A mother lode of ideas!

Here we are at the end of one year and the beginning of another one. We know how difficult it can be during this period to think up ideas that haven't been already done to death.

But we've got a great gift for you (if you don't already have one).

APME recently published its book of ideas from its members. "Great Ideas" came from editor submissions for the 2008 AMPE conference.

Now, lest you think there couldn't be any ideas in here for your newspaper, guess again. There are 70 pages of ideas with two to three ideas per page. We didn't count them up, but that's close to 200 ideas.

The book is divided into 12 topics including Projects, Sports, Business & Finance, Building Readership, Multimedia Storytelling and Change. Each entry includes a short description and contact information for the submitting paper.

You can get your own copy of the report by clicking here.

And please don't forget we're always looking for new ideas from our own NCPA members. Just send us an e-mail and share with your colleagues.

MediaShift offers some ideas

On the PBS Website is a section titled MediaShift. It is described as:

MediaShift tracks how new media -- from weblogs to podcasts to citizen journalism -- are changing society and culture.

In a posting Thursday, the column's author, Mark Glaser, offered up some interesting advice on new business models for newspapers. With all the gnashing of teeth lately about the future of newspapers, the comment of "we're still looking for a new business model" has been uttered more than a few times. Well, Glaser offers up some thoughts on new models.

You'll want to read the entire piece by clicking here. His ideas include creating blog networks, classified networks and personalized papers.

Also interesting in this column, Glaser provides a prognosis on each of his points -- how the industry is currently faring in those areas and what the future might hold.

One of the areas he talks about is niche Web sites. We'd be interested in knowing about niche sites of our North Carolina newspapers. Please let us know what you are doing so we can share your ideas.

Making use of your e-mail lists

An e-mail subscriber for The News & Observer's online service alerted us to this one. This person received an e-mail today from the Raleigh newspaper that was an advertisement... not a news update or a breaking news alert.

Many newspapers are doing newsroom generated e-mail alerts with varying degrees of success.

Could your newspaper take that same e-mail list and use it for sending advertising? My guess is that advertisers would love that capability as long as it didn't annoy the heck out of those receiving the messages. It might be worth limiting the number of e-mail advertisements sent each day and charge a real premium for the service.

Anyone else out there doing something similar?

Detroit cuts backs -- does it make sense?

You've undoubtedly heard the news by now. The two Detroit, Mich., metro dailies are cutting back on home delivery. One paper will only deliver on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays while the other just on Thursdays and Fridays.

There will be smaller single-copy editions available on the other days of the week, but readers will have to go out and buy them each day.

Some newspapers, including our own The Dispatch in Lexington, have already reduced the number of publication days each week.

This is a new hybrid. Still publishing throughout the week, but not printing as much. Sending people to the Web sites for more on the non-delivery days.

Will this work? From the business perspective, I recommend reading Poynter's The Biz Blog by Rick Edmonds. You can read it by clicking here.

From across The Pond

Saw one of these commercials mentioned on the E&P blog for Fitz & Jen, then went looking through YouTube and found some more.

These are TV commercials produced for The Daily Telegraph. It's interesting to see how papers in merry old England are trying to attract more readers.



Next one's volume is low. Sorry about that.




Enjoy.

Updating plate sales

If you read December's The North Carolina Press newsletter story on the 2008 election and newspapers, you might recall the report from Hickory Daily Record. The paper did not reprint any of its Nov. 5 papers, but did offer plates of that day's front for $10.

Publisher Eric Millsaps gave us an update today. "Final tally is in and we sold 65 to our readers."

That's $650 in revenue Hickory didn't have before or planned on having.

Making money from news

There's an interesting column by a Peter Osnos, who is a senior fellow for media at The Century Foundation, online now about news media returning to the idea of making money for their information.

In case you haven't heard of The Century Foundation (don't worry, we hadn't either), its Web site says this:

The Century Foundation, founded in 1919 by the progressive businessman Edward A. Filene, is a nonprofit public policy research institution committed to the belief that a mix of effective government, open democracy, and free markets is the most effective solution to the major challenges facing the United States.

Here is one paragraph from Osnos' column. Read the entire column by clicking here.

What has happened with the Internet so far is that the suppliers of hardware, software, and transmission (search engines and aggregators) have built business models that effectively shut out revenue streams for the creators of the information that is being delivered. What has become absolutely clear in 2008 is that this new model for delivering information is a debilitating blow to the creation of quality news content. The companies making money from the internet—Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, and so on—are entitled to the riches they’ve amassed from their ingenuity and entrepreneurial skill. But as a society, we’ve got to figure out how news gathering and information distribution will be paid for from now on.

Osnos offers his own ideas on how to accomplish that. Whether anyone is willing to try out these ideas is anyone's guess.

What are your thoughts on his ideas? Add your comments below.

P.S. By clicking on the link at the top of this column, not only will it take you to a short bio of Osnos, but an index of previous columns, including one titled "Support Your Local Newspaper."

Outing's advice to CEOs

Steve Outing, who writes a column for Editor & Publisher, recently opined on the API "Crisis Summit" with 50 newspaper CEO-types. It's not difficult to tell that Outing isn't expecting a lot out of these Crisis meetings.

From the times I've read Outing's columns, he doesn't seem to be the type of person who minds poking his finger in the eyes of people he believes to be short-sighted or even blind to the world of new media.

I don't agree with everything he writes, but a lot of it makes perfect sense.

To read Outing's full column, click here.

For purposes of this blog entry (and possibly entice you to read the whole column), below is a list of his main pieces of advice to the CEOs (and certainly it can be used by people at the individual newspaper level too):

1. Issue an edict: Digital is first!
2. Consolidate print and online editing functions
3. Print edition: Don't bother chasing young people
4. Print edition: Focus on the core demographic
5. Guide older print loyalists to a life online
6. Reduce the number of print editions
7. Online: Broaden definition of news to include micro-personal
8. Hire a social VP
9. Experiment, fail, experiment more
10. Leverage your remaining staffers, and augment them
11. Consider retirement

A lot of these points make sense, particularly the advice given in items 3 and 4.

The problem with Outing's list is the absence of ways to make money. Yes, his column does talk some about the money issue, but not enough. Regardless, the column is worth a read.

What do you think about this list? Does any of it make sense to you? Let's get a discussion going on the topic! Add your comments by clicking on the Comments link below this post.

Delivery vs. information

This past week, E&P picked up the story of The News & Observer getting out of the trucking business. Penske Logistics will take over the job of delivering bundles to the nine distribution centers and other sites outside the immediate region.

The independent contracts we know as carriers, still have their contracts to deliver directly to subscribers. People getting the N&O delivered to their homes will still deal with the same people.

Still, 17 full-time jobs and many more part-time jobs will be eliminated from the N&O payroll. (Publisher Orage Quarles believes many of those people will get jobs with Penske.)

Here's another way of looking at this other than just cutting FTEs from a payroll: This move actually follows what some people in the industry have been talking about for a few years, that we are in the information business, not the ink, paper and delivery business.

Through the years, newspapers became good at delivering physical products to physical locations. But other businesses also excel at delivery. What no one else excels at is providing reliable news and information, being a watchdog of government and connecting buyers and sellers. Focusing on those parts of the business that no one else can do makes real sense to this blogger.

Pushing subscriptions

Brinn Clayton, the publisher at The Courier-Times of Roxboro, tells us about his paper's efforts to get more people buying his paper:

The staff is working subscriptions hard. We are selling about 100 (out of 8,800) fewer papers since January. We are trying to do multiple-year subscriptions with big discounts. We are selling 3 years for the price of 2 years. We are offering an early renewal discount.

We are writing letters to customers who have let their subscriptions expire, offering them 2 months free for renewing. We are getting the addresses of all people who submit wedding, engagement, and birth announcements. We are sending them letters giving them a deal if they subscribe.

Getting them back into the paper

Here's a few ideas courtesy of Liz Erwin of The Charlotte Observer:

• Sales executives are offering an introductory rate to get inactive advertisers back into the newspaper. So far, this has landed 25 contracts.
• The paper is creating a remnant program for small, unfilled spaces in the paper. For a weekly rate, an advertiser can get a message in 1x3 and 1x2 spaces. The advertiser is guaranteed a minimum number of inches per week.
• Some plans for advertising special sections are out because advertising is down. But the staff is refocused in those cases on “special pages” in ROP. This helps save the advertising that is still available. This is being done for some annual gift guides.
• The paper now offers strip ads at the bottom of most sections, excluding 1A. They are two inches deep and are only sold at a premium rate. They are proving to be very popular with advertisers. Reader reaction has been almost nonexistent.

Customer needs first

Here's an idea from Orage Quarles, publisher of The News & Observer of Raleigh (emphasis added):

The N&O is implementing McClatchy NOW! training, which focuses on customer needs as opposed to selling the newspaper’s available inventory.

Tickle their tastebuds

Rachel Hoskins, who is the regional publisher at The Franklin Press offered this idea:

Tie in print advertising with online advertising so our advertisers can have the best of both worlds.

Add an online, value-added version to print products, such as dining guides, and include a link to the restaurant's Web site or a static menu.

Check out The Franklin Press' Web site to see how they are doing the menu guide.

Here are some ideas to kick off this blog!

Here is the column NCPA President Rick Thames wrote for the December issue of The North Carolina Press newsletter, kicking off this blog:

Soon, it will be time to power off the computer for a few days and enjoy the peace of the holidays with people you love and cherish.

But as I write, I know that many of you are still hard at work on lists unrelated to the season. Everyone I talk to in newspapers is brainstorming ways to weather one of the most difficult business environments in our lifetimes.

Your NCPA has what we hope will be a gift for you. We asked six newspapers to share an idea or strategy that they are trying. We’ve used those ideas to help launch this "Best Ideas" blog for all members.

The blog is a place where you can both receive and give. Scan it regularly for tips that could help your newspaper. And seed it with ideas from your own list.

No idea is too small. It doesn’t matter if you took it from somewhere else. There is no shame in suggesting something that’s been tried before. The point is that your posting could help a newspaper colleague.

Here’s a starting point, provided by those six papers we contacted.

The Fayetteville Observer. The newspaper is printing 2,000 copies of a four-page broadsheet section that details its market dominance (75 percent of adults in its home county of Cumberland see the newspaper or its Web site each week). The copies will go to advertisers. "We’ve got a very powerful and compelling story to tell," says Publisher Charles Broadwell. "We need to tell that story better and more often."

The Franklin Press. Advertising sales representatives are being encouraged to sell campaigns, as opposed to individual ads. And they are going to prospective advertisers with prototypes. "Spec ads sell," says Publisher Rachel Hoskins. "Spend the time on the front end of the sale. Make it easy for the advertiser to say yes."

The News & Observer of Raleigh. The newspaper has launched an e-newsletter titled "Here’s the Deal." It targets women who are registered users of Newsobserver.com. The newsletter content is aggregated from existing News & Observer products.

The Charlotte Post. The newspaper is renegotiating contracts with a variety of vendors and business partners, from its health insurer to its printer. In some cases, it is striking a much better deal as suppliers scramble to keep clients and replace lost business. "We are getting calls from printers on a daily basis," says Publisher Gerald Johnson. "Everybody’s going to have to give a little to get a little. We’re all in this together."

The Courier-Times in Roxboro. This bi-weekly launched a separate classified section on Wednesdays. It’s grown those classified by 20 to 30 ads with a deal on vehicle sales. Advertise a car, truck, boat or any other vehicle for $15 and the paper will run it until it sells. The paper has sold car dealers into the section for a deep discount if they sign a 52- week contract. The paper also hired a sales consultant to help sell 52-week contracts to small advertisers. Ads are discounted about 50% from the open rate. Advertisers purchase a 10-inch ad each week for a year. Each month they get to super-size the ad to a quarter-page, and four times a year the paper adds spot color. "We sold about $150,000 worth of ads for the next year," says Publisher Brinn Clayton. "I estimate that 60% is new money." See the blog for a new approach Brinn is trying for subscription sales.

The Charlotte Observer. Inserts are now wrapped in heavier craft paper that provides highly visible ad positions. The Observer also has developed a one-page wrap for the entire paper (home-delivered copies only). The top of the wrap carries the masthead, the date and a friendly greeting, "Good Morning." The rest of the wrap goes to an advertiser, who pays a premium for the position. Readers accept the wrap as a cover that easily slips off their newspaper. Advertisers report excellent results with the position. Observer Vice President of Advertising Liz Erwin offers more ideas on the blog.

Here’s a bonus. Take advantage of the NCPA’s newly launched occasional series demonstrating for readers and advertisers that newspapers remain vital and effective in the marketplace. A column by Executive Director Beth Grace moved to members in late November. Beth is prepared to go anywhere, anytime, to speak to your local civic or governmental groups about newspapers and their role in a strong and open community.

Go to the Web site for more ideas. You will also find links to ideas surfacing in other states. The NCPA’s John Pea is checking sites nationally for best practices and will report what he finds.

All of this is possible because the NCPA’s members are as giving as they are creative. We wish all of you a joyous holiday season. And we look forward to working closely together for the good of all newspapers in the new year.

Reach Rick Thames at 704-358-5001 or rthames@charlotteobserver.com