Loading Profile...
How does the subscription service work?
Will my subscribers have to buy my magazine through the MagCloud site or can I establish my own subscriber interface, for instance through my magazine's companion website? Maybe a further explanation as to how "subscriptions" are managed vs. per issue purchases would be helpful.
I’m happily curious
12
people have this question
I have this question, too!
Tell me when someone answers.
The more people who ask this question, the more it gets noticed.
The more people who ask this question, the more it gets noticed.
The best answer from the company
-
Our subscription support is not complete at this point, but here's where we are. Today a user can sign up for email notifications from a magazine. When a new issue is published, "subscribers" will receive email notification and get a link to come purchase the next copy.
We will soon roll out some new publisher messaging features; the publisher will have a blog visible from the user's profile page, and these blog posts can also be directed to "subscribers" via email, just as the new issue notifications are. This will allow publishers to stay connected with subscribers more directly (if the subscribers opt-in).
We want to offer paid subscriptions, but we have to work out details regarding payments first. Most recurring payment systems rely on a regular schedule but MagCloud magazines have no such constraint, so we have some challenges to overcome. I can't give you a date, but keep watching.
The company says
this answers the question
Create a customer community for your own organization
Plans starting at $19/month
-
Inappropriate?Our subscription support is not complete at this point, but here's where we are. Today a user can sign up for email notifications from a magazine. When a new issue is published, "subscribers" will receive email notification and get a link to come purchase the next copy.
We will soon roll out some new publisher messaging features; the publisher will have a blog visible from the user's profile page, and these blog posts can also be directed to "subscribers" via email, just as the new issue notifications are. This will allow publishers to stay connected with subscribers more directly (if the subscribers opt-in).
We want to offer paid subscriptions, but we have to work out details regarding payments first. Most recurring payment systems rely on a regular schedule but MagCloud magazines have no such constraint, so we have some challenges to overcome. I can't give you a date, but keep watching.
The company says
this answers the question
-
Inappropriate?Thanks for this response. I would think answering the question becomes vital to publishers who intend on selling ads in their magazines. Subscriptions become the measure of CPM and thus justify ad rates. I suppose there's a means of selling ads based upon direct magazine purchases, much like paying for hits on a web ad, but that can complicate financial matters from a publisher's point of view.
I’m hoping you work this issue out...good luck!
-
Inappropriate?I would like to know why there can't be a simple iframe subscription box or page (css customizable) on a magazines official website. Even allowing a user to upload a link to the thank you page to redirect? Seems that there are probably even more simple ways to do this as open source all over the web...
Even a flash widget with SSL.
I’m matt
-
Inappropriate?I hope you'll keep working on the subscription function. You're getting close, but we need more functionality comparable to, or the equivalent of, the services of a traditional fulfillment house.
I’m undecided.
-
Inappropriate?I hate to pile on, but I've got to agree that this is pretty critical- if we can't set up recurring, 'traditional' subscription payments, it's hard to see what the differentiator is between this and (say) lulu + our own email notification to our subscribers.
I understand the complexity of taking money for things that have no predictable schedule and aren't under your control; perhaps you could take money for the next X issues instead of the next Y time period like traditional magazines?
(And I'd note that while it is true that some magcloud magazines will have unpredictable schedules, at least some will have predictable schedules (like us) and would like to benefit from this.)
Good luck working out this non-trivial problem.
I’m disappointed
-
Inappropriate?1. everyone is on PayPal
2. PayPal has a full featured subscription service
3. Each "Publisher" could easily either fill out or submit the details for their publication. Those then become part of that "Buy" button.
I guess I don't understand the issue in getting this done. -
Inappropriate?I wish I could send a list of my own subscribers to have the issue sent out and billed to me. Basically I need approximately 500 copies sent to 500 different addresses. I don't want the 500 people having to go to MagCloud to place orders. I want to handle everything on my end then pass a list with payment to MagCloud. Plz =)
I’m hopeful
-
Inappropriate?RAD Moose, this is exactly what we're working on, the ability for a publisher to do a 'push' to a distribution list of subscribers. Hopefully we have something for you soon.1 Comment Add a comment
This answers the question
-
This would be incredibly useful. Please work on getting this up and working as soon as possible. Once this feature is enabled, I will regularly use this service. Thanks! -
Inappropriate?I hate to ask for the moon, but I think several different options would be nice here.
I like RAD Moose's idea of pushing a distribution list to magcloud, but it would be nice for smaller publishers if magcloud provided a "subscription management" system. (i.e. I use magcloud to subscribe). This is probably lots more work, so maybe later?
Finally, for those of us selling ads, could we have some metrics & statistics on the rate of purchase? In addition to subscription counts, it would be nice to show advertisers some counts & demographics.
I’m hopeful, interested
-
Inappropriate?Is there any news on when a "push" option might be available for this service. Just waiting for it to come online before I start using the site. Thanks!
I’m Still hoping...
-
Inappropriate?We've just launched a pretty major overhaul of the publshing UI, and the 'push' option should be coming up soon (within the next 3 months). We've already done a lot of work on it, and now just need to add the external UX/UI. I say 3 months not because it's that much work, but because there's also a lot of other features and additions we're adding to the site in parallel.
-
Inappropriate?The "Push" option is definitely a major plus. I've been flirting with Magcloud for months (friends of Namarupa mag) but don't want to make the leap until I know people can subscribe for multiple issues. Looking forward to it all!
B -
Inappropriate?Any progress on RADMoose's question above? I, too, have a client that wants us to produce an in-house magazine to be mailed to multiple subscribers. Would like to purchase from our account, but have mailed individually to the subscribers. Thans.1 Comment Add a comment
This answers the question
-
We're up to our necks in it right now, and happy to be there :-). Can't provide a specific date, but it should be weeks and not months.
EMPLOYEE
