The New Rules of Custom Publishing

Junta42 | The New Rules of Custom Publishing The reason most custom publishers can get away with this is that the industry is booming. There are enough projects for everyone, regardless of the positioning of the company, right? Not for long. At some point, things will level off and companies will have to figure out how to truly differentiate themselves. What’s your value proposition? What is the true value you bring to your customers? Is it content? Unique distribution methods? Integration? Culture? Whatever the answer, it will be of singular importance to define this proposition. Begin to form your culture and organization around it, and ultimately, communicate this value proposition to your target customers. Just look at how your prospects are able to sniff out the difference today. What will it be like in a few years? World-class content providers must differentiate today, and quickly, using the same content marketing services to communicate that message that they hold so dear to them. value. Don’t try to make your money on what your customers can get cheaply and efficiently in other places. Okay, now let’s get specific. Outside of the fact that you’ll want to make as much of a “reasonable” profit as possible, a 15% net profit on any project should be considered a minimum. That means that after all costs, overhead and commissions are taken out, if you’re not making at least 15%, you’re going to have problems. This should ensure that your company is at least making money. Consider that the minimum. As for pricing models, most custom publishers succeed with project-specific pricing versus commission-based agency-type models or even a monthly retainer. Due to the complexity of custom projects, as well as the flexibility needed as the project evolves, pricing on a per-issue or per-project basis seems to work best for customers and publishers alike. Most custom publishers strive for a 35% gross margin (not including overhead or pass-through costs) on print projects. Higher-circulation consumer projects may require much lower percentages, as custom publishers are limited in their print-line markups. Web projects, such as microsites, e-newsletters and webcasts, generally see 50% or higher gross margins. As technology continues to get cheaper, these margins should more than stay intact. The key to remember on both print and Web projects is line-item markups. For example, a publisher that sells a print publication with project management, design, editorial services, production and printing, should place 75%-100% markups (or possibly more) on valuable services such as project management, design and editorial, while production and printing may have much lower markups, with printing sometimes at 25% markups or less. The combination of these line items should result in a “reasonable” profit. In presenting your pricing, the best case is to present a per-project or per-issue price. If the #7 Price Your Services According to What the Customer Values How do I price my custom publishing services? This question comes up all the time. In publisher round-tables and networking sessions, it’s always a whispered question, with very few forthcoming answers. Pricing is just a set of formulas – nothing more, and not much different than other service industries. That said, the key to successful pricing is a clear understanding of the value you bring to the table. Once you understand that, the rest is easy. Price your profit into what has the most value for the customer. If your ultimate value is content, that is where you should be making your money. Design, Web development, integration, turnkey execution – same thing. If you are bringing an audience to the table or a brand for co-branding purposes, charge for that because that is what’s of www.junta42.com/match 9 http://www.junta42.com/match

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The New Rules of Custom Publishing

The New Rules of Custom Publishing World-Class Custom Publishing... Is Possible #1 Understand the Changes... #2 Be Active in Social Media... #3 Acquire Expertise in All Forms of Content #4 Walk the Talk #5 Position Yourself... #6 Have a Clear Value Proposition #7 Price Your Services... #8 Value the Role of the Project Manager #9 Use Questions, Not Answers... About the Author

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