Newspaper sites have remained dependent on classified verticals. So what can a local newspaper do to maintain and gain share? Join a consortium, partner with a competitor or continue to slug it out alone. The Webinar will cover the numbers for each vertical and offer concrete examples of newspapers that have found their niche and are making money in the verticals through segmented tactics.

Viewers will leave this Webinar armed with:
• the latest spending forecasts for the Big 3 classifieds;

• examples of successful classified campaigns; and

• strategic insight of pure-plays in the verticals.

The cost to participate is $75 for one login. More than one person can view. Participants will be invoiced.

At least 20 participants are needed to make the Webinar happen. The deadline to register is Dec. 5, but space is limited, so early sign-ups are encouraged.

To reserve a space in the Webinar go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/493281590
or use link on VPA website under Training

Questions - Contact Kim Woodward 804-521-7574 kimw at vpa dot net

Reducing the rate of decline of print linage is going to be extremely critical over the next 18 months, as many publications haven’t fully develop plans to transition their customers to online. By developing bundled solutions, you can focus on selling brand solutions rather than product solutions. Make sure that all your salespeople offer total solutions that include print and online, rather than simply print.

Keep this in mind: don’t devalue your online offerings by saying they are “free with the purchase of your print advertising.” That type of pitch will permanently relegate your online advertising as an afterthought and put you in a difficult situation when it comes time to shift primarily to online. Instead, ask that your sales team sell packages that never include just print. Train them to say, “You will generate more sales with a bundled solution that reaches your prospects, both in print and online. This will touch a larger group of prospects and ensure that your message is more effective in generating leads for your business.”

Make sure that your entire staff understands that it’s not the delivery method that defines your product; rather, it’s the content. Someday we’ll be looking at the internet as the old way of delivering information, and we’ll be fretting during our 2029 budgeting process about how we transition our customers from the internet to a new delivery method.

Questions - Contact Kim Woodward - 804-521-7574 kimw at vpa dot net

A PageRank is a number between 0 and 10 with 10 as the highest. Many newspaper sites have a PageRank of around 5 or 6. WashingtonPost.com has an 8 and NewYorkTimes.com is a 9.

This tool will tell you your site’s PageRank:

http://www.searchenginegenie.com/search-engine-page-rank-checking.php

Reporters and editors attending AP Day at the Capital on Dec. 2 will get a double dose of politics. We’ll start the day with a panel analyzing the political scene in Virginia, including the presidential race. And at lunchtime, participants will have a chance to hear the gubernatorial candidates and submit questions.

We’ll also have a session on the Virginia budget and on some of the basics of covering the legislature, such as how to get to the source of a bill and contacting legislators.

The session, organized by Virginia AP Managing Editors and co-sponsored by Virginia Press Association, will be in the first floor conference room at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Because Virginia APME has a little money in the bank, we’re holding registration fees to $10 per person – and that includes lunch. AP Day at the Capital is open to all Virginia newspapers.

An agenda and registration information is below. Please note that the deadline to register is 5 p.m. Nov. 24.
Cost: $10, includes lunch

To register: contact Stacey Carroll at The Associated Press - scarroll at ap dot org or (804) 225-8967

Agenda:

Registration and Breakfast (9:00 – 9:30 a.m.)

Virginia Politics 2008 (9:30-10:30 a.m.)
Moderator: Andrew Cain
Panelists:
1.  Robert Holsworth
2.  Richard Cranwell
3.  Jeff Frederick
*15 minute break

Virginia’s Budget (10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Moderator: Christina Nuckols
Panelists:
1.  Rick Brown
2.  Chuck Colgan

Lunch: Speakers, Gubernatorial Candidates (12:00 – 1:45 p.m.)
Moderator:  Ed Jones
*15 minute break

VPA Afternoon Session (2:00 – 3:30 p.m.)
Ginger Stanley – Executive Editor, Virginia Press Association
How to get to the source of a bill; contacting legislators; best use of legislative staff; subcommittees; lobbyists.

Journalist’s tour of the Capitol, led by Bob Lewis of AP and Jeff Schapiro of Richmond Times-Dispatch (3:30 p.m.)

The morning session, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, will focus on “Maximizing Online Readership with the Right Content and Smart Applications.” It will focus on five main goals:

• Learn how a mid-sized daily newspaper built a Web site with 500,000 pages of content – and saw its audience skyrocket.
• Learn how to set up free, top-quality audience software within five minutes and gain critical insights into visitor behavior.
• Learn how to turn a weekly newspaper or section into a daily site, and a daily site into a dynamic one.
• Learn how to recognize when “user-generated content” will build your audience or cost you visitors – and possibly bring a lawsuit.
• Learn why your site may need only one hour a day of extra effort.

Scott Bateman, VPA’s online media consultant, will lead the session.

In the afternoon session, set for 1 to 4 p.m., Jennifer Hall, senior counsel for the Newspaper Association of America, will discuss “Legalities of Online Content.” This interactive workshop will cover the fair use of digital content (particularly video or audio clips), online reporting of sports and entertainment events, social networking issues and liability for posted third-party content, hyper-linking risks, and online privacy considerations, particularly for sites directed at children. Participants will be given guidance and learn strategies for minimizing legal exposure in these areas.

Cost for VPA members to attend is $45 for one session or $70 for both. Nonmembers would pay $70 for one session or $100 for both. Lunch is included in the cost.

A universal registration form on VPA’s web site.  Circle the sessions to be attended. It is recommended that members copy the registration form for use with future sessions.

Participants also may register by e-mail to Kim Woodward at kimw at vpa dot net