Publishers see the opportunity to engage more deeply with their audiences, develop new business models, and reduce the marketing costs for selling their content by building online communities of interest for their readers. In the last several years, online communities have been the focus of many development and marketing efforts for publishers across segments. Publishing Technology will share recent results from their survey of academic publishers building online vertical communities. Randy Petway of PT will be joined by trade, professional, and academic publishers to discuss their community-building efforts. They'll talk about both the pitfalls and successes, and how direct engagement with readers is creating new business opportunities and changing their marketing and product launch practices.

1. Publishers Building Vertical Communities
Digital Book World, January 15 at 2:45 pm
Randy Petway, COO, Advance Division

2. Defining Online Communities
 What is an online community?
“A publisher-owned website/platform that offers a
common interest around which the community is
themed, with interactive communication between the
organization and community members and between
the members themselves.”

Context for academic publishers

3. Background and Methodology
 Why investigate online communities?
 PCG’s research builds from an earlier study conducted
with Bowker Market Research
 Online survey of 15 questions primarily geared toward
academic publishers

4. What does research address?
Questions the research is looking to answer:
 How many publishers currently have online communities?
 Reasons for development of online communities?
 Measurable benefits achieved from online communities
 Opportunities for growth of online communities

5. Key Findings – Current Market
1-2 communities
21%
3-4 communities
5-6 communities
47%
10%
7 or more
communities
8%
14%
None

6. Key Findings – The Motivation
Top 4 reasons to develop online communities:
 40% Increasing direct relationships with end users
 40% Increasing audience engagement (social networking)
 35% Increased content usage
 35% Increasing knowledge and understanding of the reader

7. Key Findings – The Benefits
Top 3 reported benefits of online communities:
 37% Generated increased knowledge and understanding
of the end user
 37% Developed direct relationships with readers
 32% Serves as a platform to increase content usage
Direct Feedback:
“Our online community capabilities are helping committees
and special interest groups to collaborate.”
“Growth of audience engagement but not sales.”

8. Key Findings – Current Success & Future Opportunity
 About 50% of publishers believe online communities have
been successful in achieving the company’s goals
 Nearly 80% of all publishers view online communities as
an area of growth for their company and the publishing
sector as a whole
 Early 2013 study showed that 84% of all publisher
respondents think their investment in online communities
will increase over the next two years

9. Summary
 Online communities are on the up
 Primarily focused on relationship building with end users
 Many publishers are still experimenting with online
community strategies

10. Conclusions
Publishers see online communities as:
 a way of getting closer to their readers
 a way of becoming more customer focused
 a way to gain understanding of what audiences want
(access to metrics)
 a way to make to their content go further
 a way to support marketing efforts, not generating direct
sales