Repackaging Content, Written Once and
Distributed to Many

chillibreeze writer — Preeti Sharma

Multichannel Publishing

Businesses are focusing on multi channel publishing, which involves reformatting and re using content for delivery through various medium such as print, web, CD ROMs, mobile phones and television. The focus is to reduce the cost of production of content, reach a larger consumer market and provide concise information as per consumer requirements.

Basics to maximize return on original content

To be able to maximize returns on its content, a company needs to:

1. Assess Demand:
   Understanding of the subject specific requirements of the consumer is critical for the content company to enable creation and packaging of relevant content.
2. Estimate Potential:
   It is important for a company to make an assessment of its advantages and disadvantages based on its intellectual and infrastructural capabilities.
3. Outline content strategy:
   The company needs to focus on content creation and repackaging in line with the demand factors as well as focus on providing high value content through better information management and leveraging state of the art technology in delivering products and services.
4. Value add and improvise:
   Content quality, service characteristics, economics and cross media publishing are focus areas for ongoing improvisation and up gradation to be able to deliver high value content.

Evolving the E Publishing Product Line from a Single Manuscript

The key to creation of an e publishing product line from a single manuscript is to focus on providing a range of segregated options and services to the client in different formats and at variable costs.

A business strategy based on analysis of the consumer needs facilitates in defining the products to be offered.

For example, a product line from an e booklet can include:

• A Tips Supplement: This can be offered free for regular subscribers or sold at a nominal cost.
• An Executive Summary: This is more popular with research or study reports but can be an option depending on the subject of the book.
• Special Reports: An additional product which can be a study or expanded version of a specific topic or area of priority or significance covered in the ebooklet.
• Manuals or Work Books: These could be a further expanded version of the special report with additional chapters, exercises and detailed references.
• Specific courses: This could be a segmented version of the manual, offered as email courses over a period of time.
• Presentation Material: Graphs, tabulated information or specific subject analysis can be customized as per requirements.
• Audio files: Audio products include recording of chapter or highlights and being sold as supplementary product along with the books and manuals. This is popular for language lessons.

Support services to make the product line viable and popular:

• Automated responders: An important and critical element in client management and information flow to make the services responsive to the customer requirements and be able to capture behavioral patterns.
• Pricing: Its best advised to look at comparative prices of similar products and services to arrive at a competitive pricing.
• Selling platforms: Payment processes need to be in place for selling of the e books, either through online credit card payments or services like pay pal. If selling through other websites, it is advisable to have non exclusive payment deals.