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Business Advertorials in TLL
These feature articles on your business let you share your story in your way! Only one business feature is included in a single issue, filling an entire full-color page.
Here’s how it works:
* Our experienced journalist and photographer will visit and interview to create a positive, thoughtful profile of your business. You can talk about your business, your professional background, your company history, your competitive advantage, whatever matters most to you.
* Photos included with the story can include your portrait, your product, your business front. Although only two or three of the photos taken will appear in print, we will provide you with a CD of all photos taken, so you can use them in your own marketing and advertising efforts in the future.
* Once the story has been professionally written and edited, you will have the opportunity to review the draft, and make any changes you like. You will also be able to select the headline that best presents your business message.
* Your finished business feature will then be included in our print edition, our web site, and our digital edition for that month. Your business profile will be presented in 16,000 print copies, reaching over 40,000 Central West Virginia readers.
Grow Your Business with Two-Lane Livin’
Happy 2011!
With the January issue already available to Central WV readers, Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine has jumped into 2011 with both feet running! Will this be the year you join our other satisfied clients who have been reaping the benefits of our dedicated audience?
Clients like Sharon Ours, of A Domestic Friend, who said advertising in Two-Lane Livin’ is “the best response I have received in any of my past print advertising experiences since I started.” West Virginia author Mack Samples, a columnist and advertising client told us he “sold thirteen books in a single month.” Tamara Cicogna, owner of Controled Excentrics told us, “I don’t have any problem paying your invoices. I know we’re getting our money’s worth.”
Each month, Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine reaches an average of 45,000 readers in Central West Virginia. In fact, in 2010 Two-Lane Livin’ surpassed Graffiti Magazine to become the largest independent publication in West Virginia. With more than 500 distribution locations in 16 central counties in the state, Two-Lane Livin’ saturates the Central WV region like no other publication.
We have come to believe that in Central West Virginia, Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine has become the most affordable and most effective avenue for making and maintaining contact with current potential customers for local and online businesses. And with the launch of the New Year, we have made it even more affordable to create a full campaign in our magazine by offering greater discounts to businesses and clients who choose six or twelve month contracts.
Will 2011 be the year your business benefits from an advertising campaign in Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine? We’re here to help you build your business. From $5 a month classified ads to full page, full color display ads, we have options for your business and your budget. Have a look at our 2011 rate sheet, and then consider what a regular audience of 45,000 monthly readers can do for your advertising!
Although the New Year has just begun, we are already working on the February issue. In fact, the deadline for the next issue is January 17. Wouldn’t you like to spend the upcoming year reaping the benefits of effective advertising? If so, the time to get started is now.
Please consider Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine, “Central West Virginia’s Favorite Paper” for your future advertising. We feel confident you’ll be glad you did.
What Social Media Strategy?
Frank and I are entering our second year as participants in WVuncovered, a program of WVU that mixes print media with new media experiences. Most participants in the “business” end of the program are weekly community newspapers from around the state, and us – a free newsprint monthly magazine. We were recruited when I friended Mary Kay, one of the project’s leaders, on twitter.
Each month, Frank and I head to WVU’s Morgantown campus for an intensive day of learning new media. Audio, video, web, slide shows, social media. We’re learning how to implement these options to support and enhance what we offer in print.
Most marketing advice suggests that businesses have a social media strategy. Some kind of plan. When you’re learning as you go though, I don’t see how you can have any semblance of a plan.In fact, Now that we are entering our second year of “new media school,” I thought perhaps I’d better figure out what exactly I have going on in the field – especially social media.
Now, I have had a web site since 1997. I’ve had blogs since before they were really considered marketing. I skipped the myspace phase, but I have become a facebook addict, and have a twitter account – but I really didn’t take too well to twitter. Even so, that account is one of the most active outlets we have. How? Why? Well, I assure you, there was no strategy. It’s just how it all ended up working. But to explain how everything ends up at 2LaneTweet, I first have to tell you about some of our other online outlets.
HERE’s HOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA WORKS:
Two-Lane Livin’ has two main web sites: twolanelivin.com, and twolanebloggin.com. TwoLaneLivin.com includes features from the print edition, headlines from our columnists’ blogs, and headlines from twolanebloggin.com.Two-Lane Bloggin’ includes posts from behind the scenes, garden updates, news, etc.
Anything headline posted to twolanelivin.com is also posted on our Two-Lane Livin’ Facebook Page, at 2LaneTweet, and is shown at twolanebloggin.com.
Anything posted on twolanebloggin.com is also posted on twolanelivin.com, our Two-Lane Livin’ Facebook Page, at 2LaneTweet, and is shown on my personal Facebook profile.
Our Page includes delivery notifications so readers know when the print edition is available in their area, and updates from twolanelivin.com, twolanebloggin.com and updates from all of our columnists’ blogs. Anything posted on our Facebook Page is also sent to 2LaneTweet.
Only the posts to my personal Facebook Profile aren’t forwarded to something else. Why? Because for some reason, Facebook won’t allow it.
Now, if you want to call that strategy, fine. If that’s the way it should be done? Even better. I would say that it falls into the “chaotic overkill” category myself. I can’t even really keep track of it all, and I tire of trying to learn how it should be done because the teaching on the subject keeps changing with the trends and technology.
The best option I think, (to make sure you’ve got all of Two-Lane Livin’ outputs covered) is to either like our facebook page, OR follow us on twitter. These two options will lead you to anything else (blogs, online edition, etc.) you might want to check out.
Two-Lane Livin’ and two main social media options to follow. That makes sense to me.
What Everyone Should Know About Central WV Publications
The West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory lists 22 newspapers available within the Two-Lane Livin’ 16 county distribution region. In addition to these Press Association member publications, there is at least one print publication that is not a member, and there are at least three “online newspapers” within the region. In addition, the same 16-county area is served by The Trader’s Guide, a weekly ad bulletin.
So many publications within a region! Why? What’s the deal?
Actually, those numbers are misleading. Let me explain about some of the smaller counties:
(Actually, first, let me do a disclaimer. Most of the circulation numbers are 2006 numbers. One of the reasons deciphering the numbers of local newpapers is so difficult is that they don’t put them out there for the public to see. If you want all their numbers in one place, you must purchase the WVPA directory. Population numbers are 2008 census data numbers.)
Braxton POP 14,700
There are two weekly newspapers listed for Braxton County, The Braxton Citizen’s-News and The Braxton Democrat. This is an example of two different publications, owned by two different people. The Braxton Citzen’s News prints 6500 copes a week (current data), and the Braxton Democrat prints 2900 (2006 data) a week.
But in other counties, the two publications are owned, printed, written and circulated by the same people.
Gilmer POP 6,873
For example, The Glenville Democrat and The Glenville Pathfinder are essentially the same paper. Printed at a combined 3500 a week, the two newspapers count as one. Gilmer County also now has an online publication for daily news updates, however, local coverage is weak, and seems to come from submissions only.
Other counties where two papers are now one include:
Jackson POP 28,157
The Jackson Star News: 5000 copies weekly
The Jackson Herald: 6500 copies weekly
Ritchie POP 10,308
The Ritchie Gazette: 3346 copies weekly
The Pennsboro News: 4200 copies weekly
Roane POP 15,169
The Times Record: 2358 copies weekly
The Roane Reporter 2892 copies weekly
Webster: POP 9,394
The Webster Echo: 2864 copies weekly
The Webster Republican: 1000 copies weekly
Clay POP 10,075
Now Clay County gets rather interesting. There’s the Clay Free Press, printed weekly at 4761 copies. But then, there’s also “The Sunshine Paper” – a non WVPA print member printed weekly in Clendenin. Also, The Clay Communicator is printed weekly, circulation numbers unknown. Their web site, clayberry.org, is more popular than their print edition anyway.
Calhoun POP 7,212
Calhoun County is another interesting situation. The WVPA press member, The Calhoun Chronicle, prints 3300 weekly. However, the best news coverage for the county is the daily updated Hur Herald, an unoffical “hobby” site mostly funded by an annual fund drive.
The remaining counties in our region only have one newspaper each:
Wirt: POP 5,757
The Wirt County Journal: 2189 copies weekly
Tyler: POP 8,841
The Tyler Star News: 4000 copies weekly
Lewis: 17,281
The Weston Democrat: 6843 copies weekly
Doddridge: POP 7,201
2763 copies weekly
Are county newspapers a good choice for marketing and advertising? If you want to reach the same percentage of the population in that county every week, yes. Local newspaper readers are a loyal bunch. In addition, the Central WV newspapers’ web sites are mostly weak or non-existent. Right now, to market to a specific audience in a specific county, newspapers are still a logical choice.
But what if you want to market to the region?
At this point, there are only two major regional publications in Central West Virginia: Two-Lane Livin’, and The Trader’s Guide.
Two-Lane Livin’ serves a 16 county region. The Trader’s Guide is circulated in 17 WV counties and 3 Ohio counties. The Trader’s Guide is weekly, Two-Lane Livin’ is monthly.
But, how do the two compare?
Number of Copies Printed for Each Issue
Two-Lane Livin’: 15,000
The Trader’s Guide: 8,000
(I find it interesting that NO WHERE does The Trader’s Guide give their print number, only their estimated readership.)
Reader’s Cost for Each Issue
Two-Lane Livin’: Free
The Trader’s Guide: $1.25
Number of Distribution Locations:
Two-Lane Livin’: Over 500
The Trader’s Guide: 270
How does the Trader’s Guide cover a larger area with fewer copies and fewer locations? The truth is — they can’t.
Printing 8,000 copies and counting 28,000 readers implies two impossible things:
1. Every copy being sold and
2. 3.5 readers per issue!
On the other hand, Two-Lane Livin’ has a 96% readership level. That means only 5%, (or 500) copies are left on the news racks at the end of the month. And while The Trader’s Guide and county newspapers toss or recycle bin their unsold copies (and no one but the publishers will ever know the unsold numbers) Two-Lane Livin’ RECIRCULATES our left over copies.
Within two months, every issue of Two-Lane Livin’ has a 100% readership rate.
In addition, a reader survey last year showed that each copy is read, on average by 2.6 people. So, we’re averaging 37,700 readers a month. On recirculation, we have to potential to reach another 1300 readers.
So, if you want your print ad to be seen by more Central WV readers, you have two choices:
1. Buy ads in 15 county newspapers or,
2. Buy ads in Two-Lane Livin’.
We’re currently working on the August issue. Wouldn’t you like to present your business in Central West Virginia’s furthest-reaching publication? Take a look at our advertising rates(PDF), then give me a call, 304-354-9132, to reserve your ad space today.
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