joemichaud.com

About Local Interactive Strategies

We’ve rolled out a new program for New England newspaper publishers called “Six Months to Success.”

The “we” in this case is myself and Jane Bogue, former sales manager at MaineToday. Jane has a terrific track record at engaging and training newspaper sales staffs and managers, and helping them bring real online results to their customers.

The program is a six-month structured pathway. It starts with developing a shared vision companywide, and moves quickly to generating results every day in every department. It’s strictly for New England so we can give clients excellent attention at a very reasonable cost. “Six Months to Success” is outlined in an actual printed brochure, which you can download as a PDF here: pub brochure (You’ll want to print it out on two sides of a sheet.) Or I’d be happy to mail you a nice printed one. Just drop me an email:  joe at joemichaud.com.

About Local Interactive Strategies

Local Interactive Strategies consultancy helps turn interactive media into a business. Often local media companies are hobbled by:

• Too many ideas
• Not enough action
• Too much unfocused action
• Competing priorities
• Lack of data about best practices
• Organizational misalignment

Despite the best intentions  of employees and managers, local media companies often are stuck. Audiences aren’t growing, advertiser counts aren’t growing, revenue isn’t growing. The current  challenging economy is no excuse. In fact, this should be an opportunity for a local media company to demonstrate its value to customers.

When things turn around, how will you be positioned? As a  marginal player in your market?  Or as a critical resource for your customers?

What you can do now is  identify and capitalize on your market’s unique opportunities. Focus internally on strategic planning, organizational alignment and development, audience  development  and revenue strategies. Those are things we can help with.

This blog is intended raise up those topics, share ideas and hopefully provoke some discussion — whether here or in your organization.

It’s written from the perspective of those in leadership positions in local media: publishers, general managers, executive editors, news directors, ad directors, online directors. The idea is to share information and ideas that are actionable right now, with not a lot of blue skying.

Local Interactive Strategies LLC is headed by Joe Michaud (more about Joe) and is part of  a network of experts in recruiting, design, technology, multimedia journalism, product development and sales training.

We believe local media are uniquely positioned to take the leading role in interactive media in their regions — both for consumers and advertisers. However, the window of opportunity is small and narrowing. Local media must understand their customers’ changing needs and begin responding to those needs.

contact: joe (at) joemichaud.com