Lest I bring down the wrath of all the best designers, let me clarify what I mean with that title right away. In publishing anything, whether paper or digital, less IS usually more - refinement and space are our best friends. But in this instance, I mean to say that going with less when switching over your content from a paper edition to a digital edition is going to get you less than the overwhelming audience response you are no doubt hoping to receive. After all, phenomenal savings in printing aside, half the digital experience is dazzling your readers with what you NOW have to offer - something that will keep your audience coming back for more. So in producing a good digital version, go with MORE.
Present statistics are very mixed on reader response to digital versions of magazines. I feel a large part of the inconsistent response comes from how each publication executes the digital edition. Simply taking your printed version, especially those designed to get as much on each page as possible without regard to font sizes and readability, over to a version viewed on screen will NOT result in favorable reviews from many sources. It will save you money. And it may, in the short term, excite some advertisers and readers. But long term, without publishers giving attention to the new online experience, including rich media and lots of interactivity with links, readers are often left with something hard to read and maybe even difficult to navigate. Those in it for being green may hang on, but not if they have to strain their eyes or zoom in on every page or if the references to sources are not accessible to give them more information. Readability and click through are basic minimum assumptions of using the web and something every publication must put forth or frankly, why would a reader bother?
Publications that are pushing the format, beginning with a well designed pdf document as the starting ground and then enhancing that document using the Flash format for a web experience are well received (based on studies and statistics found in the Gilbane Report.) And these publications have a great place in the web content arena - because they begin life with an easy transition to Flash, they can be designed by an already trained print staff at the publication's inception. No need to learn the intricate web design skills needed to produce anything similar on the web from scratch. There is the bonus of having your once designed materials useful for both print and web. After pdf creation, working with a good digital publishing company will give you access to myriad ways to use that groundwork and take it to exciting levels of Flash interactivity.
By all means, use that option. Add moving charts, slideshows instead of static photography, video, music, voice-overs, animated ads, logo animation on the cover and links galore to back up the content you're presenting with even more information. Make your publications exciting on their own but also make sure they now do their part to work the connections you can have with your web content. Don't duplicate publication content on your website, instead use your site to enhance the publication information and vice-versa. At this point, you will have created something your audience can enjoy utilizing and my bet is that they will be happier to receive it in their inboxes than they were to recycle those paper versions.
Cindy Marks is the owner of CatStone Press digital publishing, a company dedicated to green marketing, beautiful design and premium interactive solutions for each unique publication.