How to Create and Design Your Best Online Publication
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Create and Design Your Best Online Publication
The internet has put free information at every user’s fingertips, completely changing the way marketing works. Nowadays, if you want people to notice your brand, publishing content is a must. There are so many types of digital content that have proven to be effective, and online publications sure are one of them. Not only that these things can help you get noticed but they can also give your brand authority a significant boost. But how exactly do you create and design the best online publication? Here are a few tips that can help.
Break your content up
If you don’t have experience in creating content for online publications, chances are you’re trying to come up with blocks of unbroken text. This can seem like the best thing to do but the truth is, users prefer paragraphs that are up to ten lines long. Fail to break your content up into blocks and readers will often just skip over paragraphs they find to be too long. This means blank space is your best friend when designing online publications, which is definitely a big plus. You get to create less content, yet your online magazine or catalog will be more effective. When writing, create blocks of text you can later format to fit into any layout and you’ll have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Choose the right headlines
No matter what kind of content you choose to include in your online publications, choosing the right headlines is massive. In fact, it’s one of those things that can make it or break it for your web publications. Most businesses use templates that only show the headline above the fold, making this even more crucial for any type of content. Work with your designer to make sure the headline is clearly visible on every page. Short and snappy headlines seem to work the best, especially when your content is broken into blocks. Every time you write an article, try to come up with ten variations and decide which of them can get your message across.
Create a style guide
Your online publication isn’t just something you use to promote your brand, it’s an extension of it. When users engage in it, they need to know it was you who brought that content to life. This is why you need to do everything you can to make your every publication a clear reflection of your brand. Whether you choose to build a style guide from scratch, or you already have something you can work on, sticking to it every time you publish something is imperative. Fortunately, there are so many websites with their own web magazines and finding one you can draw inspiration from shouldn’t be tough. For example, just take a look at Week in China and how they used the same editorial guidelines both for their website and online magazine.
Write something new
Let’s face it, you’re not the only business publishing content on the web. Your competitors are doing it and chances are there are a number of blogs about your niche. If you want your content to stand out, getting out of your comfort zone when writing can be an amazing idea. Web publications are perfect for experimenting with content as you can keep track of the reactions you get. Coming up with something new often seems impossible but in reality, it takes just a little bit of creativity to get it done. For example, if in the past you only wrote about what you do, try to make your articles more engaging. Or why not give a new format a go? Anything from recipes to infographics can work when it comes to online publications.
Know what you’re working on
Not all online publications are the same. There are different types of web publications and it’s up to you to choose the ones that work best for your brand. It’s important to know what type of content you’re creating as it can dictate all of the steps towards designing the final product. It may seem like there are too many types of online publications but you’ve probably stumbled upon each of them at some point. First of all, there are PDF and flash online magazines which are something we all came across online. Another popular option is flipbook magazines, which make turning print content into digital content a real piece of cake. Nowadays, when so many brands have their own apps, there are even app magazines that get delivered to your device.
Wrap-up
It’s difficult to say which part of creating and designing online publications is the most important. Spend an equal amount of time on both crafting your text and perfecting your visuals. Put enough time and effort into each publication and there should be nothing stopping you from keeping your audience engaged and turning them into customers.