How digital publishing helped businesses adapt during the pandemic

In PUBLISHING
22 July 2021
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Well before the pandemic arrived, many companies were already using digital publishing in their strategies. However, practically all business activities were compelled to adapt to online-only in the early spring of 2020. Businesses quickly pivoted to using digital publishing in creative ways. Here we’ve compiled some of the ways that digital publishing helped businesses adapt during the pandemic.

Touchless menus

Due to the risk posed by people touching the same menu, many restaurants and bars turned to touchless menus. And while posting menus online is not a new phenomenon, the pandemic was the catalyst for more restaurants to start publishing their menus digitally. More specifically: a digital format available for diners to consult instantly on their mobile devices while at the restaurant. 

How it works: using their own mobile device, diners scan a QR code on their table. They are then redirected to the digital menu that is posted on the restaurant’s website or a digital publishing platform such as Calaméo. No need to touch a physical menu!

Thanks to digital publishing, restaurants are able to update their menus easily. Also, the public appreciates the convenience of reading the menu without coming into contact with a high-touch object like a physical menu. Our prediction? Digital menus are here to stay! 

Digital business cards

Gone are the days of trading paper business cards with a new contact, only to lose them in the shuffle of countless other business cards in your possession. And as businesses moved online during the pandemic, there weren’t opportunities to meet face-to-face and trade business cards. Now it is easier than ever to create and publish business cards digitally. Consider switching to digital business cards so that contact information can be saved digitally in one place and there will be no risk of cards going missing.

Services

Limiting time in an enclosed space where other people are present is essential for stemming the spread of the virus. With this in mind, many businesses decided to upload their services onto digital publishing platforms. Now, customers can choose what they want before they come in person to receive their service (think: salons and spas). This avoids unnecessary time spent together inside. It also means that more time can be devoted to the service itself rather than discussing and deciding. 

With many in-person businesses limiting the number of appointments they provide per day, posting their services on a digital publishing platform where customers can read and decide in advance eliminates the need to have long buffer periods in between appointments; therefore the business can accept more clients every day. It’s a win-win!

💡 TIP: Platinum members can use the “Overlay” option which inserts forms that open in your publication, useful for implementing pre-booking and virtual check-ins, for example

Digital flyers, brochures

In-person events are slowly coming back, but enthusiasm for the printed materials that come with them is not. Much like paper business cards, printed materials such as flyers or brochures are going out of fashion. Whether it’s a company brochure or a flyer announcing a new event, it’s likely that the printed materials will just end up in the trash. In addition, due to the risk of community spread, sharing materials digitally is a safer option. Not to mention the resources saved when you opt to go digital! 

By using Calaméo’s platform and optimizing your content, your digital publication will wow potential clients. They won’t even miss the paper brochures and flyers of the past!

💡 TIP: Don’t know where to start? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Digital Publishing  and you’ll be a digital publishing whiz in no time

Digital publishing became a crucial tool that helped businesses adapt during the pandemic. The events of 2020 and 2021 have shown the world that digital publications are an efficient and safe way to distribute information. Now individuals and companies alike have adapted to this new way of consuming, creating, and sharing content.

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PUBLISHING

How to Start a Magazine: A Practical Guide

In PUBLISHING
26 March 2020

Have you ever wanted to start your own magazine? We here at Calaméo did—way back at the beginning of last year, when we had the idea to create our CALAMEO Magazine. Since that first issue was released in February 2019 we’ve learned a lot about how to start a magazine from scratch. For example, what you’ll need to get organized, get creating and get out there.

Keep reading to find our complete guide to start your own magazine, plus three great reasons to opt for digital distribution.

Big-Picture Planning

The first and most important step when you start a magazine is to decide on your subject matter. Maybe there’s an idea you’re passionate about and want to share with others. Or maybe you’re part of a group interested in exploring new ways to communicate. No matter where you’re coming from, take a few minutes to write down the main topic for your magazine. Some possible topics are:

  • A hobby or activity, like birding
  • A place or institution, like a town or local museum
  • An industry, like higher education
  • An organization or association, like a sports club or charity
  • A business or institution, like your company

For example, we decided right away that CALAMEO Magazine would be about the digital publishing sector as well as about our company. We wanted to give readers a deeper look at Calaméo’s history, people and news. But we also knew that we wanted to provide insight into the digital publishing world and analyze key trends.

Once you’ve defined your subject, it’s time to consider the goals you have for your magazine. These can be business goals, such as selling advertisements or making new contacts. They might also include personal goals like challenging yourself creatively and growing a collaborative community. In other words, write down the reasons why you want to start a magazine. This will help you focus on what’s most valuable and, a little farther down the road, help you evaluate your success.

Finally, think about the scope of your project. Some magazines come out once a week and have hundreds of employees; some magazines only put out one issue every six months. Here at Calaméo, we chose to make four issues of CALAMEO Magazine during our first year of publication. How many times would you ideally like to publish this year to work toward your goals? Pick a number before you move on to planning the actual content of your magazine.

Building Your Team

Now the fun part of how to start a magazine begins! That’s right—it’s the “getting the team together” stage of the project. The size of your team can vary depending on the resources that are available for your magazine. But even limited resources don’t mean you’ll have to sacrifice on quality. At a minimum, you should count on filling three primary roles: Editor, Lead writer and Designer.

Each of these three roles comes with a different responsibility that is essential to creating your magazine.

  • The Editor is in charge of decision-making. He or she has final say on the topics to cover, assigning stories and approving design.
  • The Lead writer is generally asked to produce the text content of the magazine, including features, interviews and opinion pieces.
  • And last but not least, the Designer creates the finished publication. This can involve making page templates, developing a graphic identity for your magazine and illustrating its content. 

Finding collaborators to help you start a magazine can mean getting creative. For instance, you may want to put out a call for volunteers, either within your organization or your community. If you have a budget, you can get in touch with freelance writers and designers on platforms like Behance and Fiverr. On the other hand, if you plan to be your own designer, the templates available in sites like Canva allow you to handle basic graphics and layout.

Inside this Issue

After you’ve assembled your core team, it’s time to work on the first issue of your magazine! Above all, you’ll want to think carefully about the way your content is structured. That’s because you can use this same structure in every issue of your magazine. As a result, you’ll save yourself time and the stress of making such fundamental decisions for each new release.

Begin with your ideas for the main rubrics, or categories, of content that you would like to feature in your magazine. Be careful not to confuse content categories with actual, specific stories that you might already have in mind! For example, our CALAMEO Magazine has nine rubrics: our Editors’ Note, a table of contents, Stats, News, Highlights, Interview, Tips and Editors’ Picks. While the subjects change from issue to issue, the structure stays the same.

With your magazine’s rubrics figured out, the Editor can begin to assign topics to your contributors. Your Lead writer should take on the most important stories, but you can consider asking additional writers and creators to contribute content or even ask for submissions. (Just make sure to explain the topic well enough to receive relevant responses!) Meanwhile, discuss the upcoming issue and its subjects with your Designer so that he or she can prepare layouts and other graphic elements.  

Now all that’s left is to set some deadlines! The Editor of your magazine should let everyone else involved in its creation know when their content is due. Plus, the Lead writer and Designer will need a schedule for completing the layout, making edits, finalizing the publication and the planned release date. Stick to your schedule as closely as possible and voilà—the first issue of your magazine is done!

Getting to Readers

There are still a few more choices to make before you get your publication in front of readers. Perhaps the most crucial question when you decide to start a magazine is whether to publish in print, online or both. In the past, print was the only option for new projects and came with lots of built-in costs, from paper to postage. However, it’s now both easy and common for magazines to be available in a digital format.

Besides the lower costs associated with online publication, digital magazines can benefit from incorporating interactive content. You can add links to other websites to cite sources, promote products and events or support advertisers. Spice up your stories with videos from YouTube, audio tracks or even GIFs. Thanks to digital publishing platforms like Calaméo, it only takes a few minutes to make your magazine fully interactive online.

Plus, a digital magazine offers you key information about your readership that print distribution can’t match. Instead of relying on the number of printed copies you’ve ordered, you can effortlessly access analytics showing how many views your magazine is receiving online. (And if you need further details about how readers interact with your content, advanced statistics can provide insights.) This data will help you evaluate the progress you’re making toward your goals as you create the next issues of your new magazine!

We hope that this practical guide to how to start a magazine has given you the right tools for taking on such an exciting project. We loved creating CALAMEO Magazine and are happy to announce that a brand-new issue will be coming your way this spring. Ready to try out publishing your own digital magazine? Join Calaméo today and publish for free.

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PUBLISHING

Digital publishing: A guide for educators

In PUBLISHING
4 November 2021

Digital publishing is a tool that can be adapted to every industry. And education is no exception! From elementary schools to universities to employee training courses, digital publishing is useful for all facets of education. But how can educators and the education industry best use digital publishing?  Here we have compiled a guide for educators on how to use digital publishing in the education industry. 

Teachers & professors

In 2020, teachers and professors around the world were forced to quickly adapt to online teaching. This big change was hard for many education professionals, especially those who did not have the right tools. While many schools have decided to go back to in-person learning this year, there are some digital tools that proved so useful that teachers will continue using them, including digital publishing!

Online assignments

Easily post homework and other assignments on a digital publishing platform. This is a great solution for a student out sick who needs to catch up, or a teacher deciding to go green and reduce paper waste.“The dog ate my homework” will no longer be a valid excuse! Teachers can post workbooks, readings, worksheets, discussion questions, and everything in between for students to access online. 

Lesson plans

If schools are using a hybrid in-person/online model, students who are at home can follow along with the classroom students thanks to digital publishing. The teacher can add external links to the publication if there is a quiz or video component to the lesson, for example. 

Answer keys, corrections

Using digital publishing, teachers can post a plethora of additional materials for students to help with studying. Archive old assignments so students have a useful study guide at their disposal before big exams. Answer keys, corrected assignments, additional exercises, external resources, and more! The possibilities are endless.

Virtual library

Want to display students’ work? It’s easy with our Library widget! End-of-semester projects, presentations, creative writing assignments…these can all be beautifully displayed and embedded in a website or classroom blog for everyone to see.

💡 TIP: Students can create a digital portfolio of their work! Read our article on how digital portfolios work harder for grads.

Privacy

Teachers have options when it comes to uploading material that is for students’ eyes only. First, by making a publication private, the teacher controls who can access the publication. Then, they can choose to share the publication via a private URL, or using the Subscribers feature with a PREMIUM or PLATINUM account.

💡 TIP: Our Editor tool is the key to an enriched publication!

Administrators

Digital publishing is not just reserved for the classroom. Administrators can also take advantage! From school districts to school boards to Parent-Teacher Associations, digital publishing can help administrators achieve their communication goals.

💡 TIP: Using Calaméo for professional purposes? Take a look at our PLATINUM plan!

School or university brochures

Show off your school or university in a beautiful digital brochure. Add links, videos, music, and other interactive features to wow potential students and their families. Embed it in your website or share it via your social media pages. Display your school colors and logo by using our white label feature!

Newsletters

Much like brochures, digital publishing is an excellent medium for newsletters. Whether it’s an internal newsletter for teachers and staff, or an external newsletter for students and families or alumni, your publications can shine on a digital publishing platform. Add links to sign-up forms for field trips or volunteering, and, if you have a PLATINUM  account, include videos of student performances or other highlights. Online newsletters are the perfect solution for communicating important information to many people at once. Use our Statistics feature to see how many views your newsletter receives!

Professional documents

Policies, procedures, school rules, student handbooks, school directories, annual reports (and more!) can be posted online for all to see. These crucial documents can be shared easily to ensure that both faculty and students receive all the important information throughout the school year.

Yearbooks

Traditional yearbooks have gotten a 21st-century upgrade! Why not include videos of congratulations or well wishes from faculty, for example? Students can share their yearbooks with relatives to show off their accomplishments from the previous school year.

💡 TIP: Need to know what types of files you can convert on Calaméo? Click here!

Flyers

Bake sales, charity auctions, open houses, school plays, talent shows…broadcast all your school events and important announcements with digital flyers! Embed them in your school’s website and share them easily. If there’s a date or venue change, no need to panic. Upload a new version of your publication and the URL remains the same.

Training

Another sector of the education industry that could benefit from digital publishing is professional training. Many companies provide continuing education or training courses for their employees, both online and in person.

Training materials

Professional trainers can upload their training materials to a digital publishing platform such as Calaméo and enrich it with interactive touches like links and videos. In fact, PREMIUM and PLATINUM members can use Folders to organize by theme or company department, managing access via private URLs or our Subscribers feature.

Intranet or employee training portal

Training managers can embed their training materials on the company’s internal website, Intranet, or training portal, for employees to consult from anywhere. Easy to upload and easy to access, employee training will be a breeze!

And more!

Private tutors, professional aides, volunteers…absolutely everyone in education can use digital publishing! Not only is Calaméo a great option for a digital publishing platform, it’s easy and will save educators’ most precious resource: time.