How to promote your digital magazines

Publishers are fully aware that app stores can be daunting for technophobes, especially the Apple Newsstand. YUDU have collated a few simple tips to help your apps get found online.

Offer a free trial
Almost all of us have flicked through a few pages of a new magazine, before we commit to buying it. The same works in the digital sphere – your potential readers want to see more than the front cover before they click ‘buy’ or better still ‘subscribe’. To help them along, you can offer one or two free supplements, or publish a shorter version alongside an edition, as a preview.

Another option is to offer a free trial; “Try Magazine X with a no obligation 30-day free trial for a little as £X.XX for 3 months” (readers have the option to cancel any time during this period with no payment taken).

Similarly, if you have multiple publications, why not offer Magazine ‘Y” for free if they purchase Magazine ‘X’ – that’s one magazine sold and another one promoted and downloaded – a sure winner.

Keywords
Keywords are obviously hugely important – not just what you put in the keywords field in iTunes Connect, but all text relating to your app.

First things first, you need to find a keyword that your customers are looking for. There’s a huge variety of tools that can help you do this, but try to avoid the most frequently searched for words and phrases. Singular words specific to your field are believed to be more successful, as there will be less competition. Once you have chosen your magic word, use it, a lot, but not too much! It’s just as important that your text reads well as opposed to; “Welcome to YUDU’s digital magazine, the only digital magazine provider to have published a digital magazine”.

Remember, these things take time, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t see massive results initially – just have faith and keep experimenting!

Top tip; you should also use the same tools to keep an eye on your competitors and what keywords they are ranking highly for too.

Description text
Whether you are a niche publisher, are launching a new magazine or have a well-established title with a loyal following, the description text is your ‘shop window’. You want to tempt your potential/current readers to subscribe to the digital edition – why should they buy your magazine? What is it all about? How will they benefit from reading your publication?

The first paragraph is where you want to engage the reader, so grab their attention with the free trial offer suggested above. Further information should follow beneath this. Tell them about the exciting interactive features that don’t come with the print copy and the benefits of subscribing to the digital version (offline reading on the go, easy access to back issues, exclusive video and audio clips, enhanced reading experience, to name but a few). Don’t forget to include any critic reviews that you are particularly proud of and further details of the single issue and subscription options too.

Top tip; it’s easy to get carried away, especially when you are passionate about the subject, so remember to always keep it brief, use bullet points.

Encourage reviews

Reviews are golden. Not only do they add weight to your ranking, but they will make you stand out and catch the attention of potential readers that are browsing the Newsstand. YUDU’s publishing solution enables you to issue a review prompt after the app has been opened five or more times, maximizing the potential of good reviews from regular readers.

If you are using YUDU technology you can minimise bad reviews by directing complaints to an email form. Research shows that by giving customers the opportunity to send a private note, they are less likely to leave negative reviews. However, if you do get negative reviews, take note as they can be handy pointers for future development.

Push notifications
One of the main benefits of digital content is data collection – you have a direct line to your readers, so use it. Whether it be to update on new offers and features or just that a new issue is available, push notifications are a tool that you want to take full advantage of. That said, you don’t want to become a nuisance, so we wouldn’t recommend that you send them more than once a month.

Read the original blog post at YUDU.

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