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MCB

In this document you will see the research conducted from students at the Monfort

College of Business School, regarding the Greeley Tribune and how both readers

and non readers are affected by the possibility of the Greeley Tribune charging for

its online content.

Liliana Madera Josh Leiker

Thomas Dolan Jr Lyles Armour Jr

Zachary McCandless

The Greeley Tribune Payment Options

Executive Summary

The transition to a paid online model can be a difficult task and without the proper research a successful transition may be difficult to

obtain. In an effort to find the most appropriate payment method for online content, we gathered secondary research as well as

implemented a face to face survey that has been used to develop recommendations that will assist the Greeley Tribune in choosing the

most appropriate payment method for online content.

Our research objectives were the following:

To determine preferred payment options for online subscriptions

Provide recommendations that would best benefit the Greeley Tribune in capturing new online readers

After the data analysis of the gathered research, we have come across several key findings. Through our research we have concluded

that if The Greeley Tribune opts for moving to a paid online subscription, they should focus on three main payment options; monthly,

yearly, and daily. The research discovered indicated that regardless of the interests, opinions, and personalities of those surveyed the

majority of them prefer monthly subscription options. Although the percentages were higher towards monthly subscriptions, the other

two options are still viable for the Greeley Tribune customers, giving them the options to choose which payment option best fits their

current situation.

Table of Contents

Literature Review ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

What readers like about online newspapers? ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

Research Method ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Preferred Payment Method ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Defined Payment Options .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Is GreeleyTribune.com Worth Purchasing? ............................................................................................................................................................... 5

Social Networking ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Payment Preferences ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Payment Preference Based on Age ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Preferred Media Source for News ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Internet .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Newspaper ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Television ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Reader Type Compared to Payment Option ............................................................................................................................................................ 12

Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Preferred Payment Options Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................................... 13

Supporting Information to Recommendation....................................................................................................................................................... 13

Preferred Payment Method Compared to Social Media Options............................................................................................................................ 13

Payment Preference Compared to Online Access Location .................................................................................................................................... 14

Payment Preference Based on Age .......................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Preferred Payment Option of Various Media News Viewers .................................................................................................................................. 14

Types of Reader Compared to Payment Option ...................................................................................................................................................... 14

Appendices ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix A ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix B ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Why online subscriptions models might not work ............................................................................................................................................... 19

Work Cited ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

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Literature Review

Through our secondary research we have discovered that there are several proposed models on how to format an online subscription.

Randy, an editor at the Greeley Tribune, provided the following formats:

Access to read part of the article must subscribe to read the entire article

Micro-payment, or a small fee ($0.5, $0.10, $0.25), per every page you click on

Random amount of access to 10 free stories, then pay for the stories after you reach your amount of stories (10+ would warrant

an additional cost)

Charge for the exclusive content only

Charge for the archived articles

According to alexa.com, Greeley Tribune is ranked 119,198 as it relates to online traffic. It also shows that the average user stays on

the website for 3.8 minutes per day. Those numbers can show that either the Greeley Tribune website was hard to navigate through, or

it was not appealing enough for customers to want to stay longer. It may also mean that users of the site only need the site for small

bits of information; weather, sports scores, or big headliners. It is also shown that many users of the Greeley Tribune’s online format,

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www.GreeleyTribune.com viewers’

demographics

Green=Over represented Red=Under

represented

access the site from their work rather than from home. This may be

because of News channels provide their desired information at home,

and with TV not being in the office, the online format works most

efficiently. The Greeley Tribune online format also appears to have

several issues reaching students in college, or those who have not

attended college, leaving the college graduate as their primary go-

getter. Alexa.com also shows that the Greeley Tribune online format has a strong hold on male users rather than females (females are

greatly under-represented). It would be important that the Greeley Tribune, in general as well as getting online subscribers, focuses on

the female population. Alexa.com provided the below graphs to further explain Greeley Tribune’s online format demographic.

What readers like about online newspapers?

Online readers enjoy a few key products for online reading which are:

Unique website content

High local market internet penetration

Heavy local promotion

Integrated the readers to be part of the newspaper

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The biggest asset for online newspapers is to heavily cover local stories and events. Scarborough research also says the successful

papers allow readers to write or blog about events and stories. According to the research done by Scarborough, the newspapers that

allow readers to comment or blog about the stories and the community events have a strong central readership base. The unique web

content has strong connection with its readers which most has to do with the local stories that are covered which are relatively only

covered by the local newspaper. When online sites advertise heavily in locally owned businesses and have coupons and incentives to

customers, readers often click to see what the promotions are as well as advertising community events.

Research Method

The primary research was a descriptive face-to-face survey which was conducted throughout various neighborhoods in Northern

Colorado to support the secondary information that was previously obtained. The method that was used to conduct the surveys was

non-probability sampling. The sampling population consisted of a sample size of 578 respondents, which were residents in the

following areas; Greeley, Evans, LaSalle, Windsor, Severance, Eaton, and Milliken. The purpose of this research method was to get a

better understanding of people’s opinions and attitudes towards the Greeley Tribune implementing a paid online subscription. The

sampling population was defined by the areas where the Greeley Tribune distributes its newspaper. In order to eliminate bias, the

respondent must not have any affiliation with a newspaper, newspaper distributor, television, cable provider or radio station, direct

mail company, internet service provider, marketing research firm, billboard or yellow pages advertising company, or advertising

agency.

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Data Analysis and Findings

This consists of all data collected and analyzed regarding payment options. The following graphs and charts will demonstrate readers’

preferences to the potential payment options.

Preferred Payment

Method

Out of all the potential payment

options that were stated on the

survey, the monthly subscription

with unlimited online access

ranked highest among preferred

payment options.

55%30%

8%

1% 1%

5%

GreeleyTribune.com Worth Purchasing

Monthly subscription w/ unlimited access

Yearly subscription w/ unlimited access

Daily subscription

Per minute subscription

Per page/section subscription

Daily allowance of free articles

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Defined Payment Options

Given that the monthly, yearly, and daily payment options heavily outweigh the other, the following charts and graphs will focus on

these top three preferred payment options by those surveyed.

Is GreeleyTribune.com Worth Purchasing?

Those that were surveyed and feel

that The GreeleyTribune.com is

worth purchasing prefer the monthly

payment option.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Monthly Subscription Yearly Subscription Daily Subscription

60%

29%11%

Worth Purchasingwww.greeleytribune.com

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Social Networking

Out of the top three social networks, the preferred payment option is heavily favored to the monthly subscription.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Facebook Twitter MySpace

62% 58% 61%

29% 35% 28%

9% 7% 11%

% Breakdown of Payment PreferenceCompared to Social Media Options

Daily

Yearly

Monthly

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Payment Preferences

The preferred payment option for those who view the GreeleyTribune.com from home or work is the monthly subscription.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

At Home At Work

58% 57%

33% 34%

9% 9%

% Breakdown of Payment PreferenceCompared to Online Access

Daily

Yearly

Monthly

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Payment Preference Based on Age

Payment preference varies among age groups.

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Preferred Media Source for News

Internet

More than half of the people that use the internet as their primary news source prefer monthly payment options for the

GreeleyTribune.com.

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Newspaper

More than half of the people that use the newspaper as their primary news source prefer monthly payment options for

GreeleyTribune.com over the other options.

59%30%

11%

Newspaper Readers Preferred Payment Option

%

Monthly Subscription

Yearly Subscription

Daily Subscription

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Television

More than half of the people that use the television as their primary news source prefer monthly payment options for

GreeleyTribune.com over the other options.

59%

32%

9%

Television Media Users Preferred Payment Option%

Monthly Subscription

Yearly Subscription

Daily Subscription

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Reader Type Compared to Payment Option

Regardless of the reader type, there is still a higher tendency to prefer a monthly subscription payment option.

Headlines Only Short Stories Brief Summaries Detailed Articles

60% 60% 60%50%

29% 31% 34%

40%

11% 9%6%

10%

Type of Reader Compared to Payment Option%

Monthly Subscription Yearly Subscription Daily Subscription

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Recommendations

Based on the information obtained through our data analysis with our primary and secondary research, we have constructed the

following recommendations to aid the Greeley Tribune in moving towards a paid online subscription.

Preferred Payment Options Recommendations

The pay per minute, per page, and daily allowance of free articles did not receive high enough response rates to benefit the Greeley

Tribune as a successful payment option. Instead, we recommend the Greeley Tribune focus on the three highest response rates for

preferred payment options; being monthly, yearly, and daily subscription. Providing the customer with an option to select one of these

three will capture the highest percentage of respondents.

Supporting Information to Recommendation

Out of the payment options, those who prefer the top three have a higher belief that Greeley Tribune online content is worth

purchasing. Refer to Appendix A for “Worth Purchasing” chart.

Preferred Payment Method Compared to Social Media Options

Using social media options such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace for advertising will capture a large percentage of potential online

subscribers. Given the high percentage of social media users, Greeley Tribune’s advertising should be focused on the monthly

subscription plan. Targeting those who are already engaged in online activity will prove to be beneficial to the Greeley Tribune.

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Payment Preference Compared to Online Access Location

Because there is no significant difference between respondents who access the internet from work or home, the Greeley Tribune can

engage in specific advertising techniques to target each segment. The Greeley Tribune can target businesses to provide their

employees with a subscription to the online content.

Payment Preference Based on Age

When targeting Generation Y (ages 17-34) the Greeley Tribune should invest a majority of their efforts in the monthly subscription

plan, while investing a majority of their efforts in yearly subscription plans to Generation X (35-52). These groups are good to target

because of their tech savvy behavior and interests in technology.

Preferred Payment Option of Various Media News Viewers

As our respondents indicated that they frequently use the internet, television, and newspapers, we believe advertising a monthly

subscription plan to the GreeleyTribune.com in these outlets will prove beneficial. These users tend to prefer a monthly plan.

Types of Reader Compared to Payment Option

We recommend the Greeley Tribune does not focus on specific types of readers, but rather targets customers equally.

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Appendices

Appendix A

54%26%

10%

2% 2%6%

Preferred Payment

Monthly subscription w/ unlimited access

Yearly subscription w/ unlimited access

Daily subscription

Per minute subscription

Per page/section subscription

Daily allowance of free articles

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Appendix B

What is the price for online subscriptions?

Charging customers for online content is becoming a new trend, and pricing is a tough obstacle. A big challenge is finding the

right price so customers won’t find it unappealing. When online, you are charged per individual page. If you purchase ten pages,

would it be cheaper to have just bought the newspaper as a whole, rather than purchasing each page online? Paidcontent.org provided

a sample size of small town newspaper subscription prices. The chart below shows their collected data (Tartakoff, 2009).

Avg. paid

Circulati

on

Pricing Plan Introducti

on Date

Results

(website traffic)

Valley Morning Star*

23,294 $.75 day

$3.95 month

$39.50 year

07/2009 Slight increase

Newport Daily News *

12,000 $5.00 day

$10.00 week

$345.00 year

06/2009 Down 30%

(Single sales up 8%)

(Pearson, 2009)Daily

Gazette*

44,242 $2.95 week 08/2009 Traffic down 40%

Arkansas Democrat-

Gazette*

182,789 $5.95 month

$59.00 year

01/2002 Paid daily circulation down

1%

Albuquerque Journal* 101,810 $110.00 year

$38.25 3 month

01/2001 Paid daily circulation down

6%

Bend Bulletin* 32,682 $8.00 month

$96.00 year

01/2005 1,200 online-only

subscribers

*Valley Morning Star - Daily print subscribers get free access to web content and also to an e-edition of the paper. Weekend

subscribers have to pay an additional $3.16 per month for online access, while Sunday-only subscribers have to pay $3.56 a month.

Event listings, obituaries, AP stories, video, blogs, and classifieds all remain free.

*Newport Daily News - Print and online combo subscriptions cost $11 a month or $100 a year. Obituaries, classifieds, blogs, and a

copy of the front page are available for free online.

*Daily Gazette - $3.00 a week for home delivery can pay an additional penny each week to also get unlimited access to the website as

well as to an electronic edition. Blogs, AP stories, TV schedules, photo galleries, and breaking news remain free.

*Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Print subscribers get online access for free.

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*Albuquerque - Readers can also pay $185 a year for a subscription to the print edition, the electronic edition and online access.

Alternatively, they can pay $153 a year for home delivery and online access.

*Bend Bulletin - Print subscribers pay $11 a month or $132 a year for home delivery, in addition to online access. The paper says that

on average 30 local news, business, sports, features and entertainment articles are kept behind a pay wall each day.

How Many people read online newspapers?

Studies show an increase in online readership for newspapers. According to Nielsen research, 40 million Americans read or

visited an online newspaper in 2008; which is a 16% increase from 2007 (Bissonnette). In the past few years, an increase in online

readership has been steadily increasing. This shows more and more people are accepting online news and enjoy getting the news in

other ways than just print. Of course this number is extremely high to the people just reading the Greeley Tribune online, which are

about 12,000 online readers. With the advancement in mobile technology, this number is probably only going to increase with the

access being available almost anywhere on cell phones. Bissonnette, Zac. Newspapers Gaining Online Readership, Posted January 28,

2009. (Blogging Stocks, 2009)

What is the current target market for online readership?

The current demographics for online readership are:

Avg. age- 39

Education- College degree

Online use- heavy online users

The target market for online readership is the younger technology savvy group. According to Scarborough, research the average

age of online readers is 39. Mostly the readers are well educated and college graduates. Further online readerships are predominately

used by readers with a heavy availability to online, high speed access. The target market we shall focus on, are up and coming

educated, technology driven readers. The people who do read online, are predominantly college educated and in a work field with

computer access.

Do other papers offer additional services (e-mail, text alerts):

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The Wall Street Journal is one of the major publications that have been able to charge for their online content. When you

register they give you access to an online market data center and personal news alerts, but that is about it as far as their additional

services go.

The Financial Times offers a few more incentives than the Journal. They have essentially four levels of subscription;

unregistered (free), Registered (free), Standard, and Premium. Each level up gets you a few more bonus incentives. The two free

levels give you all of the news and mobile content, but the major categories are limited to how many you can access. The Standard

level gives you full access to everything and includes news by e-mail and your own personal portfolio. The Premium level is the

most expensive and includes full access to Lex, the Financial Times agenda-setting column, and a mobile news reader.

The website www.paidcontent.org had an article breaking down the results of smaller to medium sized; papers charging for

online content. Most of the results were not too significant either way; either it readership dropped around 1 percent or the papers

initial goal was to drive more readers to the printed paper.

Phil Buckley of 1918 Internet Services describes the following ideas of how newspaper companies can make the online

component of their newspaper more attractive to consumers in his article dated July 4, 2009. The Greeley Tribune could implement

many of his suggestions to improve online readership.

His first suggestion is to optimize the headlines so the user can search for exactly what they want. This makes it easier for the

user to find the articles that really matter to them, without having to filter through irrelevant headlines.

The next concept brought forth by Phil is to allow the users to add credible content, comments, photos, videos, and their

expertise to articles. This makes the user feel they are a part of the online publication. This would give the users a sense of ownership

that printed newspapers do not offer. For example, if a reader can add pictures they would feel a connection with the article, which in

turn makes them feel a personal connection with the Greeley Tribune. Comments from users also allow the writers to interact with the

subscribers personally. If one consumer comes up with a great follow up idea, then the writer could recognize that the readers’

opinions/comments are valuable to the Tribune.

Third, according to Phil Buckley, consumers want to see more video and photos on the internet component of an online

newspaper. These additions to the online publication will give users a visual representation of the story or situation that will allow

them to feel as if they had been there in person.

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The final addition to the online component suggested is the use of customization and personalization of the website. The user

can log onto their account via GreeleyTribune.com, the articles or content they read on a regular basis will be on their home page as

soon as the site opens. This concept could also allow the Tribune to suggest articles based on the users past preferences, and would

add to the overall convenience of an online newspaper (Buckley, 2009).

The research done up to this point, has given a good idea of the demographics and psychographics of newspaper readers that

lead to a better understanding of who reads community newspapers and why. We have also found information on the circulation

prices, and have obtained a price comparison of The Tribune and other newspapers. We briefly discussed possible models being

considered in order to be able to charge for online content. Lastly, we provided information on the incentives that other online

newspapers are offering their customer, which we believe, will play an important role in deciding whether The Tribune will be able to

acquire new online readers, and generate income from online content.

Why online subscriptions models might not work

An article titled, Will Subscription Based Newspaper Models Work Online? Explains two reasons why online subscriptions may not

work:

One blogger that pays for the subscription, who will then blog about the content in the article

“Subscription road block,” charging people would prevent people from blogging about the content if they do not pay for it

o This same blogger believed this method is counterproductive to charge people who engage with the writers by paying a

small fee.

Work Cited

“A New Story Lead for the Newspaper Industry: Newspaper Websites Are Contributing to Audience Growth; Online-Exclusive

Newspaper Audience Accounts for 2% to 15% of Integrated Newspaper Audience; Industry Executives Comment on Online Audience

Growth in New White Paper from Scarborough.” (23 August). PR Newswire, (Document ID: 1105138861).

http://0proquest.umi.com.source.unco.edu/pqdweb?did=1105138861&Fmt=3&clientId=9577&RQT=309&VName=PQD