Niche publications can be profitable to newspapers p. 16

By: Tony Case

FROM REAL ESTATE guides to telephone directories to entertainment tabloids, many niche publications can bring lots of money into newspapers, Ken Blum, weekly division manager of Spectrum Publications, Orrville, Ohio, told National Newspaper Association members at their recent convention.
Blum said community-newspaper publishers can use their expertise to create new, profitable publications that will attract customers and make the competition green with envy.
Spectrum, publisher of the 2,388-circulation weekly Orrville Courier Crescent, also produces eight community guides, which have an average gross profit of $26,000.
The circulations of the company's publications vary from 9,000 to 16,000; the publications charge from $200 to $300 for a quarter-page advertisement.
Two of Spectrum's most successful papers, both monthlies, are the North Central Business Journal and, for senior citizens, Horizons. Blum said Horizons is distributed free at local businesses. It is especially popular at eating establishments frequented by seniors.
Horizons is cost-efficient, he pointed out, as distribution is cheap (a single driver is paid $100 to drop the papers at delivery points in a two-county area), printing costs are reasonable and stories are written by free-lancers.
Spectrum has a strict policy of keeping its niche publishing arm independent of its newspaper operation, Blum said. He advised publishers wanting to get into the field to select projects carefully by determining their prospective audiences and best profit potential.
"Launch a successful project, and after it's flying, layer on the next project for continual growth," he said. But if a publication does not meet revenue and profit goals, "cut your losses and get out."