Many newspapers are looking to figure out how to create more revenue from the online edition. The challenges always are the same:
- Sales reps don't know how to sell the online edition...or
- Local advertisers aren't looking to go online.

The first challenge may be less common these days, but the second challenge remains the real problem. 

Local advertisers know what the print is and what purpose it serves the campus.  It is tangible. They see it and can trust it (because the students do). And the bottom line is that they aren't interested in taking risks.

Selling a banner ad (versus a print ad) is difficult because the pitch/explanation of ‘what it is' often turns the advertiser off. The real problem is that it is dangerous to give away online advertising inventory for free in a trial offer because once someone gets it for free, they are unwilling to pay for it down the line.

BUT…

What if there was a simple up-sell that got the loyal print display advertisers to try out the online edition for relatively small amount of money? 

CMN recommends trying a service called AdForge. 

AdForge is sales manager that incorporates the print ads into a widget that can easily be dropped into your CP5 site.  It creates new revenue and potentially offers some efficiencies in your workflow.
 

Here is a peek at the admin:

As you can see, AdForge provides an easy to use admin that requires sales reps to populate a form for each sale of a print ad (basic details of the advertiser) with option to upload the display ad creative. These details are populated in the widget online. The admin tracks billing and offers options for electronic tearsheets.

AdForge already has many customers in the community newspaper market; boasting 4% to 8% increases in overall revenue.

The widget includes:
- Google-maps integration
- Embedded business info
- Mouse-over thumbnail preview
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Built-in sharing with Print, E-mail, and Download options
- Advanced statistical tracking and reporting for: Views, Clicks, Prints, E-mails, & Downloads
- Full-text extraction and search of each ad
- Themes with color picker to match your design

Check it out in a demo site.

Signup for the free trial here*.

*CMN does not get any referral fee or rev share for the use of this service. We simply want to find tools that help put money in the pockets of the newspapers that use College Publisher.