Transcription:
Sings: Video Monday, video Monday, it’s a Monday so here’s a video!
So I thought this video Monday I would talk about why it is print publishing and especially daily newspapers are able to lose revenue while gaining readership. For instance, my local newspaper is talking about how many readers they have. On the cover of the paper it says you know, over 300,000 subscribers, or something like that, some, a pretty good number for a reasonably small population where their newspaper is. So how are they still able to lose revenue like every other newspaper?
So I used to work in Media Buying. The people who actually pay for advertising spots online is what I did, as well I worked with people who bought in things like newspaper and radio. So why are advertisers just not spending as much money in newspapers anymore?
So I thought I’d just talk – one reason why that is. A lot of people are saying the reason newspapers are dying is because people don’t read them anymore, and that’s really not the actual reason. The problem is newspapers, or at least the daily newspapers, are meant and have been built to basically target other audiences – everybody. The newspaper is structured so that everybody, there is something in it that you want to read. It’s targeted at the general populace. There’s kind of a saying in advertising, a saying in everything really, that if it’s targeted at everybody, it’s targeted at nobody.
If you know this advertisement is targeted at everybody else you can be almost certain it’s almost irrelevant to you, because you would at least like to think that what you’re interested in isn’t what everybody else is interested in. So you know that this newspaper is targeted at everybody. The ads in it, also targeted at everybody. So you know whether you think about it or not, that every single one of those ads is not targeted at you, it’s targeted at everybody else. So you just ignore them. People just do this, ads in newspapers you just instinctively ignore because you know they’re not for you.
Websites that are targeted at niches, a lot of magazines, especially the magazines are still able to stay and make some revenue because they’re targeted at somebody. Ads, if you’re on a website for a web comic that’s about video games, you know that those ads, probably about video games, probably what you’re interested in and you will pay attention to them.
And the click through rates, I know I’ve talked a lot about why that’s not the measure for these types of things, but it’s a way of calculating whether people care at all, are a lot better on specialty things then where they’re not targeted at anybody at all.
So in fact while newspapers gain readership these days, it means they have to print more papers while they’re making less money. So having tons of readers actually isn’t helping them that much. If newspapers had a third or a fifth of their readership then we could figure out, okay, who are these people that actually still care about newspapers and maybe we should be targeting ads at these people, they probably have something in common.
So if newspapers lost some of their readership they might actually be worth putting advertisements in which is you know, kind of one of those things that tell you that print publishing and daily newspapers have a lot more problems and are a lot more trouble then we would just think on the surface. So, that’s today’s Video Monday, posts to follow throughout the week. Bye everybody.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree that their "target everyone" strategy is a problem for news papers. However I think that because their readership is so large they can still find appropriate targets for generic ads. It still comes down to whether a person is interested or not. If I'm looking for a car and a I see a news paper ad that says they're on for 0% financing somewhere then I might bite. As far as targeted ads. I like video games but I only play shooters for the most part. So when I see an ad for a role playing game or something else then I'm more than likely going to ignore it. The targeting would have to be so specific that it would have to know that I only play a certain kind of game. I think that there is inherent risk when advertising in any medium. It's just easier to justify advertising in the digital world right now because results are somewhat quantifiable.
Oh, the reach is fantastic, no question. But as I suggested, it's very difficult to get people to notice ads in a newspaper. We're more apt to notice ads that are in a publication or surround content that's more targeted to us.
Joel,
Thanks a lot for your video. As a publisher and franchisor of community magazines, I am particularly interested in this topic.
You are spot on with your point about publications that try to target "everyone." Indeed, by targeting "everyone" they are truly targeting "no one."
I often say "If you try to be all things to all people, you actually are nothing to anyone."
Your recommendation that publications should actually work on reducing their readership versus expanding it is exactly what publications need to do to be successful these days.
Small distribution to a very focused target has been a key to success of our publications since inception in 1996.
Thanks for stimulating thoughts on this very important matter.
Gina Carr
http://www.AroundTownMagazines.com
Thanks Gina! Great to hear you've been finding success in that approach. One of the problems papers are having too is that if they focus more, reduce distribution, and find a narrower target, they'll have to lay off even more people. And pay execs less. Tough pill to swallow.
Much of merit here, Joel. Being in the industry. I often look at the ads in the newspaper from a creative perspective – how well was the idea executed. Yet most days, I find I pass them by when I do look at the paper.
I think it's a kind of anathema for papers to try to think of trimming their readership and homing in on a specific niche. They value numbers; it's the thing they always tout. If they target a smaller readership, they may have a more highly prized demo, but fewer eyes. Fewer eyes means less revenue and potentially a smaller staff providing less coverage. And that could marginalize the value or relevance of the paper further. It's a problem that, at the end of the day, I'm glad I don't have to resolve. But I would like to see print find a new model that works, even if I say that out of nostalgia for what print has meant to me over the years…
Yeah, exactly WordsWorth. Though as much as it would be nice if newspapers could stick around in their current form, it's just not going to happen. Now's the time for figuring out new, better solutions.
You had me with the jingle.
Ben: Glad you liked the post!
Hey Joel,
Great vlog. :) I agree with what you're saying about newspapers and trying to grab readers/clients.. I work at a weekly newspaper, and have a fairly fixed demographic. We try to focus on evolving forward, as much as we can. That has meant on line subscriptions, regularly maintaining a website and even hopping on Twitter.
Our paper has a modest readership compared to the other in this town of approx 5000. We contend with trying to be original, and continually try to spice things up.
It's definitely challenging!
I hear ya, Kathy! It's definitely not a simple problem, but great to hear that you liked the video and that you're doing cool stuff.