Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Best Practice Cases
computing applications such as Del.icio.us and Digg would be available to readers. The
content display is more expansive and features a special sponsor bar at the right margin
of the page. The cover has an animated contest feature to encourage readers to open the
digital edition when it is delivered to their desktops. The Hearst team realized the value
of providing their readers with links to other important industry information and
developed an Analog News page that has links to content found in their competitor's
publications. (http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hearst/projectanalog_200803/)
Results
� Their digital editions are distinctive and hold readers' attention. Their session
lengths are higher than the industry average.
� The sponsor bar has been a big success, generating a click-through rate that is
four times the industry average.
� The Analog News page has been a big hit with readers and is one of the reasons
that their subscribers are such loyal readers of the digital edition.
� Print is not dead!! Their number of print advertisers has remained constant as
the number of digital advertisers has grown. Surprisingly, the urls found in the
print ads are a major source of traffic for the digital editions.
� They have worked hard at building good relationships with major search
engines and get solid traffic from them.
Lessons Learned
� The digital edition and Web site work well together. The Web site promotes the
latest digital edition and has breaking product news and a powerful product
locator search feature.
� To serve global markets, sophisticated digital editions are essential. The speed
of delivery of information is important to both readers and advertisers. The cost
reductions yielded by digital delivery are substantial.
� Their new design features have helped yield excellent reader behaviors that help
sell advertising.
� Given the success of the current digital editions, they are now considering a new
set of digital-only products.
Gilbane Group Conclusions
� Their bold decision to link to content in their competitor’s publications has paid
off in more frequent reader visits as they become more fully integrated in their
readers’ quest for finding the right information from credible sources at the time
they need it.
� Their new design feels less like a digital edition of a print product and more like
a modern Web 2.0 information application. The bookmarking features are easy
to use and search is well integrated. These features enhance the readers’
experiences and build loyalty.

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