Magazine Publishers: Only 10 days left to register for Web Weekend

In case you missed the note in my last newsletter (hint, hint -- you should sign-up!), Magazines Canada and Centennial College are putting together a "Web Weekend" on Saturday, November 24 and Sunday, November 25 at Centennial College in downtown Toronto.

From the brochure: "Web Weekend is an intensive learning event created specifically for magazine publishers. Through seminars and lab work, the Web Weekend faculty will deliver practical advice, tools and templates to help make your publishing business more successful." This first event will be followed by repeat events across Canada.

Along with a bunch of talented people, I was invited to be part of the "faculty" for this inagural event. In addition to delivering a workshop, I'll be facilitating what's probably the first-ever "speed geek" at a Magazines Canada event.

The session I'm leading will be a fast-and-furious exploration of the options for publications that want to increase online revenue. Whether it’s as simple as collecting payments for subscriptions online or as critical as lowering the cost of acquiring new subscribers, I'm shooting for participants to leave with tangible next steps that you can apply right away. Specifically, I aim to cover:

• E-commerce and taking payments online: From simple secure forms to online stores
• E-mail marketing and e-newsletters: keeping the conversation going between issues
• Microsites & other traffic-generating strategies
• Paid search engine marketing & landing pages

I'll also mix in some real-world examples and case studies to illustrate how to attract new visitors, focus their visit on a few simple goals (ka-ching!), and measure the outcomes. I'll also go over how to keep costs low by mixing traditional letter-mail campaigns with inexpensive e-mail initiatives and viral online campaigns.

This should be a great session for publishers, circulators, and advertising sales managers. Please spread the word. :-)