You may have read about a certain kind of publishing that is called custom publishing. What is custom publishing?

Custom publishing means the creation of media like magazines or brochures or websites specific to the services offered by company or organization and specific to the needs of the consumers of that company or organization. The purpose of custom publishing is to strengthen the loyalty and trust with its customers/consumers. Since it is a custom publication, the information offered or provided is geared for the right market.

The most successful branch of custom media is customer magazine. The best and the most common example of customer magazine and one of the oldest form of custom publishing is an in-flight magazine that is sponsored by airlines. With an in-flight magazine, customers will find different travel information about the best places to visit, reviews and recommendations on food and any other topics about airline travel. In this example, the brand is offering a means of communication that is perfectly suitable to the needs of its consumers.

This form of publishing is distinctive from mainstream publishing because while with the traditional way wherein marketing or advertising is very much highlighted, custom publishing is more into providing information and helpful tips or ideas to its consumers than advertising products. It is one way for a brand to establish a relationship with its customers. Since it is more editorial and informational than marketing, the stories are carefully laid out and edited so that consumers will perceive the material as something that is useful to them and the source as credible. In custom publishing, the information provided echoes the consumers’ way of lives, needs and interests and at the same time emphasizes the company’s standards. Of course, with custom publishing, the brand still advertises products but not in an obvious manner. A form of their advertisement can be made by providing recommendations or reviews; thus it creates confidence and loyalty in the brand, when consumers see that it serves their best interest. The goals for custom publishing are:

1) to meet the interests of the brand’s larger market

2) build up brand trust and loyalty

3) increase brand awareness by proper positioning of the company and ultimately,

4) boost sales or profit from existing and new customers

There are many available custom publishers that specialize in this kind of media. Just like with other services-provider, of course, you can expect that there will be a fee to have this done. I will be talking about it in a different article.