Newspaper Coverage

rvrrat14 · Jan 21, 2018

This is a great place to get your name out! Pro Bono work for the most part, but providing aerial photos to the local rag in exchange for your name as contributor will get you noticed in your community!

KingRat · Dec 27, 2021

The paper's sub editors, editors and owners get paid. the printer gets paid.... or do they all work for nothing too?

Are you really happy that the paper is making money off the back of your investment and expertise?

BigAl07 · Dec 27, 2021

KingRat said:
The paper's sub editors, editors and owners get paid. the printer gets paid.... or do they all work for nothing too?

Are you really happy that the paper is making money off the back of your investment and expertise?

First off WELCOME to the forum.

To the point, just because the above business model doesn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. Our company is about to "officially" turn 9 years old and to date we have never paid for a single advertisement. We have an "Agreement" with a local news agency in regards to advertising. They give me a call if they have something "specific" they want shot otherwise we just give them local shots of the area to use as they wish and in exchange they promote our company weekly. Our company has hit 6-figures and we have to figure a lot of our exposure comes from our "Agreement".

KingRat · Dec 28, 2021

BigAl07 said:
First off WELCOME to the forum.

To the point, just because the above business model doesn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. Our company is about to "officially" turn 9 years old and to date we have never paid for a single advertisement. We have an "Agreement" with a local news agency in regards to advertising. They give me a call if they have something "specific" they want shot otherwise we just give them local shots of the area to use as they wish and in exchange they promote our company weekly. Our company has hit 6-figures and we have to figure a lot of our exposure comes from our "Agreement".

How big is 'your town'? Ours has a population of about 9000, I doubt there is much to be gained from our local rag. I work for our National papers over here, but i don't let them have images for nothing.

Fred Garvin · Dec 28, 2021

Nothing is free. Everything has value. You simply have to determine what that value is and if both sides of the equation works.

In @BigAl07 case, that weekly promotion and advertising, depending on the medium and the market, could potentially have a tremendous value. Just call the place and ask how much $$$ it would cost to have that weekly promotion and advertising. I think you'll find it's quite expensive. Offering images and footage in trade for this, if all parties agree, is just fine.

In your case (@KingRat) it may not work out. How much would your local paper charge you for weekly advertising and promotion? Is that cost less than what you sell your services for? More? About the same?

You don't have to exchange $$$ for a business transaction to be beneficial. It's reasonable to investigate an opportunity, if it arises. It is also very prudent to look at these "get your name out there" offers with a very critical eye. Make sure they can actually "get your name out there" and aren't just yo-yo's looking for free stuff.

BigAl07 · Dec 28, 2021

KingRat said:
How big is 'your town'? Ours has a population of about 9000, I doubt there is much to be gained from our local rag. I work for our National papers over here, but i don't let them have images for nothing.

To each their own.

In answer to your question, my "town" is fairly similar in size

Waynesville

Town in North Carolina
9,965 (2019)

For my free images I get IG traffic, FB traffic, print traffic. and weekly print/electronic ads. Honestly, if I had to be frank, it's one heck of a deal for us. It's given us several newspaper covers, 2 regional magazine covers, and one TV news story about our work. We've found an avenue that works amazing for our company and this may or may not work for others. YMMV.