What money-making sites have in common

First, yes we realize it has been a while since the last post here. The NCPA Winter Institute had us extremely busy lately. That's not an excuse, just an explanation.

So to get back on the horse, let's talk about the latest buzz on charging people for online content. The topic is either the 300-pound gorilla, the elephant in the room, the road to the promised land or the end of time. You pick the cliche that works best for you.

Like it or not, expect the discussion to continue on this issue. The topic was even broached last week during the roundtables part of the NCPA annual meeting. Editors and publishers were curious as to what their counterparts were thinking about this.

Might I suggest that before you spend too much time on this, first read the recent article by Jack Shafer in Slate.

Shafer makes the point that success in getting people to pay for content is not easy, but he did find common elements in the sites that are working. He writes that those sites have at least one of three things going for them:

1. They are so amazing as to be irreplaceable.
2. They are beautifully designed and executed and extremely easy to use.
3. They are stupendously authoritative.

A site such as ConsumerReports.org would represent that third category.

But perhaps his most interesting comments are about iTunes. Despite the recording industry's best (or is that worst?) efforts, there are still plenty of places to locate free music on the Internet. Yet, iTunes makes money for Apple. Shafer speculates that part of the success comes from iTunes being an application not tied to traditional Web browsers.

Can a leap be made from iTunes to newspapers? Quite possibly, but it will take some money and plenty of geeks (sorry if that term offends).

At any rate, be sure to read the Slate column.

A money back guarantee

Now here is some inventive thinking from up in Maine. The Sun Journal of Lewiston is focusing on saving money for their readers. And the kicker is, the paper is putting its money where its mouth is (so to speak).

For six months the paper plans to print money- saving tips on its front page every day. The idea is that by the end of six months, the tips could save readers up to $1,000.

The editor is sure that readers will save at least double the cost of a subscription ($97). If you don't save the $194, the paper will pay a reader the difference between what they did save and $97.

You can read more about the plan here.

This kind of program reminds me of one of the key experiences the Readership Institute told us about a few years ago: Looking out for my best interests. In these days, what could be looking out for our readers' best interests more than helping them pinch their pennies effectively.

Are you willing to give your readers a guarantee such as the folks in Lewiston, Maine?

The follow up on making money

Faithful readers may recall last month we wrote about a column by E&P's Steve Outing. In that column he outlined 11 pieces of advice to newspaper company CEOs. We pointed out that most all of his proposals made sense, but didn't address the issue of how to make money to keep an enterprise going.

Outing responded and promised more on that sticky money problem. This month he did just that.

Here is the link to his full Stop the Presses column. He even added a 12th tip this time: to run your newspaper ad staff like an advertising agency. This isn't exactly new advice, but one that has only seen a lot of lip service through the years.

The industry's own incentive plans through the years haven't exactly encouraged this strategy. If a sales person wanted to make as much money as possible with as little work as possible, they knew that the real money had been selling the print ads in the main product. Other products provided smaller returns, both for the newspaper and the sales person. I've seen many a good product die because the return on the time invested by sales persons was minimal.

Turning an advertising sales department into an advertising agency will take more than an edict to accomplish. It really is a cultural shift. And one of the primary steps in any cultural shift is getting the rewards system in line with the behavior wanted. As Brian Tracy says, what gets rewarded gets done.

Anyone in North Carolina papers having success with a transition to an advertising agency mentality? Let us know about it.

New publications coming

Think it's time to signal retreat? The folks in West Jefferson apparently see things in a different light. The Jefferson Post announced its starting up several new publications this year. Here's what they had to say to their readers:

"We believe these publications will help us reach readers interested in particular things," Lonnie Adamson, editor and general manager of the newspaper said this week. "This should give advertisers a new group of people to approach with what they have to offer. The idea is to give advertisers more options and better value by providing places to put dollars that suit their individual needs."

First on the list of publications is a weekly feature called "People of Ashe." It will be primarily produced by part-time writer Monica Neaves, who knows the area and its people well. She works full time for Sun Trust Mortgage.

The next special feature will be staff written and called "Ashe Women in the Know." It will focus on women's issues and needs from medicine to fashion to work to family.

"We debated this format," said Adamson. "We had concerns about the political correctness of it. In face, women in this area seem to have distinct, but diverse, interests. The material will seek to cover all those areas that come up. We welcome ideas. We certainly don't discourage men from reading about these issues. Maybe they can learn something from it too."

The biggest new project is a children's tabloid published monthly. It will include fun facts and puzzles and games targeted to appeal to K-6 grade readers. "Key to its success will be specifically local information, what children are doing, school menus, calendars of events," Adamson said. "We are a community newspaper and live and breathe providing information of local interest."

The name of the children's tab is yet to be determined. We are asking local school children grades K-6 to submit names and subtitles along with artwork for the cover of the first year. The winner will receive a gift certificate from a local business.

Hopefully we'll hear later how these new publications up in the mountains are doing.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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