Most small publishers who operate their Web sites in this manner make either a small profit because their Web costs are so low and they get a handful of online advertisers, or they lose a bit of money and consider the Web site a marketing vehicle for the newspaper. There's scant chance that this Web strategy will ever build into a substantial business. What I'd like to see this publisher try is to use the Web to reach local residents. His newspaper is printed weekly, so the Web presents an opportunity to reach the local audience on a daily basis. By combining a weekly print product with a daily Web presence, the publisher can create a potentially lucrative new business.
Local advertisers have a new vehicle and the opportunity to spend more ad dollars.
The weekly paper and the Web site feed off each other, each promoting the other. But back to content. The only way that this weekly paper's Web site is going to attract local users in significant numbers is to offer original content. It must contain compelling content that's not available in the print edition. Community publishing enters the picture here.