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Am tuned in to 'Project Kookaburra' webinar from @walkleys - today's the first of 5 lunchtime learning sessions all week on building new sources of revenue for Australian publishers. SIGN UP: https://www.walkleys.com/project-kookaburra-webinar-series/. I'll thread my takeaways all week /1 #journbiz
2/ @sunraysiadaily used its centenary to re-engage with audience and drive revenue - including bundled print & digital ad offerings, homepage takeovers for sponsors, archived stories for sale, and merch (e.g. hardcover keepsake, t-shirts). Case study: https://cdn5.walkleys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GNI_case_Sunraysia_2020_1118_pm02.pdf#journbiz
3/ Findings from all 5 news outlets Project Kookaburra ( @Meganbrownlow & @simoncrerar) worked with on Project Kookaburra into an 'Essentials Pack' that outlets anywhere in the world can learn from https://cdn5.walkleys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Kookaburra-Essentials-FINAL.pdf #journbiz cc @Zielina @splicenewsroom @dkiesow
4/ @Meganbrownlow says outlets are looking to diversify reader revenue pathways - e.g. event tickets, obituary services, learning from abroad. Much potential there e.g. Asian mastheads offer research & white paper services to business audiences (and beyond). #journbiz
5/ A good moment to re-up Tweets from the recent @WANIFRA_Asia Digital Media Leaders conference, which covered an enormous range of digital revenue sources being explored by outlets in Asia https://twitter.com/corinne_podger/status/1322010942670950400?s=20 #journbiz
6/ And the recent @IABAustralia handbook for New and Niche Publishers (published Oct 2020) to help smaller, regional, and special interest outlets pursue new revenue pathways, with a focus on digital advertising strategies https://iabaustralia.com.au/resource/new-niche-publishers-guide-to-digital-advertising/ #journbiz
Will pick up the next webinar tomorrow. Congratulations to @Meganbrownlow, @simoncrerar, @louisasays and the whole of the @walkleys team for this terrific program.
This week I'm live-Tweeting the 1-2pm AEDT @walkleys lunchtime workshops by @Meganbrownlow & @simoncrerar. 5 days of #journbiz learnings from regional Aussie outlets. (Sign up: https://www.walkleys.com/project-kookaburra-webinar-series/). Today it's @fortysouthtas on creating media kits for advertisers /1
If you want to take a look at the @fortysouthtas media kit for advertisers that's being discussed at today's Project Kookaburra study, it's available for download here: https://www.fortysouth.com.au/advertising #journbiz
. @Meganbrownlow says Project Kookaburra looks at solutions to the declining ad income that has traditionally supported journalism (drawing on newly published @PwC figures on ad sector 2020-2024: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/tmt/media/outlook.html) #journbiz
. @Meganbrownlow says over 100 Australian papers have closed since the start of the pandemic, echoing similar situations in the UK and the US, threatening the ability of outlets to play the critical role they need to our communities.
Interesting observation: @Meganbrownlow says closure of local and regional outlets means we also lose critical coverage of positive / sectoral content (e.g. tourism) to break up the doom & gloom from metros and international press (that can contribute to news fatigue(. #journbiz
Study co-author @simoncrerar outlines the 5 steps taken with @fortysouthtas to develop its media kit to strengthen its outreach to advertisers (Simon's full slide deck is on @walkleys site: https://cdn5.walkleys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Kookaburra-Essentials-FINAL.pdf) #journbiz
'What good looks like' was built into measurable targets for @fortysouthtas to track progress and iterate along the way, @simoncrerar says (including identifying human and tech needs to make that happen). #journbiz
The project with @fortysouthtas ran for 6 months, with clear S.M.A.R.T. goals. Here's some of the results, shared by @simoncrerar. And take a look at the beautiful site, too: https://www.fortysouth.com.au #journbiz
And the new media kit outlines potential opportunities open to advertisers who are interested in the @fortysouthtas brand. #journbiz
. @simoncrerar says other key results included an advertising partnership between @fortysouthtas and @TasSymphony, and some wonderful positive figures that every local and regional outlet could take comfort and inspiration from. #journbiz
Advice from @simoncrerar to other outlets is to learn and use a 'funnel approach' - instantly familiar to anyone who's worked in content marketing for the past decade. But not widely used in journalism. Let's see more of it! #journbiz
. @Meganbrownlow adds her top tip: MINDSET. Be willing to embrace a multi-platform approach and to try new things to solve business model problems. If you want to try the Project Kookaburra approach, here's the free toolkit on @walkleys site: https://www.walkleys.com/valuing-journalism/community-and-regional/
#journbiz
. @fortysouthtas team say they had to learn a lot of new terminology - e.g. "aggregated touchpoints" - to develop a digital ad strategy. For fast demystification of digital ad sector, check out free resources / weekly webinars on @IABAustralia. https://iabaustralia.com.au #journbiz
Such a great figure from @fortysouthtas - reader surveys sent as EDM yielded up to 40% response rate, which is phenomenal for direct marketing; reflects the value audiences place in local & regional media. #journbiz
Increased engagement with @fortysouthtas audiences and a refreshed, "exciting" website has had corollary benefits - it's uncovered new stories and prompted double-digit rise in interest from potential contributors, because "everybody's talking about the website".
Love this from Chris at @fortysouthtas - "I'm addicted to Google Analytics" for insights on who's reading the magazine in Australia & abroad. If you've got time over Xmas, jump into free metrics & data training tools on @GoogleNewsInit website https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/training/datatools #journbiz
. @simoncrerar says tools used by @fortysouthtas included Google Analytics, Mailchimp surveys, and tech stack support from @AAPNewswire's recently launched AAP Studio (more on the studio here: https://mumbrella.com.au/aap-launches-creative-content-studio-603479) #journbiz
Ella at @fortysouthtas says they now do a fortnightly EDM on Sundays to celebrate & engage w/ audiences, and social presence has been stepped up. This keeps the brand - and its USP - in front of both readers and advertisers. Here's their FB: https://www.facebook.com/fortysouthtas/?ref=page_internal #journbiz
On a personal note it's lovely to see the combination of experienced senior journalists and digitally savvy younger reporters collaborating and knowledge-sharing at @fortysouthtas - to the mutual benefit of existing and potential audiences. #journbiz
Great observation too that there are 500,000 Tasmanians living elsewhere "including Peru", and @fortysouthtas says its audience now is locals, diaspora, and "people who want to be Tasmanians". That's a good segue to tomorrow's webinar...
Tomorrow's Project Kookaburra webinar from @walkleys will cover "How to segment your audience to better target your content and advertising". I'll be live-Tweeting, but why not sign up & watch? Register here: https://www.walkleys.com/project-kookaburra-webinar-series/ #journbiz
If you're following this thread, some inspo on how smaller outlets can approach segmentation 1) from @KPCC in California using a) snail mail https://medium.com/engagement-at-kpcc/how-kpcc-turned-to-snail-mail-and-email-to-reach-new-audiences-29e08140a084 and b) design thinking https://medium.com/engagement-at-kpcc/how-do-you-redesign-your-education-coverage-start-by-doing-your-homework-4179088da0f4 - the latter by the phenomenal @AshleyAlvarado #journbiz
And there's a section on how to conduct audience research if you're contemplating adding 'memberships' to your revenue pathways, in @membershippzzle's vast and useful Membership Guide Handbook published a few months ago: https://membershipguide.org/handbook/getting-started-with-membership/conducting-audience-research. See you tomorrow! #journbiz
