Tizra Blog

Did You Know? The average American spends nearly 3 hours a day on their smartphone? And that just ten apps control 98% of that time. Amazon now controls over 50% of all books sales and 85%+ of ebook sales. The resurgence of print is "wishful thinking rather than an understanding of what’s actually happening". Publishers should raise prices: there 's far more flexibility than publishers think. The merger of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) with the W3C will enable DRM-protected books in browsers. These are just a few of the many insights you'll learn from digital publishing expert Thad McIlroy in Tizra's free webinar  this Thursday . Thad has been on the cutting edge of technology trends for decades, authored or co-authored more than a dozen books, served as Program Director for the Seybold Seminars and written hundreds of articles and posts on subjects ranging from XML to metadata to marketing and publishing automation. The 5 Top...

This September Tizra is launching a new educational program for its association publishing clients and others interested in digital publication best practices. The free series of three monthly webinars led by publishing expert Thad McIlroy is directed to help you become a more effective publishing manager by examining best practices and new trends in online publishing. The first webinar in the series is " The 5 Top Issues Facing Association Publishing Management and How ToTackle Them! " and it takes place on Thursday, September 28 from 1pm - 2pm ET. Registration is free. Description: It’s never been a better time to be an association publisher. The tools, technologies and formats bring information and knowledge to members in record time and in multiple formats. There are challenges, but, as the saying goes, challenge brings opportunity. When Tizra talks with association publishing managers these are the top issues we hear about: 1. Enabling discovery via se...

At the  Bookseller's FutureBook blog , Molly Flatt does an excellent job of summing up the incredible advantages and opportunities that browser-based books offer over books as apps and ebooks. The post is definitely worth a read. In it, Flatt argues that books as apps lead to an unpleasant experience for readers, due to both the barrier of entry of downloading and the inconvenience and disruption of leaving the "walled garden" each time one clicks on a link. Tizra's publisher clients would most likely agree with Flatt that apps are equally if not more painful for publishers: "From a publisher’s point of view, producing and distributing content via an app is a total pain - from creating complex InDesign files to working with frustrating external shopfronts such as the Apple Store. And it’s useless for SEO."  Noting the advances by leaps and bounds that web design has made in recent years, Flatt states plainly that the web now "better cater...

The annual CESSE conference (Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives) has historically been focused on high-level strategy, so when we headed up to Quebec City for this year’s I wasn’t sure I’d be hearing a lot about publications. But I was surprised at how many discussions—both in the sessions, and in the hallways—revolved around issues that publications really are central to.  The issues themselves are nothing new… Recruiting, engaging and retaining members Building organizational branding and identity Finding effective value propositions for members and prospects at all points in their careers And of course, adding revenue streams What’s new is that we’re seeing more and better ways of using publication content to address them.   For example, associations can recruit, engage and retain members by meeting readers where they are, making it easier to find publication content in Google and social media, and reducing the barriers to samplin...

A post over at the No Shelf Required portal highlighting a new  whitepaper  from  Oxford University Press recently caught our eye .  Navigating Research examines  "how users seek contextual information and guidance for areas of scholarship as they conduct research, and how reference resources can support their work.” Key findings of the paper,   include, among others (bolding ours): recognition of ‘reference’ as a specific category is declining and users are not likely to identify ‘reference resources as those belonging to a distinct category research needs of today’s researchers are moving away from basic factual information and terminology (for which free online sources are used) resources offering guidance to a field of study retain appeal as a ‘bridge between introductory materials and specialized research publications'” resources offering guidance to a field of study are also used to support work in interdisciplinary fields use of ref...

ACCESSE17  - the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives - takes place in Québec City July 25 - 27, and Tizra will be there! Well, our own Abe Dane will be there, facilitating a new session during Thursday’s breakfast called the  Reciprocity Roundtable . Abe will be leading a discussion on the category of “relevance” - as in an association’s relevance to members, their professional development and career advancement. Roundtable attendees can expect to learn the power and practice of reciprocity; find solutions to issues while focusing on contributing to others; build relationships and trust with colleagues; and learn about and help one another. All that and breakfast, too! You’ll find Abe and other early risers at 7am in QCC – Room 200B, with roundtable sessions beginning at 7:30 am, and ending at 8:30 am.

We recently came across the post, " Digital marketing scales and that could create new opportunities for capable publishers " by Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical Company While written with trade publishers in mind, it has some good news and helpful takeaways for niche-market, mission-driven publishers -- especially those who are Tizra users. The post puts a spotlight on publisher Open Road Integrated Media's success with discount pricing and vertically-focused digital marketing campaigns, and their continuing expansion as a marketing services provider for competitive publishers. Open Road offers those competing publishers visibility for their niche titles in its highly target-marketed newsletters, reaching an ever increasing number of niche readers. In a win-win arrangement, those publishers reach more potential readers, and Open Road is able to share news about additional relevant titles - making their newsletters even more valuable for the readers. Open Road...