Matt Larson -

The Our Hometown Road Show – Visiting Box Elder News Journal

The Our Hometown Road Show – Visiting Box Elder News Journal

Today I traveled up I-15N from Salt Lake to Brigham City, UT for a visit with Casey at Box Elder News Journal. My first objective was to put a face to the name. Casey Claybaugh, who’s been the publisher of the paper since 2009, switched to OHT in the middle of the COVID shutdown, so I wasn’t doing any in-person onboarding. But I knew someday I would find an opportunity […]

This Week in Journalism – Dec. 11, 2020

This Week in Journalism – Dec. 11, 2020

Apple fires warning shot at Facebook and Google on privacy, pledges fight against “data-industrial complex” [Apple’s senior VP of software Craig Federighi] made it clear that despite Apple delaying the release of new privacy features in its mobile operating system – a decision made shortly after Facebook publicly attacked the idea – it will now roll out in early 2021 and “we’ll begin requiring all apps that want to do […]

This Week in Journalism – Nov. 20, 2020

This Week in Journalism – Nov. 20, 2020

Buzzfeed Acquires Huffpost, Announces Strategic Partnership with Verizon Media “The consolidation is the latest example of digital media brands looking to achieve scale and stability as they face intense competition from tech giants like Facebook and Google in the ad market.” How the Daily Memphian grew newsletter subscribers to more than 40,000 in fewer than two years “Here’s an idea to steal and adapt:  Focusing on newsletter subscriber acquisition will […]

The Future of Local News Media:  Hear from Experts [PODCAST REVIEW]

The Future of Local News Media: Hear from Experts [PODCAST REVIEW]

This week I discovered the Editor & Publisher Podcast, hosted by Mike Blinder, the new publisher of Editor & Publisher Magazine. I love listening to podcasts, but this is the first one that I have discovered (besides the Our Hometown News Podcast) that focuses specifically on the local newspaper industry. The podcast has many excellent episodes available,  but one that has stood out to me as especially on-point in much […]

“Getting People to Pick Up Your Paper” with Kevin Slimp – Webinar Recap

“Getting People to Pick Up Your Paper” with Kevin Slimp – Webinar Recap

Last Thursday I had a great time talking with Kevin Slimp, the New Guru, about strategies for increasing print circulation (see the full recording here). Overall, Kevin focused on the importance of getting to know your readers.  The “Big Idea” of the session was his recommendation that newspapers hold annual focus groups with the public to ask questions about the paper. Page by page, column by column, these focus group […]

This Week in Journalism – Nov. 13, 2020

This Week in Journalism – Nov. 13, 2020

News Corp Profits Q3, Podcast Subscriptions on Spotify, and Subscriber Retention Strategies. #1 – News Corp Stock Surges on better-than-expected quarterly profits “It is clear that the digital landscape is changing fundamentally, and the company has been an important catalyst for that change.  The principle of a premium for premium content is now recognized, and there will inevitably be further developments in algorithmic transparency and the digital advertising marketing, two […]

This week in Journalism:  Digital Subscriptions Rising, Text-to-Audio, and more

This week in Journalism: Digital Subscriptions Rising, Text-to-Audio, and more

We come across a lot of interesting articles in our research on the local news industry. Here are some of the articles we are enjoying this week: #1 – New York Times Hits 7 Million Subscribers as Digital Revenue Rises “Our strategy for journalism worth paying for continues to prove itself out,” said CEO Meredith Kopit Levin. “Digital subscriptions would not only be the central driver of the publisher’s growth, […]

Office Hours – June 12, 2020

Office Hours – June 12, 2020

Welcome to the first Virtual Office Hours with the Our Hometown Support team. https://our-hometown.com/join-us-for-office-hours-this-friday-at-1pm/ Watch the full office hour video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLYBdP_qDek See below for highlight links. Top Stories: Recap on our last Virtual Conference – Helping Local Businesses During Shutdown and Reopening Video: https://youtu.be/WLYBdP_qDek?t=40 Blog Post: https://our-hometown.com/virtual-conference-recap-helping-local-businesses-from-shutdown-to-re-opening/ Next Virtual Conference Announcement – Digital to Print Publishing with Meg Norris Video: https://youtu.be/WLYBdP_qDek?t=136 Blog Post: https://our-hometown.com/virtual-conference-digital-to-print-publishing-with-meg-norris/ What are Pending Transactions? Video: […]

Second Street Summit – Smarter Ways to Use Email

Second Street Summit – Smarter Ways to Use Email

Session 2 for the day. June 9 at 3pm EST “Smarter Ways to Use Email with Quizzes, Polls, Ballots, and More” Speakers: Jennifer Williams Tim D’Avis LIVE UPDATES: Email and Promotions Work Together 87% of new email opt ins come from promotions The Cycle: Run Promotions. Send Emails. Repeat. Follow-up promotions by moving your audience to the next digital action. Feature promotions and interactive content in newsletters to capture valuable […]

Second Street Summit – “Building a Better Email Program”

Second Street Summit – “Building a Better Email Program”

Second Street is running a virtual summit this week focused on the topic of email newsletters. https://summit.secondstreet.com/schedule/ See below for some of the ideas that stood out to us: Session 1 June 9 at 1pm EST “Building a Better Email Program: How to Use Newsletters to Drive Relationships and Revenue” Dan Oshinsky dan@inboxcollective.com Live notes: Why Email Works Email is a place to engage and start a 1 to 1 […]

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