Mike Haney · August 22, 2013 · New York

5 Lessons of Digital Publishing

Mike Haney, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder, Mag+

• Set editorial and creative direction for the platfrom

• Former editor and graphic designer

• Contributing editor at Popular Science and Conde Nast Traveler

Who’s this guy?

Jobs introduces iPad

Tablets become our robot overlords

“Visionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactive libraries and multimedia classrooms. They speak of electronic town

meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to

networks and modems. And the freedom of digital networks will make government more

democratic. Baloney.”

-Cliff Stoll, Newsweek, Feb 27, 1995:“The Internet? Bah!”

“The media industry is bifurcated into two distinct worlds: the struggling traditional segment that

longs for a simpler, more profitable past that will never return; and the vibrant, entrepreneurial

segment that is reinventing the industry before our eyes. The simple act of choosing to live on the new, wide-open frontier is a powerful step

toward success.”

-Justin Smith, Bloomberg, August, 2013

magplus.com

What’s Mag+?

• Publish content to your own custom branded app on iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire and Android Devices

• No coding required! Just design your issues in InDesign (or let us do it for you) and serve them through your app

• Works with Adobe InDesign CS4-CS6

• Instantly preview on any device

• Flexible pricing with no issue download costs

• Download our tools for free at magplus.com!

Full publishing ecosystem for designing and distributing content through apps on touchscreen devices

magplus.com

History

• 2009 - Project begins with months of research and testing

• 2010 - Popular Science+ launches with the iPad

• 2011 - Becomes independent company licensing platform

• 2013 - Reach 1,500+ apps,3 million+ installed apps and35 employees, with offices in New York and Stockholm

magplus.com

Today: 1,500+ Apps Built

magplus.com

How It Works

magplus.com

A Mag+ App

An App in two parts

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Platforms

Supporting different devices: iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire, Android tablets and Android smartphones.

magplus.com

Regular Mag+ Apps

Per Issue • One app • One device • Pay per issue$999/issueAdditional device: $99/issueAll devices: $199/issue

Monthly• One app • One device • Unlimited issues$399/monthAdditional device: $99/monthAll devices: $199/month

Unlimited• Unlimited apps• Unlimited devices • Unlimited issues$2,999/month

No mandatory download fees, ever

magplus.com

Regular Mag+ Apps

300mb issue with 20,000 downloads/monthMag+ $.17/GB = $.05/issue = $1,000Others $.12/issue prepaid = $2,400Savings of $16,800/year

• Build your own Mag+ app!

• Includes two components: the MIB reader and the Connection to the Mag+ backend

• Allows you to use the Mag+ design tools and backend, while creating a custom end user experience

• Customize the navigation, features, functions, menu, etc.

• Or build the Mag+ functionality into another app—add a content tab to games, utilities, larger apps

Mag+ SDK

$3,499/month

magplus.com

Creative services & consulting

Five Lessons in Digital Publishing

magplus.com

Strategy =Goals + Content Inventory + Resources

What do I expect to get

out of this app?What will I/we

consider success?

What content do I have? What content could I have?

What content does the audience I want to get expect from this app?

What kind of money do I have?

What kind of talent do I have? What kind of time

do I have?

What should you do?

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What should you do?

AppsYour Brand

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What should you do?

AppsYour Brand

Your App

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1. Apps are not a fad

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1. Apps are not a fad

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1. Apps are not a fad

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1. Apps are not a fad

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$4.5 billionin iTunes revenue in June 2013

12 million songs per day

$11 billionpaid to developers

800/secondapp downloads

20 billionapp downloads in 2012

575 millioncredit cards on file

1. Apps are not a fad

Source: Apple

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• Immersive

• Designed

• Easy to monetize

• Works offline

• Greater experience control

• Native to device

1a. The unique value of apps

2. You have to go native

This is not your competition

2. You have to go native

This is

2. You have to go native

And this

2. You have to go native

And this

WHAT’S NEW GREEN TECH

SIMPLER SOLARTIMELINESUN POWER GETS EASIER WITH NEW LIGHTWEIGHT PANELS

Solar power sounds great: electricity from sunshine, for free, no carbon footprint. But solar panels often come with hefty price tags or require complex installations. Now lighter materials are making them less expensive and more convenient, whether you carry them with you or snap them onto your roof.—Sarah Parsons

Power Pack

Plug-and-Play PanelsClick together a rooftop solar system in a few hours, saving days or weeks on design and installation. Armageddon’s modular kit consists of metal frames light enough to carry up a ladder, plus 18-pound solar panels—coated in Teflon instead of heavy glass—that snap onto the frames’ tabs. The easy-to-lift, ready-made parts mean that installers don’t have to build frames on top of a house and also eliminate tricky wiring, since each frame has its own DC-to-AC converter that lets it plug straight into a home circuit breaker. Armageddon Energy SolarClovers From $8,000; armageddonenergy.com—s.p.

Solar ShinglesRather than laying solar panels across your roof, use them as your roof. Dow built thin-film photovoltaic cells directly into polymer shingles. They’re as protective as ordinary shingles, nail down in the same way and, in place of exposed wiring, hook together with simple electrical connectors at their ends. Some units go on sale later this year, with wide availability next year. Dow is also working on other building materials with sun power built in. Dow Power- house Solar Shingles Price not set; dowsolar.com—arnie cooper

NOW

SOON: FALL

LATER: 2011 MIX AND MATCH Dow’s solar tiles blend in with standard roof shingles.

This take-anywhere electric plant won’t weigh you down. Tonino Lamborghini’s bag is the first product to use a new solar panel that’s as light, thin and flexible as fabric yet absorbs rays in any light, including artificial light or under clouds. It’s made of dye-sensitized solar cells, which trap

more wavelengths in less space by wrapping each individual particle of a conductive layer in light-absorbing dye molecules. Charge a cellphone in six to eight hours, indoors or out. Tonino Lamborghini Solar Bag with G24 DSSC Panel $200 (est.); www.tlmm.com—s.p.

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BEAM DATA Your phone can display power output and other stats sent by Armageddon’s solar units.

POPSCI.COM26 POPULAR SCIENCE APRIL 2010

WHAT’S NEW GREEN TECH

SIMPLER SOLARTIMELINESUN POWER GETS EASIER WITH NEW LIGHTWEIGHT PANELS

Solar power sounds great: electricity from sunshine, for free, no carbon footprint. But solar panels often come with hefty price tags or require complex installations. Now lighter materials are making them less expensive and more convenient, whether you carry them with you or snap them onto your roof.—Sarah Parsons

Power Pack

Plug-and-Play PanelsClick together a rooftop solar system in a few hours, saving days or weeks on design and installation. Armageddon’s modular kit consists of metal frames light enough to carry up a ladder, plus 18-pound solar panels—coated in Teflon instead of heavy glass—that snap onto the frames’ tabs. The easy-to-lift, ready-made parts mean that installers don’t have to build frames on top of a house and also eliminate tricky wiring, since each frame has its own DC-to-AC converter that lets it plug straight into a home circuit breaker. Armageddon Energy SolarClovers From $8,000; armageddonenergy.com—s.p.

Solar ShinglesRather than laying solar panels across your roof, use them as your roof. Dow built thin-film photovoltaic cells directly into polymer shingles. They’re as protective as ordinary shingles, nail down in the same way and, in place of exposed wiring, hook together with simple electrical connectors at their ends. Some units go on sale later this year, with wide availability next year. Dow is also working on other building materials with sun power built in. Dow Power- house Solar Shingles Price not set; dowsolar.com—arnie cooper

NOW

SOON: FALL

LATER: 2011 MIX AND MATCH Dow’s solar tiles blend in with standard roof shingles.

This take-anywhere electric plant won’t weigh you down. Tonino Lamborghini’s bag is the first product to use a new solar panel that’s as light, thin and flexible as fabric yet absorbs rays in any light, including artificial light or under clouds. It’s made of dye-sensitized solar cells, which trap

more wavelengths in less space by wrapping each individual particle of a conductive layer in light-absorbing dye molecules. Charge a cellphone in six to eight hours, indoors or out. Tonino Lamborghini Solar Bag with G24 DSSC Panel $200 (est.); www.tlmm.com—s.p.

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BEAM DATA Your phone can display power output and other stats sent by Armageddon’s solar units.

POPSCI.COM26 POPULAR SCIENCE APRIL 2010

3. There is money here

• 40% spend an hour or more with an issue(80% spend at least 30 minutes)

• U.S. consumers spend on average 2 hours and 38 minutes per day on smartphones and tablets - 80% is spent inside apps.

• 94% “any action taken” for a Curel ad in Prevention magazine

• 67% “considered purchase” for an Oscar Meyer bacon ad in Better Homes and Gardens

• 81% “used any interactive features” on a Chevrolet auto ad in Motor Trend

Consumers

Advertising

Sources: Popular Science; Flurry 2013; GFK MRI, June 2013

Source: Strategy Analytics, App Revenue Forecast, November 2012

Global App Revenue Forecast 2008 - 2017 ($M)

Tablets Phones

3. There is money here

Source: eMarketer, Dec 2012

3. There is money here

3. There is money here

Source: Distimo, March 2013

British Journal of Photography iPad App

• 16,000 subscribers

• 200,000+ downloads (7,846 print readers)

• Phenomenal growth overseas with 2,000 downloads a day in the US alone

• Average session length is 5 minutes, but over 10,000 sessions lasted longer than 10 minutes

• Live news function doubled the number of iPad users to BJP - online

3. There is money here

3. There is money here

• Around 40,000 annual subscriptions at $14.99 each(net 70%)

• Total rate base: 350,000

• More than 10% of that rate base no longer has to be printed and shipped

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4. Think beyond the magazine

• Think about this as a new channel, not just a replacement for print

• Be creative with issues

• Remember what you do well: delivering curated content tofocused audiences

• Question everything:price, frequency, size

magplus.com

4. Think beyond the magazineClick to play + turn audio on.

Source: PopularScience+

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4. Think beyond the magazine

The Bulletin• Digital only app by The Tribune Co

• Issues produced immediately after every game

• Initially sponsored by the Illinois Lottery

• Additional issues preview games

• Replicated for Bears, Padres and others

4. Think beyond the magazine

The Atlantic Magazine

The Atlantic Weekly Digital Editions

The Atlantic Web Properties

The Atlantic Daily Photo Blog - In Focus

Theatlantic.com

The Atlantic Wire

The Atlantic Quartz

The Atlantic Cities

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4. Think beyond the magazine

In business, too• Ads don’t have to be print ads

• Subscriptions can be more

• Super subscriptions

• Daily news

• SIPs

• Break up the issue

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4. Think beyond the magazine

• What if it were an “issue”?• Automatic delivery BEFORE you

could see it on TV• Exclusive sponsor• Charge a fortune for it• Include:

• Slideshows of behind-the-scenes content• Interviews• Plot summaries of previous episodes• AND the actual show!

• It’s about bundles of content

5. This is an ongoing project

5. This is an ongoing project

5. This is an ongoing project

The analytics cheat sheet• Appoint a person in charge

• Make a weekly report and share it

• Watch:

• Time spent per page

• Links clicked

• App download to issue download/purchase conversion

• Retention

• Daypart

5. This is an ongoing project

magplus.com

Final words of wisdom

TestFail/Succeed

Learn(just fail quickly)

Thank you!magplus.com

Make Publishing Magic