iPad-friendly magazines for associations:

1. Your members will expect it
People used to say how much they preferred the convenience of reading a magazine in print, but that's changing now that iPads have become so prevalent, especially among busy professionals.

Already, 700,000 iPads have been sold in Australia and that number is expected to rise exponentially over the next few years. Importantly, this isn't just a gadget for young tech-savvy people - 35% of iPad users are over 55 and 35% are aged 35-54.

As more and more people purchase iPads and discover that reading a digital magazine is such an easy, fun experience, the impetus to turn your association magazine into a digital version will only get stronger.

2. You can measure everything
Unlike with printed publications, digital publications record everything about the readers’ experience: what stories they read, how much time they spend on each story, where they click and how often they go back to the publication.

This not only helps you to improve your content, it feeds into your budget decisions and is crucial information for advertisers.

You can even measure click-throughs from members who want to register for a course, book an event or purchase a product from your website, so you know how many people have made an 'impulse buy' from your magazine as they read it.

3. It's personal
Readers feel that the content is more tailored to them by being able to follow the things that interest them and find out more than what is simply on the page.

Here's a list of just some of the things that digital publications can do:

• news feeds
• Twitter and Facebook feeds
• ‘Tweet’ this story
• link an events calendar with the readers’ own calendar
• pop outs – hover your mouse over something for it to pop out with more information
• send an SMS to their mobile
• animations
• videos
• slideshows of images
• subscriptions and member registrations and just about anything else that could tie in with your membership benefits and activities.

4. It's convenient for people on the move
If your membership consists of a mobile workforce – for example, travelling sales people, business executives who spend lots of time in airports, or jobs where people don't spend much time behind a desk – then it’s worth considering having your publications readable on tablets such as iPads.

Yes, they can take your print magazine with them, but chances are they'll be taking their iPad anyway and it saves them having to pack an extra item into their bag.

With Apple's News Stand icon appearing on their iPads as part of the latest version of iTunes, it will be even easier for your members to download your magazine at the click of a button.

5. It creates opportunities for additional ad revenue
Mahlab Media has learned from our work with professional associations that advertisers want digital opportunities as well as print to reach these targeted audiences. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that iPad advertising will eat into print revenue; by offering integrated packages across a variety of platforms, many of our advertisers have in fact increased their advertising spending year-on-year. It's also a way of protecting your existing print revenue by wrapping it into packages of both print and online.

Tablet advertising is attractive to advertisers because of its unique combination of benefits. It gives advertisers the best of quality print design, as well as the colour, sound and movement of TV and video, with the interactivity of digital to engage the reader in deeper conversations. It also allows readers to respond to advertisements in or close to real time. Plus the detailed analytics available are like gold to advertisers and allow them to gauge their success and return on investment.

The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) has just released a set of guidelines designed to help publishers and advertisers identify the best practices for creating and selling ads on tablet devices.
To download the file click here.

So how do you make your association magazine tablet-friendly?
Digital magazines and iPad-friendly magazines used to be very costly, but as with most technologies, the prices are dropping rapidly as more and more organisations jump on board.

There tends to be two main ways of creating digital publications:

• A digital version of a printed publication.
  You design the magazine for print and have it available online, with added functionality such as videos and links. The technology for these is relatively inexpensive.
  For example, click here for the latest edition of the member magazine for the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
  
  If you have an iPad, you can go to the website link and read the magazine online. While this can be useful, the reading experience is still limited as readers have to zoom in and out all the time, which can be frustrating. Also, readers have to be connected to the internet the whole time.
  
  These digital replicas of print magazines have been a good interim technology, but the future lies in the next stage: digital magazines designed specifically for tablets (such as iPads).



• A publication that you design specifically to be read on a tablet.
  
  In Australia, the tablet market is currently dominated by the iPad, so you need to design your magazine as an app that easily can be downloaded from the Apple News Stand.
  
  A number of IT companies are establishing themselves as experts in creating iPad-friendly magazines. The leading two in Australia at present are Woodwing (which has partnered with Adobe's In Design software) and Mogeneration which uses software called Oopmh.
  
  The magazine publishing industry - including custom publishers - is also upskilling quickly to be able to create iPad-friendly magazines for clients. However, not all publishers are dedicating the same resources and skills to these new technologies, so if you are looking to outsource your magazine, choose carefully and ask lots of questions about their digital publishing capabilities.