Its a real education for me to see how publishers have used digital editions to not just reduce costs but actually increase profits. As with any good product , skillful entrepreneurs can find ways to deliver the value to the customer and be rewarded for that effort. Some of the strategies I have seen employed listed in order of profit generated:

1. Opening page ads - the space to the left of the cover. This space is designed to display custom media - Flash (SWF) animations on a rotation. Publishers can place as many ads as they want into the queue and each are displayed on a random basis.

2. Special hyperlinks on Ads. Some publishers are charging advertisers to make their URL in their ads active hyperlinks.

3. Google Map hyperlinks - content that can be enhanced by the display of information on a Google Map is activated by placing a map icon on the ad or page content. Real Estate guide is a good example of this.

Best case I have heard of from one publisher is that they are realizing a 300% return on their investment in their digital publication.