Hello magazine goes digital
Hello magazine has launched a digital edition. It’s available as soon as the retail edition is released. Subscription and single copy sales are supported through Zinio.
The impact of free newspapers
Project freesheet is an excellent website documenting the impact of free newspapers on the environment. Their goal is to collect and publish 1.5 million images of the impact of free. They chose 1.5 million because that’s the number of free newspapers given away each day around London.
News Ltd announced yesterday the launch of MX, their free daily, into the Brisbane market following success in Sydney and Melbourne.
A look into the future?
Here’s what an instant lottery ticket dispensing unit looks like at the checkout counter of Tesco supermarkets in the UK. I expect that it’s this type of unit which Intralot would have placed at checkouts of Coles and Safeway if they will the instant ticket licence in Victoria.
Newsagents who do not want to see these units at supermarket checkout counters in Australia need to act now. The petition re the move by Greek company Intralot to setup in Victoria and partner with supermarkets is still live here. You have nothing to lose by letting your elected representatives know how you feel now.
RSVP scam follow up
My blog post yesterday about how an affiliate marketing campaign run by Fairfax Digital chasing traffic for their RSVP site caused a stir.
Crikey.com.au picked up the story for their daily email bulletin and their website.
It was fascinating watching the quick disassembling of the RSVP affiliate campaign. It’s not easy and during the day one could see the retreat. The Google cache remains the only live online evidence I suspect that other affiliate campaigns purchased by Fairfax Digital were disassembled too as a result of our outing this affiliate marketing practice by Fairfax.
I received several calls including one from the CEO of Commission Monster. He said that what I reported was the action of a rogue affiliate, possible someone looking to commercially harm Commission Monster, and that as soon as they discovered this they took the campaign down. I don’t know if it was the action of a rogue affiliate and frankly I don’t care. Given the thousands of dollars Fairfax would have running in its RSVP affiliate campaigns with Commission Monster, both companies ought to know when a ‘rogue affiliate’ is at work or not. If they were concerned about such things they would have checks and balances in place to ensure that the scam I outed yesterday did not continue beyond a day. That it was running for at least two months demonstrates to the cynic in me that they were happy to turn a blind eye.
I suspect that RSVP suffers from a significant churn – hence the need for even dubious campaigns such as affiliate campaigns. Fairfax would know something about churns from their newspaper experience. They would also know about the need to engage in practices acceptable to the Audit Bureau. The scams used in some affiliate marketing campaigns ought to be enough to scare off any respectable company regardless of the new traffic generated.
It will be interesting to see how this issue plays out and whether I hear anything from Fairfax Digital.
UK visitor surprised at newsagent channel strength
We had a chap from a UK publishing company in our shop the other day and he commented at how robust the newsagency channel seemed in Australia compared to the UK. He lamented the loss of mid size shops like ours. I know from my recent trips to the UK that there is a huge difference from the top end WH Smith type stores to the 20,000+ high street newsagents which are barely existing as convenience stores.
The suppliers who rely on our strong channel would do well to travel to the UK and see what happens if you squeeze at the bottom end too much.
The refurbishment gets better
K-Mart closed a month ago for a nine month make over into a Target store. So far so good. Some categories down and others up. We’re dealing with it. The big surprise today was the news from the landlord that we’re going to have to give up most one of our stationery aisle for works related to the Target build – they have to replace the steel columns with concrete ones. Besides losing the space there is the visual impact on the business with a temporary construction feel as well as other challenges we will discover when this starts.
Fairfax / RSVP caught manipulating Google results
Fairfax Digital, the owner of RSVP, the biggest online dating site in Australia, seems to be using dubious SEO tactics to manipulate Google search results to attract more traffic to its site.
Using Hitwise data we can see that RSVP attracted, on average, 3.3 million visits a month over December 2006 and January 2007. Our 3loves site attracted on average 49,778 visits a month over the same two months while all online dating sites attracted on average 20.79 million visits a month. RSVP has 15.8% share of traffic in the online dating category. We have 1.5% of RSVPs traffic.
These stats make the RSVP behaviour all the more curious. Here’s what we know so far.
Fairfax Digital uses an organisation called Commission Monster to promote RSVP and, we suspect, other Fairfax Digital sites. We discovered this by tracking redirection from a Google search results link through to where we actually ended up. We were taken through Commission Monster on the way to the page we were seeking through Google.
Someone, we suspect Commission Monster, has created a page which redirects traffic to RSVP when they have been searching for 3LOVES. This is a violation of Google rules. Click here to see what Google thinks is at the page. This is what the Google spider cached on January 30 this year. Curiously, the page has been modified in the last 24 hours, since we first raised this issue, and is now displaying an error.
Until yesterday, the page seemed to check where the click came from and if it was not Google, the browser redirected to RSVP. We know from Google results and what’s in their cache that the Google spider was not redirected.
Here is the Google cache for the page as captured by us today. This is evidence of misbehavior. Fairfax / RSVP actions over the last 24 hours show they know they have been caught out. Expect the Google cached page to change as they try and remove traces of their Google search results manipulation.
That Fairfax and or their representatives have changed the redirect page in the last 24 hours is proof to us that they know they have done something wrong.
Even though it does not actually exist. Browsers clicking on the Google search results are taken through what is called a 302 redirect to RSVP. Whoever set this up did so to take people searching for 3LOVES to RSVP.
Whoever has done this has gone to considerable lengths to try and trick the Google spider. BMW did something similar and were removed from Google for a time as a result. Details of what BMW did and the consequences can be read here. Google gave BMW a pagerank 0 penalty, meaning that they lose all relevancy in Google searches. It’s kind of like being sent to Siberia in Winter for a while. Google takes attempts to manipulate search results very seriously as the purity of results is crucial to their credibility and business model.
We know from our research that Fairfax Digital is not only targeting our 3LOVES site in this way. We have plenty of other dating site names being used to drive traffic to RSVP in this way. Here is the cached page setup for Adultmatchmaker.
We have reported the matter to Google. They came back to us quickly and have sought additional information which we are providing.
Google’s webmaster guidelines cover this issue. Specifically, Google advises webmasters: Don’t employ cloaking or sneaky redirects. They go on to say: If a site doesn’t meet our quality guidelines, it may be blocked from the index. This is why we are putting it to Google that RSVP is removed from the Google index.
3LOVES is a tiny free online dating site. We’re new, we’re under-resourced and we are filling a need in the community. People are spending too much chasing love online. Tens of millions of dollars are spent each year by Australians chasing love and romance online. If we can save even a fraction o that for people to use elsewhere in their lives than our mission will be accomplished.
The folks at Fairfax Digital and RSVP ought to get a grip and focus on their offering rather than try and con people searching for us into visiting their RSVP site.
3loves is part of an online classifieds offering we are launching with newsagents as our retail partners.
Fitness First newspaper deal saves $299 a year
As a Fitness First member I received a subscription offer in the mail yesterday for The Age: 52 weeks of Friday through Monday home delivery for $49.00. Saving over $299.00 a year according to the brochure.
Growing single copy newspaper sales
“Consumer behavior has changed,” Schaub explains. “They will not go out of their way to find your product. … If they go to Starbucks, you have to be inside Starbucks and be in their pattern. They won’t turn the corner to find you.”
That’s Dan Schaub, senior vice president of circulation for the Sacramento Bee quoted in an excellent article by Jennifer Saba about single copy newspaper sales published two days ago by Editor & Publisher. Newsagents, staff in industry associations and publishers need to read this. They (we) need to read it and discuss it. This article goes to the heart of the challenges we face in newsagencies in Australia at the moment.
I especially enjoyed reading about the research by the Newspaper Association of America including this:
Buyer behavior has become more erratic when it comes to purchasing papers at the newsstand (or local convenience store or supermarket). This means front-page design and hard-driving marketing tactics are even more necessary to ramp up sales, the study suggests.
We’re seeing erratic buyer behaviour here. This is why publishers want to get their newspapers into more outlets like Gloria Jeans, Big W and Starbucks as we have seen over the last year or so.
The article details this mystery shopper promotion run by the Sacramento Bee circulation people:
In addition to upping racks and distribution in retail outlets, the Bee made sure to hit the streets in an effort to get to know managers and store clerks — the people who decide the placement and sale of the product, much like Jimmy Newsboy of old.
To get the copies flowing, the circulation team approached sales clerks with a “mystery shopper” incentive program. Sales clerks who suggested to any customer that they buy the Bee, would receive money on the spot — $10 to $20 — if a team member “caught” them doing it, during a surprise visit. Using the power of peer pressure, the Bee distributed a newsletter every week to the participating stores listing who won the cash. Those clerks who failed to mention the Bee during the covert visits were also listed. “We saw a big difference with that,” Swift says.
The mystery-shopper contest was combined with price pulsing (a reduction in the price of the paper). Initially, sales grew 17% during the promotion. Even after the price went back up and the incentive program ended, single-copy sales grew 8%.
Be sure to read the whole article. In my view the issues are the same here except we’re a little behind. The article provides advance notice – an opportunity for newsagents to get on the front foot.
155 magazine digital initiatives in 2006
The Magazine Publishers of America has announced that 155 Magazine Digital Initiatives were announced in 2006. Check out the list by the MPA here.
Powerball $33 million jackpot drives retail excitement
We’re promoting the $33 million Powerball lottery jackpot in key non lottery traffic areas of the shop this week. The size of the prize and that Powerball usually produces fewer to share division 1 has heightened customer interest. So, we’ve created in-store materials of our own to punch the excitement for us and our customers. Here’s what we have done at the front of the shop:
Above our top selling magazines:
At our front-of-shop magazine display:
At our newspaper stand:
And, at our main non lottery sales counter:
We spent $50 on the balloons and $10.00 on colour copies of the posters Tattersalls provided us. This investment will generate an exceptional return, especially from infrequent gamblers – those who only jump in when the prize jackpots like this. The theatre created by the materials will also drive non-lottery sales.
Fairfax SEO strategy manipulates Google results
Do a Google search for our startup free online dating site, 3loves, and this comes up in the results.
If you click on the link it takes you to RSVP. This is very clever Search Engine Optimisation by Fairfax Digital, the owners of RSVP and reflects a manipulation of Google search results. In the bricks and mortar world this could be considered passing off your product as something else to get a prospect interested.
I don’t know why Fairfax would go to so much trouble, we are barely an ant to their gigantic online dating site. Maybe it has something to do with RSVP costing around $30 a month for members to do what they can do at 3loves for free. Whatever the reason, Fairfax ought to stop manipulating Google search results as it’s scams like this which will lead to distrust.
People using Google and other search engines need to be able to trust search results and games like those played by Fairfax dilute that trust. Someone searching for 3loves wants to find entries which refer to 3loves, not entries created solely to siphon this traffic off to a website which has no relationship at all with 3loves.
There are enough scammers in the online dating world already. I wold have thought Fairfax too successful to engage in these games.
3loves is a social media site launched to support our Find It online classifieds business – a online model we are launching with newsagents.
Fairfax drives newspaper readers online
The Age has changed its approach to online over the last few weeks. Whereas in the past some stories would list additional information available at The Age website, now they more actively promote the website. The photo is from the story yesterday about the Academy Awards – readers are encouraged online for more information. In the same story in the Sydney Morning Herald there is no such link promoted. However, their website pitch is included in their masthead on page one.
Fairfax is leading the promotion of online extensions of stories. There are some who would say this move is evidence of their desire to shift people online in the knowledge that newspapers are dead. I don’t share that view at present. It’s smart that they use the online medium to extend the reach of the print product.
Newslink newsagency at Sydney Airport
The Newslink store at Sydney airport is three months old. This new layout is a progression from the more traditional Newslink stores which we have seen in Australian airports for many years. Here’s how the store looked from the front yesterday:
The store has an open entrance but with plenty of product to entice as you enter and leave. I also like the way they promote their range above the entrance.
All their magazines are full cover displayed an they are in popular categories. The layout is a bit of a maze but that’s in part due to limited floor space and plenty of stock as well as the designer’s goal to have you browse the maze more.
For newsagents in a high traffic location considering store design, looking at this shop would be a worthwhile visit.
Newslink is owned by HDS Retail, the company which owns the relay stores I blogged about here a week ago.
Newsagent dies as a result of armed robbery
Chinh Nguyen, the owner of Glenfield newsagency in NSW died this morning as a result of injuries sustained during and armed robbery at his newsagency last week. I never personally met Chinh but people in my company did: Chinh was a breath of fresh air. An example of an enthusiastic and excited breed of Newsagent making a positive impact in his shop and the industry. He will be missed.
Newsagents don’t get killed on the job. Chin’s passing will come as a shock to the channel. It’s a reminder to take care.
Chinh’s brother is taking over the running of the business for the family. In addition to the grief of the loss of Chinh is the challenge of learning the business and protecting the family investment.
The news report can be found at NSW Police.
Ink and toner retail success
We’re having great success with the retail ink and toner strategy from newsXpress. The flyers we get (see below) every two months drive traffic to the shop. They’re more successful than the flyers we had before we joined newsXpress. This ink and toner offer is separate to our Inkfast online business – different range, different price points and different customers.
The newsXpress strategy is driving new customers to our retail outlet based, in part, around this flyer:
The keys for success with ink and toner for us have been getting the right range of product in store for a competitive price, professional marketing and access to good product knowledge. By packaging the buying around top brand name sellers and reflecting them in the marketing material we have been able to significantly lift the return on investment.
While we’re pushing our 20,000 personalised flyers out with the local paper, I know of others doing just as well with direct letterbox drops. I’m looking forward to the next flyer and driving this category within my business. Ink and toner customers are efficient in that more than half the time they buy other items.
Disclosure: I am a shareholder in newsXpress Pty Ltd.
Current newspaper model not working well
So says Steven Rattner, managing principal of Quadrangle Group in this interview with the Financial Times. Rattner’s insight is worth reading. The interview contains this quote from Rattner:
I personally believe that fundamentally the problem is a changing appetite for news on the part of consumers, for the worse. And its something that I feel very sad about, because the fact that people are more interested in whether Britney Spears shaves her head and goes into alcohol rehab, or what is happening at Guantanamo Bay, really is troubling to me.
Of course, Rattner is speaking from a US perspective. My view is we are better served by newspapers here than in the US. While we do have a strong tabloid press, we also have a robust more serious press – just look at the on going campaign by The Age about the plight of David Hicks.
Another blow to newspaper classifieds
For decades they were called the river of gold. Not any more thanks to more advertisers migrating classified ad spend online. The Myhome property site launched late last week by PBL will put newspapers under further pressure, Saturday newspapers especially. Myhome is a good looking site with some nice features. But it’s not that different to the Fairfax Domain and News realestate.com.au sites. What Myhome achieves is a seat at the online property classified ad table. It also dilutes interest in the print classifieds and this is the challenge for newsagents.
Newsagents have no national strategy for accessing online revenue. The best opportunity so far is the Find It website I launched last year and which is still in beta (free) release. Unfortunately, newsagents seem uninterested in making Find It a success and thereby tapping into online revenue. Newsagents can still sign up here. It’s free.
Finding good staff
It never rains but it pours. University is back and that means the roster becomes a juggling act. Add to this three key team members taking up full time study and another deciding that nursing is the career for her. What looked a month ago like a manageable roster is now very empty. So, we’ve been interviewing to fill two full time and two casual positions.
The hiring process is tough because it’s often not the first choice for candidates and they take a job to get money waiting for what they really want comes along. I wouldn’t mind if they were up front about it, as one of our team has been. Instead we probe and dig in interviews to try and sort out if they want to make a career in a newsagency.
I’ve waded through 72 resumes, followed up fifteen with our position description and selected seven candidates I’d like to interview. In the week we have been looking four are no longer available.
This is going to be harder than I’d like.
Co-location of magazines works
We’re leveraging increased lottery traffic into solid magazine sales using the unit shown in the photo below in front of one of our lottery counters. This photo from Saturday shows the titles we are pushing. Today it changed again to focus on weekly titles out today.
This co-location approach, seeing weeklies in two locations on the first two on sale days – drives magazine sales – especially when we have bonus traffic thanks to the $33 million Powerball prize up for grabs.
My pitch to magazine publishers and distributors is that you don’t see other retailers – supermarkets, petrol, convenience – take initiative like this. We understand the opportunity of the bonus traffic and are working hard to maximise this.
Roll wrap sells well too
Further to my post on the weekend about sales of flat wrapping paper, I should have also noted that sales of roll wrap are also strong. This display wall works well for us.
Another Age masthead post-it ad
None of these stuck on the masthead for weeks and now two in three days.
Wrapping paper sales down, gift bag sales up
Customers are buying less folded wrapping paper and more bags for packaging gifts. When I first heard of this trend from a supplier a year ago I was surprised because I was not seeing it in sales data. Then, I realised that all the sales data I see comes from newsagencies where until very recently, bags were rarely ranged.
Sales data from a small sample of stores for a year and a half to December 2006 shows, at best, no growth in folded wrapping paper sales and, most commonly, declining sales. With retail real estate expensive and increasing by between 5% and 7% a year, this decline is most unhelpful to newsagent. Suppliers, too, are not served well by the decline.
We have three metres of wrapping paper in my newsagency. Without reducing that and in response to feedback from our supplier and our sales data, late last year we added three metres of bags.
While I would have preferred to locate the bags next to the wrap to demonstrate a wide packaging choice, locating them at the front of our card-shop-within-a-shop is working well. This is in part due to it being close to our seasonal displays.
The next step will be to consider a reduction in the folded wrapping paper space allocation.
Newsagents need to look very carefully at their sales data and discuss this with their wrap suppliers. There is no point in ranging product which is not delivering an economically viable return.
Supermarkets and lottery products
Based on what I see happening at Tesco in the UK, it is easy to see why our Coles and Woolworths would like lottery products at their checkouts. Check out this pitch from Tesco, they make it sound like you’re doing the community a favor buying lottery product with them. Their Fast Pay pitch certainly addresses the long line issue. Unless lottery agents get engaged in thins issue, supermarkets will get lottery products and we will be the losers.