle Skodzinski, Publishing Business Conference director. “He’s also a great speaker, and we’re thrilled to have him delivering a keynote address—it will definitely be something our attendees won’t want to miss!”
Check the website for frequent updates and a full agenda, which will be posted soon: http://www.PublishingBusiness.com … and don’t forget to register by Dec. 1 to be eligible to get your free thank-you gift: the Kindle Fire.
Free Gift to be Announced for 2012 Publishing Business Conference & Expo Registrants
For the past two years the Publishing Business Conference & Expo has given their full conference pass registrants a free gift—a new technology relating to publishing for them to examine and use. In 2010 attendees received a Sony e-reader and in 2011 attendees received an Apple iPad.
The Publishing Business staff is all fired up about the 2012 free gift. The 2012 free gift will be announced later this month during the Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo on Oct. 27, 2011 (Click here to register for free for this online publishing event).
Registration for the Publishing Business 2012 Conference & Expo will also be officially open on Thursday, Oct. 27, the day of the Publishing Business Virtual Conference.
Publishers who register for a 2012 Publishing Business Conference & Expo Full Conference Pass for $1,175 by Dec. 31, 2011 will receive this special free gift that we hope will kindle their excitement for publishing!
More than 1,400 Publishing Executives Registered for Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo
With 11 (business) days until the third annual Publishing Business Virtual (PBV) Conference & Expo (produced by Publishing Executive and Book Business magazines), planning is coming to a head, as the conference staff and speakers finalize details for educational sessions, and exhibitors ready their virtual booths for the more than 1,400 publishing industry executives who have already registered to attend. The free event will be held live on Oct. 27.
“The event is virtual, so registrants can attend from the comfort of their offices or wherever they are at the time,” says Noelle Skodzinski, editorial director for Publishing Executive and Book Business magazines and director of PBV. “That’s part of the draw, but also, as always, we have amazing speakers lined up, ready to share their insights into some of the most pressing challenges and biggest opportunities facing the book and magazine publishing industries right now.”
The event is broken into two tracks: one for book publishing executives and one for magazine publishing executives, but registrants are welcome to attend any sessions that appeal to them.
“We got a lot of input from the board and from our audience on what topics they’d like to see covered this year, and narrowed it down to really hard-hitting topics that can provide publishing executives with practical, take-away strategies. For example, many magazine publishers see great opportunity right now with digital editions, but their challenge is figuring out how to increase their open rates and boost audience engagement. So, we have a session to explore those issues,” says Skodzinski.
“E-book metadata, e-book conversion, e-book trends and pricing strategies are all top-of mind for book publishers right now, so we planned in-depth sessions on all three of these,” she adds. “Digital printing is another hot topic today, and we’re thrilled to have Toby Cobrin from digital printing research and consultancy INTERQUEST moderating a panel with Blake Silber, president of Bridge Publications, and Adi Chinai of King Printing Co. about trends and opportunities in digital printing.”
One of the highlights of the event is the magazine keynote—presented by Neil Stiles, president, Variety—called “Internet Armageddon: Why no one will ever make any money on the Internet.”
“This keynote has already been stirring up some controversy, and he hasn’t even given his speech yet,” Skodzinski notes. “With Variety being one of the first and most widely known publications to launch an online paywall, I can’t wait to hear Neil’s thoughts on this topic. And I’m sure our attendees are going to take full advantage of the opportunity to ask Neil questions during the session.”
Other major topics are:
• monetizing apps and developing effective mobile strategies,
• smart and profitable digital rights management (DRM) and the impact of the cloud on DRM,
• audience development for magazine publishers,
• sales strategies for serving today’s multichannel-hungry marketer,
• social media,
and more.
“Another feature that draws people to the show is the networking opportunities. The virtual environment is a great way for attendees to chat with exhibitors of leading technologies and solutions, and get their questions answered, and to chat with other attendees, either one on one or in the networking lounge,” notes Skodzinski. “It’s a really laid-back, fun and yet informative environment that really works for sharing information and learning.”
Click here for more information or to register.
New Study Tracks User Engagement With Apps
BPA Worldwide and digital publishing solutions provider Texterity yesterday announced the results a readership survey examining user behavior on mobile devices.
The Mobile App Readership Survey utilized data from 5136 magazine app users and studied factors such as when and where people use apps, frequency of use, demographic information, actions taken by readers and response to mobile ads.
One-third of respondents were under 35 and four out of five users reported sharing content through e-mail, word of mouth or social media. Eighteen percent were new readers interacting with publishers’ content solely through the app.
Users who engage with a publisher’s content in multiple ways said they visit mobile apps five times per month—as often as they visit a website. They visit digital editions and e-newsletters four times per month, and print magazines three times per month. Almost half of app users (47 percent) spent 20 minutes or more with each issue; 26 percent spent more than 30 minutes.
As for advertising, two-thirds said they take action on ads (only 17 percent found ads “irrelevant” or “obtrusive”), with 40 percent reporting making a purchase because of mobile advertising—either by visiting an advertiser’s website at a later time (16 percent), making an in-app purchase (15 percent) going to a physical store (7 percent) or buying through a catalog (2 percent). One-third said they “gladly” accept advertising as a trade-off for free access.
A majority of readers reported using apps in their spare time, with over one-third saying they look at magazine apps at night and over 20 percent reading on the weekend. Over 50 percent say they look at apps at home.
The survey, conducted between May and July 2011, engaged readers from within apps by asking 22 questions of tablet and smart phone users. Participating publications included 11 consumer titles, 10 business-to-business titles and 4 association titles.
Editor’s Note: Call for Speakers for the 2012 Publishing Business Conference and Expo
Publishing Executive and Book Business magazines have announced a call for speakers for their 2012 Publishing Business Conference and Expo, to be held March 19-21, at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. They also are inviting input from readers and conference attendees on topics that are most important to address at the 2012 event.
The deadline for speaker submissions is Oct. 11.
The vast majority of speakers at the conference are executives from publishing companies, to help ensure that conference attendees hear success stories and practical solutions to shared problems directly from their colleagues. This approach has made the Publishing Business Conference and Expo one of the most successful events in the publishing industry, with attendees submitting feedback such as: “It’s so nice to hear other publishing professionals riff on ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas!”; “Well worth the flight from Austria!”; and “Riveting, real and relevant content!”
Suppliers to the book and magazine publishing industries are also welcome to submit topic suggestions, but may be asked to provide publishing clients who would be willing to speak as well, depending on the session proposal. Sales pitches for products or services are not permitted.
To submit a topic or speaker proposal, e-mail Publishing Business Conference Program Director Noelle Skodzinski at: nskodzinski@napco.com. *NOTE: Please put “PBC session proposal” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Want to Speak at the Conference?
If you’re interested in speaking at the 2012 conference, please send an e-mail to nskodzinski@napco.com (subject line: speaking at PBC), including topics on which you’d like to speak and a brief explanation of your expertise on those topics or what you would like to address specifically. Speakers get a VIP pass to the conference and expo.
Want to Join the Advisory Board?
If you’re interested in joining the 2012 conference program advisory board (publishing executives only), send a brief explanation of your background/expertise for consideration to nskodzinski@napco.com.
Publishing Business Conference and Expo Announces Winner of Facebook Theme Contest
The Publishing Business Conference and Expo (PBC), produced by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, has announced the winner of its first-ever conference theme contest (inviting executives from the book and magazine publishing industries to submit their ideas for the 2021 PBC theme), conducted via Facebook. The winning theme: “Cashing in With Cross Media Content,” was submitted by Mike Williams, and was chosen from the 386 entries submitted.
“With a positive outlook, this theme attempts to capture the struggle of producing content for consumption across multiple platforms (print, online, e-reader, apps, etc.) that many publishers are experiencing today,” explained Williams about his theme entry.
The 386 theme submissions were first voted on by executives in the book and magazine publishing industries, whose votes narrowed the finalists to the five most popular themes. The theme “Cashing in with Cross Media Content” received 115 industry votes. The other finalists included:
• “Meeting People Where They Are ,” submitted by Jennie Taylor Martin, with 145 votes.
• “Publishing 2012: A Virtual Reality Check,” submitted by Gay Porter DeNileon, with 84 votes
• “Words Always Prosper,” submitted by Helen Hanson, with 80 votes
• “Seizing the Digital APPortunities,” submitted by Erica Streisfeld, with 58 votes.
Once the top five theme finalists were selected, the Book Business and Publishing Executive editorial staffs and advisory board members voted to select the best-suited theme for the 2012 Publishing Business Conference & Expo, March 19-21, 2012.
Mike Williams, the 2012 PBC theme contest winner, will receive a VIP pass to the 2012 conference, a two-night stay during the conference at the Marriott Marquis, Times Square in New York City, and the 2012 full conference pass registration gift (to be announced), among other special VIP privileges.
For more information on the 2012 Publishing Business Conference and Expo, visit: http://www.PublishingBusiness.com.
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