the embellisher newsletter, vol. 1, issue 1

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The importance of mobile marketing and how to improve your presence on mobile devices.

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  • OUR FIRST ISSUE

    The cartoon for this months issue is from our own Ari Bernabei. Ari not only

    does our illustrations for Embellisher eReader books, he can also create

    special commix for you. If you need to spice-up your business newsletter or

    website with a fresh and humorous creation, then just email our man Ari and

    tell him what you need in the way of a topic. He can give you an idea of what

    it would cost for a single-panel or multiple-panels strip.

    What do you need to hear from us?

    Just tell us!

    5 WAYS TO PUBLISH

    CONTENT ON MOBILE

    AND GROW YOUR

    BRAND

    Everyone knows mobile is taking over. All you have to do is stick

    your head out the window, snap an Instagram, and youll see it: Little

    computers that we can hold in our hands are everywhere.

    According to an Econsultancy and Adobe trend report, marketers see mobile optimization as the number one

    opportunity in 2015; yet they struggle with executing on an effective mobile content strategy. And while there

    are plenty of great studies out there that portend mobiles takeover of the web, theres not much information

    about the best (and worst) approaches to publishing content that is mobile-friendly. Obviously, mobile is a

    whole new ball game. So how do we play?

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  • To get you started, here is a list of five easy ways to deliver effective content experiences on mobile platforms.

    Using real life examples, from McDonalds use of responsive design to Oreos awesome real-time and video

    campaigns, there is plenty of useful advice to be gleaned from how the pros publish content on mobile.

    #1: Make your content readable on mobile

    This one sounds like a no-brainer, but too many businesses are simply failing to make their content accessible

    on the small screen. One eye-opening study suggested 98 percent of small and medium business websites were

    not ready for mobile. You know the feeling: Youre browsing the web on your smartphone, only to come to the

    brick wall of an impossible-to-read website or worse, you encounter a big alert that tries to force you to

    download an app.

    The obvious solution here is to make your site fit for tablet and smartphone reading. One of the most popular

    tactics for doing this is with a responsively designed website. Responsive web design simply means building

    your site (whether its a blog or an e-commerce platform) with flexibility for all devices in mind. So when a

    user with a smartphone comes to your site, the objects on the screen will automatically adjust to fit the screen.

    You build once, and it fits nicely on all devices, from PCs to tablets and smartphones.

  • Example from the pros: When McDonalds Canada put out its Your Questions campaign, it knew a huge

    portion of readers would be accessing the interactive microsite from handheld devices. So the company made

    the whole thing responsive to automatically adjust the screen no matter what device customers choose to view

    the content on.

    Takeaway: The result of a responsive web design means you just build once and can provide visitors with an

    easily usable content experience.

    #2: Make your site feel like a mobile site

    Despite responsive designs huge benefit to marketers, an incredible mobile reading experience is so much more

    than simply making your content fit on a smaller screen. Doing that sometimes feels like putting a radio show

    on the television the content is all there, but you are missing out on something.

    Mobile is an entirely new medium and it comes with a unique way for people to interact with content. Its all

    about touch, swipe, and that feeling of a full-screen, laid-back experience simulating the couch surfing

    vibe. This is why some content publishers opt for creating a social magazine-style experience, in the spirit

    of Flipboard, to deliver content to mobile users in the most dynamic way possible.

    The benefit of this approach is huge. Aside from providing a more familiar and enjoyable reading experience,

    your readers tend to view more pages, and spend far more time with your content compared with other websites

    that were built with click and scroll in mind.

    An added benefit to this approach is that marketers are given a natural way to show full-screen ads and/or call-

    to-action widgets. So, for instance, in between your full-screen articles, you can sneak in a white paper

    download CTA or a newsletter sign-up request without interrupting the experience.

  • Example from the pros: The Toronto Star, one of North Americas largest newspapers, built a great mobile-

    first, immersive experience for its tablet audience. It created a totally swipeable, full-screen magazine web app,

    which makes it incredibly easy for visitors to swipe to the next story, much like they would turn a printed page

    to keep reading.

    Takeaway: Boost page views and time spent on your blog or content site with a built-for-touch, laid-back

    reading experience.

    #3: Create custom, mobile-only assets

    As you start to notice more of your readers are on mobile, another strong tactic is to build something just for

    them. In contrast to optimizing an existing web property, customized mobile assets are all about putting together

    a stand-alone content experience the user can only access through a smartphone or a tablet device.

    Many brands are using this tactic to curate diverse content assets from around the web into a single, compelling

    mobile product. Its a surefire way to give readers a valuable reading experience, while at the same time

    unifying all your efforts (e.g., all your social feeds, video, and blog content can be rolled up into one awesome

    experience), and potentially driving them to discover more content they otherwise might have missed.

  • Example from the pros:

    The Economists Electionism: When the U.S. presidential elections were just starting to heat up in 2011,

    The Economist wanted to do something special for its growing tablet readership. The publisher

    built Electionism, a mobile-only app that leveraged its editorial content on the U.S. election, social feeds, and a

    curated news section from across the web.

  • Softchoice: Softchoice is a leading B2B technology provider, as well as a group of laser-sharp content

    marketers. The company recently put out a tablet and smartphone app that packaged all its various content

    assets into a single, unified reading experience.

    Takeaway: Assemble a custom mobile-online experience to drive more content discovery and build better

    relationships with mobile readers.

    #4: Go for web, not native (most of the time)

    Three years after the iPads release, publishers are slowly starting to realize Apples App Store is not always the

    best place to publish content. Apps have a modern, cool factor, and many content creators rushed out of the gate

    to go build one. Unfortunately, apps also cost a lot of money and time to produce, and at the end of the day,

    they dont always provide what readers want, as evidenced by a few tragic results.

    When an app is only available through the App Store, it requires several steps for users to access it. Do you

    really need to put up that much friction between your story and a users enjoyment of it? The answer is pretty

    obvious. And the numbers speak for themselves: Twice as many mobile news readers prefer browsers over

    apps.

  • This is why a rock star caliber mobile content marketer often goes with a web app, or optimized website,

    instead of investing time and money on building a closed-off native app. With the advanced web technologies

    available, the user experience can be made to be indistinguishable from that of a slick native app. In addition, a

    leading benefit of building for the web is that all your SEO efforts and existing social traffic continues to

    contribute to your mobile visits.

    Just one caveat: In some cases, you might want to create something a little beefier than a simple reading app.

    Content marketing can come in many forms, and its not always just text and videos. In those cases, using the

    more robust technology platform of native apps, as well as relying on the great exposure of an app store, might

    be a highly visible way to launch your branded app.

  • Example from the pros: Financial Times was the first major publisher to shirk Apples App Store (and 30

    percent revenue cut) and go right to creating a web app, which it built using the mobile-

    friendly HTML5 markup language. We at EMRE Publishing will be rolling-out our own Embellisher

    Multimedia Creator Studio in the near future. This will allow you to create your own stunning ePub3 books and

    install them directly into your Embellisher web app system.

  • Native apps: Volkswagen wanted to do something big to launch one of its newest cars: It wanted to build

    a native app for iOS. Now thats classy! And it probably couldnt have executed its content idea at the required

    level of quality if the brand had chosen to go with a web app rather than one that was designed specifically to

    optimize the mobile experience.

    Takeaway: Most mobile content marketing is better served from the web but if you are building a big tool or

    game, you may want to go native.

    #5: Get on the hot mobile social networks

    From Vine to Instagram, a number of social media sites are emerging that focus primarily on the mobile

    channel. And they are gaining members by the millions members who are just waiting to be entertained by

    great brand content. Search out where your audience might be hanging out on mobile, find their favorite apps,

    and start entertaining, educating, and bringing your brand there.

    Not only do these apps give you a great way to show the fun side of your brand, but they also can provide an

    easy way to curate or share content that keeps brand conversations flowing during those times when you are

    working to create more substantial content pieces.

    Examples from the pros: By now, you might have heard of Oreos display of genius real-time marketing at

    the Super Bowl by hammering out a single, perfectly timed Twitter pic during the blackout. But this isnt the

    only time the cookie maker has stood out as an exemplary mobile content marketer. As youll see below, Oreo

    has an incredible knack for entertaining and building its brand on mobile social networks. For example, Oreo

    has a great Vine feed packed with tons of helpful and funny videos, including the one below, which shows how

    to make an Oreo kebab.

  • The Wolverine movie made history and the first ever movie trailer on Vine, a little video social network that

    you might have heard of.

    GEs also got an exceptional Instagram feed that showcases beauty shots of big, heavy machines. As its

    follower count shows, people love it.

    Takeaway: Popular mobile apps can be your ticket to publishing content that entertains and connects the

    audience to your brand.

    For more shining examples of branded content that works across multiple platforms, read CMIs Ultimate

    eBook: 100 Content Marketing Examples.

    How to Get 200+ New Subscribers From 1 LinkedIn Article

    A Checklist for Measuring Your Content Marketing Success

    How to Run a Content Marketing Campaign on a Budget: 5 Free Tools

    Content Marketing Strategy 101: Make it a Game

  • If you want ePub3 content that your clients

    will interact with, just request a free quote

    from EMRE Publishing.

    STAY WITH US

    We hope you enjoyed the first issue of The Embellisher. Our clients are

    businesses, families and authors who understand the importance of mobile

    publishing. Suggestions for article topics are always welcome.

    AD SPACE AVAILABLE

    If you want to place your own ad in this newsletter, please contact the

    publisher with your request. Hell send you the options and prices.

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