Remember the 3 D’s of being a publisher

Too many newspapers view themselves as a one-trick pony (Merriam Webster: someone or something that is skilled in only one area). Leaving the safety and comfort of our core newspaper product for something new, undefined and risky is intimidating and downright unsettling for many. And that course of inaction is simply dangerous. 

Is your newspaper guilty? Finding the answer is easier than you think — simply assess how your team views new opportunities as they present themselves. Are they met with excitement or viewed as just another burden that must be published / sold? 

This is where the 3 D’s of publishing come into play — and it is critical every member on your staff (not just your revenue team) fully understands and appreciates the potential of the practice. 

The 3 D’s of publishing

D1: Discover 

D2: Develop

D3: Deliver

First, as publishers (all staff members are publishers to a certain extent), we must always be discovering (D1) new audiences. They can be an attractive, underserved market 30 miles down the road or maybe a group of people who are interested in agriculture or hunting. They could even be an existing festival scheduled in your market. Once you get the hang of this, audiences are everywhere you look. 

Second, once we have successfully discovered (D1) an audience, we then must develop (D2) a tool or tools to best reach these people. Again, is it a niche magazine, a new section in our newspaper, or figuring out how to offer a direct-mail tool to reach them? Study and understand the potential audience to the point you can provide an accurate thumbnail description of the audience as clearly if they were sitting across the table from you. Then — and only then — can you accurately shape and develop your potential tools. 

Third, deliver. Once you’ve discovered (D1) and developed (D2), we must then deliver (D3) the audience to your advertisers. Assuming D1 and D2 are done correctly, this next step is many times the easiest part. If an audience is properly discovered and accurately developed, now all you need to do is connect the dots between the advertiser and audience — and stand back and watch the fun. 

Our newspaper is — and will continue to be — our bread and butter product. It is what we do better than anyone else. But for our newspaper industry to continue to be healthy, we must boldly move beyond the fear of the unknown and unproven. Only by successfully looking through the prism of the 3 D’s can we (or any business) keep from becoming just another one-trick pony put out to pasture before its time.