The Log Angeles Times
The Log Angeles Times is a daily newspaper that is published in California, Los Angeles. The paper has been on the play since 1881. Among the many other publications in the United States, LA times if the fourth-largest circulation paper. The paper is one of the most extensive metropolitan daily news feed in California. The article contains a daily readership of up to 1.2 million, and on Sundays, the paper readership sprouts to 2. Million. The combination of both the online and print readers of the LA Times in a week is 4.4 million readers. The future of all the newspapers depends on the revenue growth of readers. Globalization and advancements in technology being significant contributors to the need for online presence growth among media houses.
The digital subscribers at the LA times are significantly getting low by the day. The drop of the online presence of the paper can be as a result of unrealistic expectations by the team or due to failures by the editorial and the business itself. Among the aims of the LA time sin 2019, was to double its online subscribers from its 150,000 subscribers to at least 300,000 online subscribers. However my midway through this year, the LA times are not even close to attaining this number and have only been able to add 13,000 subscribers, which is way below the goal. According to the managing director and executive editor of the LA Times, the future of the company depends on the growth of revenue from the online subscribers. Besides, the online presence of the newspaper will promote the competition among the LA Times and other prominent diaries in the US like the New York Times. Reports suggest that although the paper got 52,000 new subscriptions, there were also significant cancellations on the subscription leaving the company to only 13000. As a result of this “failure,” the LA Times is making it a priority on their digital development. Some of how the online presence and increase of subscribers for the LA times can be achieved include:
Retaining its subscribers
There is a big difference between acquiring subscribers online and maintain these subscribers. According to the report by the LA Times, although they learned 52000new online subscribers, there were a lot of cancellations, and they only retained 13000 subscribers. The issue with online presence and subscribers is that the company need to keep proving its worth over time, repeatedly. To be able to make reader revenue, in the digital newspaper model, then retention is critical. To be able to retain its online presence, add on its online subscribers, and be the best newspaper in the US, the LA times need to try the following digital hacks. Frequent messaging of the readers and subscribers. This messaging will help the readers see the value of their subscription, both practically and in terms of supporting the media house. On the other hand, customer feedback is very significant, through the use of input from the readers and producing what the consumers deem meaningful is a way of ensuring that the consumers are retained.
The LA times are slow in the promotion of their newspapers. A case states that the paper only sends one email daily with the same subject, “your Enewspaper has arrived.” and only with the image of the front page of the paper. The times do not give the online subscribers the significance of their subscription. In comparison, the New York times dedicate a team to new subscribers for the first 90 days after their subscription. The team in the New York Times helps in ensuring that the new subscribers love their subscription and that the readers desire to read more and more. Through this strategy, the paper is able to not only retain their subscribers but also to add more of them as they represent the worth of their subscribers digitally.
Learning from its peers.
The New York Times does not only email its subscribers in the morning about the daily paper and an image of its first paper. New York times message its subscribers all the time on issues of subscriber benefits, exclusive content, events and activities, a chance to interact with favorite reporters, stories that one might have missed and would enjoy them and many other involvements. Activities like this help the New York paper to gain more subscriptions and add on their online presence, by ensuring they are felt, and their consumers are squeezed. The LA time, therefore, can try and learn from its competitors and peers in the digital world. The paper must adopt the strategies of the New York Times, but the formulation of other involving techniques online would help with its struggle of keeping an online presence, adding to its subscribers and becoming an excellent paper in the United States.
Not being Boring!
The digital department I the area of newspaper is a recent development. Newspapers have always been analog and most people enjoy the hard copy element of the news. On the other hand with the___14 advancements in technology, people can access news from many platforms in the world. In this case, the LA times cannot afford to be boring and uninvolved with its online presence and subscribers. Since life is about learning new things every day, the company can try innovations. For instance, the analysis of the feedback from the consumers can greatly help the company in providing the subscribers with what they deem interesting and important.
On the other hand, being involved with subscribers is essential. Strategies like home delivery of the times magazines monthly to its customers are a good move, for example. Competitions, where winners get rewarded, is also another strategy of increasing its online presence and adding on its subscribers. The development of ore involving and entertaining activities to its online subscribers will help in boosting the number of subscribers the times have online.
In conclusion, it is not about the number of online subscribers that matter, but the retention of these subscribers. By retaining subscribers, the LA times will be able to increase its online presence and climb up the ranks into being the US number one newspaper. Among some of the ways the company can achieve this is by concentrating on first retain their present online subscribers, learning from its competitors the New York Times for example and not being boring but being involved and entertaining the online subscribers. With the development in technology and globalization, the LA times must maintain and develop its online presence to boost the readers’ revenue, which is increasing over time.