A publisher friend called to ask how his Internet department
should be organized.

Should it be run by a technical whiz?

By a news guy or gal?

Or, by a marketing/sales specialist?

I think – at most newspapers – the technical and content folks
have succeeded in creating online products that are the strongest
Internet products in their trade areas.

The problem is that while newspapers “own the Internet” in their
respective markets, many don’t know how to leverage that position.
They need business plans.

It’s time to put marketing and sales skills to work on behalf of
our online newspapers. It’s time that the merchants are allowed to
share in the newspapers’ online success. It’s time to share the
secret with local merchants: There is no better way to reach an
online audience than the local online newspaper.

Many newspapers can make the case that their online newspaper
has a better reach than many local radio stations – radio stations
that are selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising
while online newspapers sell just a small fraction of that
amount.

We have all kinds of studies and statistics that demonstrate
that the online newspaper is the most often visited local Internet
site.

Let’s look at some statistics:

1. The Media Audit recently found in the nation’s 95 largest
markets that online newspapers’ market penetration averaged between
20 and 25 percent – roughly half the print product’s
penetration.

That means, by my calculations, that one-third of many
newspapers’ audience reach is via the Internet. Yet most papers’
online revenue is far from one-third of the papers’ overall
revenue.

2. The Newspaper Association of America did a study in 20
markets that showed online newspapers reached two to three times as
many customers as did the online city guides.

Yet, the city guides have done a far better job selling online
advertising than had the newspapers. Newspapers reach two-thirds of
their markets’ Internet users, but only 26.4 percent of the areas’
merchants had even been approached by the newspaper about online
advertising. The city guides – with much smaller audiences – had
sent sales representatives to almost 40 percent of the merchants,
and sold many more ads. Both the newspaper and the merchants
suffered.

3. Online newspapers are market places. We know that on our
TownNews.com newspaper sites, 20 to 50 percent of all traffic is
readers looking at classifieds. Media Metrix has found that
visitors to many newspaper web sites spend more money online than
the average Internet user.

“Many of these newspaper sites offer a rare opportunity for
advertisers to efficiently reach local market audiences that are
growing rapidly and spending money more freely,” says Peter Daboll,
president of comScore’s Media Metrix division.

4. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is reporting that
41 percent of home buyers now use the Internet to search for a home
– up from just 4 percent in 2000. The NAR is telling its members
that the Internet is now as important as newspaper advertising. But
too few newspapers are telling their real estate brokers and agents
that the local online newspaper is the best place on the Internet
to advertise. Too few newspapers know what products and services to
offer Realtors.

Newspaper Association of America statistics show that the
Internet has caused serious erosion of advertising, most notably
employment/recruitment advertising.

Next to go will be real estate and auto advertising – if
newspapers don’t protect these categories with Internet
solutions..

Loss of employment, real estate, auto advertising hurts not only
revenues – it does great damage to readership and circulation.
Advertising is a huge part of the content that attracts
readers.

Ask yourself: How many people buy our newspaper to look for a
job? Shop for a car? Look at real estate prices and open
houses?

If/when this advertising erodes from the newspaper, you most
certainly will lose readers and circulation.

How should publishers respond?

1. Understand and promote that your online newspaper is the most
heavily visited Internet site in the trade area.

2. Accept that some of your advertisers want to spend some of
their advertising dollars on the Internet. This is especially true
for real estate brokers, car dealers and major employers. Have a
solution that bundles online with your print product.

This effort needs to be led by someone who understands and likes
advertisers, someone who can develop business plans and marketing
solutions that help merchants succeed. This type of leader also
will put pressure on the newspaper to have the right products to
serve the advertisers.

Remember:

1. Your newspaper is the dominant Internet site in your trade
area. You “own the Internet.”

2. Your online newspaper readers are shoppers.

3. Your online offers an electronic reach that equals or
surpasses much of the local radio audiences.

4. If you were a merchant who wanted to advertise on the
Internet, where would you put your money?

5. Internet works best with print promotion – make sure you sell
bundled products.

Put someone in charge of your online department who will
leverage these strengths on behalf of the merchants and the
newspaper.

(Wilson is ceo/general manager to TownNews.com, which hosts more
than 600 online newspapers. He is reachable at 309-743-0816 or
marcus@townnews.com)