I’m also a husband, proud father, sci-fi fan, amateur astronomer, digital marketer, and passionate web developer and designer. 

For the past twenty plus years, I have planned, designed, developed, tested, and overseen the creation of digital products and services for small and large companies from all around the country.


I’m Christian Ramirez, a digital marketing pro.

Divider

Experienced in the formation, execution, and management of digital marketing campaigns.


🎯 Campaign Manager

Marketed products and services using traditional methods and inbound marketing techniques.


📈 Digital Marketer

I am both creative and technically inclined, and use both attributes to build or redesign websites.


🌐 Web Developer

Background

Andrew McClarron

National & Key Account Executive, Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK

Ryan Lopez

Digital Creative and New Business Development, Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK

Stay up-to-date with my words ✍️

If there is something newspapers have learned in today’s digital age is that they can rise up to the challenge and work towards a better future. Newspapers are ready to establish priorities, dispel myths and tell the truth in order to reinforce their positions as strong media outlets. Pioneer Newspapers is a great example of a newspaper that has done exactly this.

Pioneer Newspapers is made up of 23 community newspapers mostly located in the Pacific Northwest. Pioneer has been working towards evolving into a true multimedia company offering an array of print and digital products through many forms of media. In efforts to change it’s public image, Pioneer Newspapers has re-educated its public on its identity; they have publicly rebranded themselves as a multimedia company. For this to happen change had to come within the company first.

Employees must understand the goal and must believe in the product in order to regain lost market share. A good salesperson knows that he or she must believe in a product in order to succeed; otherwise, how could he or she convince others? After all, the product is what helps a brand define its identity. One way of defining the value of products is through metrics. There are many metrics newspapers can use in order to see if a product works for their customers.

Pioneer Newspapers chose Flying Horse Communications, an advertising agency located in Bozeman, MT with offices in Portland, and Kalispell, to help with the rebrand. Their challenge was to persuade people that something they believed in was not true and that the newspapers in the Pioneer chain were both vital and actually gaining in readership. Furthermore, they sought to emphasize the fact that newspapers have always been a trusted and indispensable source to the communities they serve.

The first step in this process was to conduct market research. In order to do this, the paper chose 5 focus groups in 4 markets in the Pioneer chain: Bozeman, MT; Klamath Falls, OR; Pocatello, ID; and Nampa, ID. Flying Horse Communications findings were as follow:

*   People saw a bleak future for newspapers

*   Many thought newspapers might eventually go fully digital or move from daily to weekly

*   BUT, they thought local newspapers are more relevant and have a better chance of surviving in print

*   Many were aware that newspapers are multimedia companies, but still think of them as the physical paper

*   People read the paper for reasons other than news

As part of the research process, Flying Horse held ongoing sessions with Pioneer papers and established that newspapers feel that they are in the “connection business” and that their main product is information. Moreover, the research indicated that the very existence of newspapers is essential to the community and that one of their most attractive characteristics is empowerment of local communities through connecting people to each other and through providing information. This finding resulted in Pioneer choosing “Empowering the community” as their tagline.

The research done by Flying Horse lead to Pioneer’s successful brand optimization. A series of TV, print, and radio commercials were created and released to disprove myths and reshape the way people thought about newspapers. People could now see that newspapers had evolved and are adroitly utilizing newer forms of media. This campaign reinforced in the public the newspapers’ perspective about their important role: that they are essential and provide knowledge in many forms.


Empowering the Community

Email marketing is one of the most cost efficient and effective forms of marketing. According to [The Herald-Mail](https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/), in 2010 there were about 1.88 billion email users worldwide.  These users sent 107 trillion emails, with an average of 294 billion emails sent every day.

The magnitude of the importance of email is even more apparent when compared with social media. Social media may be getting all the buzz, but email is still the largest social network. While there are 800 million active Facebook accounts, email is still much larger with 2.9 billion accounts today. Twitter holds a distant third place with 300 million users. Each day users send 188 billion messages via email, 60 million updates via facebook, and 140 million tweets via Twitter.  While there has been a decrease in the average number of emails sent daily from 2010 to today, possibly due to other forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, email still far overshadows other forms of online communication.

With such a vast number of email users, brands have long been able to depend on email to promote their products. Brands can successfully drive readership, create an audience, and generate revenue at a very low price. It all begins with users opt-in into an email list. Brands can manage their databases by using an email list manager such as Constant Contact or MailChimp. Both allow the capability to track the progress of email campaigns.

Collecting emails can be achieved by using web forms. Subscribers fill out basic information such as full name, email and topics of interest. A user can also choose to select multiple topics of interest which can then be used to target the subscriber by their interests.

There are many online and offline methods brands can take to collect email addresses. For newspapers there are many methods as well, and they are as follow:

*   Circulation departments should have an opt-in option on subscription forms and invoices.

*   Ad reps and classified departments can ask their clients to opt-in for them to stay up to date on upcoming deals and promotions held by the paper.

*   Newsroom departments can ask their readers to opt-in for them to keep up to date on important matters affecting their community.

*   Newspapers can take it a step further by gathering emails during local events.

*   All web forms on a newspaper’s website should have an opt-in option.

*   Newspapers should add an easy-to-find link or banner to their opt-in subscribe page.

*   The sky’s the limit.

After a newspaper collects a solid list of emails it can then send out editorial and promotional content to its readers. Below is a list of e-newsletter content that has proven to be successful campaigns for [The Herald-Mail](https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/).

*   Breaking news

*   Weather

*   Top headlines

*   Sports scores

*   Obituaries

*   Calendar

*   Special offers

*   Entertainment

*   Food and dining

*   Contests

*   Favorite recipes

*   Week in review

These e-newsletters can also be monetized by the newspaper. If the newspaper has a weekly or daily e-newsletter it can place advertising such as leaderboard ad/s on them. According to [The Herald-Mail](https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/), Leaderboard ads have proven to be an effective size ad for e-newsletters.

There are many other types of e-newsletters a newspaper can send out to their subscribers, some of which have shown to have successful open rates.  Examples include:

*   Happy birthday e-newsletters have a 57% open rate; they help grow database, drive page views, and engage audiences.

*   Snow poll e-newsletters help drive audience engagement.

*   Open house  e-newsletters make money, drive audience, generate leads, and provide an option that is “something different” for advertisers.

*   Using the special interest categories for e-newsletters helps target subscribers with specific interests. These types of e-newsletters can be advertiser driven, so if the subscriber opts-in to promotional items they will then receive these newsletters.

Even if it’s not getting the same attention as newer forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, email marketing is both very cost efficient and highly effective. Newspapers can use email to drive readership, create and engage an audience, and generate revenue.


Revenue Opportunities Through Email Marketing Initiatives ✉️

Perception is everything. We are defined by what we do, and how we are seen affects our opportunities. Do you think newspapers should change their public perception?

The Birmingham News has launched an aggressive marketing campaign to fight against what they say are inaccurate public perceptions of the newspaper industry.

“For too long, we have allowed other voices to shape public perception about us and those public perceptions are inaccurate — the false perception that we’re dying; the false perception people don’t read us; the false perception that we are no longer relevant,” News Publisher Pam Siddall told employees Thursday.

I do believe newspapers need to take control of their brand. And like The Birmingham News, I believe they all have a story to tell. Newspapers have a rich history and a prominent future in their communities if they fight to keep that position.

However newspapers have to reshape the way they conduct business, it’s not just about perception. Changes and challenges in the industry have made this clearer than ever. The newspaper has to adapt and evolve into its own, I believe that will be done by combining print and digital services.

It’s about making a choice, you cannot be afraid of change. Seek professional help, we are not all marketing experts. Below are a list of items that can help newspapers get started on the right path.

*   Have a plan of action, what is your overall aim?

*   Feature special edition stories in your print edition.

*   Promote all the sections of your newspapers, think about what your audience wants.

*   Promote your electronic editions in print.

*   Have a book? Promote it in print and web. Do the same for all your products.

*   Build a mobile site or mobile app for all your products.

*   Sales reps, always seek training to strengthen your skills.

*   Increase employee moral by having weekly meetings with them.

*   Reward your employees, they will work harder for you.

*   Use Facebook and Twitter to get your news out there.

*   Do coupon deals online and in print.

*   Do contests online and in print.

*   Remind people of the value you bring to the community as a community newspaper.

*   Reclaim your position as the largest news-gathering organization in your community.

*   Enhance the design of your product, build icons for digital purposes.

*   Come up with a tagline that gives your paper a position of strength.

*   Try to think of yourself of more than just a newspaper.

*   Make banners, put them up on street corners.

There are new opportunities for the industry, and The Birmingham News is a great example of a newspaper who won’t give up on those opportunities without a fight. It’s time for newspapers to position themselves as the only hub for news, advertising, and everything hyper-local in their communities.


I’m Christian Ramirez, a digital marketing pro.

Background

🎯 Campaign Manager

📈 Digital Marketer

🌐 Web Developer

Empowering the Community

Revenue Opportunities Through Email Marketing Initiatives ✉️

Perception Is Everything

Got an interesting project? Tell me more...💬

Digital Marketing Professional

I’m Christian Ramirez, a digital marketing pro.

Background

🎯 Campaign Manager

📈 Digital Marketer

🌐 Web Developer

Empowering the Community

Revenue Opportunities Through Email Marketing Initiatives ✉️

Perception Is Everything

Got an interesting project? Tell me more...💬