You Can Make Money from Free

“You can make money from free,” writes Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine and author of “The Long Tail.” “People will pay to save time. People will pay to lower risk. People will pay for things they love. People will pay for status... Free opens doors, reaching new consumers. It doesn’t mean you can’t charge some of them.”

Anderson’s latest book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price” discusses how the increase in efficiency as a result of technology results in deflation of prices and salaries.

LR Tweeted About Media Companies Going Local in Seattle

Lost Remote reports two Seattle media companies created neighborhood news sites to build hyperlocal communities -- The Hearst-owned SeattlePI.com, launched InQueenAnne.com and KOMO TV, the Fisher-owned ABC affiliate, launched neighborhood sites.

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Why Niche Matters, And Subscriptions May Not Work

Steve Outing's latest post draws on some harsh opinions, such as, "newspaper leaders continue to flounder in the classic death spiral without making the necessary harsh adjustments to pull out before hitting the ground."

The most interesting conclusion in the post is that newspapers are wrong to think charging subscriptions will save the industry. Instead, he quotes B.J. Fogg of Stanford University as saying they need to target "high-value online niche content" that cane be monetized because of the enthusiasm of the consumer. We used to call these "pockets of passion" in some old circles of mine.

Initiative Hopes to 'Spur Growth' in HyperLocal

Greg Sterling made note of a new hyperlocal play -- GrowthSpur. It's a venture started by Mark Potts, co-founder of Backfence. GrowthSpur offers monetization, tools and training for hyper local initiatives. Interesting idea.

Google Reaches Out to Local Business

Google is reaching out to small businesses in San Francisco. While it is positioned as an opportunity to learn for businesses, it is more likely a chance for Google to learn -- basically, a focus group. It is hard to believe Google would conduct these sessions all across the country. Traditionally, they have monetized the long tail through better technology and automation.

The article in Local Search News states, "Google is providing a very valuable service here, but business owners need better communication and support from Google."

Google needs to understand local business better and understand where their are getting tripped up by Google services in order to drive adoption.

This is again a shot across the bow of local media.

Borrell: Local 'Up,' Dedicated Staff Key

Spotted this on Gordon Borrell's blog tonight:

"....earlier this year when we projected that local online advertising would grow 8% in 2009. At the end of the first quarter, the increase looked closer to 11%. When we finish collecting our second-quarter data in the next few weeks, I’m certain the number will be quite a bit higher. "

Gordon says "dedicated" sales staff are driving the successes.

The dedicated vs converged sales force debate still rages on in local media companies. From someone who has seen both strategies on numerous occasions, take it from me, dedicated is necessary, but they may not be mutually exclusive from converged. In other words, you must have a dedicated staff, while converged selling should also be supported to a lesser degree.

Freemium Strategies, The Key is the Mix?

I've been meaning to write a post about the push to save newspapers via paid subscriptions.

In April, Steven Brill announced the creation of Journalism Online and invited (Read: challenged) publishers. Brill said that he had the formula to save their businesses. Generally speaking, the formula is a mixture of free and premium content known as "freemium."

This week, JO announced a partnership with ITZ Publishing. Together they would track usage of small- and medium-sized newspapers and optimize the freemium strategy for each publication based on usage.

I find this strategy interesting for many reasons, including the similarities to research by inStat. inStat recommended a mix of fee, paid subscriptions, and micropayments targeting the core users of a site. An important element of the strategy is targeting the core user with engagement strategies and subscriptions. The idea is that the core user will will pay because they are devoted users, and their engagement will draw in the moderate users, who will be monetized through display ads and occassionl sampling of premium (fee-based) content. The strategy was echoed in what JO has been proposing.

Of note, inStat believes the freefall in newspaper advertising will stabilize in 2010, providign a glimmer of hope for papers that restructure their businesses.

MJ, Farrah, The Spectacle

The media coverage of people gathering at UCLA, and the Apollo Theater to "honor" MJ reminded me of some old reading of mine. It is interesting how people feel compelled to gather together to hold vigil for a celebrity. It is also interesting to watch the video pour through the TV on multiple channels streaming image after image. By watching, I can see how it almost feels like participating. It reminded me of a book called The Society of the Spectacle.

The spectacle is not a stream of images, rather it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images. - Guy Debord

Update: I realized this should be updated to say "tweets" as well. :-)

'10 Things' from MediaShift

I believe the following has a lot of truth for local TV as well. Republished from PaidContent.org.


Ten Things Local Newspapers Need To Do

By David Kaplan - Fri 12 Jun 2009 07:22 AM PST

Forget the swirling debates over building paywalls or shaking down Google (NSDQ: GOOG), MediaShift’s Mark Glaser has some different suggestions for newspapers. Glaser’s list is a good addition to the newspaper-survival guide he put out back in December, which included aggregating content from outside sources, creating classified ad networks, and focusing on hyperlocal advertising.

1. Smaller print runs: Targeting isn’t just an online thing; newspapers can target specific neighborhoods and do a smaller, custom print run tailored to certain coverage areas.

2. All local, all the time: Newspapers have been shedding plenty of jobs, but newspapers can bring in the work of local bloggers who are already doing the work for free. They might appreciate the higher profile and even the chance to share some ad revenue.

3. Out with circ staff, in with SEO: This one will be hard for newspapers to follow, but Glaser says to cut the circulation, printing, print production side and supplant them with more tech, SEO, community managers. Your readers are online and it’s time to cultivate that readership. More after the jump

4. Get a “real focus group”: If you want to find out what your readers want, don’t hire a focus group. Just go out and talk to your community and ask them what they’re looking for.

5. Marry user-gen and professional: The twain can meet; encourage user-gen content and then put a professionally edited sheen over it.

6. Find a better reason for multimedia: Just because anyone can use a video camera, doesn’t mean you should run clips for the hell of it. Find a good reason to use video or audio—and if you don’t have one, don’t use it.

7. Mixed revenues: There’s no either or when it comes to subscription paywalls or ad support. Find a way to bring as many revenue streams into the mix, including seeking donations and selling directory listings.

8. Readers like database projects: It’s all about getting local; readers want anything that focuses on their particular world. Mapping and database initiatives are pretty novel ways of attracting readers.

9. You’re in the directory business: Newspapers missed out early on by not broadening their advertiser mix to include plumbers and pizza places. Online directories snapped up those dollars when the space was still growing substantially. Still, better late than ever, a number of newspapers have been turning to local businesses they previously ignored. And given newspapers’ continued brand advantage, they can set up their own local directories and beat the interlopers at their own game.

10. Get everyone’s ideas: If war is too important to leave to generals, saving the newspaper business is too important to be left to the publishing side. Encourage every part of the business to figure out their own top 10 suggestions to save the paper and reward the good ones.