Raise your hand if talking about money makes you feel weird. 🙋‍♀️

Sometimes, talking about finances and revenue lines makes us all uncomfortable. (The sheer mention of EBITDA puts shivers down my spine.) But if we're serious about building sustainable news organizations, we have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

If you like business nerd-ery, though, you’re going to love this conversation between TJ Larkin of Local Media HQ and Blue Engine General Manager David Grant on the Local Media HQ podcast about advertising, marketing and products in local media.

What if the best media product today is something very traditional mixed with something very contemporary?

On one hand, David argued, this optimal media product would invest in free, monthly print a la the immensely successful Community Impact. Advertisers (still) love these products, and getting direct access to audiences’ mailbox can be a powerful brand-building asset.

On the other, you’d invest in creator-focused digital distribution in short-form video to get your stories out to as many others as possible. Advertisers are seeking this type of exposure.

As you built the business, you’d expand your reader revenue offerings and direct digital reach through email newsletters.

Print and creators? We’re ready for your hot takes on this in the replies.

Why are some local news players amazing at ad sales while others don't believe it's even possible?

Some act like a local business, showing up at local events, sponsoring local activities, and playing a clear, visible role in the community.

Some will just share the size of their email list.

There’s a massive difference between those two approaches in terms of sponsorship sales and, eventually, reader revenue.

If you're selling an advertiser or sponsor on “10,000 newsletter readers,” you're making them do a lot of work to understand why those 10,000 people are valuable.

If you’ve told the story of these 10,000 people to someone over a coffee — and have some interesting survey data to back-up your claims — now you’ve got a prized local asset.

This is one of our favorite subjects at Blue Engine. The local news biz just doesn’t prioritize marketing the way it should.

TJ and David get into why marketing can't just mean posting the story to social. We invest in making the journalism, but rarely put the same energy into getting people to know us, building the brand, and giving audiences more reasons to come back. Listen or watch, and then let us know what you think you could learn more about on local news marketing by replying to this email.

WATCH THE FULL CONVERSATION

There's a lot packed into the conversation, but the bottom line is there isn't one way to build a sustainable news business.

What works depends on your audience, your market, your strengths, what your community is willing to pay for, and a dozen other things. And that’s a pretty good argument for getting a bunch of people building very different media businesses into the same room. Conveniently, we're doing exactly that in Durham this October with TJ, Matt McGarry, and many others.

LOCAL NEWS CAMP · DURHAM, NC · OCTOBER 14–16

Want to keep talking business?

Join us at Camp, and this is exactly the kind of stuff we'll be getting into: what you're selling, how you're marketing it, where the next revenue line might come from, and what other local news businesses have already figured out that you can borrow.

Together, we will get stuff done, have fun, and leave inspired to crush 2027.

Use code LENFEST for $100 off!