Ah-ha's from DB

These are some of the items I wrote down from the meeting that really resonated with me--my AH-HA moments.

Everyone is looking for a model and a way to make money at it.

Content must rule. It must be recognizable as the paper.

If it’s good and interesting, they will read it. We don’t have to dumb it down or make everything short and graphic-y.

Our readers/visitors go to our website on purpose. They are reading with intention.

We don’t have one set of readers—we have multiple sets. And within each set they don’t have the same intention or need each time they read us.

Readers have a relationship with the brand—it’s familiar to them.
Carry the branding thru the site so readers know where they are

Allow them to see the difference between ads and edit
Integrate the ads in to the content and get better results

Be more effective on delivering content vs. what the content is. Present the content in a way that shows it’s valuable.

The strength of the product will get visitors. Visitors equal better ad response.

Once they are reading us, it’s okay to scroll. But repeat the email/pdf/print option at the end of the story, too.

Add dateline to the stories. Add byline. These give them more reasons to stop and read.

Since people are not all coming in onto the home page, why does the home page have to have so much on it? Can it be more promotional with broader choices rather than specifics? Drop down menus? Skimmer of stories?

The most important thing does not have to be the biggest thing on the page. It can be small, but it’s always there.

Does everything have to be online? Okay, but you don’t have to see it all at once. Avoid Muck-soup! Interactive opportunities need to be organized. Too much info gets lost. Not everything is important. Show them less so they can see it.

We need to be media agnostic/platform agnostic. We are the brand. The platforms (print, online, enews) are tools.

Perfection is the enemy of the good

What is the purpose of our site? Who goes to our home page first?—what do they need to see there? Connect to them to the brand. Where is the emotion that print illicits?

Online wish list:
Be interactive
Simpler home page--more promotional/brand-y
Put the cover back, and above the fold
Breaking news
Longer content
Find new postions for the ads
Paid content