Print Publishers Can Profit From Digital Technology

Print publishers can thrive in the digital era if they use a combination of free and subscription services while also embracing technology.

As any print reader will attest, publications have gotten smaller so less news gets printed plus staffs are drastically reduced and underpaid so the writing quality suffers. The result is less incentive for people to plunk down more money for a poorer product than they did several years ago.

Successful print publishers are embracing digital technology, not fighting it. They are expanding their on-line offerings while the print products continue to decline. And the best publishers are finding ways to make money doing it.

How? Step one is by running the headline and first few paragraphs of the top stories from each front page as they appear in the print edition. The amount of copy run—three, four, five or more paragraphs—should be enough for readers to get a feel for each story and want to read the rest. Subscribers see the entire story without interruptions. Non-subscribers see a message stating the full content is available via subscription.

Next, run these sections in full, either at the same time as the print edition hits or one issue later. Subscribers see the content on time. Non-subscribers do not. Why? Because these topics are heavily read.

· Classified ads. While not as profitable as they once were, classified ads are still a major reason why people buy papers. Garage sales, for example, a very popular. You’ll seldom see people advertise them on Craig’s List but they are very common in small-town papers.

· Obituaries. People want to know who died, when and from what. Since page space—“real estate”—is limited in print, often causing abbreviated obits, papers can sell unlimited and (within legal limits) unedited on-line obit listings.

· Crime statistics. Run the full crime listings from local law enforcement instead of abbreviated versions in print.

Step three: offer people reasons to pay for on-line and print services. Give advertisers three options: print only, on-line only or a combination.

On-line advertising has several advantages over print from the production standpoint: no charge for color, audio and video can be included and length is not an issue. Publishers can take advantage of these attributes and use them to gain new advertisers.

Here’s another method print publishers can use to gain readers: encourage staffers to promote their print projects using social media. For example, a city hall reporter can tweet about a story on the budget crisis appearing in the next issue.

Step four: consider having separate print and on-line publications then using the subscription and advertising methods above to help pay for them. On-line editions will be more immediate and than the print versions and could include video shot by print reporters and photographers.

Step five: shaft the competition by paying for on-line submissions. Hold a contest for the best on-line submission. The winner gets paid. Only registered subscribers get to vote. Readers will provide material, especially when they have a chance at getting paid for it.

Contact David Reynolds (davereyn83@gmail.com) for more ideas on how print publications can profit from digital technology.