Digital Revenue Solutions

for Newspaper

and….

MelTaylorMedia.com
JAN 19, 2011
 Agenda

• Who, What, Why

• Potential plans
• How to beat them
• Other competitors
Mel Taylor Background
March 2009
What if Newspaper shut down?
What would take it’s place?

2009
Can hyper-local news sites survive?

2009
NOV. 2009

a) John Paton c
a
b) Jay Rosen
c) Jeff Jarvis

New Business Models for News

NOV. 2009
 Will Patch Succeed ?
• Who knows.
– Doesn’t matter

• Patch is more proof…

– Local dollars up for grabs
 Local Online Advertising Share

Online Only
Online Only
Pure Play
47.2% Pure Play
51.7%
Newspaper
Newspaper
27.7% 23.6%

2008 2009

Borrell
 How PATCH
Sees Local Newspaper?
• Poach Newspaper execs
• More advertiser choice
• Lower expenses
• Digital first
• Digital only
 Web
Why Newspaper
Still Struggles
Cannibalize Print ?
 Um, yeah, Mel…. We’re not worried

• I heard Patch is lame

• We’re trusted news brand
• Our editor said they suck
Editorial & Sales
conflict
 ROAD KILL ?
Local Bloggers Paywalls
 Beware the BS

• We hit our web budget

• Web rev up by 500%.
• Web traffic is strong.
• Print is where $ is.
Put The
Data Down

Hit The Street

NOW
Mandatory Steps for Success
Run Web like Newspaper
Think like Publisher / Owner

in this order !
1. profit
2. operations
3. editorial
 What is ?
Tim Armstrong

AOL’ s
Hyper-local play
John Brod
to grab local ad dollars

Warren Webster
 Why is Patch
doing this?

• AOL’s dial-up dead

• AOL’s content-play struggles
• They see local media downsizing
• 50% of local web budgets on sideline
• Local media protecting legacy business
 Patch: Priority Plan
• Local news source
• Trusted community partner
• Newspaper replacement
• Create excellent journalism
Local Ad
Dollars
 Over 800 Sites…so far

• Over 100 in California

• 73 in Massachusetts
• 40 in Georgia
• 30 in Philadelphia

Launched in February 2009

Growing like a Weed
 Communities Avg size: 50-70k
PATCH Philly Regional Publisher:
Former Publisher @ Journal Register

Lehigh County

Bucks County
Main Line
Philadelphia
Region
Chester County
Today: 30
Summer 2011: 60

South Jersey
Delaware County
Revenue Streams

• Local
• Regional
• National
 Strengths
• Digital first
• No legacy baggage
– Not protecting “way we always do it”

• Cost effective content creation

• Variety of sales tactics
 Strengths

• Ultra low costs

• Scalability
• Platform
 Weakness (for now)

• Unfamiliar outsider
• Unproven local sales savvy
• Limited local relationships
• Clunky corporate structure
• Not as nimble as YOU
 How do people find
out about Patch?

• SEO
• Always in Community
• Grass Roots Marketing
Patch Open House
Suburban Atlanta
 Mayor Flips Switch
Hopkins, Minnesota Patch Site
#500
Editor of Canon-McMillan Patch,
with Mayor Rhome
Pittsburgh Business Times
Patch Marketing Staff…
Freshest Breath in Town
Patch Office Space
Dec. 23, FREE Holiday Parking
Courtesy of Ardmore, Pa. PATCH
 Editorial
Pay & Positions

o Local Editor; $40k

o MacBook Pro, camera, smart phone, police scanner
o $500 freelancer budget per month
401K match
o Regional Publisher; $80k Performance bonus
Medical & Dental
o Regional Editor; $80k
o Oversee group of 12 Patch sites
 SALES
Pay & Positions

o Ad Manager; $60k base

o 5k signing bonus 401K match
Performance bonus
o 90k at plan Medical & Dental
o Cell, laptop, wireless card
o Budget
 Sales Job Posting

o Be local online ad expert for small business

o Host WEB 101 seminars for small business
o Attend chamber & trade functions
o Convince buyers to shift budgets to digital
o Visible presence in business community
 POACH

• Newspaper
• TV
• Cable
• Yellow Pages
• NAA
• Bloggers
POACH
POACH
Recruitment
Patch University
 Current Ad Offers
o Self-Serve for $15 cpm….discontinued
o Now: flat fee for SOV (share of voice)
o Free Classifieds: merchandise, services offered
o Small fee $20 auto & jobs
o Directory up-sells
o Enhanced video
o Fee to post coupons
o Newsletter Ads
o Video Profiles $800
 other
LOCAL
competitors
 Yahoo Local
• Now in 30 US neighborhoods
• California, Michigan, New York, San Fran, Brooklyn
• Content from local pubs
• Community reporters
• Feeds from other pubs
 75%
of Deal Market

Average User
Single
Female 18-34
Income: 70k+
Users
2008: 400 k Employees
Dec 2009: 124
2009: 1.5 mil
Dec 2010: 3,100
2010: 40 mil
o No risk… ‘only pay if people buy’
o Customers not clicks
o Performance
o 66 % open rate
o Gets 50% of sales revenue
Crazy Growth (said no to recent Google offer)

Many on this call are helping them

…..by running their ads

Groupon is HARVESTING your readers
HARVESTING
your readers
• Over 45 US markets
• Feet on street
• Search Engine Marketing
• Display / Banner
• Video
• Multiple digital solutions
• Active advertiser count 13,200 to 16,700

• Revenues up $48m to $70m

• Add senior sales 143 to 246

• Add junior sales: 256 to 395

Google Places
Tags
 Pandora
o 60 million users
o About half of all Internet listening
o Avg 13 hrs of listening

o $50 mil revenue. Now profitable

o 45 of top 50 national advertisers
o Growing sales force
o San Fran, NYC, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta
 Pandora
Local Targeting of Ads
o Geo-targeting

o By format
o Audio, Video, Display
Digital
Outdoor

• Geo target
• Day part
• Low cost
o Quickie hyper-local sites for local TV
o No upfront costs
o Call center pitches local biz in TV’s name
o Rev share approx 60% to DataSphere
o Keeps primary relationship w/client
o DataSphere retains advertiser data
Outsourced
LOCAL Sales
536,893 Unique Readers per month
News 10
Sacramento
Mandatory Steps for Success
Treat Web
As Business
Run it just like
your Newspaper

1. Profit
2. Operations
3. Editorial
 Remove
Internal
Sabotage
 Take This Test
• What % of print clients buy web ?
• What % is sold local direct ?
• Plan to reach non-print ?
• Know marketing plan of clients?
• Are your managers in the field ?
 slaughter
Web Sacred Cows
• Need more page-views
• Editorial fully controls site
• Remnant, 3rd party ad networks
 Newspaper USP
unique selling proposition

What can Newspaper offer…

that PATCH can’t ?
Newspaper USP
• High % of local reach
• Feet on street
• Local content creation
• Client relationships
• Brand familiarity
• Print / Traditional distribution
How Newspaper Wins

Combine Newspaper USP

with

New Digital Tools

 PRINT

Targeted
* Tweets
* Facebook Online Promotion
* Messages

Integrated
Campaign
Build Database * Download coupon
* Join contest
* Friend list
* Watch video
* Twitter
* Subscribers
Capture:
* Email
* Twitter
* Facebook fan
 Overhaul Comp
• Revenue per rep & manager

• New business per rep (per month)

• Grow % of current clients using web
• High commission rate: new clients
• Lower commission rate: transactional
• Bonus & PENALTY
 Editorial, Sales, Admin
Compensation Alignment

• Unified goal-all departments

> Web success, revenue, profit

• Newsrooms
> Do not bonus pageviews, uniques, cool
• Marketing
• Admin & Back office
No Pimping of Site…
…….but
Newsroom Benefit:
• Understand online biz models
• How advertisers use Web
• Difference from print sales
Digital Sales Training
Who does most training?

It’s a FACT.
More training = more revenue
 Bigger Not Always Better

REDUCE
commodity page-views

GROW
high value views
simplify
Huh? • cpm
• pageviews
• uniques
Huh?
• click-thru rate
• odd pricing
• pixels
• impressions
NEWS LOGO
REDUCE
NEWS LOGO

Clutter !
NEWS LOGO

NEWS LOGO
DUMB
National Ad Networks
( at local level )

REMOVE
from home-page & section fronts
Consider day-parting
How GREAT sites
lose money

> No Super-Premium Ads

> The only local ad is pushed

outside of content area

> Low CPM ad networks

sucking up home page
of this otherwise strong
news-site.
 Can’t sell
premium unit
on home page?
 Smart Practice
weekly instead of monthly rates

sounds
expensive $ 400. per month

sounds
reasonable $ 95. per week
‘Your cpm is too high’
Interactive
Media Queen

Avoid This Nonsense….

instead….sell flat fee to local/directs
How Local Biz Decides
to buy your site

• Reads your Newspaper

• Pageviews or CPM
• Design
• Editorial
• Twitter & Facebook & Video
Ad Mix
do they see
local competitors?
Super Premium
Ad Units
 LEADS

New Business Development

 The Sales Call
• BAD:
– Wanna buy banners?
– Boast about pageviews & uniques
– Attractive CPM
• GOOD:
– digital marketing for small biz
– Great idea for local biz like yours
 Getting Appointment
Bad:
We’re #1 w/ 5 mil pageviews.
Can I stop by?
Good:
Saw your infomercial on cable.
(Channel 125 at 12m)
Want people to watch your video
during day, while at office?
 Sales Call Prep
• Look for clues on Website
– Specials
– Focus
– Client ego
– Vibe of business
– Web savvy
– Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc
Cold Calling

Phone Blitz

STINKEROO
#1 Current Print Clients
Print Sales Superstar
Wins Sales Contests
Hits Budget w/o Web

His clients would

buy Web if….
• offered consistently

• offered with passion

• offered as a ‘great idea’ (not just banner ads)

 #1 Current Print Clients
Meet Dick. 25 years in the Newspaper biz.
Always hits his print budget without fail.
Hi.
Dick always wins sales contests, like this I’m Dick.
one to a tropical island. But because Dick is
a print-sales superstar, he gets a pass when
it comes to web.

Dick NEVER pitches web. Yet 90% of Dick’s

clients buy alot of digital.

Dick’s print clients buy online video, SEO,

Groupon, banners and social media….
…from Dick’s competitors.
Print Sales Superstar
Dick’s clients LOVE him. They would buy Wins Sales Contests
Web from Dick……if only he offered it.
Hits Budget w/o Web
 #2 Call Center
Set Appointments

•Keep Sellers On Street

•Use downtime of
classified phone rooms

•Outsource
 #2 Call Center to Set Appts
Keep Sellers On The Street.

Use classified phone room down-time

to set up appointments…or consider
off-shoring this activity to countries
that would LOVE this job.

Your sales reps should be in front of

clients and potential clients, as much
as possible.

Expensive reps & sales managers

sitting behind a desk making a few
half-hearted cold calls, is a poor use
of limited resources.
 #3 Web 101 for
Local Business Seminars
Web 101 for Local Business
Why ?

• confused / lack of knowledge

• hate hard sell
• think Google or website is enough
• never been offered web
Web 101 for Local Business
Benefits

• Provide web education to local biz

> they buy more web !
• Sales reps get trained
• Better than cold call
• Superior, qualified lead generation
 Test Yourself
Higher score, better chance to beat Patch

Compensation Web 101

Bonus, Penalty, MBO’s for Local Business

All Staff Training Sell

Management & Owners Non-Print Products

Simple Packages…
Job Description Refresh
No CPM’s

Online Media Kit,

Reporting Structure
Direct Contact to Rep

Plan to Reach
No Ad Networks
Non-Advertisers
online video
that pays

Remember all that video stuff

you bought for the newsroom?

Take back half of it, and give it

to the sales department.
 Re-think
EVERYTHING
• Vendor Deals
• Aggregation & RSS Reduce Costs
• Local Indie-Journos via
• CMS Platforms > Open Source
• Local Ad Networks > Crowd Source
• Sales-Based Video > Revenue Share
• Management
 Simple Steps

• Don’t dismiss, diminish Patch

• Refresh & strengthen your USP
• Out-Patch…..Patch
The New Workshop from Mel Taylor Media

Online Business 101

for Editorial, Programming & Web Producers

When content creators understand online business models…

they create more advertiser-friendly & profitable websites
 Mel Taylor Media
recent success story

Results: 90 day MEL TAYLOR MEDIA

web-sales initiative

2008 2009 Increase

February $71,813 $134,847 88%

March $97,304 $160,756 66%

April $110,000 $164,475 49%

 mel taylor media
‘web advertising 101’ for local business
success stories

& Cablevision
• $146,000 new quarterly business
• 26 new contracts

• $ 144,000 new quarterly business

• 41 new contracts

Times-Shamrock Communications
• $238,000 new annual business
 mel taylor media
testimonials

Our ‘Web 101 for Small Business’ seminar was a huge success.
• $140,000 in new revenue and signed 26 NEW advertisers
• Increased average revenue per account by 18%.

Mel is charismatic, well spoken and easily captures attention of the crowd. He takes the time to build a
story that can make the most difficult concepts seem easy.

Before the client seminar (where Mel trained our sales staff) he addressed the most common
objections. Mel helped give the sales staff more confidence, and made them fully prepared to sell.

At the client seminar, Mel engaged the audience, spoke in terms that made them comfortable, and
made professional reference to promote our Newspaper website, without losing credibility as a
professional, outside consultant.

Dan Sarko ; VP of Interactive; Tribune Newspapers Pa. March 2008, October 2008
 Mel Taylor Media
popular WEB SALES programs
custom programs available upon request

Web Revenue Boot Camp for Local Media (1 day in market, suggested agenda)
• 8a-9:30 Competitive Online Environment
• 9:30-11a Web Sales 101; vocabulary, ad units, overcoming common objections
•11a-12:15 Pricing, packages, cross-platform
• Working lunch: Web for Sales Management: Media kits, one-sheets, budgets, rate cards, inventory,
job descriptions, compensation packages, category targets, & management by objectives
• 2p-3p: Editorial, programming, content that sells
• 3p-4p: Web-masters and Web Producers; sales friendly sites

Web Marketing 101 Seminar for Local Business

• In-market visit 4 wks prior to seminar, includes Web Revenue Boot Camp
• Half day of additional rep training, day before seminar
• Up to 3 local business seminars in a day. (Optional in-field, 4 legged sales calls)
• Close business on the spot
• Video clips from recent event here: www.MelTaylorMedia.com

Web Revenue Effectiveness Audit

• We do a ‘deep dive’ into your current digital sales efforts & your local market’s competitive environment.
Key deliverables include a comprehensive set of recommendations & specific instructions on implementation.
 Digital Revenue Solutions
for Newspaper

and….

MelTaylorMedia.com
Mel@MelTaylorMedia.com
267-625-5313