Digitisation has revolutionised all sectors, but hardly any other industry has seen a massive shift as media and publication did. With this rapid shift to digital media, online content creators have taken centre stage, and we can see people from all backgrounds creating content and making a digital brand of their own. Doctors, chefs, teachers, engineers, scholars, and everyone seems to be on the radar. Digital learning content creation integrates multimedia formats, and people enjoy and engage with the variety.
Publishers have shifted to digital publishing. They are constantly upgrading and developing strategies to attract and engage new readers, competing in an era of never-ending digital and free content.
Digital publishing promises a splendid opportunity for content creators, publishers, and learners if done right. Let’s address why digital publishing is the future of learning content and how creators can use it the best.
Content Distribution and Wider Reach
The most significant advantage of online content distribution over traditional print media is capitalising on a larger audience by eradicating geographical limitations. In digital publishing, content creators get access to varied distribution channels for widespread consumer communication. Support of various formats like text, video, audio and optimisation for mobile devices and desktop allows the creator to deliver content specific to the users’ preferences and needs. This procedure increases the reach by offering access to a diversified target group and meeting diverse user needs.
The first definite way to distribute content is to get your readers to create an account on your site. To maximise conversion, you must remind your target group about your content in as many ways as possible. Here are a few ways to reach out to your users and share your content with them directly and indirectly:
- Smartphones have become the new essential. People may not always have access to their computers or laptops, but smartphones are just a move away. Make sure your publication is formatted, keeping mobile accessibility in mind. Opt for a site, app and content formats, styling, layouts, etc., that are mobile view friendly and provide readers with a good experience. Some additional factors to consider are colour scheme, navigation, accessibility, and formats. You can also consider having a native mobile app that offers high performance and reliability. Using features like push notifications, alerts, reminders, etc., can help you with view boost. A regular reader prefers an easy-to-access app with everything together in one place. Ensure your site or app is designed to be user-friendly to keep your readers coming back.
- Emails are a necessity. Make way for your readers and customers to sign up for an email newsletter to share more information and useful content. Sending readers a timely email containing new content, exclusives (like pdfs, eBooks, etc.) or just what they have subscribed to is necessary to keep them in the loop. With so much content available, you have to devise ways to keep your emails in check so that it doesn’t spam or become overwhelming for the readers.
- Social media today is one of the primary growth channels. Sharing regular updates, content, courses, news, trends, etc., on social media not just helps you update your consumers but also get new ones. Users today are present on more than one social platform like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, etc. So, it is a good idea to be active on multiple platforms for efficient content distribution.
Monetisation Opportunities
Making money from publishing has evolved with content consumption. Income streams are no longer dependent on traditional channels for reaching the readers. The content providers can monetise their offerings through a wide range of monetisation models like paid subscriptions, sponsored content, newsletters, emails, ads, lead generation for advertisers, etc.:
- Paid Subscriptions: Free online content is easily accessible. Your offering must have a unique value proposition if you want your consumers to pay for your content. Charging subscription fees will generate income initially, but it is expected to decline in future as more and more free content becomes accessible. People are less willing to pay money to read articles online, and offering free content is necessary to keep your readers coming back. Depending solely on paid subscriptions to keep your publication afloat is a bad idea. However, making it a part of many income streams can work well for digital publishers.
- Newsletters and Emails: They may not bring you money directly, but they help capture more significant users and eyeballs. We recommend that you drop timely newsletters and emails to keep your readers in the loop. Once you grip the customer base, retargeting and advertising can come into play.
- Lead Generation & Display Ads for Advertisers: Ads are one of the most preferred and common income streams for digital publishers. This is one steady source of income and largely depends on your reader base. Once you have a good reader base, you’re bound to get advertising offers. Service providers aligned with your publication’s vision would love to run Ads on your platform. Get in touch and make way for those like-minded people to reach out to you. Focus on generating the interest of your readers in your advertisers’ products/services through your emails, newsletters and ads on your website. The more leads you generate for your advertisers, the more money you make.
- Sponsored Content: It allows advertisers to share content on their behalf on your site. The idea is to get the readers interested in their product/service. Take on the opportunity to do sponsored content for businesses with aligned vision, create awareness among your readers and make money along with it.
E.g., We, EdTechReview, are an online news publication, and with our content and news coverage, we have generated an audience in the education segment. Our content is supported by a wide range of partners who advertise their products and services through our website, display ads, content, newsletters and more.
Better Future Planning through Analytics
Digital publishing lets you track your content distribution and consumption, allowing you to dive into analytics to improve your service continuously. With data points and insights around content, marketing channels performance, user engagement, etc., you are better prepared to analyse your business and growth. At the very basic, you should look at site traffic, user acquisition, and the audience engagement factor. Audience engagement data can help you optimise and improve your content quality. Data-driven insights can help you plan pricing, new content, social activities, email campaigns, organic and paid user acquisition strategies, SEO activities, etc.
Content Engagement
Like Mari Smith said, “Content is King, but engagement is Queen, and the lady rules the house“; you must prioritise content engagement. Digital publishing allows you to create content with engaging elements like images, videos, audios, animations, prompts, notes, polls, quizzes, etc. Such interactive elements in content improve user engagement. You can also enhance user engagement through content personalisation. Readers can relate better to the content when tailored to their needs and preferences. You can achieve it through intelligent algorithms, appropriate data analysis, and an automated content creation process based on real-time data.
Versatile enough to address varied needs
The best part of technology is how accessible it makes things, regardless of the limitations. The digital medium can cater to people with different abilities and preferences. To make your content accessible for all, consider integrating features like text-to-speech, font adjustments, stick-to-colour schemes that are contrast sensitive and varied controls like keyboard navigation. Accessibility support will make your content accessible for all on the disability spectrum.
Hope this post helped you understand how digital publishing will reshape content creation.
Recommended Read: How to Stand Out in the B2B EdTech Marketplace?
