Smart Publishing

Holiday 2011   |   Vol. 11, No. 4   |   Digital Edition

Why We Celebrate at Year's End

The holidays remind us of the importance of recognition, gratitude, and connection

We look forward to December here at Stratton Publishing for a number of reasons. December is a time of taking stock, looking back over the year, and summarizing the progress we’ve made. But it’s also a time of giving thanks and expressing our gratitude to the clients and colleagues who make our work possible.

The world of publishing and communications has changed a great deal over the past year—publications have come and gone, mobile magazine apps have taken hold, ad revenues rose and fell and rose again, and new job roles, like content strategist, emerged. It’s been our pleasure to help dozens of clients navigate these tricky waters.

Interestingly, as we began brainstorming for our 2011 holiday e-card, we realized that our holiday cards over the years have reflected the evolution of publishing in many ways. They’ve also reflected our state of mind at the time, the economy, pop culture, and the world condition. Some are lighthearted; others, like our 2001 card, are simple and poignant.

One of our early, “homemade” holiday cards in 1992 featured artwork by my then 7-year-old daughter, Alexandra. Her view of what mom—aka “the boss”—and others in the office did was succinctly summarized in cartoon thought bubbles that made us all chuckle. Alexandra is now 26, recently married, and a professional in her own right.

In 2001, with our nation still raw from 9/11, our card focused on the importance of friends and family during the holidays. Throughout the years, our holiday cards have featured cartoons from our favorite illustrators, simple messages, knock-offs of holiday books and tunes rewritten for our readers, and classic images to showcase our publishing and design expertise. They are all a tribute to the creativity and cunning of this great group of professionals I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. Last year, we switched to an e-card—complete with animation. You’ll get another one this year along with the holiday edition of our newsletter that you hold in your hands.

Regardless of the style or message in each year’s card, the overall sentiment is always the same: We’re grateful for our success and that of our clients, and we wish you a very merry holiday season. To demonstrate our gratitude, each year, like many of you, we plan time to give back to our community and to those in need. Our staff will be volunteering at the food kitchens of S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) in Washington, DC, in December. We also will make cash donations to several charities with personal meaning to us at Stratton, including the Susan G. Komen Fund and the Angerosa Research Foundation, in honor of our much-missed colleague Angela Angerosa.

Thank you for reading Smart Publishing and for your support of Stratton Publishing & Marketing/Stratton Research all year long. We look forward to working with you in 2012 and reporting on the latest publishing and media innovations that you and your colleagues implement. 

Holiday Issues That Sparkle 

Bright ideas from association publishers 

By late November, coffee tables from Alexandria, Virginia, to Alexandria, Nebraska, are littered with holiday issues of popular consumer magazines—from Real Simple to Martha Stewart Living. Decorating, baking, and gift ideas fill the pages. These issues are big money makers for publishers as advertisers reach out to consumers with new products and fresh ideas that lighten wallets during the holiday season.

But in the association world, the issues that drop from November to February are often viewed with dread. Light advertising means small issue sizes, so buyer’s guides and New Year’s forecasts are often used to fill space and entice investments.

Here’s a snapshot of holiday and New Year’s ideas from the association world:

Year in review. Instead of looking forward, the American Public Transportation Association looks back on the past year’s successes in a hefty December issue of Passenger Transport each year. “It includes a double-truck of photos entitled The Year in Pictures,” says Senior Managing Editor Susan Paisner. “Most of the pictures were published in previous issues, but it’s a different way to remind everyone of all the events and meetings and other happenings that took place over the year.”

Editors also invite specific people to contribute their reflections on the big news of the past year. Last year, editors tapped members of its newspaper advisory board. “Because the board represents a strong cross section of the industry—including CEOs of public transit systems, business members, and public information professionals—we received a tremendously varied set of responses,” says Paisner.

“It’s a really neat way to capture an array of what has happened over the past year, including innovations in hardware, technological advances, and creative media campaigns,” she adds. “And it’s our members doing the original reporting, so it’s a great way to showcase their efforts.”

The holiday spirit. Leader’s Edge magazine, a publication of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, is doing something a little different this year. “We never have in the past, but for the first time we thought we would focus on the good works in the insurance industry and all of its charitable efforts,” says Editor-in-Chief Rick Pullen. “We run a small feature in each issue called The Good Life, focusing on good works, and this would be an extension of that. If we get a good response this year, we may make it a regular thing each December.”

New Year’s forecast. Transaction Trends magazine, the publication of the Electronic Transactions Association, runs a New Year forecast article in each January issue. “The New Year is synonymous with resolutions and self-improvement,” says Editor Josephine Rossi of Stratton Publishing. “It’s the perfect time to give readers hard-hitting analysis on emerging trends and possible challenges so they can make the best decisions possible for their businesses.”

A wealth of resources. The National Retail Federation puts a great deal of effort into disseminating holiday information. Visit the website of the organization and you’ll find a dedicated Holiday 2011 section with surveys, forecasts, and tips for retailers. There’s even a “2011 Holiday Survival Kit” available for download. STORES doesn’t produce a holiday-themed issue because of the difficult lead times in getting current info. The website provides the info retailers need to capitalize on and manage the holiday shopping spree.

Keep in mind that the holiday season likely means your readers are distracted, stressed, and out of the office. Plan issues accordingly. Give them a little light reading, too, and infuse some fun into issues. Use the holiday season as an opportunity to try something new. 

Start 2012 Off Right 

6 ideas to help you refresh your publications in the new year

Why do so many of us begin each year with a list of resolutions? We see the beginning of the year as a clean slate, a chance to begin again.

In 2012, why not indulge that urge toward self-improvement by looking at your publication with fresh eyes? Here are a few ideas to make your magazine, newsletter, or website more engaging, more readable, and more valuable to your audience—without overloading your staff or breaking your budget.

Reconsider your fonts. If your magazine was designed more than a few years ago, it’s a good time to take a look at your font choices. Designers have made real progress in creating fonts that are both attractive and easier on the reader’s eye. If you receive complaints from your members that your publication is “too hard to read,” it might be a sign that your current font could use an upgrade.

Shake up your feature well. Are most of your articles either how-to pieces or journalistic feature stories— perhaps with the odd Q&A or point-counterpoint mixed in? This year, try shaking things up with feature formats you’ve never tried before. Tell a story through a timeline. Bring together a group of experts for a freewheeling roundtable discussion. Could a topic that’s important to your readers be explored in a photo essay, an open letter from an affected party, or a collection of brief vignettes from a variety of perspectives?

Experiment with social media. If you aren’t promoting your association’s content and resources through Facebook and Twitter, make 2012 the year you start. There are potential readers for you in both platforms—whether members of your association or interested nonmembers—and with a little knowledge and a little elbow grease, you can reach them.

If you’re already involved in social media, consider experimenting with a new platform in 2012. Have you tried encouraging your readers to share your content through social bookmarking? Could you capture some of your members’ knowledge through the question-and-answer site Quora?

Tell stories in new formats. Many of us come into the world of association publishing with a background in the written word—as editors, writers, or both. If that describes your experience, make 2012 the year you branch out into new formats. Try telling a story through video or presenting an interview as a podcast rather than a written Q&A. Create an online slideshow that focuses as much on imagery as on words. You’ll develop new skills and possibly find new ways to connect with your audience.

Refresh your reader research. If some of the ideas above make you wonder if it’s time for a more in-depth overhaul of your publication, take a look at your most recent reader research. If it’s been three years or more since you’ve reached out to conduct quantitative research, 2012 might be a good time to take a look at what your readership as a whole has to say about your content, design, and print/digital mix.

Schedule time to browse. It’s easy to get caught up in your day-to-day responsibilities and find the well of inspiration running dry. Why not block out time each month, or every other month, to explore new publications and ideas? Take an hour to browse the magazine selection at your local bookstore or library, or to visit websites or digital publications you don’t normally read. We can guarantee that you’ll find at least two or three new ideas to take back with you. 

Idea Swap  

If you were given the gift of an unlimited budget for communications, what would you do? 

I’d find a website developer who understood an association audience; was able to balance design and content; could integrate all of our different online offerings; would create a great user interface; and actually had time to make it all happen as quickly as I wanted—which, of course, would be “overnight.”
James A. Baumann
Director of Communications and Marketing
Association of College & University Housing Officers—International

If I had an unlimited budget for Signature magazine, I’d hire three gifted staff writers and send them to do interviews in person. I’d also hire a staff photographer to accompany writers and get some great shots. He or she would be talented enough to shoot original images for our covers. I’d also hire a videographer and a video editor, who would work with writers to create compelling video stories for the website, and I’d increase our budget for original illustrations.

Beyond that, I’d send an iPad to every member of Association Media & Publishing so they could read Signature wherever they are. (If they dropped their membership, they’d have to give it back, of course!) And, I’d give everyone on the magazine team a big, fat bonus at the end of the year.
Carla Kalogeridis
Editorial Director
Association Media & Publishing

I would hire a staff person or a service to do social media monitoring—the most time-consuming part of my job. I would also want some mechanism for social CRM—both a tool to connect data I collect with the AMS and someone to deal with the integration and data analysis. I’d also want a blog designer for my personal blog and for the blog I manage. And finally, I’d want to attend both SXSW and Digital Now!
Maggie McGary
Online Community & Social Media Manager
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association