Creating an online magazine takes time, creativity… and a good eye for detail. Before you hit “Publish,” it’s essential to go over your publication with a fine-tooth comb to ensure a professional, engaging result that’s ready to impress your readers. Here’s the ultimate checklist to follow before putting your magazine online with Calaméo.
1. Polish your cover
Your cover page is your readers’ first impression. Make sure it:
Makes people want to click.
Is easy to read—even as a thumbnail.
Accurately reflects the content of your magazine.
Tip: Try uploading your magazine privately on Calaméo first to test the look and feel.
2. Check your PDF file quality
It all starts with the right file! Before uploading, ensure your file is:
Exported in high resolution(300 dpi recommended for best results).
Free from print marks (crop marks, visible bleed, etc.).
Well-designed: no cut-off text, blurry images, or unexpected page breaks.
Properly paginated, especially if you’re using the two-page display on Calaméo.
Tip: Flip through your PDF in a standard viewer to spot any errors before uploading.
The more prepared your promo strategy is, the more visibility you’ll gain.
Recap: The essential checklist
Before hitting publish, make sure you’ve got everything covered:
Attractive cover High-quality PDF Thorough proofreading Tested links Enriched content Calaméo settings configured Multi-device display verified Promotion plan ready
Ready to publish?
Checked all the boxes? Then it’s time to share your work with the world! And if you’re publishing with Calaméo, don’t forget to explore all of our features to make the most of your digital magazine.
The first thing you need to know about digital publishing is that it’s simple. So simple, in fact, that you might already be doing it! Professionals, teachers, entrepreneurs, aspiring creatives, students, freelancers and people everywhere with something to share online turn to digital publishing every day.
That’s why the second thing to know about digital publishing is why it’s such a popular choice—and how to do it better. In this article, we’ll explain all the most important basics, tips to help you find the right solution and a few special extras to make the most out of your publications online. Read on to learn more about:
Digital publishing means using online tools to make media of all kinds available via the Internet. Instead of traditionally printed books, magazines and newsletters, digital publishing makes ebooks, blogs and online publications. Readers access this content on computers, smartphones or other digital devices. In short, anyone who has documents to distribute online can benefit from digital publishing technology.
Because digital publishing covers many genres and formats, there are plenty of different options to consider. From specialized content management systems to bespoke applications, there’s something for everyone. However, digital publishing platforms stand out above the rest: They offer a convenient, fast and easy way to convert your files to online publications.
Benefits of HTML5 publications
Although a few platforms still use Flash technology, the gold standard is now HTML5 for online publications. But what exactly does it mean to make an HTML5 publication?
Let’s imagine you have a Powerpoint that you need to get online and send out to colleagues. Using a modern digital publishing platform, your PPT file is converted into a browsable publication built with HTML5 and hosted at a unique address on the web. Then to send to your coworkers, simply copy the link and share.
Effortless sharing is just one advantage of HTML5 publications. More key benefits include:
Visibility. Unlike a basic file upload, your HTML5 publications are easy to optimize for search. Help searchers find your content thanks to smart keywords, structured data and automatically indexed text.
Compatibility. Never worry about problems opening your documents again. Your HTML5 publications work with all devices, all operating systems and all browsers. Better yet, there’s no extra software, downloads or plug-ins required.
Versatility. HTML5 publications are ready for anything. You can enrich them with audio and video content, add links and images, and embed them in your own website or blog. Plus, customize the presentation with your own logo, branding and design.
Usability. Above all, your HTML5 publications are always available online. View, share and update from anywhere, anytime.
Want to go beyond email attachments and plain PDFs? No matter what type of content you have to distribute online, digital publishing can help you get more out of it.
Why businesses use digital publishing
The name might make you think it’s all about novels, but digital publishing is actually a powerful tool for a wide range of businesses. Since an online presence is essential for companies in every sector, having smart digital content matters. Depending on your goals, the best reasons to take advantage of digital publications may differ. Here are three of the most common businesses uses.
Marketing
To create irresistible online materials. Traditional marketing formats like brochures and modern channels like video work together perfectly in digital publications. Marketers can mix and match to produce content that works for their target audience. A light footprint and detailed analytics make it practical for A/B testing, too.
Communications
To connect content with people. Newsletters, magazines, how-to guides and employee handbooks need to be online. Digital publishing platforms make it easy not just to upload content, but also to manage it. Advanced privacy controls and distribution features help communications pros get their message out there, the right way.
Sales
To modernize the sales funnel. Today, content and sales are closer together than ever. Both sales teams and ecommerce operations can make good use of digital publications. For example, email a personalized prospectus for leads to browse on the go. Or transform a PDF catalogue into an interactive, shoppable experience for customers online.
Education and digital publishing
One of the biggest challenges currently facing education is adapting to virtual learning. However, online publishing offers a user-friendly solution for digitizing teaching material. All that students and teachers need is access to an Internet connection to exchange documents securely. Because the best digital publishing platforms can handle multiple file types, converting assignments, tests and more to HTML5 publications is simple.
As a result, digital publishing can be used for many virtual learning materials like:
Study guides and lesson plans
Activities and homework
Presentations and projects
School newspapers and yearbooks
In addition, educational publishers often make sections of textbooks available online as digital publications. Expect this trend to grow while virtual classrooms continue to evolve.
Independent digital publishing
Before the Internet age, a creative career usually started with finding a talent agent. But now, online tools like digital publishing have opened the ability to produce and distribute to everyone. Authors and artists in every genre can choose to publish their work independently in digital formats. For instance, portfolios and media kits help show off your projects and skills, while previews and collections let audiences sample your creations. Even a whole book can easily become a multimedia digital publication to share or sell—no agent necessary.
Advantages of an online platform
Digital publishing is an important part of the online ecosystem. So it’s no surprise that there are many options to help you make and publish content digitally, including traditional software. However, there are several serious advantages to an online platform.
First, your digital publications are accessible 24/7 on the web. Second, you don’t need to take care of hosting your publications. In other words, there are no finicky details for hosting set-up and maintenance to handle. And finally, you don’t have to deal with separate software to download, install and keep updated.
A true online platform should offer you all the features of digital publishing right on your favorite browser. To sum it up, these three advantages add up to major convenience for your content.
Choosing a digital publishing platform
Once you’ve decided to begin using digital publishing for your online content, it’s time to decide which tools are right for you. If you’re searching for a platform to produce and host HTML5 publications, start by considering your main needs. For instance:
Storage. How many digital publications are you planning to create? How large are the files that you work with?
Reliability. How fast do you want your publications to load?
Security. What privacy options would you like to have for your publications? How do you want your audience to be able to access them?
Support. What guidance would you like to receive? What kind of assistance is available if you need help with your publications?
Of course, there are many other potential questions you might ask according to your specific objectives. Say that you have high-quality video content to include in your digital publications. In that case, you may want to make seamless integrations with YouTube a priority. When you have a good idea of what you’re looking for in a digital publishing platform, you’ll be well prepared to find the best fit.
Digital publishing UX
A good digital publishing platform will provide you with smart options to optimize the UX of your online documents. An important part of web design, UX or user experience covers everything that shapes how people interact with digital products.
In this case, there are key UX elements to consider in the publication viewer. Most of all, you want to ensure that your audience can read your publications comfortably. Choices like Right to left reading, scroll and slide views, sharp zoom and full screen availability allow you to always define the right UX for your publications.
But another big factor to keep in mind is how flexible these and other UX options are. Since everyone’s needs are different, watch out for platforms that limit you to a “one size fits all” solution. In fact, with just a little basic tech know-how you should be able to customize the UX of your publications. From the viewer to embed options, online publishing gives you an incredible opportunity to enhance the reading experience for your audience.
Publishing in multiple languages
Thanks to the Internet, the world is growing more connected every day. Even small businesses can serve global customers with ecommerce tools and online communication. However, it can take some extra effort to make sure you’re speaking your audience’s language.
For successful multilanguage publications, prioritize platforms whose features help you organize and manage your online documents. Double check that the languages you publish in are supported for display and search so that your readers aren’t frustrated by text mistakes and missing results. And don’t forget to match the viewer language to your publications—or create your own.
Ready to start?
We think you’ll love digital publishing on Calaméo. But don’t just take our word for it! You can start publishing today. It’s free, fast and easy to join.
To see great digital publishing features in action, browse our Guided Tour.
Making a strong connection between your audience and your brand is a key goal for digital publishers everywhere. In this article, get our tips on how to keep your audience engaged with your publications and improve reading time.
What is reading time?
Reading time is a metric that shows how long people spend viewing your content. On Calaméo, this information is available as part of your account statistics.
You can toggle between the total reading time of your publications and the average reading time per view. The total reading time represents the combined amount across all views. The average reading time represents how long a typical view of your publication lasts.
Thanks to your Calaméo statistics, it’s easy to explore daily, monthly and yearly trends in reading time. Plus, see mobile and desktop breakdown, sources and more.
Reading time can be an especially valuable way to measure audience engagement with your digital publications. The more time people spend reading, the more interested they are in your content—and the more likely they are to keep coming back.
With no further ado, here are four tips to improve reading time for your ditgital publications!
How can I improve reading time?
Use Bold Graphics
Grab your readers’ attention with lively layouts, like in this example from Mixte magazine:
This large, colorful image paired with a pull quote invites the reader to dig into the article and find out more. Clean fonts and plenty of white space make the text easy to read. Fun fonts, new colors and infographics are other great ideas to try.
Index Key Terms
Some readers will view your publication to look for specific information. You can help them find it painlessly by optimizing your document for internal search. All of the text in your publication is automatically indexed for the search function inside our viewer. To benefit, make sure that essential terms are included as text rather than images.
💡TIP: Creating a table of contents for your publication can also make it easier to navigate. Then readers can spend less time in search frustration and more time enjoying your content!
Check External Links
Publishing digitally allows your readers to shop products, visit advertisers and learn more about your business, all from their browser. Although it’s simple to add external links to your publications with the Calaméo Editor, don’t forget to check the “Open in a new window” box. That way, the publication won’t close when readers click your links and they can return to your content effortlessly. Seamless browsing is good UX and is a quick fix to improve reading time for your publications!
Get Interactive
Since video and audio have proven to be enormously engaging to today’s internet users, you can use them to good effect in your online publications. For example, in this catalog from Samedia, a video clip provides a product illustration:
These interactive elements encourage your audience to watch, listen and dive deeper into your content. Result: higher reading times!
💡TIP: Calaméo’s PLATINUM plan lets you include audio from SoundCloud and video from YouTube directly on the page.
Equipped with our tips, you’re ready to improve reading time for your publications. But to go even further, evaluate which of your content performs best and adapt to your audience’s interests. Your advanced statistics includes pages with the longest reading times so you can identify areas to focus on—and keep growing audience engagement!
If you’re ready to give these tips a try, it’s time to request your PLATINUM Demo. During your two-week free trial, access the full range of unlimited statistics on Calaméo and test out the great features of our professional publishing plan.
Tip: Try uploading your magazine privately on Calaméo first to test the look and feel.
Pro tip: If you’ve been working on the content for a while, ask someone else to give it a fresh pair of eyes.
Attractive cover
