Societies typically seek a stable and sustainable balance between two basic long-term objectives: to promote and develop a particular field of knowledge by widespread dissemination of high-quality publications in that field, and to sustain the organization by supporting various other beneficial activities besides publication. As the editor for STC, I am looking for ways to achieve this balance with STC publications and seeking advice on three proposed content solutions for 2011.
STC Publications—Current Content Strategies
With the continued popularity of Web-based publishing, 2010 has been a year of transition for STC publications as the Society shifted from print to online publishing as its primary delivery system. Current STC member publications include:
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Intercom—a monthly magazine with articles focused on practitioners' professional education needs, provided in multiple formats (e.g., PDF, HTML, FlipDoc).
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Technical Communication—a peer-reviewed academic journal, published quarterly, that concentrates on expanding the body of knowledge for the profession (also provided online and through Ingenta [for institutional subscribers]).
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STC's Notebook—a blog offering information, announcements, and advice with opportunities for readers to comment.
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News & Notes—a monthly summary, sent by email to all members, of the most important announcements, email messages, and blog entries.
The deliverables for Intercom and Technical Communication were intended as intermediary content strategies that would provide members with multiple ways to access the publications, moving away from the expense and lengthy production times of print. For 2011, Project Phoenix is investigating our options for publication strategies that will provide more open access with new features (e.g., public discussions and video content) and products (such as mobile editions).
Future Content Strategies
STC is exploring providing some or all of Intercom and Technical Communication content openly to the public so that the publications can be used to build substantial brand equity for the Society, including search engine optimization and social media integration. New features for the publications will also include interactive capabilities, such as searching and commenting on content.
Three Content Strategies
For the two primary STC publications (Intercom and Technical Communication), three potential content strategies have been discussed: closed, semi-open, and open.
Both publications are currently using a closed strategy model that requires paid membership and logging in to access full content. Nonmembers and the general public can currently read abstracts or “teasers” of content, but they must become members or subscribe to see full publication content. This strategy has two primary advantages—content is “exclusive” to members and STC controls content delivery and pricing. However, disadvantages include a small subscriber base, restricted advertising and non-dues revenue, and limited brand recognition outside of membership.
A semi-open or progressive content strategy would allow members and nonmembers to access content “for free,” with some restrictions. For example, this strategy would offer members access to all content, but nonmembers would be restricted to limited access or a limited view of content (e.g., they could download one article for free, but they would be required to pay for an entire issue). Some engagement would be obligatory, such as registering to comment or providing an email address or other contact information (for increasing membership). Another option would be to allow all visitors to view content on the publication website freely, but to require purchase of all other formats for downloading or storing content. Examples of magazines and journals that have adopted a semi-open or progressive strategy include IEEE Spectrum, McKinsey Quarterly, and The Economist.
Some of the advantages to a semi-open strategy include exposing STC and its members to a larger audience of technical communicators (without giving away all content for free), generating significant new subscription-based revenues (with an appropriate pricing structure for nonmembers), and increasing advertising opportunities. However, a semi-open content strategy does not drive as much use and engagement as an open strategy.
An open content strategy would allow members and nonmembers alike to access all content “for free,” without much restriction. This strategy would offer the public open access or a wide view of content with a minor engagement required by the reader to continue, such as registration to comment or providing contact information or readership data (i.e., a cost that is not financial). Examples of magazines and journals that have adopted this strategy include First Monday and Kairos.
Advantages to an open strategy are that it exposes STC and its authors to a larger audience of technical communicators, promotes discussions between members and nonmembers around the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication, brings in more non-dues revenue from advertising, and increases membership through member recruitment ads (including video) and visitor data (i.e., potential members). A possible disadvantage to the open content strategy is that subscription and membership revenue may be reduced.
Further Discussion
Having provided these three strategies, I've opened the topic for discussion on STC's Notebook blog (http://notebook.stc.org/project-phoenix-week-stc-digital-publication-strategies-in-2011/). What strategies would you like STC to consider for Intercom and Technical Communication? What advantages and disadvantages do you see in the content strategies above? Should the strategy be the same for both publications, or should they be treated differently? I look forward to your suggestions and feedback.
—Liz Pohland
