Amazon Newsstand What it is... Amazon is the largest online retailer and bookseller in the world and, as you would expect, has an equally impressive digital newsstand. The company offers a comprehensive array of devices and applications, and has practically perfected how customers purchase and interact with their products. Because of this, every indie ezine publisher has to at least consider being part of the Amazon Newsstand.
How customers buy... The Kindle Newsstand is a special section within the Kindle Store that features several hundred magazines, most of which are established print publications that have migrated to digital. A large percentage of the magazines are available for E Ink-based devices such as the Kindle Touch and Kindle Paperwhite, however, magazines labeled as Kindle Tablet Editions are only available for Kindle
Android devices such as the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.
will prioritize new publications based on print and digital circulation.
In either case, the purchase and delivery process is seamless and essentially identical to how customers purchase books from the Kindle bookstore. All Kindle subscriptions offer a 30-day free period, and many allow customers to pay a lower monthly amount (prorated from the annual price).
Amazon therefore suggests that publishers create an Android app for their magazine, which then appears in the Kindle Newsstand as a Kindle Tablet Edition. Any publisher (not just those with large existing circulations) can choose to publish their magazine as a mobile app, making it ideal for indie publishers.
How to publish...
If you choose to follow this route, the first step is to create an Android app that your customers can use to both read and manage issues. As with Apple, Amazon charges a $99 annual developer program fee, but is currently waiving this charge. Amazon’s mobile app distribution agreement is non-exclusive, so if you have your magazine on other Android app stores, such as Google Play, you can also submit it for listing on Amazon.
There are two ways to get your magazine on the Amazon Newsstand: join the Kindle Publishing for Periodicals (beta) program or create an Android app for Kindle tablets (such as the Kindle Fire HD). The good news is that joining the Kindle Publishing program allows you to create magazines that are fully integrated into the Amazon experience and readable on the complete range of Kindle ereaders. The bad news is that Amazon has temporarily closed the program, and
Finally, as with Apple, you need to submit your app for approval before it becomes available to customers. Amazon offers its own set of mobile app development tools that you can download for free.
Pros • World-leading marketplace • Large, reader-driven user base • Magazines are apps so anything is possible
Cons • High upfront app development costs • Software development experience required • Requires publisher to manage issues and subscriptions Website: www.amazon.com
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ePublish Yourself!
Winter 2014