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Another Newspaper Cuts back to 3 days.

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

HANOVER, Pa. The daily newspaper in Hanover, PA is cutting back its publication to three days a week.

Sara Glines, publisher of The Evening Sun, said Wednesday the change will take effect Jan. 1.

The move will allow the company to focus on its website, which will continue to be updated with news developments as they occur, and no staff reductions are planned at this time, she said.

Glines said the newspaper, owned by the Denver-based MediaNews Group, will continue to publish on Sundays, and the other two publication days will be picked based on the preference of readers and advertisers.

“By giving up four days of print, we will be able to give our readers weekday newspapers that will be bigger than the weekday newspapers they are getting today,” she said, adding that print editions would include seven days of comics, puzzles and TV listings.

It is the second Pennsylvania newspaper to reduce its days of publication.

At the beginning of this year, The Patriot-News, which serves the Harrisburg area, cut back to a three-day publication schedule as part of a corporate reorganization that expanded online news coverage on its PennLive website and provided an electronic edition for subscribers to the newspaper. The printed edition is published on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/national-and-international/pa-newspaper-to-cut-publication-to-days-a-week/article_babf981e-7e4b-5726-870d-b630d608dbc5.html

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch

Fix Your Media Kit….PLEASE!

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Media kits are often overlooked tools in a local media sales operation.

Oh sure, they’re chock full of data and awards about how awesome your local media company is. Unfortunately, the local advertiser doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your media company. They only care about one thing. Their business.

Does your media kit show how your gonna help the local business win? Or does it just boast about worthless page-views and other stuff that the mom and pop retailer doesn’t care about?

Watch this video to make your media kit…..MUCH better. You’ll close more deals too. You can thank me later.

Filed Under: How to..., Hyper Revenue Watch

Can Radio Adopt Smart Hyperlocal Strategy?

April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The concept of hyperlocal is finally starting to get some recognition in the Radio world. For the past 5 years, Radio seems to have paid little attention to Newspaper’s struggle with hyperlocal. Radio could have learned much by watching how print folks were fumbling hyperlocal. Radio could have used newspaper as an indicator of how NOT to do hyperlocal.

What is hyperlocal? According to Wikipedia, hyperlocal is “online news or content pertaining to a town, village, single postcode or geographically defined community.

While that definition of hyperlocal is somewhat accurate, it’s terribly incomplete. Note the avoidance of anything remotely connected to local business, advertising, commerce or sales. A more accurate description of hyperlocal would be: a mix of news, info and commerce related to a well-defined community or affinity group.

Radio Consultant Walt Sabo recently wrote a post about hyperlocal, and unfortunately misses the mark about this critical, local media disruption.

Like other programmers with good intentions, Mr. Sabo seems to give the impression that cool apps, catch phrases and Radio station websites are critical elements to hyperlocal success. We respectfully disagree. We believe that hyperlocal success revolves around the needs of a local business, not the needs of a Radio station, agency buyer or Radio VP Digital.

We’ve experienced it first-hand. Your sales staff’s relationship with local businesses will make or break your digital business model. Hyperlocal success comes from knowing exactly what the SMB (small & mid-size business) wants.

SMB’s don’t care about APPS, station websites, page views or CPM’s. They only care about these 5 digital issues:

  1. Good looking, easy to maintain, search optimized website
  2. Email Marketing Plan
  3. Lead Capture
  4. Facebook & Social Media Strategy
  5. Online Video Strategy

Every so often, you have to re-invent yourself. Were you a Radio DJ like me back in the day, with a goofy mullet haircut? It’s even more important to change, especially if you’re still hanging with hair bands.

Are you a Radio, TV or Newspaper exec still following the conventional ways of doing your job? Get the feeling your job is not exactly safe and sound?

If we’re smart, we re-invent voluntarily…on our own terms. Too often though, we’re forced to. The Internet and this concept of ‘hyperlocal’ are 2 disruptors / change agents applying deadly pressure to the broadcast world. What’s your plan for re-invention?

Radio and TV Broadcasters could make the same mistake Newspapers are making. Many ink-stained publishers still allow newsroom and tech geeks to define what hyperlocal strategy will be used for their local media operation. Sales and new business development pros are rarely invited to these strategy sessions. That’s one big reason why Newspaper is no longer the default and dominant, hyperlocal online destination for a community.

We strongly recommend to our clients: your hyperlocal strategy needs to come out of the SALES department first, then the programming and content folks can build upon that revenue-focused framework.

Today, a hyperlocal business operator; aka the local advertiser, isn’t forced to advertise in the paper or on the radio like in the good ole’ days. These mom & pop stores have choice out the wazoo. They’re quickly migrating their marketing to the Internet. That’s why your #1 hyperlocal priority must be to protect that local business relationship. It’s the lifeblood of your Radio, TV, or local Newspaper operation.

Strange that Radio is just now trying to understand this hyperlocal locomotive. Maybe Radio’s still too confident about the so-called ‘ownership’ of the car dashboard during drive times? If you have Sirius Satellite Radio, or you connect your smart phone or iPod into your car’s audio system, you probably know what I’m talking about. That ownership is still there, but it’s quickly eroding.

WordPress powered, hyperlocal websites like BrigantineNOW.com and online-only companies like Patch.com have swooped in, and have carved out strong positions in their markets. Other hyperlocal competition is also coming from ReachLocal, Constant Contact and Google. Are your sales managers familiar with these players and their tactics? They should be.

Need a crash course in hyperlocal? Need a realistic game plan to successfully compete in this new hyper-competitive, hyperlocal marketplace? Feel free to reach out. We can help.

Mel Taylor is a 15 year Radio veteran with a deep background in Sales, Management and Digital Training. Starting out as a DJ in Philadelphia, Mel Taylor now consults and coaches local media execs on the finer points of digital business models.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch

Your Choice: Entrepreneur or Indie Contractor.

April 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Do you feel entrepreneurial? Or does the thought of going out on your own and starting a business, scare the crap of you?

Either way, we’re all on the way to becoming independent contractors. Thanks to distance & virtual employees, robots, software and the great unknown of Obamacare, companies are being forced to rightsize and downsize like never before. Sometimes companies change to survive. Sometime they change to grow their bottom line.

Some of us will hunker down and pray for the ‘good ole days’. But not you bunky. You know better. Watch this video for a little inspiration.

Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch, Inspiration

Can Radio Re-Invent for Hyper-Local Web Sales?

April 20, 2013 By 1 Comment
hyperlocal radio mel toxic taylor philadelphia

Mel ‘Toxic’ Taylor w/ Sebastian Bach of Skid Row

Every so often, you have to re-invent yourself. When you’re a Radio DJ with a goofy mullet haircut, it’s even more important to change. (especially if you’re hanging with hair bands)

If we’re smart, we re-invent voluntarily…on our own terms. Too often though, we’re forced to.

This thing called the ‘hyperlocal web revolution’ is one such force of change that Radio execs are starting to feel the heat from. No longer can Radio comfortably think they ‘own’ the car dashboard during morning and afternoon drive. (ask anyone who has Sirius Satellite Radio or easily plugs their smart phone or iPod into their car’s audio system)

What is hyperlocal? According to Wikipedia, hyperlocal is “online news or content pertaining to a town, village, single postcode or other small, geographically defined community. Oops. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

While that definition of hyperlocal is accurate, it’s terribly incomplete. Notice the avoidance of anything remotely connected to local business, advertising, commerce or sales. A more accurate description of hyperlocal would be: a mix of news, info and commerce related to a well-defined community or affinity group.

There. I feel much better now.

We hope broadcasters don’t make the same mistake newspapers have made. Some ink-stained publishers allowed newsroom and tech geeks to define what hyperlocal was. A sales or new business development pro was never invited to those early meetings. That’s why newspaper is no longer the dominant hyperlocal online destination. Instead, WordPress powered sites like BrigantineNOW.com and online-only companies like Patch.com have carved out the fastest growing positions in their respective markets.

Today, a hyperlocal business operator; aka the local advertiser, isn’t forced to advertise in the paper or on the radio. These mom & pop stores have choice out the wazoo. They’re quickly migrating their marketing to the Internet.

I spent 15 years as a Rock DJ in Philadelphia. Loved it. But then that damn inter-web thingy happened.

In the late 90′s, I had my dream job; mid-days after Howard Stern. 94 WYSP, the biggest Rock station in Philly. That gig was so cool, that I didn’t mind filtering out the static coming from my program director / ‘PoopGate’ star; Tim Sabean….and the zookeeper DJ that followed at 2pm; John DeBella.

Working in Radio was totally bad ass, but it provided little comfort about my future. The Internet was still considered a geek hobby by the Radio execs around me. A few years later, Sabean bolted for Sirius with Stern. Today, ’94 WYSP The Rock Station’…. no longer exists. (my Spidey senses served me well)

Take a listen to my past life… as a Radio DJ in Philly.

With the growth of smart phones, Ipods, voice tracking and satellite radio, being an on-air DJ wasn’t going to cut it. I had to change if I wanted to eat. So, I begged/forced my way into a sales position at the station. I eventually crossed the street and sold for a competing Radio company.

Gasp. One day I’m cranking a Metallica mini-concert, the next day I’m in a cubicle making cold calls for a ‘Smooth Jazz’ radio station playing Kenny G.

It wasn’t easy cutting off my sweet mullet. Had to remove my earring too. Ditched the leather jacket. Bought a cheap suit. Painful as it was, it was worth it. That experience lead me to my first taste of career re-invention and hyperlocal sales success. All thanks to those series of tubes, the Inter-webs.

Imagine, Mel Toxic in a polyester suit with a really bad, really short hair cut. I’m surrounded by sales reps pulling down 6 figures from transactional, agency business. Ugh. I was jealous and frustrated. I had no agency business. Only a freekin’ phone book and $25k a year….and no training to boot!

What to do? Adopt a secret weapon to make my mark. Close some new business and leave those other Radio sales reps in my digital dust.

The weapon I chose was the Internet and a PC. Remember, this is 1999; laptops were expensive, heavy and not so easy to use. Even so, I quickly dropped $3,000 for one of those bad boys. Scary? Yup. A mighty big investment. But it made so much sense that I would close many more deals by using these new digital tools…while the others scoffed.

Whoa. I could do client research BEFORE calling and visiting them. I could avoid being just another Radio sales weasel yapping about ratings, cost per point  and other nonsense. Business owners could give two bleeps about that stuff. All they care about is…HOW YA GONNA MAKE ME MONEY?

Understanding the Web and laptop computers gave me the edge. I created multi-media presentations on the fly. My client presentations were much more engaging and simple to understand. Audio spec spots were a breeze. I looked and sounded like a pro. I never used the official and quite horrifying, Radio station “media kit” ever again.

When the Internet really took off in 1999, I landed a regional sales manager job for Clear Channel Radio Interactive. Not easy to convince anyone an ex-DJ could show Radio reps how to sell web. But I never gave up. I couldn’t. I knew my future was connected to the web in some way.

I read everything I could about digital sales and hyperlocal business models. Something told me that the skills I honed while being a DJ; public speaking, copy-writing, art of persuasion, etc….might come in handy one day on the Internet.

Well, how about that. They did.

Read more here - http://radiowebsales.com/

Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch

If Steve Jobs Ran Your Newspaper

April 15, 2013 By 3 Comments

I’m reminded of this post I wrote, that really hit home with my many friends in the Newspaper business. 

The story of Steve Jobs is beyond epic. There’s not many who could change the world of personal computers, music, phones and animated films in one lifetime. His character DNA was a mix of sheer genius, vision, tenacity and often disturbing habits that easily puts him in the same league as Edison, Ford and Tesla.

As I finished the best-selling biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, I wondered what would happen if Jobs, with his highly combustible yet potent management style had decided to become the publisher of a Newspaper, instead of being the king of Silicon Valley. It’s this kind of hardcore leadership, combined with brutal austerity measures that Newspapers (and Broadcasters) would certainly benefit from today. Introducing someone like this into your operation wouldn’t be easy. But as they say – if you want a great omelet, you have to break a few eggs.

How would Steve Jobs stop the bleeding? How would he re-invent the Newspaper industry, in much the same way as he did to rescue Apple from the brink of bankruptcy in 1996? With digital advertising on the verge of becoming the second largest money maker for media, what are some of the first things he would do as your boss?

Based on tactics I gleaned from the book, here’s a top 10 list of stuff that Steve Jobs would likely do if he was the Publisher of your Newspaper.

#1.  Remove the bozos. You already know who they are. Internal poison. Clean house and get rid of B level players. Strive to have all A players since they prefer to be around A players, whereas B players surround themselves with C players. Dismiss those just putting in time while cruising towards retirement. Ditch those with little passion or vision for the future, or those who would prefer to protect the way it’s always been. Watch this short clip from a recent News conference to see the type of journalist you don’t want in your newsroom.

#2.  Simplify. Identify. What business are we in? Apple dumped the word ‘computer’ from their company name because they saw it as limiting. Today, the word ‘newspaper’ is being replaced with ‘media’ at many news organizations. That’s a good start, but it’s not enough. As Apple Computer morphed into a consumer technology company, Newspapers would be wise to stop seeing themselves as Newspapers with a website. Rather, they must become the dominant news, information and marketing source in their market…no matter what the format, product or service. What’s the #1 asset, a local media company has and should put primary focus on? Answer: relationship with advertiser. Lose that, and your great journalism will never see the light of day.

#3.  Fix it or ditch it. Prioritize, then eliminate any distractions that are not singularly focused on core products and competencies. Identify the worst performing 50% of your website and take it offline until further notice. Ex: Steve Jobs trimmed the Apple product line, much to the horror of those who wanted more products. Do you have too many products to sell? Are your sales reps burdened with trying to be excited about all of them? Recommendation: direct all resources towards the best performing ‘top half’ of your web efforts.

#4.  Break down the silos. Steam would be blowing out of Steve Jobs’ ears if he found out that some Newspapers created separate sales forces or so-called digital divisions. Well-known, research consultants have pushed this faulty tactic for years. On the other hand, smart operators like Morris Communications, are now bringing everything under one roof and moving to a plan that forces everyone to row in the same direction. A separate division for digital allows your traditional staff to get even weaker. It also silently conveys to a local advertiser, that their print rep can no longer be trusted to keep them up to date with all forms of marketing.

#5.  Tell it like it is. No sugarcoating. As you’ll find by reading the book, Steve Jobs would either think your idea was great or a ‘piece of shit.’ No middle ground here. Is your online game plan awe-inspiring? Is it a cheap knock-off of what other publishers are doing, or what you picked up from a conference panel? Are you uncomfortable calling your editor or VP of Digital on the carpet about the lack of a realistic business plan associated with their cool new idea ? Do you hate your CMS ( content management system) because it’s ugly and tough to use? Do you have the guts to fire a respected VP Digital or sales manager that consistently misses their digital budget? Steve wouldn’t be.

#6.  Play by your rules, on your own field. Steve Jobs hated the thought of being controlled by anyone, especially a competitor. That’s one reason why Flash animation never made it to the iPad and iPhone. Jobs didn’t want to make programing decisions based on someone else’s (Adobe) timetable or software. As a Newspaper publisher, Jobs would banish anything that allowed outsiders to meddle with the actual value of the product.

For example: Jobs would hate the online CPM model. He wouldn’t take too kindly to accepting a middleman’s valuation of his online ad inventory. He would also discourage journalists’ fanaticism in the placing of so much time and content on Facebook & Twitter. We certainly understand the need to leverage these platforms, but why build your business being highly dependent on a platform you don’t own? If you don’t having a well-defined business plan for social media, that’s an issue you need to deal with pronto.

#7.  Cannibalize your business. Steve understood that the iPad could hurt sales of his line of desktop computers. But he knew it’s better to cannibalize your own company, rather than let someone else do it. That’s why any executive that fought against the future, and saw digital as a distraction, would be sent packing…pronto. Is your staff afraid that digital will cannibalize print?

#8.  Impute.  Jobs was heavily influenced by early Apple investor, Mike Markkula, who preached the concept of ‘impute:’ People do judge a book by its cover. We may have the best product, the highest quality and most useful software. If we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod, if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.

Let’s apply the concept of ‘impute’ to our printed Newspapers. The design and layout is executed with great care and precision. We have the most comprehensive news coverage, highest editorial integrity and substantial reach in each market. Now let’s compare that to our Newspaper websites. In this example, we see a visually confusing train wreck of text, images, navigation, poorly designed banner ads and other promotional muck. This reflects or imputes poorly on the integrity of our Newspaper’s journalism and marketing expertise. We would never put out a paper that looks and acts like this, but we accept it in our digital version. Why?

Impute can also apply to the sales effort. The sales team exudes passion and expertise in selling the benefits of the paper, but imputes negatively when it comes to digital.  In terms of collateral and marketing materials for our Internet products, Jobs would not suffer fools if he saw substantially less professional collateral developed for Web, compared to the printed product. What do you think that tells a prospective client?

#9.  Dump the market research. Jobs didn’t ask consumers if they wanted an iPod connected to iTunes. He simply connected the dots: he knew they loved music but didn’t want to rent it or be forced to buy the whole CD. The ability for them to carry an entire music collection in their pocket was icing on the cake.

Instead of staking the success of your media company on expensive 3rd party market research, your local staff should bone up on the lost art of the CNA; client needs analysis. Mandate them to have a solid understanding of the one customer that pays most of your bills: the advertiser. That’s simple business 101. If you’re delegating marketing research & analysis to an outside contractor, you lose that valuable face-to-face interaction with customers. Fortunately, that flawed model is already being phased out at many media companies today.

#10.  Share best practices.  Steve Jobs loved creating products that would literally change the world, or as he would describe it: ‘put a dent in the universe.’ As mortality crept closer, he put more into the challenge of building a company and culture that would survive long after he was gone. This is the reason behind Apple University; case studies to train future employees. Imbue them with fundamental Apple DNA. Some Newspaper organizations, like the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, have been trying to embrace this idea with online training tools like www.SNPAdigital.com.

Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch, Popular Posts

EPIC FAIL: Separate Digital Sales Teams

April 12, 2013 By 9 Comments

Did this happen at your Newspaper, TV or Radio station?

Consultants told you to hire a separate digital sales staff to win online. You were told that traditional staffs could never sell interactive marketing to local business. So, upon that consultant’s recommendation, you hastily hired a bunch of hip 20-somethings with i-Phones and limited sales chops to start knocking on doors.

Outside of a few success stories, this strategy is a money loser and massive time suck. Not because the digital reps are weak, (many are really great) but because they’ll likely be set up to fail by reporting up to a print manager. While newspapers waste precious resources trying to make this work, Reach Local, Google and the Yellow Pages actively steal local dollars right from under your nose.

We’ve seen it first hand. A newspaper hires a separate digital sales team and the print team immediately shuts down. The ‘burden’ of selling digital was taken off their shoulders. As time goes by, the print team falls even further behind with understanding digital. Why should they care? The digital reps do all of that really hard, icky stuff.

We’ve know many so-called ‘old-school’ print & broadcast vets selling digital like a pro. How does this happen? It’s simple. These legacy sales teams have excellent client relationships and the maturity to sell just about anything. All you have to do is provide regular training, attractive financial motivation, a simple sales process and smart leadership from the top.

So think twice before someone tells you that your print or broadcast staff can’t be trained for web. It’s a total fabrication and it’s incredibly disrespectful to the sales reps. It’s also foolish to avoid teaching digital reps about traditional sales. They’re very interested in becoming multi-platform pros. The digital team is not only in front of many new business targets, but they’re also in the best position to upsell digital advertisers to print.

Need more details on this issue, we have plenty of well documented case studies. Email or call us. Here’s one example: Major Newspaper companies like Morris Communications now merging their once separate teams.

TOP REASONS:  Separate web-sales will hurt your online and traditional business

1. Internal civil wars will erupt between print & web teams. (bank on that one)

2. Print reps look out-of-touch when they can’t talk about, and sell simple web marketing concepts.

3. Digital rep not properly incented to sell print and other non-digital products to advertiser.

4. Where do you find good digital sellers? If they’re good, they’re already living large with a pure-play.

5. Multiple points of sales contact between a media company & advertising client is always bad.

7. Allows boss to blame poor web sales on digital reps, not current sales system & traditional team.

8. You failed to fully understand the unique situation of Deseret Media in Salt Lake City.

 

Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch

Habits of Profitable Local News Sites

April 6, 2013 By 1 Comment

What makes a local web strategy successful? It’s more that just growing page views, Facebook fans and winning industry accolades. Successful Newspaper, TV, Radio…and hyper local sites…. all have one thing in common:

  1. Lead by one person who has the absolute authority to do what it takes… to turn a profit and grow share. This one person will make or break your digital effort. Hire the wrong one, and you’ll fall behind slowly and surely. Having more than one person leading the digital charge, or leadership buy committee… never works.

Let’s dig deeper into how these winning sites operate. Since we monitor and work with a variety of local media websites in markets both large & small, we have a ton of experience to pull from. Here’s our collection of web revenue ‘best practices’ from the past 6 months. Ignore these at your own peril.

Lead by Well-Rounded Business Savvy Executive (just like traditional media business)

  • This leader equally serves 2 masters: consumer and advertiser
  • Executive in charge has personal income and job security tied to financial performance of site
  • Run site as profit first business, just like the newspaper or broadcast property
  • Run digital efforts like a start-up business
  • Think like an entrepreneur…NOT just a manager or journalist
  • Leverage power of Print, Broadcast and feet-on-street relationships to beat online-only companies
  • Borrow tactics from local, online revenue leaders (Google, Reach Local, Yellow Pages)
  • Hard news & data as commodity loss-leader. Subsidize with soft news, info & services

Lean & Efficient with Content, Platform, Process

  • Newsroom personnel proficient in search, social, mobile and video
  • Aggregation & curation. Do what you do best, point to the rest
  • 24/7 news cycle via Twitter, smart phones & other aps/tools
  • Convert personnel to multi-media journalists, spending majority of time in field.
  • Laptop edits, GPS and 4G upload ability
  • Reduce or eliminate expensive conference and research budgets
  • Tap outside content development:  feeds, blogs, out of work journalists, digital stringers
  • Use optimized data as excellent traffic driver, convert portion of that traffic to revenue

Understanding of Advertiser Need & Interest

  • Enabling local commerce is priority #1 for sales departments
  • Advertising presented as valuable content, not an interruption
  • Offer agency-like services to local marketplace. Local & regional advertising networks
  • Reps gather local market intel via client needs analysis.
  • Replace 3rd party research w/home-grown tactics ( client needs analysis )
  • Local business education via Web 101 workshops
  • Mix self-serve and outbound tele-sales into traditional sales efforts

Review, Re-negotiate or Replace

  • Review every expense: CMS, Apps, hosting, other content vendor offerings
  • Eliminate internal poison. Terminate naysayers and foot draggers.
  • Re-negotiate often, or replace vendor services with cheaper/better alternatives
  • Watch faster cycle of vendor offerings. Leverage falling prices and better functionality
  • WordPress as multi-purpose CMS, themes, plug-ins, widgets

Online Inventory Management and Pricing

  • Web inventory monitored by commissioned sales exec for maximum ROI
  • Offer hi-impact ad units & sponsorships. Reduce ad clutter.
  • Reduction or removal of remnant & third party ad networks
  • Easy to understand, flat-fee package pricing & features
  • Offer social, mobile, database, search & video benefits to client
  • Leverage premium value of key day-parts & section fronts with higher prices
  • Reduce or eliminate CPM & CPC selling
  • Sell majority of  inventory to local/direct clients. Price based on supply & demand

Non-traditional Revenue Streams

  • Charge license fees for editorial, photo & video. Act as a regional ‘associated press’
  • Charge license fees to local TV stations for HD video captured by your staff
  • Rev-share, transaction fees, affiliate programs & e-commerce
  • Marketing services for local business

Sales Management Structure & Process

  • Mandatory budgets for Sales management and reps. (bonus & penalty)
  • Managers lead by example, not from behind desk
  • Employ hybrid model, not separate staff for digital
  • Eliminate 3rd party direct sales to clients. Ex: 4-legged calls w/consultants or NRS type companies.

Digital & Multi-Media Training

  • CEO/Manager training for digital comes first. You can’t manage what you don’t understand
  • General, all staff training. Check for compliance via online proficiency test
  • Custom training: sales, programming, newsroom, marketing, promotion & webmaster

Sales and Marketing Collateral

  • SEO optimized- online media kits. Easy to find ADVERTISE HERE link on home page
  • PDF & print one-sheets: brief, well designed and focused on client benefits, not site stats
  • 3 basic packages always ready…based on client inquiry
  • iPads loaded with sales collateral and contract forms
  • Ability to take payment via credit card…using special app on iPhone or Android
  • In-house system to continually monitor competition and ad placements

Offer Local Advertisers What They Want

  • Good looking, functional business website
  • Get found in Google via search engine optimization
  • Customer email database, Facebook fans, Twitter followers
  • Local business video profiles; online infomercial
  • Ad-vertorial & services that boosts local business SEO
Is your Newspaper, TV, Radio or local media company doing most of the above? If not, we can help you get up to speed….real fast. (That’s if you’re really ready to win) Tire kickers need not apply. We’re known for our direct, blunt and highly effective methods of online revenue development. We say NO often. So…. are you ready to get serious about online success? Contact Mel Taylor Media here.
Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch, Popular Posts

America East Newspapers: Tribune Offers Digital Marketing

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This hot topic will be discussed during my totally awesome session at the upcoming America East, Newspaper Conference in Hershey, PA. on APRIL 9.

Tribune Publishing will start selling a portfolio of online marketing tools to local business. Tribune is doing a partnership with Hearst’s digital marketing company - LocalEdge. Tony Hunter; CEO of Tribune Publishing is pumped. So is Mark Aldam, President of Hearst Newspapers Division.

The services will include:

  • Website Design & Hosting
  • Online Video
  • Search Engine Marketing & Optimization
  • Social Media & Email Marketing

The service will includes a customer-facing dashboard to allow businesses to monitor their campaign. ( Between you, me, and the lamp post…..clients don’t really want to do that stuff. Your SALES REPS should take that responsibility)

This stuff is really important. www.ReachLocal.com has been dominating this space for years. Mel Taylor Media is hip to this stuff too, as we’ve been teaching local business chambers and business associations how to do this son their own.

Mel Taylor Media shows local media companies how to take it in-house….using WordPress, Aweber, Vimeo, etc. We’ll do a session about this….at America East in Hershey on April 9.

P.S…..We don’t like it when an outside company starts a relationship with our local clients, or has access to local client data.

Watch this video….about local digital services……

Filed Under: Blog, Hyper Revenue Watch

America East Newspapers and WordPress: Hyperlocal Weapon of Choice

March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Another year zipped by as we prepare for the 2013 America East Newspaper Conference in Hershey, Pa..

If you attended my standing-room only session last year, you’ll already know that much of what I discussed, unfortunately came true.

The past 12 months have featured more newsroom lay-offs, down-sizing, and a quicker pace of advertiser erosion. Making matters worse, was the concurrent  growth of the content management platform called WordPress. 

Even though the official America East session title is:

Leveraging Hyperlocal Tools to Make an Impact

We think the sub-title should be: WordPress is our “Communication Weapon of Choice”.

America East Newspaper SESSION:  Apr 9, 2013, 1:00 PM  -  2:15 PM

The tools and platforms for profitable hyper local websites keep getting better, easier to use and a whole lot cheaper. WordPress is a major reason for these welcomed advances. No longer must a local news organization be trapped by expensive and clunky content management systems.
In this eye-opening session, you’ll learn how local news sites like www.BrigantineNOW.com leverage the low-cost and high-functionality of WordPress, combined with best of breed ‘plug-ins’ for video, email, classifieds, community calendars and more.
Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch

Smart People Say Dumb Things About Digital

March 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes, smart people say dumb things. This seems to be most prevalent in the Newspaper industry. Here are some of our favorites:

  • DIGITAL FIRST, PRINT LAST from Journal Register and John Paton
  • Internet banners can’t pay for big newsrooms
  • Online advertising is really bad for the reader experience
  • We’re still looking for online business models for news
Watch this short video clip from a recent webinar we did, for a group of local media managers. We call out some of these really dumb ideas….and we show how to fix them.

 

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch

Moneyball: Fixing Newspaper Web Sales

March 9, 2013 By 1 Comment

Traditional Newspaper management is just like the old guard in Baseball. That’s what you’ll think after watching Moneyball starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager; Billy Beane.

Based on a true story, Moneyball shows Beane going up against his old school, know-it-all, front office. He’s tired of being in last place and squeaking by on a shoe string budget. Unable to afford star players, Billy decides to slaughter a few sacred cows and installs experimental yet logical tactics into his game plan.

Today’s Newspaper industry is like that once great, but now struggling baseball team. The key difference? They’re now forced to play on a new, hyper-competitive field called the Internet.

Think about it: the veteran print team is stuck in a rut using the same, tired strategy that served them well for years, but no longer. Today, they get trounced by those with more money & muscle ( think Google, Reach Local, Yellow Pages, independent online publishers , etc.)

Did your publisher waste time and money at a so-called “innovation conference” recently? This is something rank-n-file newspaper staffers should blow a gasket over. Is this really helping to save industry jobs? Is that expensive research working? How about that salaried VP of digital at your company? Think they have fire in the belly?

Answer these questions to determine if you’re playing on the right team.

Anyone on your news team play the role of Billy Beane? Go find one. Their job: encourage the ditching of tactics, managers, research consultants, conferences and professorial pundits that just don’t help anymore. This person will need entrepreneurial tenacity and a thick skin. Some old school execs will immediately try to torpedo their efforts. This person will be a threat to ‘the way it’s always been done’.

Let’s slaughter a few sacred cows in Newspaper, just like Billy in Moneyball…did with the Oakland A’s.

Areas critical to your Newspaper’s digital success or failure. 

Compensation & Financial Motivation. If you can’t fix this, just turn off your site and retire. While adjustment of compensation is the most direct way to positively affect digital sales, it’s also the most challenging…..especially when surrounded by whiny sales reps and ad managers who threaten mutiny. If you can’t apply this simple & proven principle of comp adjustment to digital, you don’t have a web business… you only have an expensive hobby.

Management Structure. Who’s in charge? If the person managing your digital effort is salaried, you’re either bleeding red ink or you’re hitting a too-low web budget. You’re also leaving a load of cash on the table. Would you ever hire a publisher or ad director and then pay them a nice salary whether they hit their numbers or not? Then why do it with those who control your digital business? Need proof that salaried execs will kill your digital business? AOL Patch, The New York Times, Allbritton’s TBD and Gannett placed salaried, editorial execs in charge of building out the company’s hyper-local business models. To date, these brainiac-led efforts have either been shuttered or still bleed rivers of red ink. Tip: Do the exact opposite of what these egg-heads did. Tip #2: Run digital like a real business, not a hobby.

Inventory Management. Publishers, editors and ad directors vigorously defend the value of their content and readership in print. They smartly price the ad inventory adjacent to the editorial. But we’re floored how often they let Google Ad Sense, Centro and other 3rd party rep firms dictate CPM’s for prime positions on their sites. This over reliance on ad networks & deadly CPM selling contributes to the worse crime of all: web managers boasting of an online ‘sell out’. Duh. Would you ever tell an advertiser that you’re sold out in tomorrow’s Newspaper? Being ‘sold out’ online exposes a serious lack of inventory yield management, poor understanding of supply & demand pricing, and the painful in-ability to quickly create programs that help a client spend money with you.

Market Intelligence. If your staff is blind to what local business wants to do online, you’re in for a rude awakening. Instead of just picking up checks and taking orders, sales reps must be vigilant with collecting client ‘intel’. They must keep up with the ever changing need of the advertiser…especially now, as many are moving their marketing dollars to online.

Some media companies blindly follow the advice of market research firms. They invest in studies about local Internet expenditures. Does this expensive market data provide a road map to digital success? If it did, wouldn’t the industry be better off today?

Local media execs also seem to perpetually debate digital innovations in both journalism and sales. Much of this happens during conference panel sessions and keynotes. We have some advice for these folks: stop debating and start selling stuff your local business community wants to buy.

Fact: Your sales force with those direct relationships with local business should be your #1 source of market research. Reps should always be doing CNA’s (client needs analysis) to uncover clues to help point your Newspaper web sales model in the right direction. If anybody should have high levels of market intelligence and know the spending habits of local business, it should be your local feet on the street….NOT an expensive research or consulting firm. Duh.

Digital Business Model Evaluation.  Ask these questions to help evaluate the revenue potential of your newspaper website and other digital efforts:  Take test #1  

Filed Under: Feature, Hyper Revenue Watch, Popular Posts Tagged With: , , , ,

Facebook Fooling Local Media

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Facebook Social MediaSocial Media is losing alot of it’s shine. It’s not going away, but it’s no longer the savior many thought it would be.

We cringe when we see newsroom and programming personnel beg for Facebook ‘likes’ and Twitter followers. Why not send a freekin’ big check directly to Zuck? Geez.

Why is Social Media slipping? Demand is in decline and revenue is still scarce. Quite possibly, the social media bubble has burst. Instead, small business is pumping dollars into lead aggregation, SEO, optimizing their websites for conversion, and mobile. Keep in mind, social media should still be used if the target & product is relevant. But most don’t realize that a very small percentage of ‘fans’ actually see your post.

Reasons for not over-allocating your marketing budgets to Facebook & Twitter:

1.  It’s sharecropping.  You don’t own Facebook & Twitter. You can invest large amounts of time and money into fans, and then Facebook can change rules.

2. 50% of Americans are not on Facebook.

3.  People don’t use Facebook and Twitter for purchase research. When they want to buy something, they use search. That’s why it’s better to invest in a professional, optimized website.

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch

Go Direct. Hyper Local Roadmap to Revenue

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Mel Taylor Media Online Sales TrainingWe’ve been laying low for a while. That’s because our work with local websites has taken a much needed turn for the better. Instead of exclusively working with local media…we now GO DIRECT.

We now do more work with local advertisers, business chambers and small municipalities. Why? That’s where the money is.

The Web allows the small business to become their own publisher & broadcaster. The web allows them to ‘control their narrative’. Tools like WordPress & Aweber Email have made it incredibly simple & cheap to market, promote and engage with customers.

These are the services that Newspaper & Broadcasters used to offer local business, exclusively. Local media used to have a monopoly on this stuff, but no more.

Need proof?

Look at this growing pile of local media road kill: John Paton’s Journal Register, Advance Publications scaling back on publishing days, and the profitable Press of Atlantic City said goodbye to Publisher; Keith Dawn for not building a more attractive revenue & digital trajectory.

The inability to properly monetize digital and cross-platform opportunities is what’s hurting traditional companies & executives like these. And no matter what any Web guru or CEO preaches, local media continues to lose reader & advertiser share. It’s like beating a dead horse.

Even after our 10+ years of training local newspaper, TV & Radio execs on how to build profitable online business models, only a few fully commit to online success. It’s not their fault though. They still make too much money the old fashioned way. And that’s cool. Totally makes sense from their perspective and proximity to retirement.

That conundrum provides for a really sweet opportunity…..for folks like us….and for smarty pants execs like you who read my stuff.

Instead of trying to cajole, convince, encourage and persuade local media execs to adopt a more web savvy sales approach, we’ve decided to pivot. Now we go direct…straight to where the money is: the local advertiser. No need for a middle man.

Our work with www.BrigantineNOW.com has spawned lot’s of new interest in this way of thinking.

We’ll share details on our new strategy at the upcoming 2013 America East Newspaper Conference in Hershey, Pa. Details here.

Thanks to Dr. Sharon Melnick for the GO DIRECT inspiration. Sample her new book here.  

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch

2013 America East Newspapers in Hershey

February 2, 2013 By 1 Comment

Newspaper execs will gather once again for the 2013 America East Newspaper conference. Think much has changed over the past 12 months?

Well….we think so….but the Newspaper industry might not be aware of what’s going down. Some are still debating and pondering. Some are still buying research, data, research and more data.

We’ll share our experience with this amazing tool called WordPress… on April 9 in Hershey. We don’t need no stinkin’ research.

Good thing we discovered WordPress. It saved our life. So did Aweber, Vimeo & Gravity Forms.

No more diddling around with the webmaster, editor or the newsroom putz.

No more begging for web access. WordPress is a game-changer. It helped us dominate the Jersey shore town of Brigantine. It’s the ultimate hyper-local tool for editorial, sales, marketing and promotions.

Feel free to keep dicking around with Joomla, Drupal, and those other expensive, clunky CMS’s. We’ll be over here eating your lunch.

www.BrigantineNOW.com

 

Filed Under: Blog, Hyper Revenue Watch
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