Publishers offer quality content through the 'Ads for Adobe PDF' service

By Kurt Foss, Editor, AcrobatUsers.com

Adobe Systems began soliciting beta participants last November for a new joint effort with the Yahoo! Publisher Network (YPN) called the Ads for Adobe PDF service. It provides publishers with a new way to monetize PDF-based content through the addition of content-relevant ads. The service continues in limited beta, but already includes a wide range of publishers who are helping to fine-tune the technology and procedures, according to Cynthia Tillo, senior product manager for the project at Adobe.

"We have seen interest from all types of publishers," she says, "including ebook publishers, non-profits, professional organizations/societies, magazine publishers, technical-journal publishers, educational institutions and bloggers, to name a few."

The select publishers involved in the early beta phase are providing feedback to Adobe that has spurred a number of enhancements--such as increasing the file-size limit--designed to make the service even more convenient and useful. Recently released version 1.01 includes a number of changes, including performance improvements for the entire PDF registration process and improved content analysis of the PDF for better ad targeting.

With increased publisher participation comes greater benefit for both content producers and consumers, Tillo says.

"The potential for users to access more free content is starting to come to fruition," she says. "For example, some ebooks that used to be sold are now available for free. In other cases, publishers plan to get rid of their subscription models and make content available for free, in exchange for ad revenue while other publishers are viewing this as an opportunity to subsidize the costs of producing their content and generate additional revenue."

Publisher PDFs highlighted

Tillo points to examples from some of the currently participating publishers to showcase the potential for the service, including:

• Better Homes & Gardens recently launched a new Remodeling Center website where you can download information on how to complete household projects. The How-to Library features some 240 ad-enabled PDFs detailing specific remodeling projects.

• The True Films eBook by Kevin Kelly features illustrated, positive reviews of "200 great documentaries you should see before you die." While two previous versions were available for purchase, the new third version [PDF: 7.2MB] is free as an ad-enabled PDF.

• Home Power magazine publishes articles on a variety of energy-saving topics—a great resource for information on renewable energy and sustainable-living technologies. The home page randomly highlights articles that all users can freely read; each article description page includes a link to download an ad-enabled PDF version of the respective article.

• Lightbulb Press creates and publishes objective, educational content that aims "to shed light on even the most complex and intimidating subjects." Its free, ad-enabled PDF documents include financial guides such as "Basics of Investing," "Paying for College" and "Pensions Decisions."

• Pollywog Press publishes The Seventh Sun, which provides "in-depth coverage of issues, technologies, and culture in the emerging communities of the virtual world." Its list of Top 10 of 2007 stories includes a feature on the "First Second Life Church of Elvis,” offering a link to an ad-enabled PDF version [PDF: 480kb]. The context-relevant ads link to sites selling Elvis-related goods.

• InDesign Magazine is published every two months; each issue is packed with in-depth features, how-tos, reviews and news for users of Adobe InDesign. A free, ad-enabled sample PDF provides a tip on "How to make an image sandwich; [PDF: 3MB];" it also includes a special discount code for a subscription.

• Windjack Solutions has published a pair of ad-enabled PDF examples. The first is a form-filling wizard [PDF: 144kb] that shows how custom dialogs provide users with an easy-to-use series of steps to complete even the most complex, busy and data intensive forms. The second is a fully interactive 3D Robot Arm Game PDF: 317kb] that demonstrates the limits of what can be done with Acrobat 3D annotation scripting.

• The Gilbert Consulting website offers a couple dozen issues of "Tips & Techniques", a PDF-based compendium of tips about Acrobat, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and other design and publishing topics written by Keith Gilbert, an Adobe Certified Instructor. The last nine issues are all ad-enabled.
  
  Also available in PDF on the site is the "Converting QuarkXPress and PageMaker Files to InDesign" tutorial, another ad-enabled example.

• The Boca Raton News is a daily newspaper published in Boca Raton, FL. The site's ad-enabled PDFs are true-to-life replicas of its daily printed edition.

• Infinity Science is a privately held book publisher, specializing in the areas of computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics and business. Its titles are designed primarily for the educational and professional/reference markets. Ad-enabled PDF examples on the site include:

  • Infinity Science [PDF: 1.1MB]
  • Artificial Intelligence [PDF: 1.1MB]
  • Digital Signal Processing [PDF: 430kb]
  • Physics for Engineers & Scientists PDF: 1.1MB]
  • Digital Principles and Logic Design [PDF: 1MB]
    
    
    

• AstroPhoto Insight is a bi-monthly digital astrophotography magazine dedicated to exploring and sharing the latest innovations and techniques in the field of cutting-edge amateur astrophotography. The ad-enabled PDF edition offers enough material to keep even the most hard-core astrophotographer interested, while also including a variety of practical and basic information for the beginner as well.

• D&R Dispatch recently published volume 1 of its Dinosaurs and Robots Dispatch as an ad-enabled PDF publication [ZIP: 9.3MB]. The digital magazine covers chrome polishing, bakelite refurbishing, building a longboard-style skateboard from an old water ski and a bit of worship for old Craftsman tools.

The Ads for Adobe PDF service remains in limited beta and is still accepting applications from publishers interested in exploring the opportunity to monetize their PDF content through dynamic, contextual ads. Information about the service, including update announcements, is available at Adobe Labs, at the Ads for Adobe PDF blog and in the related Adobe.com discussion forum.

Remodeling Center PDF: A small advertising panel appears adjacent to the ad-enabled PDF file, and it can be turned on or off by the user.

Remodeling Center PDF's dynamic ads: The ad panel can contain up to five content-relevant text ads, served dynamically by Yahoo!.