A new year signals goal setting, getting organized and looking into new industry trends. It’s also the perfect time to reflect on your publications to see what’s going well and where you’d like to adjust. Publishing is an ever-changing landscape with trends that come and go. How will technology continue to affect publishing? What will be popular in design? Knowing what’s projected for 2025 can help you best reach your current audience and new readers.
Let’s Get Digital
We’re officially a quarter into the new millennium, and technology continues to rule society. Digital publishing has flourished for the past decade and it will only continue in 2025. Your members are likely using their phone, laptop or tablet every day, and they crave easy-to-access content. If you’re not currently publishing anything digitally, consider adding a digital option. A digital magazine helps you reach a broader audience, particularly amongst younger association members who grew up on the internet. Using a digital edition doesn’t take away from your printed publication. Rather, it lends itself to more interaction and it’s a great marketing tool. You can incorporate infographics or hyperlinks to drive more traffic to your website. Are you over your magazine’s page count? Digital exclusives are a great alternative to fitting in that extra article. For more information on best practices for a digital magazine, check out our blog “How to Make the Most of Your Digital Edition.”
Staying Social
Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram help market your association or company, as well as your publications. You can post your magazine’s link each time you publish, or you can share a specific article to highlight a topic. Interact with your followers by posing a question, asking what they learned from the posted article. Encourage your followers to share your posts, and reply to comments. It’s all about marketing and building community: You’ll gain more traction to your magazine and reach a wider audience of industry professionals.
Responsible AI Usage
Chances are, you’ve probably heard about artificial intelligence (AI) dozens of times over the past year. Experts say that in 2025, intentional and strategic AI use is key. AI can be a great tool to simplify things like analyzing data, interpreting trending topics in your industry, or helping you optimize SEO. However, when it comes to content creation, nothing beats a human touch. AI should be used to support content creation, not dominate it. Readers still want authentic, human-created content, and let’s face it, it’s almost always evident when AI has written an entire article. If you outsource content creation to AI, you’ll need to add extra steps to make sure your content isn’t factually inaccurate or plagiarized. Plus, you already have an excellent source for content: your members! They are experts in the field for a reason. Let them shine as article writers for your publication.
Design Trends
Design is a key element to your magazine’s success, and our graphic designers are always excited to bring your publication to life in fresh ways. Below are some projected design trends for 2025:
- Conceptual and abstract design: Bold color choices, unusual shapes, layered textures and hand-drawn art
- New naturalism: Clean, sophisticated visuals that celebrate the organic; earthy colors like mossy greens, terracotta and deep browns; and uncluttered designs
- Retro vibes: Bold shapes, blocky layouts and vintage color schemes
- Minimal: Focuses on a key visual element, surrounded by a tidy and attractive backdrop
- Creative fonts: Decorative fonts that are readable but enhance a page’s design
Closing Thoughts
We’re here to help with any changes you’d like to make to your publication. Our team of designers and editors stays on top of trends so we can develop fresh solutions for your magazine, and our sales team understands the services your members need to know about. Let us know how you’d like to promote your digital publication or if you’d like to refresh your design. We’re looking forward to another year of collaboration!
Sources:
www.abstraktmg.com
www.graphicmama.com
www.publishingstate.com
Jessica Sears is senior writer at Innovative Publishing. She can be reached at jessica@innovativepublishing.com.
Comments are closed.