Not once in the last 60+ Belden newsletters (over 5 years!) has there been an outright sales pitch. Hints, subliminal suggestions and encouragement to invest in more research have abounded, but nary an offer to buy. We're making an exception this one time, so please indulge us - this is too important!

Every Publisher in the land acknowledges that "digital" will figure very prominently in their future. Some even see a day where digital is ALL there is. Yet, far too many rely on log files or panel based studies or, worse yet, intuition and experience to guide understanding and web related strategic thinking.

If we're to successfully navigate towards the robust digital future which Belden predicts, such practices must cease!

Item #1: Conduct research to better understand your web site visitor. Determine how many visitors are in your market...how frequently they are visiting...for how long...for what purpose...capture a host of shopping measures and intentions (which automatically load on a sales presentation platform?!) ...that other media they consume...what keeps them coming back...how often they clear their "cookies"...how to improve their experience...and, be sure to attach basic demos to track over time.

To satisfy advertiser's, you should readily know reach, frequency and profile of the in market visitor to newspaper.com.

Yes, Belden Associates has a wonderful tool which does all that - the Sales and Site Survey. We've interviewed more than 100,000 visitors to newspaper web sites of all sizes and know more about this audience than anyone. Call us - we'd be delighted to help. Call others or do it on your own. Just act.

THAT'S NOT ENOUGH - quite frankly, that's less than half the battle! We know the average newspaper web site delivers somewhere between 10 - 25% in market reach and only 2 - 8% unduplicated reach, so intelligence on the audience you already have is insufficient. Especially, since all indications suggest this natural audience is beginning to plateau.

Research must be conducted on the total market to determine where those who don't use your web site are going? Why they don't visit newspaper.com? What other media motivates their behavior? What newspapers and their web sites must be doing to increase audience? How much audience exists? And, what to do if they are not using the internet at all?

That leads us to - -

Item #2: Conduct a Belden Internet Directional Study (BIDS). Make it a New Year's resolution to contact us and learn more about our new syndicated telephone study that gets to each of these critical measures. Best of all, part of the deliverable is a prioritized, step-by-step Action Check List to help guide better penetration, understanding, revenue generation and connection to your wired audience.

This really is a two step process.

A) By first of all, REALLY understanding those readers/visitors already visiting your web site, you will be able to craft the right financial model to increase web site profitability!

B) The second step is even more critical - KNOW what all internet users in your market are doing and where they are headed. Understand what it will take to serve their needs...now and tomorrow.

It is this second piece which will allow us to design and build the appropriate digital platforms to engage and delight and entertain and inform our customers. Yes, all those apply, and don't, for one second think otherwise. Creating a genuine emotional connection - an honest to goodness relationship - with customers will be a principal goal of all future media!

Now, here's the sales offer (skip to the end if you think this inappropriate): If you have not conducted the required survey of your existing web site visitor we encourage you to consider our Sales & Site Survey.

Since the Sales & Site Survey is the first step in the creation of a successful digital strategy, we're offering it in combination with our new Belden Internet Directional Study at discounted prices for the first quarter of 2006. Buy both and a 10% discount will prevail. For multiple commitments additional discounts can be earned.

Wouldn't it be great to know specifically which competitor to be battling for online supremacy? Would a clear path to profitability be worthwhile? How valuable would a complete understanding of the digital marketplace in your market be? Even more basic - how to survive? Conduct both studies and those insights are yours.

Last word of caution (then one of promise!): Many of the marketing skills which have served us so well in our print space must be unlearned in internet space. Not all, but many. We'll have to recognize a theoretical unlimited inventory is not a part of our digital future. That a limited, unless we drive more traffic there will not be more inventory (or, more revenue!), so we darn well better understand our digital audience and price accordingly.

The flip side is terribly exciting - - we're once again in the breaking news business... the content web site visitors seek - we can readily provide...we have a WoNdErFuL promotional platform to build upon (please let us promote relentlessly - another a great New Year's Resolution!!)...we have the human assets no other medium can approach...and, our financial underpinnings are solid.

Given those characteristics, Belden Associates is delighted to be a partner with the newspaper industry. Let's grow together - seize our offer and conduct solutions oriented, web site and internet audience research early in 2006. Ignore that meticulously crafted budget (or, treat it like the tool it is) and invest in perhaps the most important research possible...we're ready!