An Introduction to Custom Publishing. How can Custom Publishing help a company? How can branded magazines be profitable in the long run? Find out here.

Custom Publishing, you must have come across this phrase while browsing through a few websites, or chances are, you just came across this phrase and wanted to know more about it. For starters, Custom Publishing is the process by which a company can create its own customised publishing solutions, a great example of which is custom magazines. And custom magazines and branded magazines are one and the same. But what is it really? And why is it so talked about these days?

The History of Custom Publishing

Several decades ago, I don’t think anyone’s really sure when, but someone decided to start advertising in magazines and little paper flyers. This concept took off, and now, just about every brand does the same, and we’ve given it a fancy name, print advertising.

Around a couple of decades ago, just when advertising in magazines, newspapers and flyers was on a total high, some brand somewhere in the world started thinking and innovating. The brains behind the brand probably asked themselves why they needed to spend so much money on print advertising when they could start their own magazine for a small percentage of the costs incurred by regular print advertising. They tried it, it cost them a lot less, and they were able to reach out to a lot more people who were genuinely interested in the brand, and most of all, their new magazine gave them a bigger and better reputation!

And that, my friends, is my version of the story of Custom Publishing. And that is how it probably began. No one really knows, because this concept may really have begun many years before we even knew it existed. But it’s a great, profitable story anyhow!

The Growth of Custom Publishing

Today, across the world, every brand has already started its own magazine, or is thinking about it. But why do brands really need it, and is it really as good as everyone says it is? In my opinion, and I’m sure I’m not alone here, Custom Publishing is the new next big thing for brands. That is, if they really understand the benefits of their own magazine, and know how to create a great magazine and implement it well.

But before I get into the details, you should know what these brand magazines are called. Some companies call it custom magazines, some call them custom publications, while some parts of the world call them contract publications and inhouse magazines. On the other hand, based on the parent company that starts the magazine, the magazines can be called corporate magazines (distributed within a corporate circle, usually companies) or branded magazines (if the magazine is started by a consumer brand).

Call it what you want, but they’re all the same. And they’re all safely tucked into a new type of publishing called Custom Publishing. And this one packs a mean punch, because it’s cheaper, more efficient and a lot classier. I’ve written more about Custom Publishing and why it’s better in other posts of mine, which should help you understand why custom publishing is a better option, and also the different requirements if you need to start a custom magazine yourself.

You can click on this link, Benefits of Custom Publishing over Traditional Print Media to know more about the advantages of Custom Publishing.