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AnnePublicist
Oct 27, 2008, 10:33:25 PM10/27/08
to Daily News Post
Expert Says Improve Online Subscriptions and Save Your Newspaper
October 27, 2008
online advertisingCan Improved Online Subscriptions Save Newspapers?
Well… They sure could help
Online Marketing Expert Speaks Up
By Simon Abramovitch
NEW YORK(RushPRnews)10/28/08–A newspaper’s demise can become old news
fast and as newspapers try to squeeze the most out of their sites in
the face of narrowing profit margins, nothing can afford to go to
waste. With the current economic climate and the tumultuous times
facing print media, online news sites have still done little to
promote and sell subscriptions as a potential asset while continuing
to improve their online presence.
There’s a tough market standing in front of the newsroom. Publishers
have to think print and web simultaneously. The Chicago Tribune
recently launched a campaign, promoting the new bolder, re-design of
the newspaper. Worth mentioning are the colourful graphics and new
story forums. But what makes the Tribune’s new launch solid and
achievable in both web and print is the promotion of its print version
on its web site and for starters, the availability for subscription in
over three different places on the home page alone. The subscription
page may be a little information-heavy, but hey, at least the readers
know where to go to subscribe.
To survive, a newspaper must take full advantage of their resources
during the transition from print to web newsreading. The benefits of
promoting both online and print are two-fold. Firstly, they allow the
actual sale of a product already produced and well-branded. Secondly,
they allow opportunities to essentially turn one reader into two,
exposing them to two sets of ads. Even though it may seem the printed
newspaper is on its inevitable way out, the CPM (cost per mille) rates
are still favorable and if there’s a print edition already, why let it
slip away? With profitability an increasing concern, it’s surprising
to still see how many news sites seem to break the basic rules of
sales conversion.
In a sense, it’s understandable. As a content-based site, newspapers
tend to favour advertising and information services (like classifieds)
as the go-to revenue streams. Print and online work on similar
principles in that increased readership means more eyes on ads. But
while print editions have been sold for centuries, selling a product
online is different. In focusing on the online advertising market, the
reality is that the ideal sales process for selling print
subscriptions may have gone overlooked, and could be a missing link to
the survival of print media.
The closing of the New York Sun last Tuesday is now becoming a scary
reality for many newspapers. Editor-in-Chief of the Sun Seth Lipsky
said in his remarks to Sun staff, “in the end we were out not only of
money but time.”
To avoid a similar fate to the Sun, publishers have to commit to an
online version that, at a minimum, relays to readers that an online
subscription exists. While it seems obvious, it often isn’t the case.
With the Sun’s web site, subscription availability was cluttered, and
took the user through a long and winding road.
The key here is to make opportunity for subscription visible to the
user and allow them to sign up with the least amount of clicks.
The most common invitation to online newspapers’ print edition is
often hidden amidst a score of other text links, as is the case, most
of the time, with the New York Times. The user might have been
presented with over a hundred links before scrolling as far as the
subscription link. To make matters worse, the link to sign up for home
delivery often shares company with “terms of service”, and “careers”.
Could interest in a job at the paper possibly mirror interest in the
printed edition? Even if that were the case, we’re talking sales here.
The link to anything that makes money belongs in plain sight.
The Wall Street Journal has been very successful selling subscriptions
using prize, front-page header showcasing. While the content itself is
a strong contributor to their achievements, allowing readers one-click
access to the subscription conversion funnel doesn’t hurt either.
What newspapers have to keep in mind is that once a design is able to
incite a click, it must stay consistent. No interested customer should
be forced to re-orient themselves in a conversion funnel. The visuals
of the brand should stay consistent, and so should the URLs. News
sites that take the user to unfamiliar, new domains can be jarring to
see, and certainly do not help.
Conversion funnels like that of the New York Times force users to jump
through unnecessary hoops. At every new page and new call to action,
there runs the risk of losing potential subscribers. After a user has
expressed an interest in a subscription through a click, darn it just
let them subscribe! Most of all, the form has to be kept simple. Do
not ask them for first-borns, or, as the Chicago Tribune and New York
Times do, phone numbers.
To stay in the game, newspapers will have to use what they’ve got. The
road to success is only a few steps away, but those steps have to be
kept easy, because people can always head in another direction. The
New York Sun’s downfall is an unfortunate warning to all newspapers
out there: in the world of news every penny counts, so selling
subscriptions online could be just the ticket out of omission.
About the author: Simon Abramovitch is Social Media Director at NVI,
responsible for creative content development and strategic web
promotion. www.nvisolutions.com/
Click on
http://groups.google.ca/group/dailynewspost/web/expert-says-improve-online-subscriptions-and-save-your-newspaper-october-27-2008-online-advertisingcan-improved-online-subscriptions-save-newspapers-well-they-sure-could-help-online-marketing-expert-speaks-up-by-simon-abramovitch-new-yorkrushprnews10-28-08a-newspapers-demise-can-become-o
- or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that doesn't
work.
October 27, 2008
online advertisingCan Improved Online Subscriptions Save Newspapers?
Well… They sure could help
Online Marketing Expert Speaks Up
By Simon Abramovitch
NEW YORK(RushPRnews)10/28/08–A newspaper’s demise can become old news
fast and as newspapers try to squeeze the most out of their sites in
the face of narrowing profit margins, nothing can afford to go to
waste. With the current economic climate and the tumultuous times
facing print media, online news sites have still done little to
promote and sell subscriptions as a potential asset while continuing
to improve their online presence.
There’s a tough market standing in front of the newsroom. Publishers
have to think print and web simultaneously. The Chicago Tribune
recently launched a campaign, promoting the new bolder, re-design of
the newspaper. Worth mentioning are the colourful graphics and new
story forums. But what makes the Tribune’s new launch solid and
achievable in both web and print is the promotion of its print version
on its web site and for starters, the availability for subscription in
over three different places on the home page alone. The subscription
page may be a little information-heavy, but hey, at least the readers
know where to go to subscribe.
To survive, a newspaper must take full advantage of their resources
during the transition from print to web newsreading. The benefits of
promoting both online and print are two-fold. Firstly, they allow the
actual sale of a product already produced and well-branded. Secondly,
they allow opportunities to essentially turn one reader into two,
exposing them to two sets of ads. Even though it may seem the printed
newspaper is on its inevitable way out, the CPM (cost per mille) rates
are still favorable and if there’s a print edition already, why let it
slip away? With profitability an increasing concern, it’s surprising
to still see how many news sites seem to break the basic rules of
sales conversion.
In a sense, it’s understandable. As a content-based site, newspapers
tend to favour advertising and information services (like classifieds)
as the go-to revenue streams. Print and online work on similar
principles in that increased readership means more eyes on ads. But
while print editions have been sold for centuries, selling a product
online is different. In focusing on the online advertising market, the
reality is that the ideal sales process for selling print
subscriptions may have gone overlooked, and could be a missing link to
the survival of print media.
The closing of the New York Sun last Tuesday is now becoming a scary
reality for many newspapers. Editor-in-Chief of the Sun Seth Lipsky
said in his remarks to Sun staff, “in the end we were out not only of
money but time.”
To avoid a similar fate to the Sun, publishers have to commit to an
online version that, at a minimum, relays to readers that an online
subscription exists. While it seems obvious, it often isn’t the case.
With the Sun’s web site, subscription availability was cluttered, and
took the user through a long and winding road.
The key here is to make opportunity for subscription visible to the
user and allow them to sign up with the least amount of clicks.
The most common invitation to online newspapers’ print edition is
often hidden amidst a score of other text links, as is the case, most
of the time, with the New York Times. The user might have been
presented with over a hundred links before scrolling as far as the
subscription link. To make matters worse, the link to sign up for home
delivery often shares company with “terms of service”, and “careers”.
Could interest in a job at the paper possibly mirror interest in the
printed edition? Even if that were the case, we’re talking sales here.
The link to anything that makes money belongs in plain sight.
The Wall Street Journal has been very successful selling subscriptions
using prize, front-page header showcasing. While the content itself is
a strong contributor to their achievements, allowing readers one-click
access to the subscription conversion funnel doesn’t hurt either.
What newspapers have to keep in mind is that once a design is able to
incite a click, it must stay consistent. No interested customer should
be forced to re-orient themselves in a conversion funnel. The visuals
of the brand should stay consistent, and so should the URLs. News
sites that take the user to unfamiliar, new domains can be jarring to
see, and certainly do not help.
Conversion funnels like that of the New York Times force users to jump
through unnecessary hoops. At every new page and new call to action,
there runs the risk of losing potential subscribers. After a user has
expressed an interest in a subscription through a click, darn it just
let them subscribe! Most of all, the form has to be kept simple. Do
not ask them for first-borns, or, as the Chicago Tribune and New York
Times do, phone numbers.
To stay in the game, newspapers will have to use what they’ve got. The
road to success is only a few steps away, but those steps have to be
kept easy, because people can always head in another direction. The
New York Sun’s downfall is an unfortunate warning to all newspapers
out there: in the world of news every penny counts, so selling
subscriptions online could be just the ticket out of omission.
About the author: Simon Abramovitch is Social Media Director at NVI,
responsible for creative content development and strategic web
promotion. www.nvisolutions.com/
Click on
http://groups.google.ca/group/dailynewspost/web/expert-says-improve-online-subscriptions-and-save-your-newspaper-october-27-2008-online-advertisingcan-improved-online-subscriptions-save-newspapers-well-they-sure-could-help-online-marketing-expert-speaks-up-by-simon-abramovitch-new-yorkrushprnews10-28-08a-newspapers-demise-can-become-o
- or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that doesn't
work.
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