Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

I'm looking at ways to build a bit of an extra income since I'll go into retirement in a couple more weeks.

Had kind of a "wild hair" idea this afternoon, and thought I'd toss it out here to see how fast it got shot down.. Or, maybe not. :)

In this small East TN county we have two newspapers. Both are weekly with one coming out on Thursday, the other on Friday. That pretty much means that anything that happens after Wednesday evening (press time,) doesn't see the light of day for another week.

I'm kicking around the idea of building an online newspaper, that can be updated daily. As it grows (hopefully) I'd add local business ads, non-
commercial want ads, etc.

With a background in radio/TV, I'm pretty sure I can lay the ground work to build a relationship with the local and county law officers, etc., which would keep me "in the know". Maybe a weekly "reward" offered for the top news tip of the week.

Talk among yourselves, then fire away.

Pete

PS: Just bought a new digital camera over the weekend, so I'd be able to add photos too.

Pete, will it be worth the effort?
 

Greetings Pete,

I live in Hardee County, Florida. Total population is less than 25,000. We have 1 newspaper. Same thing here. It comes out once a week, on Wednesday, after 4 pm. No online presence offered.

I've talked with the local paper owner about putting up an online paper, because news is always happening.

His response to me was quite amazing. "If people want daily news, they can buy the Times at any convenience store or watch the evening news".

He also believes that not many people in my county, because it is 90% agriculture, have time to go online and look up local news when all they have to do is watch television.

Now I'm not totally convinced he's right, but his comments do leave room to make one think.

If a county only has 1 or 2 newspapers, that only release news once a week, then what's that say about readership.

Is the demographics there? Do you have hard evidence that an online presence is needed? Do the locals really long for online news, at the local level?

I bring this to your attention, because I've gone through many of the startup websites in my county and unfortunately, no interest. Many sites still sitting dormant.

You are going need a good hook to reel in the readers.

Good luck
Woody Quiñones
The Promotional Guy

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Pete, it may have possiblities BUT...and it's a big one...why are there TWO weeklies in your area publishing just one day apart? The answer to that question will definitely help your direction and planning or even feasibility decisions.

Here's why I'd look carefully before leaping. If the papers are divided along political lines (and this is often the case when two exist as you describe) you could be opening a can of worms or find yourself on the wrong side of the numbers game. It could also be a factional thing (anything from religion to family squabbles etc) so check it out.

You might like to try something a bit different than is currently offered, if there is potential based on your research. You might try a Thrifty Nickel type of publication or a twice weekly hot sheet of some sort.

Good luck, Pete.

Sandi Bowman

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Hey Pete,

Like the others have said I'd take some time to see just what demand there is in your area for an online news site like this, but the good thing is you can test the waters rather inexpensively.

I've been gearing up to do something like this for a while so I've researched all sorts of software solutions and the best two I've found are the content management programs from www.bigmedium.com and Article Live from http://www.interspire.com/articlelive/

Either program can be had for under a few hundred bucks, or you could also use a free program like WordPress to get things going too.

For a great example of someone already doing this in a town in Georgia, take a look at www.cumminghome.com. He's using the Big Medium script and has customized it to suit his needs and it'll be obvious that's he's doing pretty well for himself.

Personally, while I think you can make money by selling advertising on a site like this, I think more money can be made by giving local businesses a free listing or webpage in an online business directory and then offering additional services to them like web design, email marketing or other marketing and business services.

Just my two cents, but i hope this helps!

Steve

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Hi Pete,

Thought you'd be a Millionaire by now. :)

All the Best... Enjoy your Retirement years & Have Fun!

Woody's post on Small town newspapers is generally the way most Small Local publications Think and are...

But with Media backgrounds... And Many years in the Newspaper industry...

We both know that there are All kinds of Local opportunities just waiting to be Tapped...

My Suggestion would be Think and Focus on Niche groups of people & Interests...

Local Boomers... Seniors... Sports... Crime... Life... Business... Hobbies... Real Estate... Finance & Money... Women... Tweens... Golfers... Luxury... etc. etc. Publications well Nichified...

As Woody recommended Do some Good research...

Here's some good FREE Keyword tools to checkout those Local Keyword phrases and see what's Happening...
http://www.keywordworkshop.com/pages/Free-Tools-Listing
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Also Seriously consider Local Blogging...

Many in the Newspaper business Believe Blogs are the Future for the Local Newspaper...

Surprisingly, newspapers haven't Died yet as many Predicted years ago But that Day will come So an Online/Offline Blog & Hotsheet publication started Today could be a Great Future business investment... ;)

Especially as the Green World keeps on Growing!

Here's an Excellent way to Brainstorm & Think Local and other newspaper Ideas...

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/barnako...news_blog.html
http://www.placeblogger.com/

http://www.topix.net/
Over 360,000 topics...
http://www.topix.net/dir

Read over 6000 newspapers online @ ThePaperboy.com, the web's leading online newspaper directory. Search by country, title, state or city...
http://www.thepaperboy.com/

That's my Story so Hopefully a few will Take some Action... :)

Phil

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Pete - here is an idea for you.

Have a local version of digg.com

Where people can post their own news and links. And you can sell the ads.

No journalizing work. No writers needed. Less overhead for you.

But starting such a website will require some investment as you'll have to hire a programmer to get it done. Its not something that you'll be able to setup on your own.

(Maybe I can help you there. I know a programmer who is looking for freelance work and is from a developing country. Or you could also try rentacoder.com or some other site like that.)

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Hi, Pete - I know of another rural county in PA where there are two local online newspapers (I think they are online versions of local publications). They do have an obituary section - but they do nothing whatsoever with marriages and births. I would think this would bring loads of out of area traffic to an online newspaper - especially if there were pics. I don't know if there is an online newspaper which offers this???

There are various options you can consider to manage the site - from Cornell's Athenagold to the ones mentioned - or even Joomla. It depends on your budget :)

While I think about it, the newspapers I mentioned above supplement their content by importing newsfeeds from online news services, so there is an element of current national and international news and business information. Current local weather as well - plus, no doubt, a good sports section.

You'll be busy :)

Best
Margaret

Maybe a WEEKEND UPDATE and WEEKEND POSTS...
 

Hey Pete,

My weekly newspaper is heavy on LOCAL stories, lots of pics. The NEWS is stale, but they try to put a local spin on it somehow.

It too comes out on Friday with a close date of Thursday AM.

What I might be interested in would be a local UPDATE for the weekend...cancellations, are ball games rained out? ...

Is there an event going on that the newspaper didn't cover very well?

AND...on Monday or Tuesday, I'd like to see a capsule report...that would actually beat the weekly paper.
Especially my local sports teams. In the weekly I'll see one or two pics of the ball game.

ONLINE, you could let people post pics of all the events.

It would have LOTS of pics...and as someone suggested, if you allow postings...sort of like a throwback to the eShowcase days...then Granny C in FL could download pics of Chip sliding into home plate.

With that being said Pete...how much of your retirement TIME are willing to spend on making something like this happen? And advertising revenue usually comes AFTER numbers...it might be hard to sell ads for a new untested idea.

With the weekly paper, advertisers KNOW how many eyeballs they get.

It all comes down to how you want to spend your time. MY opinion is that you have a lot more VALUE to offer with a lot less time involved with a higher profit potential as a ____________ (shoot me an email Pete [email protected]

And I 'll give you a retirement idea that will keep you fishing and hunting 6 days a week. OK?

Gordon Jay Alexander

Vital Intelligence To Entering The Newspaper Market
 

Pete,

I lived in a small central Florida (Sebring, FL) town for a short while and i
remember I tended to read their newspaper i guess for the same reasons
i read big city ones--random violence, scandals, and real estate ads.

Here's a great newspaper makin' money makin' how to article I really liked.

Pay attention to the five letter word he says is now the key money making technique for any upstart newspaper.

As proof he gives an example of how another central Florida newspaper did it.

The article is geared more toward people with a journalistic bent so seems you'll probably like it.

I liked Ankesh's idea and you may get around the programming idea by starting a local wiki I believe there is open source code for it.

This will allow the community to update the NEWS so you won't have to.

Here's some other newspaper makin sites:Links to journalism resources like Poynter which I absolutely love.

Keep working
 

Pete,

Thanks for asking.

A few things...

Thing # 1: Why retire?

Seems to me, when people retire they give up their current purpose and shortly perish. The youngest Aged people I've seen are those who do Not retire but keep on working. Such as 82 year youngs looking younger and having more energy and get up and go than 65 year olds who've retired.

I've never seen a bird die in mid flight.

Retirement is a cultural thing. Like The Island in The Island or whatever it was called in Logan's Run, you get the idea.

Thing # 2: Why ask us?

There is little to no cost. And when there is little to lose and much to gain by trying, then try.

So jump right in and give it a whirl. You just might find General is bunk but Niche is where it's at. Or you might find General is the bomb. Or the whole thing should be classified under FUBAR.

Just know, publications require committment. Long term. Do you have it?

Michael Ross

Re: Okay.. Need a sounding board.
 

Hi, Pete;

Why the heck do you want to chain yourself to a news schedule!?

[My short bio...
award winning journalist with background in big city dailies, monthlies and
major market radio. Left that career in favor of pursuit of fun.
Long-time small town resident.
and so forth...]

My take, off the cuff, based on accumulated years of experience,
observation and opinion:

Do this, or something similar, only if you really love people,
communication, and routine.

The 2 weeklies and (presumably) major daily papers are interested in
only one thing: Revenue from subscriptions and advertising.
And so are you ;)
Except you also like to see people feel good and smile :)

Forget subscription revenue.
Only the Wall Street Journal makes any money from subscribers.
Most weeklies are freebies.

Forget the online, citizen blogging, real-time updates, etc.
Dollars to donuts sez the demographics ain't there in East TN County X.
Plus, people are passive (lazy) and other media is more convenient.

However, based on (my) Scientific Market Research, conducted in hundreds of
diners, pot-lucks, church socials, taverns, 4-H, etc -

What people want is to see their NAMES in PRINT.
Weddings, awards, births, deaths, reunions, car wrecks, fires,
divorces, new businesses, obits, newcomers, city council minutes,
crime reports, the dirt on the mayors, neighbors, police, et cetera.

Guarantee advertisers a twice-monthly distribuiton of [somenumber] of
local interest broadsides...

Publish an honest-to-goodness smudgey (cheap) large format (big type)
newssheet with b&w pix and local 'gossip' about who married,divorced,birthed,shot whom.
And the pleasanter stuff like church raffles, car shows, heart walks and so forth.
Put EVERY NAME in BOLD print!

Give it a goofy name...get suggestions from barbers and hair dressers.
The East Tennessee Nearly News.
The X County Bragger.
Something memomrable, even if dreadful.
Awful trumps Art everytime.

You can get this printed free, high school students will intern for free,
laying it out on your PC won't take any more time than going online...
instant publish to the web if you want (you may snag some Adsense revenue).

Give it away at every coffee shop, corner market, diner, pub, barber, vet,
etc.
Publish eight times in a row, then take a month off.
Folks will be calling you at all hours wanting to know when the next Regional Rag
will be hitting the stands.

And the secret to a comfortable income with this...?
Fair charge for business ads, and Your Own Affiliate/PLR products
get to ride along for free! (Hot sellers: Health, Credit, Weight Loss, Smoking Cessation)

Have fun!

Best of Success,
Stephan

Thanks, everyone!
 

Thanks so much for all of your input!

Got some great ideas. Now, I'll sit back and look things over to see if any of it sinks in. :)

Pete

PS: I'm gonna retire, 'cause I want time to follow other areas of interest. Like working on my house, fishing, going to the flea market, etc. Don't worry, it's only until the new Lowe's gets built and I don't have to drive 110 miles a day to work, spend $100 a week on gas, and come home worn out from schlepping major appliances around all day long!

the problem.......
 

Money! Online pubs need a lot of offline advertising. My daughter has worked in radio and tv and I see how much it takes them to advertise offline. AND they are the big time markets......

If I were you I would concentrate on some sort of niche markets......

Bands that are playing in your market, festivals, flea market promotions, yard sales, special events or FSBO cars, FSBO houses, FSBO house hold items etc.... Or anything else that is missing/undercovered in your local paper.

then build off of that.

One local website that is doing really well is:

http://www.4sale4u.net/

later......
Pappy

Re: Keep working
 

Michael,

I think you have a different definition of "retirement" than Pete does.

I think I have a different definition than both of you but I'd love to hear how both of you, or anyone else here, defines it.

It's an interesting word or concept that means a lot of different things to different people.

Jim

Re: Keep working... "Rehirement" and "free-tirement"
 

Jim,

A couple Quick thoughts on "Rehirement" and "free-tirement" :)

Some People don't Slow down Soon enough and Unfortunately even for young people like yourself their Health gets Zapped! and they now must Live in a very Different way of Life and Lifestyle...

And the Answer to some of the Problems (copied from the following articles) which Holds the Solution for Many in Today and Tomorrows World. :)

"Rehirement" and "free-tirement" are two of many new buzzwords coined to describe this third stage of life. Retirement will be a cyclical blend of work (at what you want and on your own terms), education, and leisure, rather than a steady diet of Saturdays and a spot on the sidelines. This is as much a financial necessity as a psychological one. Very few people can afford to live well on a fixed income for 15 or 20 years. And a few extra years of earned income, even from a part-time job, can let your retirement savings compound over a longer period of time. "Drawing down even a little less upfront can have a huge impact on how long your money will last," says Harold Evensky of money managers Evensky, Brown & Katz in Coral Gables, Fla. Work for 10 extra years, for instance, and you will need one-third less to retire on. You'll not only be adding to your retirement account--you'll also be reducing how long the account will have to last once you retire.

Today's retirement journey. Sixty-five became the magic number for retirement when the world was a different place. In the late 19th century, ...

6 Informative articles in Related News that Might Also give Some a few Good business ideas along those Good ol' Retirement years... ;)
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech...14/14intro.htm

Unless of course you Live a "Frugal Life" and become a Millionaire in Today's World...

A Billionaire in Tomorrow's World...

Phil

Re: Keep working
 

Jim,

Thanks for asking.

When Pete wrote "I'm looking at ways to build a bit of an extra income since I'll go into retirement in a couple more weeks" I took that to mean... he'll be retiring from his Job and going onto his Pension and would thus need the Extra Income. And I answered based on That. Based on what I thought Pete meant as figured by his qualifying sentence.

I don't believe in Retirement (ceasing work and then living off of investments or pension money as defined by the dictionary and expressed on the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retirement). But I do know Most people in this country view it as ceasing work at 65 and living on the pension or retirement fund for the rest of their lives. And Early Retirement means the same as above but earlier than 65.

Any other definition just muddies the waters of the words we use to communicate and leads to ineffective communication.

Michael Ross