A community in conversation with
itself
Bluffton
“Community in conversation”
Hyperlocal focus
Short, pithy, fun –
like a commuter paper
Introduce people to
each other and to the
things that make
Bluffton special
Not like the
competition
2+2=5 Everyone gets a free paper (17,500;
98.9 percent of households “regularly receive” BT)
Everyone gets a free blog Use the paper to drive people to the
Web site; use the Web site to drive content in the paper
Do you or some member of your household read any portion of Bluffton Today?
Readership estimates
72%
24%
2%
2%
Certified Audit of Circulations, Inc.155 Willowbrook BoulevardWayne, NJ 07470
Where’s the conversation?
BlufftonToday.com Web site performance
8,000 registered users 13,400 blog items posted 600,000 page views 68,000 unique visitors
BlufftonToday.com Web site reach
65% of visitors return more than once per day
10 minutes spent per visit; 25% spend 1 hour or more per visit
Each household visits 6.8 times per month
Page views
Growth since launch - page views doubled in less than one year
When people go online
Consistent visits throughout the day
How we use blogs Users advise each other Reporters post breaking news Take story ideas from people Print insightful blogs in Bluffton Today
Readers to each other Break news, warn others
Reporters to readers Newsroom can post breaking news
stories before the paper can get the word out
Is it journalism? Readers give us story ideas
When they do, we jump on the story.
Whoa, we can use this We started seeding the blogs.
Getting choosy Now we can really make Best of the Web the best of the Web.
Reporters’ jobs are safe Much of our blogging is chitchat and
speculation; only rarely do our bloggers research their opinions…
Reporters’ jobs are safe, II …or their facts
We spell relief B-L-O-G Editors of truly local papers can’t
rely on wire services to bail them out
Blog content isn’t as pithy as wire, but at least it’s local
Why we think it works Takes readers seriously Connects directly Short ’n’ sweet Deeply involved with the
community
Community Involvement Works
Community Focus Works Local editorial cartoons
Community Participation Works Go Seek / Find Fang contests
Community Participation Works User submitted photos
Community Participation Works Vox
Lessons Learned Understand time commitment Use a ‘Blog Wrangler’ Don’t try to predict passions or
problems Set the tone Fluffiness is in the eye of the
beholder
Top Related