“Re-imagining Labour Publications:
Digital Complements to Paper Media”
or
“Moving your Magazine to the Internet”
or
“How I learned to loved WordPress”
Randy Banderob
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Unions, Labour, and Print Publications
- There is a long history of unions and publications.
- Print media has always presented a challenge because
of cost, technical requirements and delivery.
- The advent of personal computers initially made print
publications easier to produce.
- Today’s omnipresence of electronic devices has turned
the world of communication upside down.
- Printed publications are no longer the preferred
method of communication for many members.
Education Forum
Education Forum
- Official magazine of the
Ontario Secondary School
Teachers’ Federation
- Serves 60,000 education
workers in public institutions
from pre-school to university
- Three issues per year
- Produced separately from
monthly newsletter: Update
Education Forum
Education Forum
- Delivered in bulk to
workplaces across Ontario
- Sent individually to school
board directors, faculties of
education, and provincial
politicians
- Some awards for articles and
for design
Education Forum
Education Forum vs. Update
Forum
- Long-form journalism
- Investigative,
research, interviews
- Big-picture political
perspectives
Update
- Brief, informative
articles
- Time-sensitive issues
- Immediate political
perspectives
Education Forum
Problems
“Nobody reads magazines and more.”
- Readership of individual magazines is down
significantly
- More people are reading more magazines,
but there are more magazines out there.
- Competition for readers and advertising is
steep
- Readers are making more specific choices
Education Forum
Problems
“I get all my news online.”
- Online readership of news continues to
increase and shows no sign of stopping.
- Advertisers are shifting dollars away from
print and into online media
- Readers expect an online option
Education Forum
Problems
“Why are you still killing trees?”
- For environmental reasons some people
avoid print media when they can access
similar material online.
- Newsprint consumption peaked in 1999 and
has been cut in half since
- Post-consumer recycled and sustainably
harvest pulp and paper available
Education Forum
Problems
“Print media is too expensive!”
- The cost of producing print media has
actually decreased with more
publishing/printing options
- Delivery costs continue to increase
- Compared to digital media, print media has
much greater production costs
Education Forum
Problems
“Prove to me that anybody is reading it.”
- If people aren’t paying for your publication,
how do you measure actual readership?
- If you’re giving away your publication and no
one is reading it, what is its purpose?
- If you can’t track readership, how will you
improve your product?
- How will you measure the success of your
attempts to improve?
Education Forum
Pre-online version
Stats – per issue
- 48,000 copies
- Design cost: $15,000
- Printing cost: $35,000
- Delivery cost: $26,000
- Writers’ fees: $2,000
- Advertising: $20,000
- Total cost: $58,000
Education Forum
Pre-online version
Stats – per issue
- 48,000 copies
- Design cost: $15,000
- Printing cost: $35,000
- Delivery cost: $26,000
- Writers’ fees: $2,000
- Advertising: $20,000
- Total cost: $58,000
Post-online version
Stats – per issue
- 15,000 copies
- Design cost: $0
- Printing cost: $12,000
- Delivery cost: $8,500
- Writers’ fees: $3,500
- Advertising: $16,000
- Total cost: $8,000
Education Forum
How to cut expenses from your publication
- Bring as many outside expenses in house
- Expand advertising to include web-based ads
(almost unlimited)
- Consider investing in your content
- Develop an online version of your publication
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
-
Cost, one-time and ongoing
Features
User friendliness
Aesthetics
Analytics
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
COST
-
One-time cost of a developer
One-time cost to secure URL
One-time cost of design (use in-house if possible)
Ongoing cost of web-hosting
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
FEATURES
-
Online articles should be shareable
Online articles should be searchable
Online articles should allow engagement
Online ads should be flexible and prominent
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
USER FRIENDLINESS
-
Your online publication should act like others
Clicking anything and everything should cause action
Headings should be clear and obvious
Users should be able to leave comments
New material at the top, older material at the bottom
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
AESTHETICS
-
Needs to look new and clean
Incorporate visual cues from your paper publication
It must have a pleasing balance of images and text
Allow for a judicious amount of empty space
There must be design adaption from portrait to
landscape
Education Forum
Factors to consider when
creating your online publication
ANALYTICS
- Many content management systems (CMS) will have
built in analytics features
- You can also have your developer embed a Google
Analytics code
- You need a way to track the usage of your site.
Education Forum
Deciding on your CMS
-
Joomla
Mambo
Drupal
Wordpress
Etc.
Talk to your developer
Education Forum
Deciding on your CMS
Online publications that use Wordpress
- The New Yorker
- BBC America
- Variety
Education Forum
Our Wordpress site
education-forum.ca
Education Forum
Social Media Support
- Your major arteries to your online articles will be social
media
- Facebook (83%), Twitter (9%), Email (5%)
- iPhones 71%, desktop/laptop 20%
- Your website is a destination, social media transports
your readers there
Education Forum
Social Media Support
Facebook
- Facebook, choose the type of page that suits you best
- Increase your reach on Facebook by boosting your
posts that link to article. $10 = 4,000 views
- Post regularly but not too often
- Post related content as well
Education Forum
Social Media Support
Twitter
-
Create a Twitter account
Tweet out each article you publish
Tweet regularly but not too often
Tag people and organizations that you think would be
interested in your article
- Tweet out related content as well
Education Forum
Social Media Support
Other
- Instagram account to share images that accompany
articles and link to them
- Reddit can be used to share article on relevant
subreddits
- Youtube can be used to share video interviews
- LinkedIn to keep in touch with writers, etc.
Education Forum
The Plan!
- Reduce your print run and bring services in house to
save money
- Take savings to create an online version and invest in
content
- Use online ads to recoup lost print ad revenue
- Use social media to drive readership to the online
version of your publication
- Review your print and online publications regularly.
“Re-imagining Labour Publications:
Digital Complements to Paper Media”
or
“Moving your Magazine to the Internet”
or
“How I learned to loved WordPress”
Randy Banderob
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation