Print publishers surveyed about their digital editions.

American Business Media recently conducted an online survey of its members on digital magazines. In this survey 71% of the respondents said they published digital and all respondents said their digital magazines were also available in print.

Three-quarters of survey respondents have been publishing digitally for more than a year, and it is not surprising that one-third of the group covers computers and computer-related businesses, with 28% of respondents reporting on fields related to manufacturing and electronics.

The number-one reason to publish a digital edition, according to the B-to-B executives who responded, is to reduce expenses, followed by a desire to respond to subscribers' desire for a digital version. Speedier delivery of information and requests from advertisers are virtually tied as the number-three reason for digital publishing.

All of the publishers here, who distribute digital editions of their magazines rather than digital-only products, have less than half of their circulation in digital form. More than half of the respondents, 57%, have total digital distribution in the 5% to 15% range. Seventy percent of these publishers include their digital editions in their guaranteed rate base.

Among respondents using subscriber metrics, the following metrics were rated most important on a scale of 1 (most important) to 6 (least important): Metric Response Average Download rates 1.4 Open Rates 1.9 Ad click-through rates 3.0 Editorial click-through rates 4.0 Time spent reading digital edition 4.2 Source: American Business Media Online Digital Magazine Survey 02/05