Outlook Money strengthens digital presence

Outlook Money, the fortnightly finance-related magazine, has beefed up its digital presence. The magazine has revamped its website (money.outlookindia.com) and launched a special version called the digital edition of the magazine (digital.outlookmoney.com).

Speaking to afaqs!, Indranil Roy, president, Outlook Group, says that the intention behind the revamp of the website is to enhance the reach of the content generated by the Outlook Money team and to get new users on board. He says, "The website will help us to reach out to a larger number of consumers who can't access the print version of the magazine because of distribution or delivery issues. This will also increase the chances of getting traffic from outside India."

The digital edition (digital.outlookmoney.com) will present the content in the virtual magazine format and will be published every week. It will cover regular updates related to personal finance.

Roy adds, "We will publish exclusive content in the digital edition of Outlook Money, which will not be covered in the print and website versions of the magazine."

He adds, "With the digital edition, we want to tap the audience which likes to consume content in the magazine format on a regular basis. It will also enable us to target young audiences, who want to stay updated on managing personal finances."

Roy believes that the digital and website versions of the magazine will not cannibalise the print edition. He says, "The website will offer various interactive features and will actually complement the print edition. Even in the case of the digital edition, cannibalisation is not possible as there is no content overlap between print, website and digital editions."

The digital edition of Outlook Money is developed by the New Delhi based company, Mediology.

The publishing company is contemplating on ways it can use to monetise Digital.outlookmoney.com. Currently, the content is available for free and no ads are displayed inside the virtual magazine. However, the company is displaying banner ads (sourced from Google AdSense programme) outside the frame of the virtual magazine.

Apart from the website revamp and launch of the digital edition of Outlook Money, the publishing house has also launched mobile apps of the magazine.

Outlook Money has tied up with the US-based digital publishing solution provider Zinio.com, which will digitise its print editions and provide its platform for digital distribution. Apps for iPad and Android platforms have been unveiled by the company. The business model for the monetisation of apps will mainly be the subscription fees, which the company will charge from the users, Roy says.

The publishing company will charge Rs 668 for 28 issues of Outlook Money for Apple iPad. Roy declined to reveal the business arrangement between Outlook and Zinio.com.