Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Best Practice Cases
Texerity
ALM
Reaching Busy Professionals on the Go
ALM (formerly American Lawyer Media) is a B-to-B publisher serving
the legal market as well as related niches such as real estate. Its
flagship titles include The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel,
National Law Journal, IP Law & Business, Law Technology News, and
Real Estate Forum. ALM also publishes geographically focused
magazines and newspapers in several markets. Key Web sites include
Law.com (legal portal) and GlobeSt.com (real estate portal).
ALM also publishes books, newsletters, court verdicts and settlements, and market
research. ALM Events produces CLE-accredited conferences, including LegalTech, E-
Discovery, Law Firm Inc., and LegalSpace. ALM was acquired by UK-based Incisive
Media, a major multimarket trade publisher, in August 2007.
Texterity (www.texterity.com) is a leading provider of digital
publishing solutions that include creating, maintaining, and
tracking more than 800 titles, 600 of which are consumer and
trade magazines. Unlike static Web content, Texterity’s Published Web Format
replicates the printed page, turning it into a vivid, media-enriched Web experience.
Integrated circulation tools, advertiser links, and social media connections provide
tangible ways for publishers to deliver instantly, cut costs, increase reach, generate
revenue, and reduce environmental impact.
The Challenge
ALM was an early adopter of digital editions, mainly for the objectives of lowering
distribution costs and reaching the growing number of U.S. lawyers working overseas
or in partnerships with non-U.S. firms. The flagship American Lawyer launched a
digital edition five years ago on the QMags platform, which uses a PDF download
together with a plug-in to Adobe Reader that enables special viewing and other user
functionality.
Because American Lawyer is layout-intensive–i.e., graphically sophisticated–the PDFs
were quite large, and librarians at law firms expressed frustration in dealing with them.
Circulation for the QMags-based digital edition began to increase but plateaued at a low level.
ALM’s goals for its second-generation digital editions included:
� Bringing digital circulation of Law Technology News – ALM’s largest circulation
digital edition – to 20% of overall circulation.
� Building paid circulation of Corporate Counsel outside of the U.S.
� Increasing open rates (the percentage of users who actually open each edition).
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