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Most print publishers want to expand their businesses online. Some already have websites, whilst many others plan on launching them soon.

However, to be successful, traditional publishers must understand the differences between the two mediums.

Most believe they do, but if you look at what many of them are doing online, they clearly don't. They end up trying to replicate what they do offline on the internet.

This doesn't work. Never has. Never will.

Online publishing is very different from print. Those who understand the differences and structure their activities accordingly will thrive. Those who don't will fail.

Here is a checklist of the most important differences.

* Online publishing strips out many of the costs associated with print publishing (typesetting/DTP, printing, paper, postage, and fulfilment). Because of this, online publications become viable with far fewer subscribers than offline publications. This makes the start-up process cheap, quick and easy.

* The cost of delivery on the internet continues to fall as storage, hosting and bandwidth get cheaper. Distribution in the offline world continues to rise as paper costs, overhead and postage continue to increase.

* All content can be archived in a searchable database, which can be accessed at anytime by members. This is a superb and valuable resource for subscribers that builds loyalty and repeat visits.

* With online publishing, news and information are provided in real time. In a world of rapid change and instant gratification, the information sources that react quickest to events will become the most popular. Print cannot compete with the speed of online publishing.

* While online, members can interact with each other through discussion groups, forums, online seminars and classified ads. This turns passive readers into contributors and community members. Print publications have no way of enabling real-time interaction.

* Content can be provided in audio or video format. Amongst the digital generation, there is an expectation that they can consume their content in many different formats. The web makes publishing multimedia content simple and cheap.
* A specialist website can cost-effectively reach a worldwide audience. This can make niche subjects commercially viable. For a print publication, going global has significant cost implications.

* Online publishing implies excellent customer intelligence. It is possible to see what every visitor has looked at on a website, giving you the ability to track which

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