issuu blog

A Decade of BL!SSS

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 16:26:05 -0700

By Joey Marshall, Editor of BL!SSS Magazine, issuu Publisher of the Month, July 2017

August 2017 will mark our ten-year anniversary. That’s 120 issues – meaning 120 deadlines, thousands of hours in the office and millions of pages of published works. If you asked me a decade ago, I never could have imagined that I’d be sitting here today, in our headquarters in Newport Beach publishing a free magazine for all to enjoy. And for those of you not familiar with BL!SSS Magazine (and I’m sure there are quite a few), we are a tangible, monthly publication with an emphasis in all that encompasses the world of art, fashion, music, surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding. Our goal is to leave the reader in awe with every turn of the page. BL!SSS has no single definition, no preferred destination and neither neglects nor favors one lifestyle over another. We are an oversized publication at 13.5 by 10.5 inches, but what really makes us easily recognizable is the ever-changing, amazing artists whose work has graced our covers.

Ten years has gone by in a blink of the eye and it’s crazy to look back at our older issues and to see how much the magazine has grown and changed over time. The very first issue of BL!SSS Magazine hit the streets September 1, 2007 — right after Apple released their first edition iPhone. Even then it was obvious that the digital world was gaining traction, but I don’t think anyone could’ve foreseen how much technology would affect the publishing industry. Even today, I’m still amazed by how many great publications, newspapers, books, magazines … pretty much anything you can imagine, are instantly available at your fingertips. Millions upon millions upon millions of pages on just about anything and everything you could ever want or need. It’s literally mind-blowing, at least from my generation’s point-of-view.

Issue 1

Fairly early on we realized we needed to exist in this digital world as well, but how? Fortunately for us, our creative director at the time, Madsteez (Google him — he’s quite the artist as well), was a bit of a computer whiz and was well versed in Flash. He had already created an embeddable .swf file to simulate a traditional magazine by turning pages with the click of the mouse. Unfortunately, internet speeds weren’t what they are today. Although our first digital versions of BL!SSS looked pretty, the actual articles weren’t legible as resolution had to be low in order to have quick loading speed. Somewhere along the way he had figured out how to add a zoom option as well, but it wasn’t pretty and it meant we had to upload several versions of the magazine at different resolutions. Looking back it was kind of pathetic and a bit of a hassle, but we were live on www.blisssmag.com and we were ecstatic.

Then along came issuu. I was introduced to this new software/website/platform by a surf photographer who was using it to make a pseudo magazine from surf trips he went on to shop around his work. It was quite clever actually — he’d make basic layouts of his photos from the trip and then present them to potential buyers. I was amazed and instantly hooked. I can’t tell you how much this platform has helped our business. I could literally upload our final .pdf version of the magazine and everything I wanted [and then some] is just a few clicks away. It was more than we ever thought possible — every article was legible, live links could be added or automatically detected, videos embedded, previews of pages, statistics easily accessible, subscriptions, mobile apps … and the more we use it, the more we find.

Issue 97

We recently discovered that issuu works with a third-party printing firm where you can actually order physical copies and have them shipped around the world. This was another substantial accomplishment for our end goal. We have featured countless international artists, athletes, writers, photographers, etc., and have had trouble getting them physical copies of our publication without incurring hefty expenses. But now, we can send them a “purchase” link and with minimal costs they can order and receive physical copies wherever they are in the world, which saves us substantial time and expenses.

I could go on and on about how much issuu has helped our business, but I find it best if you just log on and check it out for yourself. The technology game is constantly evolving and growing and the issuu team seems to be adding and updating features regularly, allowing for more versatility and interactivity in the digital realm. It’s a relationship that we’ve shared with several other publishers and we’re excited to see what they come up with next. We’re looking forward to the next decade of BL!SSS and know that issuu.com will be a substantial part of our future success. Follow BL!SSS on issuu, and check out our new issue:

Hit This Summer’s Music Festivals With issuu

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 13:22:02 -0700

Music has the power to connect people from all walks of life, and what better way to make new friends this summer while enjoying your favorite artists than to attend a music festival? We’ve compiled some of the summer’s hottest music and fashion publications to help you find and prepare for your next music festival. No matter what type of music geek you are, issuu has just the thing for you.

1. The Marquee

Need help finding music festivals, but don’t know where to start? The Marquee has your back. This Chicago-based music festival magazine introduces countless festivals scattered across the country in genres ranging from folk to punk rock. Wherever you live in America, you’ll find plenty of events sure to help create lasting memories with your friends and family.

2. 2017 Ultimate Summer Festival Guide

For our neighbors up north, don’t miss out on all the summer music festival fun. Canada has its share of great festivals, including some of the most unique events summer has to offer. From Bach to Bhangra, expand your music tastes with the help of this handy music festival guide. In addition to festival listings, it includes features on some of the hottest new bands.

3. Dork

Summer is a time for exploration, and Dork provides a perfect opportunity to discover up-and-coming bands, or learn more about your current favorites. For those travelling to this year’s Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, be sure to check out the article on indie-rock band Alt-J, who will be performing there.

4. Hip Hop Directory

If you’re attending Orange County’s Day N Night Festival in September, this is the publication for you. Featuring a story on headliner Kendrick Lamar and his impact on the hip hop industry, this magazine — which aims to destigmatize this often-overlooked genre — will educate you on the past and future of hip hop, while getting you excited to see your favorite rapper.

5. LUCY’S

Now that you’ve booked a ticket to your next music festival, get ready to dance the day and night away in an outfit you design yourself. Featuring bold prints and bright summer makeup looks, you’ll be sure to find the inspiration you need to create a one-of-a-kind music festival outfit.

Join us at Generators Summit

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 13:51:39 -0700

Introducing Generators Summit

We believe there is no better time than now to power a culture of creative thinking in the tech sector. Be it individually, or within an organization, creativity is the greatest tool to incite growth and development. As a publishing platform whose mission is to enrich lives by connecting content to people, this summit is our opportunity to provide a physical platform for creative thought leaders to incite motivation and inspiration to our peers.

Get the details on the event and how to buy tickets here.

Be sure to keep an eye on this space for information on the summit events, interviews with speakers, and much more. Follow us at @issuu and use the hashtag #GeneratorsSummit to let us know your thoughts on this innovation inspiration fest.

issuu Trendspotter Spotlight: Matthew James-Wilson

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 10:32:34 -0700

We’re thrilled to introduce Matthew James-Wilson, our newest issuu Trendspotter and the founding editor-in-chief of FORGE. Art Magazine. FORGE. is an art publication dedicated to highlighting the work of young artists in varying fields of creativity. Today, we had the opportunity to talk to Matthew about the start of FORGE. Art Magazine, his favorite publications in his issuu Trendspotters stack, the challenges of running a publication alone and his best advice for aspiring publishers. Read on to learn more about Matthew and his journey into the world of digital publishing.

Matthew James-Wilson: Editor of FORGE. Art Magazine

Q: Hi Matthew! Thanks for talking to us here at issuu today. To start, can you share with us how FORGE. Art Magazine originally came to be?

MATTHEW JAMES-WILSON: FORGE. was sort of started by myself and two friends who shared a mutual boredom and a desire to make work that could have some value in other people’s lives. The three of us were going to high school for art and were nearing the end of it, and there was so much we still didn’t know about doing it for a living. I really wanted to have some excuse to ask a bunch of my favorite artists how they got started, while simultaneously creating a place where other amazing young artists who felt similarly stuck could showcase their work. We started it in 2012 immediately after a different zine project I sent work into didn’t really pan out. I made up a list of my favorite people making work on the internet whose email addresses I could find, and after a lot of them started responding positively to my emails, we realized we actually had to commit to doing it. The magazine really came into its own when I moved to New York for college and started doing it all by myself. I had never been part of an IRL art community until I was going to DIY shows in New York, which had an immediate effect on who I was featuring and who I wanted it to be important to.

Q: As the sole editor of FORGE. Art Magazine, what are some of the challenges of being an independent publisher? What are some of your favorite parts of running FORGE.?

MJW: I think when you’re the lone creator in any project you can sometimes have tunnel vision with what you’re doing. It can be positive in the way that it lets you focus in on what it is you’re trying to accomplish or say with your project. But it can also be really negative in the way that it makes you oblivious to the other ways you could be trying to reach the same goal, or how it can give you a lot of anxiety about how other people are perceiving this thing that is really personal to you. It’s also just a lot of f*cking work making a whole magazine every three months by yourself.

I think my favorite part of running the magazine is just the opportunity to get to meet and work with so many artists whom I respect so much and whose work means so much to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of my heroes and create a lot of long-term friendships out of the magazine. It’s weird, but it definitely feels like my life gets better every time the magazine gets better.

Photo from FORGE. Art Magazine Issue 15 - Union

Q: You’re one of the newest additions to our issuu Trendspotters page. What are your three favorite publications in your issuu Trendspotters stack and why do you enjoy them?

MJW: I’ve been reading Huck for a really long time, and I’ve always looked at their approach to documenting an artist’s career and work. One of my absolute biggest inspirations when I started FORGE. was the documentary Beautiful Losers, and Huck focuses on that same sort of collective of artists and everyone in the era surrounding them. Spike Jonze has always been a big artistic monolith for me, so it was really amazing to see a whole issue constructed around him.

ANP Quarterly is a similar publication, but I initially started reading the print version of it. It’s really cool to see such a large format magazine that’s talking about such specific and niche artists across so many different eras. I’ve only been able to find a physical copy of Vol 2 / No 8, so it’s been really cool to go back through the other ones on issuu.

I had to search really hard to find my last favorite from the stack, Ryan Humphrey’s zine, noir. Ryan was one of the first artists I ever reached out to to be in the magazine, and I remember seeing this zine when he first uploaded it to issuu in 2014. It’s really cool to see all of his work as a contained publication, rather than a bunch of one-off drawings on his site. Looking back through it brings back so many memories of seeing artists’ work on Tumblr for the first time, and feeling really new to everything.

Photo from FORGE. Art Magazine Issue 15 - Union

Q: What’s one tip or piece of advice you could give an aspiring publisher hoping to create an online magazine like FORGE.?

MJW: I think the best advice I could give would be to start by making something purely for yourself and don’t be afraid to make a second or third issue even if the first one didn’t pan out the way you hoped it would. I still feel like I’m making FORGE. for the high school version of myself that I was when I started it. It’s important to hone in on what it is you want to see in the world, and then eventually the other people who want to see that will gravitate to what you’re doing. It took almost a year to make the first issue of FORGE. and it wasn’t until the second issue that anyone who I didn’t already know started reading it. Sometimes it just takes a couple more sincere attempts for something to snowball, and you’ll be surprised what you learn and try differently after failing the first time around.

Read Matthew’s publication FORGE. Art Magazine on issuu and check out more publications from our issuu Trendspotters.

#PublisherTips: Building Your Network from the Ground Up

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 11:51:01 -0700

By Jasmine Perrier, Founder and Editor in Chief of Grumpy Magazine

I remember my publishing debut almost a year ago — I had just graduated from high school when I founded Grumpy Magazine. I wanted a French publication dedicated to entertainment and fashion, and dreamed about introducing inspiring, well-known figures and talents in these industries through authentic interviews. Deep down, I was aware that I was probably too ambitious from the very beginning, but maybe I was influenced by the saying ‘‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Despite any misgivings or concerns, I remembered I set out to find as many publicists and managers’ addresses as possible to start sourcing the very first official interviews for Grumpy Magazine.

As a newbie, my problem was that I knew no one in the business, and living in a very small town in the French countryside made it even harder. Catching the attention of established professionals is tough when you’re new because you might not have anything concrete to prove your legitimacy yet and there are other editors and publishers that already have a strong following. Having a very limited public presence doesn’t make things easier since, nowadays, we know how the statistics and the number of followers you have on social networks can play a significant role in how others perceive you.

After some time of reaching out and getting negative answers, or even no news, I decided to change my plans. I temporarily put my big dream projects aside and arranged feature pieces with more ‘’accessible’’ artists who didn’t have that much exposure yet, and this is how I started to make some progress. In the first issue, I promoted Spanish actress Marina Salas who was well-known in her native country and was just starting to become recognized in France. In the second issue I had the honor of introducing the talented green-haired singer Phoebe Ryan.

Issue #1

The rest is history: I featured the sweet Violett Beane from The Flash, the lovely Olivia Holt and so on. Thanks to all of these opportunities in the beginning, I was able to improve the quality of my work, to look at what I needed to change or to do better and to define what it was that people liked to see. I eventually developed a decent portfolio that I could present to the industry professionals I wanted to get in touch with.

If you’re like me and want to reach out to a publicist for a press inquiry, here’s what I recommend doing:

First, introduce your publication and give some information about the themes and subjects tackled so that people see the reasons why you believe their clients would be a good fit.
Next, share as many details as possible regarding your project — that is to say when you’d like to schedule the interview, how you’d like to do the piece, when it would be published, what you’d like to talk about during the chat and so on.
Last but not least, I always share some links for them to see the kind of content I’d done previously. I also attach my press kit to give them a general overview about my magazine and its activity.

From what I’ve experienced, requests by email require a lot of patience since publicists and managers receive a lot of messages every day. A week after sending my request, I try to kindly check in on it. More than once, the publicists will follow up to thank me for my reminder, but, occasionally, I won’t hear back from someone until months later. Also, don’t forget that, if they decide to pass your media opportunity or are unable to move forward with your proposal due to specific reasons, they now know that you exist and it might be possible that they will retain your address somewhere in their database or contact list. I’m telling you this because that is how I ended up collaborating regularly with numerous renowned public relations and talent agencies! If you do quality work, you will be surprised to see how fast your network will grow, especially since the agencies you work with will commonly share your pieces on their social channels once published. The best is the moment the management or PR agencies reach out to you first instead of the other way around!

Entering the industry is not an impossible challenge. And believe me — when you get in, you’re in for good. That is why hard work, creativity and patience are my three keys to being successful at building connections when you start your own magazine. Do not hesitate to expand your influence even when you think that you are not powerful enough to be considered. If you are deeply passionate about what you do, it will be reflected through your work! Just always be confident, be open-minded and believe in yourself, and it will pay off in one way or another.

Issue #6

Want more Grumpy? You can follow Grumpy Magazine on issuu, and Jasmine is @jazzieperrier on Instagram and Twitter.

Celebrate Great Outdoors Month With These 5 Publications

Fri, 30 Jun 2017 12:54:44 -0700

Lace up your hiking boots and spray on some sunscreen because June is Great Outdoors Month! Here at issuu, we’re celebrating the beauty of the outdoors with a few of our favorite publications that inspire us to explore the world in which we live. Sure, the month may be nearly over, but that won’t stop us from appreciating all of Earth’s natural wonders.

1. National Geographic

Perhaps the most prominent of outdoors magazines, National Geographic certainly does not disappoint with its most recent Active Adventures Travel Catalog. From dog sledding in Sweden to safaris in South Africa, get inspired to plan your next great adventure.

2. Escapism Magazine

Summer is a time to relax and soak up some sun, and there’s no better place to do it than at the beach. While not everyone is lucky enough to live by the coast, you can still experience all of the beauty of the sand and the seas through the latest issue of Escapism, which features beaches that double as works of art.

3. The Explorer

The current issue of The Explorer gives you a peek into some of the most obscure destinations in the world, such as the Atacama Desert, Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, Slovenia and Dubrovnik. While not everyone can afford the type of luxury travel this magazine highlights, it is a magazine that can be enjoyed by all.

4. Bunyan Velo

Bunyan Velo’s stunning cycling shots remind us that biking is not only a form of exercise, but also a mode of exploration. Buckle your helmet and join the ride as this magazine takes us through some of the best views and trails the world has to offer.

5. Travel by Lightfoot

Featuring beautiful spreads and fascinating articles on travel destinations from all corners of the world, Travel by Lightfoot is a treat for every adventurer. Its insightful features on local cultures are sure to delight and educate even the most experienced travellers.

Can’t get enough of the great outdoors? Follow our Travel Stack, or check out our Pinterest board for even more inspiration to get outside and explore.

How to Plan the Perfect Cover Shoot

Wed, 21 Jun 2017 08:51:20 -0700

By Giselle Melendres
Editor in Chief, Mad Sounds Magazine

You often hear the expression “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but this piece of advice is not always applicable, especially in the way we view magazines. Magazines, unlike books, are often publications heavily centered around their visual content, and their covers tend to be one of the most important selling points. As the editor of Mad Sounds Magazine, I’ve found that our issues with the “best” covers receive the highest amount of reads and engagement. After all, a great cover should be able to connect to the reader, be a visual portrayal of what your magazine represents as a brand and give a clear vision as to what the issue or magazine is about.

There are a few steps I always consider when planning a shoot that may help your cover shoot go off without a hitch.

Mad Sounds Issue 24 - Suburban Wonderland featuring The Heirs

Stay True to Your Brand/Theme

Covers are often reflections of the magazine, and your cover should be a photo that reflects the content and style of the magazine itself. Start the process of planning your cover shoot by jotting down ideas or concepts that you want to come through in your cover photo. Make sure that your ideas are evocative of your publication and your personal brand, and be mindful of what ideas may be considered “off-brand.” If your publication has themed issues like Mad Sounds, use your theme to your advantage by brainstorming ideas that could be integrated into a cohesive theme.

Assemble the Right Team

Before getting started on planning the cover shoot, assess what team members you’ll need for the actual production of the shoot. Consider whether or not you will need a stylist, makeup artist, or hairstylist, and be sure to choose a photographer whose work will align with the vision of your brand. Be sure to contact photographers, stylists and other necessary team members by sending over a media kit of your magazine’s statistics, audience demographics and other pertinent information.

Make a Moodboard

Moodboards are another important step in planning your cover shoot. Not only does a moodboard help you to visualize your ideas, but it can also help to articulate your ideas to the photographer, stylist, makeup artist and any other team members involved in the creative process. Make a Pinterest board or collage of inspiration, including photos, colors, locations and any themes or ideas you plan on incorporating into your shoot. After you’ve finished making a moodboard for your designated cover shoot, be sure to share your ideas with your photographer and stylists. Below is an example of a moodboard that we used to help guide a recent Mad Sounds cover shoot.

Moodboard for a Mad Sounds shoot in Downtown Los Angeles

Find Your Location (and Be Aware of Variables)

Finding the perfect location for a cover shoot may sound easy, but there are many factors that must be considered. If the location is outdoors, consider the weather, population of the area and time of day in which you would like to shoot. Shooting midday on a busy city street might make for harsh lighting with crowds of people in your shot, and shooting on a beach in overcast weather might run the risk of having rain or dirt on your client and their clothing. Websites like peerspace.com are also helpful in finding the perfect cover shoot location and have a variety of lofts, studios and other cool spaces available to rent on an hourly basis. Recently, we used Peerspace to rent a cool downtown Los Angeles loft to complete hair and makeup for our cover shoot with Megan Batoon.

Communication is Key

When you’re working with a team it’s important to stay organized and keep in contact. Try to have the details of the day planned out to the minute. Then make a call sheet accounting for which team members will be at the shoot, their contact information, the project concept, the address of the location, parking instructions and any other details that will aid your team in ensuring the shoot goes smoothly.

Create Your Perfect Cover

The process of planning your cover shoot might be the most daunting part of the shoot itself, but there is no better feeling than seeing your creative vision come to life on an awesome cover. If you follow these steps, you’re bound to create some amazing images, think of new and innovative ideas for your magazine and hopefully have a great experience working with a team on a creative shoot.

Have fun creating, and check out the latest issue of Mad Sounds below!

You can follow Giselle on Twitter and Instagram @gisellelisabeth. Follow Mad Sounds Magazine on issuu.

5 Publications to Kick Off Pride Month

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 11:24:41 -0700

We’ve got a lot to be proud of … namely five amazing publications that detail the history, culture and celebration of the LGBT+ experience. This June, during LGBT Pride Month, while thousands of people congregate in cities across America to celebrate the LGBT+ community, spend some time perusing and learning from these publications and the many more in our LGBT+ stack.

1. LGBT History Month Magazine

Created in association with the LGBT organizations Stonewall and National Student Pride, this magazine features articles on LGBT history across Europe, as well as interviews with important figures in the LGBT community. Both informative and interesting, you really can’t go wrong with this magazine.

2. Broad Magazine

Behind its striking cover lies a treasure trove of articles, poetry and art on love and sexuality. It has a creative way of mixing hard-hitting topics with powerful imagery that make it an unforgettable read.

3. Out Front

Tackling subjects such as intersectionality in the queer community and LGBTQ athletes breaking barriers, this magazine is certainly not a light read. However, as one of the oldest and largest LGBT media networks in the nation, it proves its expertise throughout its coverage of a wide range of LGBT topics.

4. NYC Pride Guide

As host to the biggest Pride celebration in the world, New York City has one of the most exciting parades, and naturally, one of the best Pride guides. Featuring information on the celebration itself, as well as perspectives from prominent LGBT organizations and individuals, there is something for everyone in this guide.

5. San Francisco Bay Times

Hop over to the other coast, where San Francisco is holding their own Pride Parade on June 24th and 25th. Familiarize yourself with SF’s long LGBT history in this special May edition of the San Francisco Bay Times — the only fully-owned, full-funded LGBT newspaper in San Francisco.

Need more pride in your life? Check out this stack of LGBT+ publications with even more history, culture and education.

Share how you plan on celebrating or if you have a Pride-centric issue coming out in our Community forums.Happy Pride!

Building Your (Instagram) Brand with Atlas Magazine

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 14:13:48 -0700

By Megan Breukelman, Co-founder and Editor in Chief of Atlas Magazine

Instagram has quickly evolved over the last few years from a social networking platform for sharing blurry, over-filtered images of your day-to-day routine to an essential marketing platform for brands and individuals alike. Although we smirk and reminisce about the days of old with Valencia and X-Pro, these humble beginnings have built a platform unlike any other available today. With over 700 million registered users, and approximately 400 million daily active users, there is an expansive audience on Instagram with which to connect. So why not start using it to your advantage?

For publications, marketing yourself on Instagram is a bit different than the approach that a product or blogger would take. It’s easy to say “Okay, let’s market on Instagram,” but what is the best approach to marketing for your publication that will feel authentic? The most important preliminary step is to identify your niche — the focus of your publication. If you are an interior design magazine, for example, you’re probably better off not spending time and resources engaging with food-stagrams.

When seeking out an audience to engage with for Atlas Magazine’s Instagram, we tend to focus on creatives in our niche. We do this by looking through our contributors’ accounts and scouting other teams that they have worked with. For example, when we publish a photographer’s work, we often scroll through their Instagram feed to see with what other makeup artists, wardrobe, hair stylists and models they have collaborated. If the photographer is looking to work with us, it’s likely those accounts possessing our same creative values might want to work with us as well. We then try to engage with these accounts to build on our audience.

On our Instagram, we put up editorials that have been submitted to Atlas and that we’ve chosen to display on the web and social media. Each editorial we do becomes a cross-platform campaign to ensure maximum exposure for the artists that submit their work to us. Instagram is our most successful social media platform because it is where the majority of people in our niche like to spend their phone time.

In terms of visuals, your feed should be curated in a way that mirrors the editorial style of your magazine. With Atlas, our feed is laid out in sets of three to draw viewers into the story, not just the image. The editorials tell a story and those are what we’re “selling” through this technique. We tend to post one to two stories a day, which are cross-posted from our website. Unless it’s Fashion Week, we won’t post more than one to two lines of images per day. With that amount, we know that we are already quite prevalent in our followers’ feeds, and there is no need to overload them.

That being said, this method is not universal. When you look at an Instagram feed like that of Local Wolves, you’ll notice it is comprised of single images of different subjects that all match a cohesive visual style. What they’re “selling” is an aesthetic. Mad Sounds, on the other hand, posts 1-2 images per day with engaging captions to strengthen their images to deliver a fully-rounded story. These are successful Instagram accounts in no small part because of their curatorial styles — they know exactly what they are selling.

Example of Business account analytics

It’s also a good idea to use the tools that Instagram provides, which are free! Yes, there are third-party tools that allow you to keep track of your engagement, but Instagram for Business is a great start. Changing our account to a Business account (again, this was completely free) allowed us to gain valuable insights like weekly impressions, posts with the most engagement, statistics about our followers and more. It has allowed us to monitor which posts are the most successful and try to figure out why. You can then use these insights to cater your posts to your audience, and post at times that will ensure higher success.

Marketing your publication on Instagram is a deeply valuable (and necessary) tactic to grow and engage with potential and current readers. To do so, however, you must sort out who your audience is, and what they want to see. Remember that every image is an advertisement for something, so know exactly what it is you are trying to sell.

Now, check out the latest Atlas below!

For more Atlas Magazine, be sure to follow them on issuu. You can also follow Megan Breukelman on Twitter or Instagram @meganbreukelman.

We Redesigned issuu Find in Publication – Search Away!

Wed, 31 May 2017 09:28:37 -0700

Our redesigned issuu Find in Publication feature is available today to help you search and quickly find text inside issuu publications.

Click the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the publication to begin your search. Simply enter the word or words you’re searching for, and your results will be highlighted throughout the publication — even if they’re rendered in script-style fonts or sideways text.

Check it out in action:

Whether you’re searching for a favorite product in a catalog or trying to find your byline in a 200-page magazine, Find in Publication is one more beautiful detail that shows why issuu has the best digital-reading experience anywhere.

Find something great to read and search away!

Publisher of the Month: Bunyan Velo

Tue, 23 May 2017 10:46:17 -0700

Meet our publisher of the month, Bunyan Velo. The brainchild of Lucas Winzenburg, Bunyan Velo is a collection of photographs, essays and stories celebrating the simple pleasures of traveling by bicycle. Winzenburg launched his passion project in 2013, which after recently leaving his full-time job, is now his profession. Meet Lucas and Bunyan Velo below.

Q: Bunyan Velo is a great publication with a unique point of view. What led to its creation?

Lucas Winzenburg: Back in 2012, traveling by bicycle had become my foremost passion in life. I spent all of my free time building up bikes, planning trips and scouring the web for inspiration and information on the subject. I stumbled upon many individual blogs, but there really wasn’t a publication devoted solely to off-road bicycle touring, so I decided to create it. I contacted a several of the writers whose blogs I’d found and pitched my idea for a new bicycle travel publication. Remarkably, they all agreed to contribute, and in early 2013 I published the first issue of Bunyan Velo. In essence, it was a collection of what I considered to be the best writing and photography scattered around the internet. In many ways, I was just making it for myself. I never could have guessed that so many people would be intrigued by essays, stories and photos about traveling by bicycle.

The first issue

Q: Who is the team behind Bunyan Velo? What goes into making each issue?

LW: I work with a rotating group of about 15 writers and photographers for each issue, but it’s just me doing everything behind the scenes. I design the layout, work with writers to revise their stories, edit/select photos and seek out the next batch of contributors. It’s a lightweight operation and my whole universe of Bunyan Velo stuff fits neatly in my home office.

Getting to work with over a 100 different writers and photographers with similar passions has been one of the most rewarding perks of putting Bunyan Velo together. Many of them have become friends and I’ve been lucky to go on trips with a dozen or so people I met through the magazine. We’ve ridden across beautiful places like Scotland, California and Kyrgyzstan, and there are always new destinations and ideas in the works.

Q: You mentioned you’re leaving your full-time job to work on Bunyan Velo. What led you to this decision and what was the thought process? What advice do you have for people considering the same thing?

LW: Yeah, I recently left the full-time job I’d been at for three years and I’m only just beginning to navigate the waters of making a living from Bunyan Velo. I tried hard to balance my job and my aspirations for the magazine, but it ended up being quite taxing.

I decided that I needed to give one up to restore some balance to my life. I could sort of picture myself at my same job, or in a similar position, five years down the road and things would look pretty much the same. On the other hand, when I imagined where Bunyan Velo could be in five years if I were to devote all of my time to it, I saw a ton of exciting possibilities. When I thought about it in those terms it was an easy decision. In all honesty, though, there was an element of fear that kept me from making the jump sooner.

It’s probably too early in this whole transition for me to be giving anyone life advice, but I’d encourage everyone with some kind of passion and an interest in publishing to give it a try and see where it goes. The barriers to entry for web publishing are remarkably small these days thanks to platforms like issuu. I think most people would be surprised to discover how large of an audience they’ll find out there waiting for a new publication that aligns with their interests.

Issue 6

Q: What can fans expect from Bunyan Velo next?

LW: There are lots new projects in the works! I’ll be publishing the seventh digital issue of Bunyan Velo in June. It’s already been about a year since I last published an issue and I couldn’t be more excited to get another collection of stories out there. While I love publishing digitally and will continue to do so, I’m also working on introducing a printed version of Bunyan Velo alongside the digital one.

You can follow Bunyan Velo on issuu or on Twitter and Facebook @bunyanvelo.

May the Fourth be With You on issuu

Thu, 04 May 2017 10:11:40 -0700

Every year, the world celebrates an iconic franchise that brings fans together no matter their age, gender or location. On May 4th, the Force is at its strongest as people around the world happily share the oh-so-punny motto: “May the fourth be with you.” Whether you’re new to the franchise or an old hand at Star Wars lore, issuu is a great place to let your reading awaken on Star Wars Day.

Take a look at some of our favorite Star Wars related publications below or browse through our galaxy’s finest Star Wars stack.

1. Camera Operator

These amazing movies do not make themselves, but we rarely get to hear from the people behind the actual camera. Camera Operator gives viewers that interesting point of view; and their Winter 2016 issue features an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the work that went into Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Camera junkies, be sure to check this out!

2. Pyramid International

What better way to show your love for a franchise than by decking out your bedroom or work cubby with swag? Pyramid International’s catalogs are a pop culture nerd’s dream, and the Star Wars: Rogue One Catalog has items for every budget.

3. Star Wars in Play

If you’re looking for something more whimsical, look no further than this senior capstone project involving Star Wars figurines. The project captures each figurine “in play” — uniquely frozen in a pose that best captures his or her personality in the franchise. Flip through and see if the characters are how you remember them.

4. Central Michigan Life

Get a hometown view on Star Wars’ lasting legacy with Central Michigan Life. With pages dedicated to the series and the then-upcoming new film, The Force Awakens, these local fans show a diehard passion we fully respect.

How are you celebrating Star Wars Day? Tweet @issuu with your favorite Star Wars publication, and keep the galactic love going for Space Day, which takes place tomorrow, May 5th!

Digital Sales Are Coming to issuu

Tue, 02 May 2017 11:25:05 -0700

Starting this week, you may encounter a new experience on issuu: being able to easily preview and buy digital access to select publications, right from issuu.com. We’re starting slow — working with a small group of publishers (who have generally already been selling content outside of issuu) and their loyal readers — to make sure we do digital magazine sales right.

Why are we introducing digital sales? For a long time, all content on issuu was presented as free to read. For publishers who needed to sell their work, this required convoluted workarounds, such as uploading only a few pages for a preview and linking out to external sites to sell digital PDFs without the beautiful, professional issuu presentation. For readers, not being able to easily access content they love became quite frustrating.

We strongly believe issuu is the only digital publishing platform with the scale, scope and audience to continue increasing access to great free content and fostering the ability for dedicated, creative publishers to fund the work they love to do. Amazing content from passionate creators – for free and for sale – should live and thrive on issuu.

Up until now, we’ve only allowed free content on issuu. The next step begins now, and when we do make this digital sales service more widely available on issuu in the future, rest assured that issuu will remain the #1 place to access great free content that you can’t get anywhere else. By growing both free and paid content in one place, we’ll be connecting readers to an even greater array of meaningful content that wasn’t easily accessible before.

Curious about the experience? Check out one of our for-sale publications in action.

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Email us at feedback@issuu.com. If you’re a publisher interested in selling your publication on issuu, let us know here.

Image 34 Magazine Celebrates Five Years With issuu

Mon, 01 May 2017 16:25:03 -0700

Recently celebrating their 5-year anniversary, Image 34 Magazine’s founder and editor in chief Michael Sweeney sat down with issuu to look back at what the magazine has accomplished so far and where it is headed next.

Q: Looking back at Image 34 Magazine’s last 5 years, what were your biggest successes and failures? What did you learn from them?

Michael Sweeney: As sad and predictable as this may sound, nothing has been a failure. Yes, some things didn’t always go to plan, but that’s the fun part. It has been a challenge and a life lesson, but we’ve learned from everything that happened to us along the way. Looking back, I can smile at everything we have done, even at the things that I thought didn’t work so well at the time.

Seeing all the issues we have produced, looking back at everyone we have worked with and met — some who have now become really close friends — there’s one thing I really pride the magazine in doing. It is producing what I call a family; a family of creatives and professionals all working with passion in our hearts.

Q: Which issue was your favorite and why?

MS: There really isn’t a favourite issue as a whole! The thing I love about Image 34 is that each issue has its own vibe and story to tell. Each one has something to love and that’s because we always try and make sure that each issue is different. This is only achieved by working with our features. Each cover star has a say in what happens, and we work together with them to produce something we are all proud of.

Q: What can fans expect next for your magazine?

MS: Image 34 will continue to expand and work with other creatives, both big and small. We have been fortunate enough to work with some big stars such as Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, X-Factor Winners Alexandra Burke & Sam Bailey, surfing legend Tehillah McGuinness and the wonderful costume-designer-to-the-stars Wendy Benstead — to name just a few. But I wouldn’t be anywhere without the creatives who were just starting their journeys. Such as Rachel Rose, Clara Bond and Kurt Martinez who since we featured, I have had the pleasure to see them all achieve so much. I am grateful to have been part of their journeys and have them support my magazine.

Behind the scenes: Tehillah McGuinnes teaching the team to surf

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring publishers?

MS: Never give up and dream big. I wouldn’t have done half the things I have done with Image 34 if I didn’t dream. Unless you believe in what you are doing, it will show. Have fun with what you are doing and enjoy working with other people and the journey that you are on.

Also, one big tip is to only feature what you truly believe in — stick to that no matter what. Companies may pay you a big advertising deal to feature them or you may be approached to put something in your issues that you don’t really support, but stay strong and only feature what you believe in no matter how strong the temptation. I have never featured anyone or anything that I didn’t want to support and it has served me well. It’s the only way I have managed to stay passionate about what I am doing.

Anniversary issue:

Follow Image 34 Magazine today on issuu and feel free to share your own publishing milestones with the issuu Community.

issuu does March for Science

Fri, 28 Apr 2017 11:25:05 -0700

Last weekend across the nation, thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C., New York and our very own San Francisco to take a stand for science.

Some of the issuu team made it to the protest and got to stand with tons of other science minded people from the city and hear speakers like Adam Savage from Mythbusters.

If you didn’t make it to the march, or just want to know what all of this is about check out MarchforScience.com. On the site is a week long plan of ways you can educate yourself on the issues and get involved.

In case you’re not convinced, we’ve gathered some scientific publications for you to peruse and get updated on all the amazing work scientists, researchers and educators are doing, and exactly how that work is going to affect you. #Sciencedoesnttakesides

1. NuSci: The Revolution Issue.

One of the biggest issues the March for Science has taken on is the depoliticizing of scientific research. NuSci discusses how politics are pushing us into a second scientific revolution- and whether or not thats a good thing.

2. I, Science: The Taboo Issue

I, Science comes to us from the Imperial College in London. While the March for Science originated in the US, people all over the world marched including London.

3. Spaceport Magazine

The official publication from NASA, this magazine talks about blank. NASA is a nationally funded organization and without that funding, all of the research and findings in this publication will be stopped.

4. Think Magazine

Think Magazine from the minds at the University of Malta does it all. This issue talks the political climate that lead to trump right alongside supermassive telescopes.

5. Rocketstem

For the young ones (or the young at heart) Rocketstem is aimed at connecting the next generation with cool science from the start.

Can’t get enough science? Check out this stack of science publications. And be sure to share your fav science publication with us @issuu on Twitter.

Jumpstart Your Student Publication With issuu’s Free Templates

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 10:04:32 -0700

Perhaps you’ve gotten inspired by the myriad, impressive student publications already on issuu. Maybe you finally know how to tell your story thanks to our student press guide. Or, you just signed up for the student and educators plan and are really ready to take your student publication to the next level. No matter what your situation, it’s time to create.

To help jumpstart your creation process, we’ve created templates that will give you the perfect starting place. Copy and paste your excellent copy and photos into one of these templates, then customize it to make the publication all your own. Starting this way removes the daunting feeling of a blank page, and hopefully will get you hitting “publish” much sooner.

Free Magazine Template for Your News and Features

This template is for your news magazine — the next New Yorker or Time. Fill it with small bits about local news, in-depth profiles or anything else that aligns with your vision. The design of this template maximizes space so you can get your word count in, and features a simplified layout so your readers can take in the content without any distractions. It includes space for your shorts, features, photo spreads and ads.

Download the issuu news magazine template here.

Free Magazine Template for the Arts

Take your magazine in a different direction and showcase creative writing, photography or design with our arts magazine template. A little more aesthetically pleasing than our news magazine template, this one was made to let your creative work shine. It includes space for the written word, photography and art.

Download the issuu arts magazine template here.

You Just Need a Gmail Account to Get Started

The idea behind these templates is to make publishing easy for everyone. No fancy software or design experience needed. Everything is hosted through Google Drive, so all you need is an internet connection, a Gmail account and a passion to create.

Sign in to your Google account. Make one here if you don’t have one.
Make a copy of our Google document template by selecting FILE → MAKE A COPY → OK. Be sure to rename it the title of your publication.
Delete our dummy content, including text, pictures and ads.
Copy pages and shuffle around as needed to fit your needs.
Paste in your text and photos.
Look for the issuu tips bubbles, which feature helpful notes on how to enhance your document.
When you’re satisfied, export the document by clicking FILE → DOWNLOAD AS → PDF DOCUMENT.
Upload the PDF to issuu.

Continue on Your Student Press Journey

Be sure to check out our student pricing so you can maximize the effect of your newly-uploaded publication. Get in-depth stats, scheduled publishing and much more.

Then check out the student publishing guide for help with everything from managing your editorial team to adhering to journalistic ethics.

Be inspired for your next issuu with this stack of award winning student publications.

Finally, be sure to share your finished product with us using the hashtag #issuustudentpress.

Now go, create. Amplify your voice. It’s never been more important.

Bookmark This! issuu's Community Hub Has Arrived

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 13:45:14 -0700

With more than three million publishers from all over the globe, we are proud to be called home by over 30 million publications spanning magazines on every topic imaginable, hard-hitting newspapers, student publications and a whole lot more. We’ve showcased a few standout voices from the issuu ecosystem in the past with #issuusuccess stories, but today we are excited to share something new for digital publishers everywhere. We are giving you (the publisher) your own space on issuu to find your tribe, get inspired and learn how to better your craft.

Get ready to meet fellow publishers and take your publication to the next level with issuu’s guides and templates. Starting today, you can join issuu’s very own Community Hub. We like to think of it as the #1 space online for the best publishing tips, tricks and inspiration.

You, the Publisher, Are Our Cover Star

Whether you’re new to digital publishing or an expert in the field, we created the Community Hub to provide a space where passion and practicality can meet. In addition to useful issuu resources like our Digital Toolkit and Student Journalism Guide, we’re excited to showcase our publishers, who are the real stars of the show. Read #issuusuccess stories from real-life publishers like Sweet Paul, and get a behind the scenes look at what inspires other publishers in our Publisher Spotlight blog series.

From the Community Hub, you can click to the Help Center for articles explaining how to publish on issuu and to help you troubleshoot any problems. What’s more, you can now use the community knowledge base for crowdsourced tips and tricks from other publishers on issuu. Whether it’s how to photograph the perfect flatlay or how to land your first big advertising deal, another publisher can give you valuable advice based on their own experience.

Making Connections

One thing we’ve learned from talking to our publishers is that there is a desire to meet fellow publishers both online and in real life. Having a face-to-face meeting with a publisher you admire helps build stronger personal relationships. Being able to talk about your publication with someone in the same industry is another way to help you better your craft. Within our publishing community, we want to help you make deeper connections and expand your network.

We’ve had a Generators Camp and meetups in San Francisco and Copenhagen these last few years, and we’re going to take it up a notch to make sure you’re getting access to valuable knowledge and networks. In the Publisher Hub, get ready to see more events both online and offline, panels with industry experts, AMAs with publishers who have been doing this for a while and much, much more.

Send Us Feedback

This community lives on issuu.com, but we want you to truly make it yours. That’s why any bit of feedback is important to us. Whether it’s something you’d like help learning, an AMA request for someone you really admire or an event that you’d love to attend, let us know! You can comment directly in our new forums and vote up or down ideas from the community that speak to you.

Publisher of the Week: DEZINE

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:45:04 -0700

Meet our publisher of the week. DEZINE is an online magazine dedicated to the creative. Its creative director, Ben Wainman, dreamed of a magazine featuring creatives in the fields of art, design and photography, and launched his dream in January 2017. How did he get started? What does it take to make a single issue? Ben takes us behind the scenes of DEZINE below.

Q: So tell us how DEZINE got started? What motivated you to launch such a creative collaborative project?

Ben Wainman: It’s a funny story, because issuu actually made me want to do the magazine. I’ve been in the publishing industry doing editorial design for about five years, and I came across issuu in 2013. We had been using these other services, but issuu was the free alternative that had what we were looking for and I liked the community aspect of it. I kept exploring and seeing things that I liked — I think Mad Sounds was the third magazine or so that I saw, and making a magazine featuring photographers, designers and all of that was kind of always in the back of my mind because I didn’t really see that out there. I initially wanted to just get designers that I knew together for the idea, but I decided to use the internet to reach out to people who could participate and it became bigger than I ever expected, especially on social.

Q: Tell us about the team behind DEZINE. What goes into making each issue?

BW: Well, I do a bulk of the work myself, and my girlfriend Eve and a colleague at work help me. Because it takes so much time to make one issue (we’re bimonthly), but I get so much content that I wish it could be monthly. I do most of the communicating with people, so there are artists and photographers that I really want to see in the magazine that I’ll reach out to — but it’s amazing the amount of content that falls into my lap. A great example is Talbotics from our last issue. I hadn’t even thought of, but Tal reached out with this pitch and the end result was seriously amazing and I loved it.

It’s fantastic that people are reaching out to be in something that I’ve created — bit humbling actually! My process for each issue is a bit of a random mess most of the time because it’s new for me to do bits of everything. Hopefully someday I’ll have one person to take care of one thing and another to handle one more thing. For now, I have people like Eve helping me find stuff and then I’ll do the outreach and then I put it all together.

Q: For someone not well-versed in publishing, what tools are you using to make your publication?

BW: Oh, I keep it simple. I use Photoshop for general chopping or to fix resolution. Generally I leave people’s photography alone since the submitted photo is like their final copy, but if I need to do any cropping I’ll use Photoshop. When I make an issue, I use Quark Xpress. It’s similar to InDesign but speeds up the process massively so, what was taking me several days for one magazine, Quark Xpress has made so much easier.

Q: What success or failures have you had so far since starting DEZINE?

BW: I mean, when I first started, I failed getting people on board. I approached a lot of people that told me, “No, why would I do something like that?” There were also people that committed to doing it and then disappeared. The first issue’s cover had 3 incarnations before I got to John [Thatcher], but that first cover is fantastic and I couldn’t have wished for anything better. I kind of reached out on a whim so I’d say that is my biggest success so far — getting John on board for the first issue.

Q: What can DEZINE fans expect next?

BW: Design stuff, I suppose? We’ve got something a bit different planned: a special issue with a singular focus on a certain topic. I’m hoping to get it out in June, but it depends. I have plenty of content for it. I also have photographers who were going to go out and get brand new shoots for it. If this first special edition works, we’ll want to do more themed issues and stuff like that.

Q: Final question, what advice do you have for new publishers or anyone thinking about publishing their first magazine?

BW: The biggest tip is to actually go for it. Like I said, I discovered issuu in 2013 and I had the idea milling around in my head for all these years and it took me this whole time before I just decided to go for it. There’s always a reason to not do something, so, if you’re really passionate about it, you should just really go ahead and do it.

Ben is doing an @issuu Instagram takeover on April 1, so be sure to follow along!

Beautiful Details

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 09:26:57 -0700

Words by Alette Holmberg-Nielsen, issuu Senior Product Owner

When we set out to completely overhaul the reading experience with the #newissuu last fall, we were under a lot of pressure to make sure we improved the speed, reliability and usability of a platform that reaches 100 million uniques every month. Also, I knew that one of the top things publishers and readers appreciate about issuu is the clean, professional and beautiful way publications look on issuu. It wasn’t an option to lose that. On the contrary, we felt like we had so much more beauty to add to the reading experience.

We launched our beautiful new reading experience last fall, and it’s time to share a few tweaks we made since then. These are the beautiful little details that makes issuu the perfect surroundings for publications like Quality Time, Søstrene Grene and Sauce Magazine. These details might seem small and unimportant, but the sum of them ends up making a world of difference.

Refining our page flip animation

Read anything on issuu on any device and take a close look at how the page moves when you flip it. Especially on touch-screen devices, you’ll see that the page follows your finger no matter what direction you drag. This really makes it feel a little more like the real thing. We’ve also slowed down the animation just a bit – a few hundred milliseconds – to enable the eye to easier follow the movement. An animation like this might look easy, once done right - but there is a huge amount of math involved. (If you’re curious start with this paper)

What’s really special about the issuu page flip is the actual 3D bending of the page being flipped. Most off-the-shelf page- flip animations rely on 2D tricks to make it look a little like bending. But they all end up feeling flat. If you look closely on the images or text while flipping a page, you will see it. A tiny thing, that makes a big difference.

Even crisper images and text

One of the most exciting changes from the #newissuu launch was how the text is crystal clear at all zoom levels. Our advanced rendering of layers of text and images makes reading very easy on the eyes, even when you zoom way in. No fuzziness here! We’ve recently refined this even more to make sure that no matter what font you throw at us, we will be able to display it perfectly. The freedom to create something unique is what makes the publication on issuu so special.

Zoom in and experience crystal-clear fonts in this publication:

Read anywhere

This great issuu reading experience works no matter what device you’re on. You can read issuu.com in your web browser on your phone, or download our apps tailor-made for Android and iOS. No matter the platform, we’re always tweaking issuu to make it easier to read and more beautiful to publish on.

Beautiful details for amazing publications

We care for these details because more than 3 million publishers so far chose issuu for their inspiring, jaw-dropping and incredible publications. We are committed to making issuu the absolute best place to publish, find and read the best digital publications.

See for yourself. Go explore the latest content on issuu, and tell us your favorites on social media with #newissuu.

issuu Resources for Digital Publishers

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 13:44:04 -0700

The issuu guides below offer vital information for digital-publishing newbies, seasoned experts and anyone in-between. Whether you’re a pro or just exploring your options, issuu is here to help you achieve digital-publishing success.

Digital-Publisher Toolkit

Flip through our toolkit for everything you need to make your introduction into digital publishing as seamless as possible.

Student Guide to Digital Publishing

For the aspiring student journalists out there, this guide covers everything from designing an editorial calendar to defending yourself from censorship.

It takes a great team to make a great publication. See who does what in your journalism squad.

To help jumpstart your creation process, download our news magazine or arts magazine templates to put you in the perfect starting place.

Small Business Catalog Templates

Make your catalog/lookbook creation a simple drag-and-drop process with our templates.

Your small business needs a catalog or lookbook to show off your wonderful products. Our 9 tips for creating holiday guides deliver the results you need no matter the season.