National Newspaper Association Foundation

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and enhancing the capabilities of community newspapers

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Great Ideas

NNA’s best and brightest publishers have made the Great Idea Exchange session of the Annual Convention a huge hit for more than a decade. These terrific success stories, along with other great ideas we find throughout the year, are available to NNA members 24/7. And, members are encouraged to submit and share their great ideas at any time to grow this valuable resource.

NNA Director of Creative Resources Robert M. Williams Jr. is available for consultation on how to create more revenue, help you deal with inevitable newspaper issues or be a sympathetic ear for NNA members looking for an experienced publisher to listen. Email him at robert@nna.org or call (912) 281-5438 from 10 a.m -3 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday. 

The best ad ideas are the simplest

Oct 1, 2024

I can see a continuing ad series springing off from this special section to satisfy the desire of the community to know more and read more!

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It’s our job to remind communities of the gratitude we owe

Aug 1, 2024

An old friend in central Kentucky called [recently] to ask for a copy of a special section we published to salute our community’s first responders. 

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Cute, adorable faces are an easy sell in most communities

Jul 1, 2024

"At The Walton Tribune (in Monroe, Georgia), we have been producing "The Cutest Calendar Ever!" since December of 2019, and the average this product does is around $3,000-$4,000 in advertising revenue ...

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Sig Pages and Special Sections are a sure-fire way to boost local revenue

Jun 1, 2024

“Asking our small businesses to pay what we charge for a full–page color ad is a waste of time. While they may not spend the large figure for a full page, they will gladly spend a smaller amount ...

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Learn as much as you can to better help your customer sell their products

May 1, 2024

Jeff Cott has a simple philosophy for success in ad sales and that involves careful study of your customers so your knowledge of them, their personality and their business is thorough and complete.

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Why not help your press association share great ad ideas?

Apr 1, 2024

Carrie says the contest is a popular item her newspapers have been running for four years, and her community “loves it.”

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Finding a great story is an easy way to help your advertisers excel

Mar 1, 2024

One of newspapers’ great strengths is in (1) recognizing a good story when you see one, plus (2) tying that story-telling ability into solving an advertiser’s problem.

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Old ideas can still interest our readers and please our advertisers

Feb 1, 2024

Missouri publisher Peggy Scott of Leader Publications says she can’t accept the credit, however, because the idea was reincarnated by the marketing team for one of her better customers.

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Quality editorial content makes for great newspapers, as well as for the most interesting ad ideas

Dec 1, 2023

Part of what can be overlooked is how intriguing content can be enjoyable reading AND also provide the springboard for paid advertising.

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