Survival Tips for Publishers Offering Creative Services

/
survival-tips-publishers-san-antonio

survival-tips-publishers-san-antonio

In a recent webinar, two staff members at Mirabel Technologies weighed in on the growing trend of creative services from publishing companies.

Christie (Marketing Director) and Nathan (Senior Account Executive for Marketing Manager Division) have provided expert insight to companies, helping them utilize their available resources to grow.

Publishers and agencies are overlapping more and more. Organizations that specialize in magazine publishing, digital promotion, or any type of marketing can gain an additional revenue stream by focusing on creative services leveraged from their own in-house talent.

What Exactly Are Creative Services?

When a company sells advertising space, the process usually involves having the client submit the content for the advertisement. Though this is the traditional course of action, Christie notes that more organizations are now offering clients the opportunity to have content created for them.

Creative services are not uncommon in publishing, printing, and advertisement companies. Even small staffs usually have content creators on hand. Creative services are those which involve making new content – a service many companies can start offering in their current state.

For example, a magazine printing company may sell advertising space in their prints. Their staff will almost always contain a large number of writers, graphic designers, and editors. Just as these individuals create content for the company that sells the ad space, they can also create content for the customers who buy that space.

Success Metrics and Client Specifications

Christie speaks extensively about the importance of success metrics. Realistic data points can be used to gauge the success of creative services from publishers. This could be anything from the number of emails that are opened to the number of coupons downloaded and redeemed.

While she knows clients will worry extensively about ROI when they invest in creative services, it is often difficult to predict exactly what the result will be from a monetary perspective.

What Factors Can Affect the Result?

  • A new competitor in the market
  • An unexpected PR crisis
  • Market fluctuations

Success metrics is a great tool for showing prospective clients what they can expect based on past success.

Clients may also submit briefs with information like their brand image or target audience, giving the publishing organization and their in-house team some direction on how to create content for the ad.

The Right Tools for the Job

Nathan explains that using tools such as Google Analytics, as well as social media campaigns, can help gauge performance and provide the client with a more detailed look into how successful an effort has been.

Unbounce can be used for creating landing pages. For email campaigns, there is MailChimp. Nathan notes that while tools for publishing agencies offering creative services can be expensive, many affordable options can be used together to deliver virtually the same benefits.

He notes that some clients prefer a more “hands-on” approach as their content is being created. Others prefer to be uninvolved with the process after providing the initial information so they can focus on other aspects of their business. Knowing what the client wants is the first step toward providing them with the right content.

Does Print Media Offer Metrics?

Metrics are easy to provide when the marketing services provided are digital. While this option is huge and growing fast, print media is still a very important aspect of marketing. Printing services in San Antonio, TX can provide people with business cards, brochures, and more.

For proving metrics in this area, a digital-linked call-to-action is often the best solution. Guiding people toward an email address or a URL can provide a realistic way to see how effective the print media is.

Adaptability is everything when it comes to ads and promotion. Companies that want to offer creative services should find a model that works for them – and for their clients.

Like this Article? Subscribe to Our Feed!

Christie Calahan

Christie is the marketing director at Mirabel Technologies Mirabel, a privately owned, international software company that empowers businesses to grow.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.