A growing number of people prefer to read news, do their research and find out about other information online. This is one of the major reasons why sales for print magazines today are on the decline.

Recent reports revealed that sales for popular magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and The Oprah Magazine suffered drop in double digits. Experts agree that majority of consumers these days prefer to use the digital format. Other than the internet, many are using the tablets to read books and browse other information.

This should encourage publishers to produce more web content moving forward. But experts point out they should not aspire to get paid for the articles they share as many consumers are not open to paying for information which they can get for free from other quality sources.

Publishers, authors and business owners should then think about sharing their content free of charge.

Authorities in the internet industry believe that there are many advantages to doing this.

Increased readership – By providing free content, publishers can still promote paid products both online and offline. This will encourage consumers to purchase items that they find useful such as magazines and other household items.

Extends Advertiser Value – Publishers can increase the readership of their advertisers by way of publishing a free online version of their print publications such as magazines. By doing this, they help advertisers get in front of an international audience.

Gain Consumer Insight – Free online content has a great chance of allowing publishers to gain real-time metrics and learn more about the behavior of consumers. For instance, they are able to gain information about their readers and determine the effectiveness of ads when their audience clicks through ads or share content via social media. In turn, this will help them create more valuable content targeted towards their audience.

Build Publisher-Advertiser Relationship – Through online publishing, advertisers can place ads in content or articles that relates to the products or events they’re selling. This is one aspect which could not be matched by traditional print publications. Publishers can also use online tracking tools that will help them create content based on specific areas of interest.

Photo via masternewmedia.org

Originally posted on October 20, 2012 @ 6:18 am