5 Things You Should Already Be Doing with Your Publication but Probably Aren't

This might be hard to hear (read) but odds are there are some very important things you should be doing in the course of running your publishing business but aren't... and, in case I'm unclear, by you I mean your business.

The publishing business is continually and rapidly evolving and things that made sense a decade ago no longer have a fit while things you didn't really have to consider a few years back are now conspicuous by their absence.

We've put together a short list of incredibly important things that you should be doing but probably aren't. The bad news is that these are tricky to get right and when attempted are usually done poorly with great expense. The good news is that they engage your readers, deliver new value to advertisers and - amazingly enough - are easy once you know what you're doing (and have the right technology). So here we go:

Driving print readers to your website and Facebook page

Doing the Right Things Makes 1+1=3

We're not saying your readers should skip your print publication, on the contrary. Your readers should enjoy your print publication and go online because it's hard to watch a video, ask a question, share to social media, or post their own thoughts in a print magazine or newspaper. A website that enhances and extends the print experience keeps your readers engaged with your brand.

We regularly offer a free webinar on the subject, register for How to Drive Web Traffic from Your Print Publication

Note: a consistently delivered quality call-to-action is required to succeed here. Which leads to the second thing you should be doing...

Posting Supplemental Web Content

How many times have you had more pictures than room to use them in print? Have you ever had a great video you'd like to share or recipe that just couldn't find a home on your print pages? Digital content that supplements your print content just makes sense, think about extras on a DVD. Of course, sometimes you want to go further or post content between print issues that is thematically-aligned but not actually connected to any content in print... this is the essence of what a quality web destination is for a local magazine or community newspaper, you get extra points for user generated content mixed in - content poster's are content sharer's.

Solution Selling

We talk a lot about sales at Locable. Did you know, being good at selling digital makes you better at selling print? Figuring out what your clients are trying to accomplish and then helping them get there is your business, period - (it may even include a print ad).

If you're not comfortable discussing the array of options facing your advertisers you're in no position to offer wise counsel let alone explain why your print publication is better/different from social media, SEO or SEM (yes, those are two different things), etc.

Implement a publishers-discretion policy on ads

The need for this policy has become painfully obvious as of late. When you let an advertiser run a poor ad whether it's poorly worded or too wordy, whether it lacks a call-to-action or is just plain ugly there are 4 bad things that happen:

1. You look bad by having it in your publication,
2. You look bad because you didn't stop your client from doing something clearly detrimental to their business (do you not care?),
3. Your client fails to reap the benefits of their advertising with you,
4. They stop advertising and tell people that "your publication doesn't work".

Any one of those would be bad but you're staring down the barrell of all 4 when you let a bad ad run. That is 4 really bad things to happen to your business because of one small preventable tragedy.  Successful campaigns combine the right medium with the right target audience and the right message - if one of those 3 are missing success is unlikely. As the publisher, aka advertising consultant, it's your responsibility to guide your clients.

Making Money Online (Seriously, Real Revenue)

No, the web does not take away from print (when done correctly. When your advertisers tell you they don't have any more money to spend what they're really saying is, "I don't have any more money to spend on the same thing, showing me something new of value and I'll dig in a little deeper."  No, you can't afford to wait because digital advertising options abound and people are selling to your advertisers - what are they selling, that print is dead and expensive and digital is low-cost and the wave of the future. You don't need a counter argument you need a comprehensive solution. Print is valuable, effective and compelling - so is digital for entirely different reasons. Understand the purchase funnel, leverage your Audience and deliver something to advertisers that no one else can... deliver your audience: in print, online, via social media and email, and more!

Do you want to grow your community, deliver new value to advertisers and improve your bottom line? Contact Locable to learn how we transform publishing businesses like yours the easy way.