As periodical publishers are moving toward offering digital distribution of content, we’re discovering that a financial model that works for print often falls short in the virtual world. Online advertising doesn’t bring in the same level of revenue as print, and readers are resistant to the idea of paying for content. So when analog dollars turn into digital dimes, what’s a publisher to do? Start stacking dimes!
That’s the advice of Journal Register Co. CEO John Paton. In an interview with the industry journal News & Tech he said, “If a digital ad is worth a dime, then find a cost-effective way to get those dimes. Look at it this way: Adobe spent millions of dollars to develop Flash and Acrobat, but they give those apps away for free, because free is the market. We have a similar situation. If the audience you have is only worth dimes, then you have to find a cost-effective way to create and deliver content to that audience.”
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