Issuu is an electronic publishing platform founded in 2006, enabling creators of publications to share their content digitally.
Purpose
The main purpose of Issuu is to convert PDFs into digital publications that can be shared via links or embedded into websites. Users can edit their publications by customizing the design, using templates, or adding links and multimedia to the pages of their documents. However, it's impossible to create a publication from scratch via Issuu, without a PDF to start from. Issuu also provides their users with tools for measuring and monetization of their content. Depending on the plan they are using, users can track statistics, control access to their publications, set up subscriptions, and receive payment from their readers via Stripe, an online payment system.
History
Issuu was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2006 by Michael and Ruben Bjerg Hansen, Mikkel Jensen, and Martin Ferro-Thomsen. By 2011, Issuu software was used by several online publications. In early 2013, the company opened an office in Palo Alto, California and appointed CEO Joe Hyrkin, formerly of Reverb, Trinity Ventures, and Yahoo!, to helm its Silicon Valley operations. The company soon moved its headquarters to the Palo Alto location. Upon the move, the founders of Issuu stated that they chose the city as they saw social media and digital distributionpartnerships as the key to its growth, rather than focusing mostly on publishing relationships. In 2014, the company released Clip, a tool that allowed readers to take a snapshot of any part of a publication and share that on social media or through email.
Partnerships
In 2012 Issuu partnered with Peecho, to embed a cloud printing button into Issuu publication documents. In 2013 Issuu acquired publishing software maker Magma. In 2014 Issuu partnered with LinkedIn, which built-in Issuu magazine integration into basic LinkedIn profiles. In January 2016, Micromedia Publications began publishing its seven weekly newspapers through the Issuu service.
Apps
In 2014 Issuu released its iOS app to access Issuu on Apple devices. The app included an offline reading list function that allowed users to read from the Issuu app without being online. The app could also stack publications back to back so that they could be read in succession. Initially, the app was released on Android in January. Previous to the launch of the company's 2014 apps, Apple had rejected an app from Issuu three times during 2009. In 2019, Issuu announced the launch of Issuu Promote, an ad integration tool for Facebook and Instagram, allowing for content to be distributed across multiple social media channels.
Recognition
In 2009, Issuu was named one of TIME's 50 Best Websites.
