As a publisher and media owner, you have no choice about adapting your business and team to the realities of 2013 – the world is changing around you whether you like it or not. 

Colin Morrison had a positive message for specialist publishers in his opening presentation at the Specialist Media Conference on 24 April.

While digital is causing mayhem in the media world, those niche publications that are prepared to adapt to change and use technology to engage more deeply with their community, have a real advantage over mass media.  

This Wednesday, 24 April, we’ll be hosting this year’s Specialist Media Conference at The British Library in London.

It’s going to be an action packed day with 19 conference speakers, 18 roundtable discussions, 4 workshops, bookable 1-1 advice consultations, and the Media Pioneer Awards taking place at the end of the day.  

Are you still sat on the fence?  Not sure if it’s worth a day out of the office?  Here are 17 reasons why we think it’s unmissable. 

In the Specialist Media Insight research earlier this year, we asked 130 publishers what they saw as their biggest opportunities and challenges.  This provides a unique insight into how specialist media owners see the world right now.  

Whilst they can glimpse the potential of digital platforms, online interaction, repackaging content and enhanced ad propositions, there is still a fear of new competitors, making the wrong technology choices, and traditional revenues evaporating before digital grows to replace them.  Plus a real skills gap especially in sales and technology. 

Successful specialist publishing businesses are built around a niche community.  Both consumer and business publishers have always run live events for their readers, and many have had lively letters pages or forums.  But as digital media bring communities of interest closer even across geographical boundaries, so publishers have become more focussed on nurturing their online communities and developing live events. 

In b2b in particular, events are one of the revenue streams expected to grow in the next two years, potentially exceeding print circulation, according to the 2013 Specialist Media Insights research.  Even consumer publishers are developing more live events, and social media is becoming an important source of web traffic, data and insight.

The interactive Barbie app, published by Panorama Publications of South Africa, is the highest selling children’s mag in the App store, with international reach and 60% of sales coming from archive issues.

Dawid Venter, Digital Head at Panorama Publications of South Africa, tells the story…

Digital platforms are transforming how publishers can distribute their content, and they are opening up previously inaccessible international markets even for small publishers. Now you may have a replica of your magazine on Apple Newsstand, but that is just scratching the surface. 

The speakers in the mobile platforms panel at the Specialist Media Conference on 24 April will stretch your thinking and show the opportunities even for smaller publishers to reach new audiences.  They'll also share some practical ideas you can implement straight away.

Here's a sneak preview of the content of the session, based on a meeting with the speakers this week.

DJ Mag is the world's largest dance music and clubbing magazine.

For the last 18 years they have run a poll to find the most popular DJs in the world.  In 2011 they launched a facebook app for voting that powered their facebook audience to 800,000, with dramatic impact on sponsorship revenues, earning them a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Lusso Magazine is a Luxury Lifestyle title published bi-monthly by SWR Media (Magazines) Ltd and, following a successful relaunch in March 2012 and always quick to try new things, the publishers took the bold step of moving away from print to an entirely digital format for online, tablet and smartphone apps.

Their use of social sharing to extract reader data and gain deeper understanding of reading habits has helped the story for advertisers, and gained Lusso a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.