Growing Digital Revenue is Easier for Publishers Than Print Revenue

Last Updated 1/5/2016In Community Content Engine

I just spoke with a publisher who said they can't think about digital right now because they need to bring in some more business/revenue. Wait, what?!?

First, there are a number of problems with this statement. You always need to bring in more business or do something, if you don't think about digital now when will you think about it? When you go out of business?

But, more to the point, if you need to close some quick business Digital is exactly what you need to be thinking about. We have a publisher who is about to launch their new site and has already sold $2500 in digital campaigns... they're ABOUT to launch their new website.

There's an old saying that it's easier (as well as faster and cheaper) to sell more to an existing customer than to bring on a new customer. Don't believe me? What do you see at the grocery store when you're checking out? Impulse buys, things you didn't intend to purchase but that you purchase nonetheless. And, you know what? That stuff has way higher margins for the store than normal goods especially perishable goods. Stores know that once you've walked in the door they can upsell and cross-sell you and it's not always an impulse buy, sometimes it's helping you find the best wine to go with the fish you're buying or other complementary purchase options.

That's what digital is for publishers. It's a complementary purchase for advertisers and depending on what they're trying to accomplish you can offer them a range of advertising opportunities and marketing services. And, like impulse buys, your margins are much fatter with digital revenue because you don't have to print a publication. Moreover, when you do it right the campaigns you sell will also drive content, traffic and brand building - nice to get paid to build your brand, right?

So then you might say, "but I don't have a lot of traffic so I don't have much to offer." Ehhhh, wrong. See above comment about our new publisher... If you're selling a banner ad then you don't have a lot of value to offer without traffic but you're thinking about the web like a publisher when you should be thinking about it like a media mogul with a media mindset.

Now you're saying, "I don't even know what you're talking about let alone how to do it." Well, you're right there. The thing is, "we (Locable) know how to do this." That's why you want a partner... the media landscape continues to evolve and you continue to fall farther behind in terms of best practice so a partner is your best bet.

In our case, a partnership with Locable means participating in the Locable Publisher Network which means now you're benefiting from the efforts of other publishers as though you're on the same team - because you are as a Locable Affiliate.

If you're tired of being in the dark and failing to monetize digital complete a free application to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of digital and how Locable can quickly evolve your web presence to make this happen. You're already doing so much of what's required to be successful online, wouldn't it be great if you could reap the benefits?

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