The information wave

Last year, The New York Times reported a 9 percent drop in circulation among the 25 largest newspapers in the nation. Some individuals newspapers saw a decrease of over 20 percent in their weekly subscriptions. At my own newspaper, circulation decreased dramatically, dropping from around 60,000 on a weekday to 48,000. Sunday circulation saw a smaller decrease, but still substantial.

Howard Owens poses the question: well, what about readership?

For so long, readership has been considered to be at least 2.5 people per newspaper. For so long, it made sense. A husband and wife exchanging the paper in the morning, a waiting room full of individuals looking for something to do, an office break room full of coworkers at lunchtime - the presence of a newspaper in any of these scenarios would raise the readership rate by a significant amount. But would we still find these results today?

A husband and wife now have individual smartphones or laptops and can navigate and browse hundreds of articles within minutes while still sitting together at the kitchen table. What do most people in waiting rooms do to pass the time? Send emails on their Blackberrys and play games on their phones. And in an office break room? They're reading the news or checking Facebook on their tablets or smartphones.

But that's what's so interesting about this whole shift in print media. While some would have you believe that print is dying and people don't care about news, it is evident that people still crave information. However, now we get to choose what information to receive.

If we want hyperlocal information, we know that a local newspaper is the best source. If we want information about our friends, Facebook will be our first stop. If we want information about our country, a Google search will turn up everything we could ever want to know. Not to mention Wikipedia, IMDb, WolframAlpha, iTunes and the millions of other references that can turn an idea or a memory into a realization.

So people are turning their backs on a paper product - so what? That doesn't have to result in lost revenue. Once we fully embrace the evolution of print to digital media, we'll come out of it with revenue lining our pockets and everyone wanting a piece of the pie.

Christmas Firsts

Apparently, this Christmas was a record-breaker.

For the first time ever, Facebook was #1 on Christmas. On both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Facebook was the most visited website in the United States, beating out both Google and Yahoo, Facebook's frequent competitors. Why Facebook on Christmas? Wishing family members and longtime friends a Merry Christmas, perhaps? Sending messages to find out what kind of sweet presents your roommates got that you can use next semester? Extra time to spend chatting with your best friends? Whatever it is, we know Facebook has worked hard for this moment. Maybe they'll surprise us again in 2010.

Also for the first time ever, Amazon sold more Kindle books than printed books on Christmas. While many people may have received Kindles for Christmas and needed to stock up, it's still a milestone for the Kindle due to the sheer volume of purchases and its increased presence within our society. Much like the younger generation's tendency to flock toward online news rather than print, perhaps we really will start to see the same trend with books in the coming years.

A gate provider's delight

On Monday, the New York City Council decided to ban the use of opaque storefront gates in favor of eliminating graffiti and beautifying city neighborhoods. However, the Council is not supplying funds for new see-through gates, laying the responsibility on store owners to carry out the legislation.

The ban will officially go into effect in 2026, a whopping 17 years from now. I suppose they figure that it will take that long for some of New York City's store owners to save up for a new gate. New meshed security gates can cost thousands of dollars, which is a lot of money for inner city store owners who are already struggling to protect their money and keep their businesses afloat.

And while this is a very bad thing for business owners, it's a very good thing for local gate providers and locksmiths.

With all new storefront gate installations required to be mesh after 2011, the storefront security gate industry will certainly spike overnight. The demand for mesh gates will rise and since currently there are not a significant amount of providers, the costs of gates will skyrocket, making them even more unreachable for small business owners. In an economy as tight as it is now, this law is sending local small businesses into a downward spiral.

Is the elimination of residential expression worth the demise of local economic stimuli?

Giving newspapers my advice

When I become a publisher, my game plan will be this.

Full disclosure, readers filling in the blanks, full audience participation, community support, inventive stories - all are essential to a current successful news organ. We need to reinvent the way we deliver news at the same rate that people change the way they consume news. And right now, we're falling quite short.

Another tidbit from Journerdism: Stop giving the newspapers your advice - they don't need it.

Oops... :)

The world according to Landy

I'm back from hiatus and ready to hit the ground running!

With nearly six months of sales experience under my belt at this point, I realized today that I don't know any more now than I did when I first started. I've been flying by the seat of my pants and selling advertising, but I've been going about it all wrong. I've been performing the act but not understanding the process. Now I'm set on going back to the beginning and rebuilding myself to do my job the most efficient and satisfying way possible. I want to make what I do less of a performance and more of a service.

I heard the powerful words of Landy Chase this afternoon, and I feel compelled to share some of his groundbreaking ideas on the art of sales.

1. Your main goal should be helping your customer get desired results, not obtaining a certain amount of revenue. Don't wait until the last few days of the month to try to push for those last $300. Slow and steady wins the race, and the more your customer trusts you, the more likely he is to invest with you.

2. The word spend should be erased from every salesperson's vocabulary. If we're asking our customers to spend their money, that amount is automatically seen in a negative context. We need to focus on the customer's investment so that they can be sure to gain from the relationship, not lose. Perform a needs analysis to establish the best way to help the customer get results. In that way, the focus is taken off of a one-visit sale and made into forming a long-term relationship and marketing plan with your customer.

3. Branding and name recognition are vital to businesses, especially those offering services. Your customers shouldn't buy advertising to get the phone to ring tomorrow. They should buy advertising so that when people decide they need something, whether it's next week or next year, your customer's business is the first place they think of, again reaffirming the necessity of long-term investments.



A final thought:
Since I entered into the realm of sales, I've realized that all salespeople feel that they share a certain bond. "You're in sales? Oh, me too!" It's a product of the tough environment that we face that we feel the need to reassure each other and lend a helping hand if possible. However, I've also noticed that newspaper sales strategies vary greatly from the strategies of retail or other businesses. For many businesses, the bottom line is more important than the customer. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. But I can tell you that I enjoy what I do much more when I do it for my customers and my community rather than for myself.

Whoa there, pardner

After a veto by Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, the Tennessee General Assembly is voting to override his decision in order to pass a law that will allow guns to be carried in restaurants (and bars) that serve alcohol, according to AP.

My question: why would you need to carry a gun into a restaurant anyway? What sort of violence or danger or threat to your safety do you expect to encounter? Maybe restaurants in Tennessee are shadier than ones in Georgia, but rarely do I ever feel endangered when I go out to get a bite at Chili's.

I picture the results of this sort of like an Old Western. Men piling into bars, pistols slung on their waists and engaging in competitions of who's got the bigger gun. I can practically see the saloon doors swinging.

Do I think people are going to die because of this law? Not necessarily. But I do think that the obvious presence of guns in public places sends out a message of paranoia and distrust in a time when we need to be joining hands.

In the Year 3000...

I think Conan's right on the money about this one:



YouTwitFace is gonna rock!

So what's your motivation?

Meranda Writes' blog caught my eye today. Hassled by her editor to submit some of her stories for national awards, she confesses that awards or "external praise," as she calls it, serve as no motivation for her when it comes to doing her job.

Motivation is actually something that I've given quite a bit of thought to lately, yet it's a topic that doesn't seem to come up much. Motivation just exists. It just "is," like breathing or walking. Everyone is motivated by something, but we don't often take time to think about what it is that continues to push us and drive us to achieve our highest potential.

In an attempt to coax more daily progress out of my newspaper-focused coworkers (aside: remember that I'm the only magazine rep, so I'm on a completely different schedule from them), my ad director initiated the Awesomeness Board. Posted right outside her door, the Awesomeness Board consists of a piece of posterboard with our names written down the left-hand side and plenty of empty space next to them. The idea: every time one of us does something awesome, we get a sticker. The sticker then goes next to our name on the Awesomeness Board for all the world to see.

Apparently, the Awesomeness Board works wonders for my coworkers. They all have so many stickers that we'll need to add another board soon. I think have four stickers total. I was honest with my boss.

"That doesn't motivate me."

"Well, it doesn't motivate me either," she said. "Money motivates me."

Ah, money. I can think of at least two more of my coworkers who are driven by cash. Offer a $150 spiff and they'll work and work and work until they meet their goals. However, at the moment, money doesn't motivate me either. Not that I don't need it. I just don't place as high a value on it as my married coworkers with two or three kids to support.

So what does motivate me?

Expectations. Goals. I want to be the best of the best. I want to surpass everyone's expectations and then some. I want to do better than my predecessor. I want people to be amazed at what I can do at my age. I want challenges, and I want obstacles. And I want to blow it out of the water.

I think my boss has figured it out already. Two weeks ago I met my goal on one of my magazines. While I was happily rejoicing, she looked at me and said, "I want you to get $1,000 more." At first, I looked at her in astonishment. There was no spiff involved, no bonus, no extra anything. There was just the challenge. A week later, it was done. $1,700 over my goal.

So yeah, money's nice. Being awesome is nice. Winning awards is nice. But ultimately, meeting challenges and being above average is what drives me to succeed.

What motivates you?

Lunch Duty Rap - Week 4, Persistence Pays Off

It's amazing what three months of sales experience will do for you.

Through my own experiences as well as watching my coworkers, I've gone from thinking solely like a reporter to understanding the vital importance of the sales team and how the whole process goes down. Of course, I still have much to learn, but I can't even imagine what 15 or 30 plus years of experience would give someone.

One of the most useful things I've learned is the importance of persistence. I know it sounds a little cliché, but without it, you're not going to meet your sales goals.

I've already explained my process as far as how I go about getting in touch with my customers. I do anything from calling to emailing to dropping in for a quick chat. For most of my customers, it works fine on the first visit. However, with some, it might take weeks to track them down.

With each magazine, I end up with a list of people that I can't get on the first try. So I wait a couple days and try again. Still nothing? Wait a week, try again. Repeat. I get frustrated and agitated and want to just throw my hands up in the air in defeat. But it never fails - when I'm down to the wire and I try them that one last time and finally get a yes, it's worth all the trouble I went to to get it.

Persistence is one of the hardest skills to maintain but one of the most rewarding, as long as you:

1. Get over the frustration of not being able to reach a customer.
2. Don't forget about the customer. Write it down and make sure you try them at least one last time before your deadline.
3. Ignore the idea that you're bugging their assistant to death and she's eventually just going to hang up when she hears your voice.
4. Start calling your customers early. The longer you have before your deadline, the more time you have to track people down.

Then, I can guarantee that persistence will ultimately push you over your goal in the end.

Lunch Duty Rap - Week 3, Longing for Photoshop

Teaching Online Journalism's post today reminded me of an issue I've been thinking a lot about lately.

It quotes Renee Barnes' question, "What skills are most important for an online journalist?"

The main skills that emerge include these:

1. Evidence of blogging and interaction with a wide range of blogs
2. An understanding and active use of social media (Twitter, RSS, social bookmarking etc.)
3. The ability to tell an engaging story using still images and audio (audio slideshow – see my previous post for great examples)
4. Ability to shoot, edit and tell stories using video.
5. Basic ability to create interactive story elements using Adobe Flash
6. Ability edit audio and produce podcasts
7. Ability to file from the field breaking news
8. Ability to moderate online discussion

Personally, I feel that all of these skills are not only important but absolutely necessary for journalists today. The speed with which we're moving toward online products and competition is fast-paced and inevitable. In order to best be able to market yourself and serve your community, you have to fully embrace technology and online journalism.

However, there is only one issue with this reality - access to resources.

Most of the technology referenced above is not free. Programs for photos, video, podcasting and web building can cost hundreds of dollars. If you work for a newspaper or online publication that is willing to foot the bill, then that's great. But what about the rest of us?

I work at a small newspaper with minimal funding and even less online use. I can barely access email, let alone any Flash programs or Photoshop. So in order to have the same opportunities as everyone else, it's up to me to fund my own education in technology.

The same goes for freelance writers, laid-off journalists, or journalists who are actively job searching. It's the Catch-22 of the journalism industry. In order to make yourself marketable, you need access to technology. But when you're unemployed or living on a very low income, it's hard to fork over hundreds of dollars in the hopes of keeping up with technology and successfully marketing yourself. In all honesty, sometimes it's a gamble that I'm not willing to make.

The solution? Who knows. Maybe a technology grant that journalists can apply for and receive. Maybe free classes or free access to some of these programs at public libraries. Maybe there are some things out there already that I don't know about yet. Luckily, blogs, social networks and story-writing are all free, so there's still hope for some of us. I do the best that I can with what I've got. While I'm constantly nervous about being so far from where I should be as far as technology is concerned, I hope that my knowledge of the industry and my love of learning will get me past any hump that may come along in my search for jobs in the future.

And as soon as I have some extra cash, it's going straight to a Photoshop fund.

Lunch Duty Rap - Week 2, War of the Gift Shops

It never fails that what ultimately saves my magazines is the ever-present and vicious competition among local consignment shops in Tifton.

It was drilled into me over and over in my economics classes that competition is good for local economies. Of course, there's all kinds of data to prove it. I've always understood it from a consumer's point of view. More competition means better prices for consumers and less chance of the formation of monopolizing and price-controlling businesses. But I never thought about how beneficial competition is for local advertising, as well.

Tifton has an abundance of small consignment stores, or gift shops, spread throughout the area. They specialize in Vera Bradley, host bridal registries and sell myriad interior decorating essentials. I can think of at least six stores off the top of my head, but I know there are many, many more. Currently, all six of those stores advertise with me and continue to advertise. Know why? They all secretly, or not-so-secretly, want to best each other.

When I started working on the magazines, only three of the shops advertised with me. As an experiment, I presented my magazines to another store and slyly mentioned the fact that some of the other shops were advertising with me. Immediately, the shop bought the back page to two of my magazines, our most expensive positions. Score one for Kelly.

Today, I visited another gift shop and the owner agreed to start advertising and get in on the action, also giving me the lowdown on all of the other shops she's in competition with, a.k.a. ammunition for future sales.

So without the graphs and microeconomic equations, I can personally vouch for the fact that competition is good not only for consumers but also for advertising. And we need all the economic stimuli we can get, even if it means getting my hands a little dirty in some small-town drama.

Technology worth tinkering with

Some crazy new stuff you should check out:

Bing, Microsoft's new search engine that's being launched on June 3.

Google Wave, a marriage between Gmail and Google Talk. Its revolutionary attributes include live chat in which you can see the other person typing character by character as well as an all-in-one place for viewing documents, pictures, emails, chats and more without delving into archives or extra screens. Unfortunately, Google Wave won't be available until later this year.

Woya, a consumer's saving grace when it comes to online purchases.

Credit card calamity

Today the U.S. House passed a bill that will enact major changes in the way consumers interact with their credit cards and credit card companies.

The Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights Act of 2009 was passed yesterday by the Senate, so now it only awaits presidential approval before becoming law.

Passage of the bill is consumer friendly in that it radically changes the way credit card companies are allowed to treat their customers, including extending the period of time between the postage of a bill and its actual due date. This will eliminate the ability of credit card companies to post a bill 10 days before its due with the goal of increasing the chance of charging customers late fees.

However, the bill also prohibits people under age 21 from obtaining a credit card without cosigning with a parent. While the idea is to nobly prevent credit card companies from bullying the college-aged crowd, it will ultimately harm young people in the future by stunting their ability to build credit.

I've been steadily building credit since I graduated from high school. I would buy something small with my credit card, pay it off, then start the cycle again the next month. Within a few years, I've built up thousands of dollars worth of credit, I have two credit cards, I've got a great credit score and I've learned to be responsible in the way that I handle credit.

Credit cards shouldn't be your enemy or your vice; they're your friends! They can get you out of a tight spot, give you a chance to treat yourself and help you become more responsible with your finances. You just have to learn to use them correctly. And the sooner young people learn to do that, the better.

Good news and bad news for newspapers

With real estate taking a nose dive and the automotive industry not far behind, it's no wonder newspaper advertising numbers are down more than ever.

Reflections of a Newsosaur's post on the effects of car dealerships' closings on local advertising rings eerily true with my own newspaper.

When I started at the Gazette about a month ago, there were grumblings from all the reps about being gold against such big numbers from last year's sales. But the one who grumbled the least was actually the one who'd lost the most.

This rep had been in control of all real estate advertising in addition to her local territory. When I looked at the sales sheet, I couldn't believe my eyes. She sold tens of thousands of dollars in real estate each month last year. Now, she's pulling around $1,000, or $2,000 in a good month. That means she won't be making her goals for at least a year and maybe more if real estate keeps falling. And you won't ever hear her complain about it.

Not to mention that that's hundreds of thousands of dollars lost to the newspaper itself. And if automotive dealers go the way of real estate, then we're in big trouble.

But the good news for newspapers, according to Reflections of a Newsosaur, is that broadcast news is set to take a bigger hit in automotive advertising losses than print news.

Think about all of the car dealership ads that you see on TV. Hometown ads with all kinds of graphics and children and little jingles. Most of those could disappear, and without the campaign ads that flooded TVs last year and lined the broadcast industry's pockets, broadcast news is in for a big hit this year.

While that's good news for newspapers, I'm a firm believer that we're all in this together. If it's a hit to broadcast news, it's a hit to the journalism industry itself. And whether we're newspapers, radio, broadcast or online, that means we're all going to have to work a little bit harder to make things work.

Wolfram Alpha - a twisted Jeopardy?

The buzz on the street today is Wolfram Alpha, the new "computational knowledge engine."

Basically, ask a question and Wolfram Alpha can answer it faster than you can find it on Wikipedia or Google. The idea is that all it takes is one click of your mouse to find an answer versus two or three clicks and maybe some scrolling. Typical questions for Wolfram Alpha usually deal with calculations, factoids, locations, dates, stocks and formulas.

I tried my birthday:




And as with any new program, there are lots of fun little Q&A easter eggs embedded in the system.

For example, enter "To be or not to be?" and get "...that is the question."

Or, my personal favorite:



For more geeky laughs, try Mashable's Top 10 Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs and 10 Even Better Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs.

Lunch Duty Rap - Week 1

Since I'm the newbie, I have "lunch duty" on Fridays. This means that every Friday, I have be in the office covering for the other reps while they're at lunch from 12 to 1. Today, all the reps are eating Mexican food, and I get to sit here for an hour to answer phones and help customers who come in. Except that in Tifton, everyone goes to lunch from 12 to 1, so no one ever calls or comes in.

Well, I've hereby decided that every Friday, I'm going to keep myself busy by posting a Lunch Duty Rap about something I've learned during the week or something I read that day or whatever I deem important at the time.

This week, I'm attacking the effectiveness of different selling tactics.

I've been actively selling advertising for three weeks, and I've officially tackled an entire magazine on my own. A feat in itself! But I've also quickly learned some valuable things about sales and the best ways to get an exuberant "yes" out of people. I've been e-mailing, phoning and visiting my customers like crazy, yet not all of these three strategies get good responses. Here's the scoop.

E-mail

Obviously the easiest option. Just plug in an email address, write out your sales pitch, suck up a little bit, attach a rate card and you're good to go, right?

Wrooong. I detest e-mailing as an option. With e-mail, people can ignore you, delete your e-mails, never e-mail you back, and then you're left with a bunch of holes in your publication that you can't fill because you've been waiting on responses from people for a month. Frustrating.

However, my ad director did introduce me to a wonderful tool to make e-mail response a little more effective. Sometimes e-mail is necessary if the customer lives outside of the immediate area or is too busy during the day to chat or visit. For those unfortunate times, a "read receipt" is your saving grace. When you know that your customer has read your email, and your customer knows that you know, you find yourself in a priceless position of power.

Phone

Also easy, as long as you don't have a phone phobia (which I'm ashamed to say I've had on occasion). So just call up your customers, give them the scoop, get the sale and move on, right?

Sometimes. Actually, the phone is a lot more effective than I thought it'd be. I've made lots of sales just by calling someone up and talking to them for a while.

However, there are times when it's not such a great option. There are two cases in particular: when you're dealing with gate keepers and the absence of face-to-face communication.

Gate Keepers

"Good morning! This is Kelly with the Gazette, how are you?"
"Err, fine..."
"Is Mr. So-and-So available?"
"Ummm no... he's... uh... he's busy right now... Can I take a message?"

Chances are, that message is never going to reach the desk of who you want to talk to. "Gate keepers" are the office managers and administrative assistants who hold the keys to the person you're trying to sweet talk. The trick? Kill them with kindness. Eventually, maybe they'll start to like you and at least give you his voicemail.

Face-to-Face Communication

Never underestimate the importance of communicating with someone in person. Whether it's in your own personal relationships or professional ones, it's always harder for people to turn you down to your face. End of story.

Sales calls

Last but not least, sales calls - the most efficient means of effectively conveying exactly what you want your customer to know and getting good results. Despite the name, a sales call isn't a "call" at all. It's simply paying a visit - in person - to your customer.

Smiling, chatting, showing them examples of products, actively listening to them - these are all things that your customers will appreciate and respect, most of the time. And sales calls are my personal favorite because they get me out of the office and out into the community to talk to people and learn new things.

News of the day

News of the day:

People who read news online usually read it for 53 minutes each week. That's up from 41 minutes in 2007. Sell that one to advertisers.

Also, Disney has officially partnered up with Hulu, further influencing the future of online TV. Now, ABC shows - Lost and Grey's Anatomy, etc. - will join the lineup alongside NBC and other providers. And hopefully this means we get The Little Mermaid, too!

Magazine meltdown

Here's some bad news.

The New York Times reports that magazine ad sales everywhere are down 26 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Good thing I just got a job in magazine ad sales...

But don't worry. I didn't go into this job blind to the stats. I know how tough it is to make good money in this industry right now. However, lucky for me I can afford to be cheap for a little while...

Facebook.com/no-way

I cringe every time I see Facebook make a move toward becoming a Myspace copycat.

There's a reason I don't use Myspace anymore. Actually, there are many reasons, one of them being exactly what Facebook is proposing to do next.

According to Mashable, Facebook is questioning users about whether they would pay to have a "vanity URL," such as facebook.com/kelly or facebook.com/snickerdoodle89 or facebook.com/ILoveMyBF.

Well, Facebook gets a big, fat "no" from me. One of the reasons I don't like Myspace is that it seems unprofessional and young in the way people interact with each other, especially through their URLs. Now don't get me wrong. I had my own cheesy username (myspace.com/stormyhaze), but my relationship with Myspace ended the day I left for college.

Facebook encourages people to be themselves and not to exist under a superficial persona. You operate under your full name, not a fake one, and unless you want to tarnish your reputation both online and in real life, you subconsciously monitor your actions and responses in order to maintain a likeable online personality. It also easily functions professionally when you decide to leave college life behind you for the real world and a real job. The more credibility Facebook has, the more likely it is to be used for professional purposes. The minute vanity URLs are brought into the picture, personal responsibility and professionalism fly out the window.

Through another's eyes

In line with my post from the other day, Martin Langeveld blogged about some of his ideas for the floundering industry.

My favorites:

"'Only 3 percent of newspaper reading happens online.' That’s newspaper reading, not news reading."

"...newspapers are in no position to charge for content, with the possible exception of high-value niche content in limited circumstances. The last thing an industry hard hit by disruption should be doing is raising prices, whether from zero to something, or from something to something more."

And he's an advocate of social networking! The perfect package. I hope there are a whole lot of journalists like him milling around out there.