Newspapers Looking to Profit from Record-Setting Web Traffic

Yesterday MediaWeek.com reported that traffic to newspaper websites is steadily rising, despite the fact that many newspapers are undecided on how to maximize profits from their own websites.

In the US, unique visitors to newspaper websites grew 10% from March to April, according to a Newspaper National Network study. Since the beginning of 2010, unique visitors grew by 15% in the top 25 US markets. Newspaper websites in the US are experiencing record-setting pageviews with 2 billion recorded in the month of April.

View the full MediaWeek.com article here.

In an article published last week on The Guardian’s website, newspapers must explore new ways to profit from this unbridled growth. It was explained that newspapers need to find a way to keep their two traditional streams of revenue open - advertising and cover price - and explore other revenue-generating online activities, such as e-commerce and enterprise.

Could we see a future in which readers subscribe to their newspaper’s website or access individual articles through a system like iTunes?

Read the full Guardian article here.

A Simple Guide to Writing Great Newspaper Classified Advertisements

A good part of the work we do with the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association deals with community classifieds. Many businesses, people and community newspapers contact us looking to place classified advertisements across BC and Canada.

Reaching up to 11-million people throughout the country, it is important the ad is concise and strong. Most effective placements are truly great business-building tools that can be used to generate multiple leads for businesses. We wanted to give a few tips on writing great classified ads.

Remember you will be up against competitors, so the headline must grab attention immediately. Use a benefit written headline – This alone is the key to creating effective classified advertising. Some examples are:

HOW TO . . .
ARE YOU . . .
WARNING! DON’T . . .
DISCOVER . . .
FREE REPORT REVEALS . . .
INTRODUCING . . .

Also, one of the best ways to create a winning ad is by using the two-step method. The two-step method means the prospect must respond to your classified ad to get more info.

Think about the following:

What do you think could be so enticing that people would be moved to contact you? What could have so much power, that your prospects eagerly anticipate receiving it? What costs you almost nothing to produce? What could literally transform your business - irrespective of the business you’re in . . . A Free Special Report.

The special report can be on any subject to do with your service. For example, it could be a report on “31 Common Mistakes…” or “7 Secrets…” or a “How To…” report. It is really that simple. The great news is, as long as your report is focused on your service, your *BEST* prospects will request it. The letter or brochure you distribute does all the selling for the product.

The four basic secrets for writing lead generating classified ads:

1. Start with a short POWERFUL headline.
Like any form of advertising you should always (and I mean always) start your classified ad with a strong headline. Never, ever start with your company name. Classified ads lend themselves to shorter headlines due to the restrictions in space, but test longer headlines.

2. Give people a reason to call now.
Offer something FREE. It could be a FREE consultation, free no obligation meeting, free estimate or free Special Report.

3. Include your contact information.
Telephone numbers work best. But whatever method(s) of contact you use tell the reader what to do. For example: “Call now.” “Write to me at…” “Ring now for our free guide…” etc. This is known as your ‘call to action.’

4. Use short sentences that make sense.
Get to the point quickly. Keep your sentences short, and don’t use unusual words, abbreviations, acronyms, and punctuation marks.

You’ll be surprised at the response you get when you apply these four simple basics to your classified ads. If you would like more information about booking a classified ad check out our website with more information: http://www.bccommunitynews.com/files/place_classifieds.html.

Classifieds Holiday deadlines & 2010 Rates

As 2010 is just around the corner, we wanted to notify everyone of important holiday deadlines and rate increases for the Community Classifieds.

HOLIDAY DEADLINES
Please note that due to holiday closures in some offices and newspapers across the country, regular deadlines will change over the next couple of weeks. Please send all ads to the BCYCNA office as usual.

You can fax ads to us at 604-684-4713
or email them to classifieds@bccommunitynews.com.

For ads running the week of December 21:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.16 at 12 noon
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon. Dec.14 at 4pm

For ads running the week of December 28:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.23 at 10am
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Thu.Dec.17 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 4pm (note Dec.28 and Jan.4 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 12 noon

For ads running the week of January 4:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.30 at 10am
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.29 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 4pm (note Dec.28 and Jan.4 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.29 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.22 at 12 noon
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Thu. Dec.17 at 4pm
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.28 at 4pm

RATE INCREASES
All ads booked province-wide into Manitoba will now cost your customers $189 for a 25-word ad (up from $179).

All ads booked province-wide into Ontario will now cost your customers $449 for a 25-word ad (up from $429).

All other rates for 25-word ads will remain the same. National rates are thus as follows:

• BC & Yukon: $395 (+$9 per extra word)
• Alberta & NWT: $259 (+$8 per extra word)
• Saskatchewan: $209 (+$5 per extra word)
• Manitoba: $189 (+$5 per extra word)
• Ontario: $449 (+$6 per extra word)
• Quebec: $160 (+$6 per extra word)
• Atlantic: $159 (+$5 per extra word)

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the BCYCNA office toll-free at
1-866-669-9222 or email us at classifieds@bccommunitynews.com.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Extra, Extra! Classified advertising promotions

Recently many of the community newspaper associations across the country have changed their ad promotions. Here is the rundown list of the current classifieds promotions for each association.

The AWNA & QCNA is buy 10 receive the 11th free.

Until January 1, 2010 the OCNA & MCNA is buy three and receive the fourth free.

The SWNA is buy three receive the fourth free, but only allows provinces to sell in Saskatchewan what they are allowed to sell into your province.

The ACNA is buy three receive the fourth free.

The BCYCNA will continue its four ads for the price of three up to December 31, 2009.

Small Towns, Big Success

The Associated Press recently came out with a thought provoking and commonsensical article on the current status of newspapers – focusing how smaller community publications are more stable than their larger counterparts.

How is this possible?

First, it begins with the lack of additional media in small- and medium-sized towns – generally community newspapers are the only source of media. Therefore, they have been sheltered from the cataclysmic circumstances causing many big city dailies to shrink in size and scope as their print circulations and advertising sales decline.

With meager competition, the print editions and Web sites of smaller newspapers become the go-to source for local coverage. Contrastingly, newspapers in larger cities report more national and local news, while facing greater competitors, including online, television and radio mediums. These extra outlets are reporting much of the news well before the printed newspapers reach homes and newsstands. Large newspapers’ Web sites also provide the news for free a day ahead of print editions.

In addition, newspapers in smaller markets are not loosing large amounts of revenue to online classified advertising alternatives. Community Classifieds remain quite successful in reaching a targeted audience, as the local newspapers are quintessential to their surrounding neighbourhoods.

When compared to their larger counterparts, the smaller newspapers have been defying the seemingly apparent trend of financial dilemmas, based upon a new study of 125 various sized U.S. publications by the trade group, Inland Press Association.

The study found among daily newspapers, the classified ad revenue with circulations of less than 15,000 actually rose by an average of 23 percent in the five years ending in 2008. The ad revenue for newspapers with less than 15,000 in circulation rose by an average of 2.5 percent over the same peroid. Meanwhile, ad revenue dropped 25 percent at daily newspapers with circulations greater than 80,000, according to Inland Press.

For the full article, click HERE.

The BCYCNA continues to deliver

The trend for several companies in the industry has been to cut their advertising budget on traditional media while leaving their online presence as-is. The BC & Yukon Community Newspaper Association continues to offer community classifieds, which enable advertisers to maintain their online presence while reaching over 11 million readers through various Canada wide print publications.

In addition, the BCYCNA has other economical services for any company to get their message out, such as, our highly targeted press release distribution service which can reach any media outlet across BC.

Whatever the trend or your needs, the BCYCNA has the ability to assist you in getting your message heard.

For more information on the BCYCNA community classifieds check out the Our Services tab on our website or click HERE.