8 Digital Ideas to Keep Communication Flowing

1. Loosening up access

With print distribution limited, many publishers are temporarily modifying their access models to give everyone full access to more of their library of content. By building up the content library and promoting additional access, publishers can expand visibility while establishing new readership habits and loyalties.

Saving the best

No need to show all your content, however. Consider having messaging at the end of free public content that promotes more valuable or extensive pieces behind a paywall. By adding premium options such as special reports or white papers, exclusive interviews, or group access on social media, readers may be willing to pay for the additional content or even a yearly subscription.

Free Subscriptions

Speaking of subscriptions, some publishers opt to use a free subscription approach. Readers can choose to opt-in without making a payment. This strategy allows publishers to build build their database and offer additional opportunities for communicating. Examples are custom onboarding emails or drip marketing with custom and niche messaging.

2. Analyzing Changes in Reader Behavior

The consumption of content has dramatically shifted as many remain at home. As a result, reading routines have also shifted. Publishers can leverage many tools to determine ways to reach audiences, including using Google Analytics, key performance indicators, and custom reporting and custom tracking for deeper dives into their customers.

Going beyond printed text requires your content to come alive. To help breathe new life into your messages, consider the following ideas:

• With the growing use of digital communications, consider the optimum length of articles to maintain engagement. Brevity can be everyone’s friend, particularly on mobile devices.
• Fine-tune headlines to spark interest. Headlines and subject lines make or break a first impression.
• Text alone isn’t enough anymore. Include videos and other rich media to entertain and further engage the audience.
• As they say, timing is everything! This is particularly true when it comes to the timing of content distribution and social media. Given today’s environment, people are checking emails and social media beyond traditional work hours, so consider testing different times and days of the week to hone in on the optimal times to engage with your audience.

3. Increasing Reader Engagement with Rich Media

Many publishers have enthusiastically embraced video and podcasting as new forms of storytelling, finding them to be a natural add-on to existing content. Readers have become accustomed to seeing content supplemented by multimedia. Consider refreshing existing content by embedding videos, surveys, podcasts, and other rich media.

4. Leveraging the flexibility of a Content Hub

Publishers find value in creating online hubs to exhibit content from multiple sources, especially when it accompanies articles and material from their own digital library.

Consider:

• Placing a banner above articles and archives to announce free access during the current environment
• Highlighting timely, topic-specific articles from different issues in the archive
• Embedding live-streams, webinars, virtual events, or podcasts adjacent to relevant content to maintain reader engagement

5. Syndicating content with article RSS feeds

RSS feeds are a powerful way to add content to a website or hub without a lot of heavy lifting. RSS feeds are generated dynamically using any number of categories and filters. By using article syndication, publishers can give content maximum exposure across many platforms and applications while adding to the volume of content on their own sites.

6. Complementing print articles with digital editions

One of the most significant benefits of creating digital editions of content stems from its ability to complement printed material, combining the visual power of physical print with the diverse media options of digital. This helps to elevate your content to a new level of engagement.

7. Formalizing audience communication

Publishers have multiple channels through which they can communicate with their readers. For example:

• Onboarding/Instant Delivery emails
• New Issue Notification/Reminder Emails
• In-App Messages
• Push Notifications

Each of these channels must be used appropriately to avoid being considered spammy. Publishers who incorporate these channels into a formal and consistent messaging strategy can build trust with their audience and enjoy an increase in reader engagement.

8. Pausing subscriptions

As publishers look to retain subscriptions, those who offer customers the option to pause and resume their subscriptions often see a significantly lower churn rate than publishers who don’t. Giving your readers control over how they consume your content makes it more likely they will follow you and stay engaged over the long run.