CMN would like to present a new feature to College Publisher: The biweekly "Top Stories Newsletter," sending out your site's top news stories every Tuesday and Thursday.

Your readers can't always get to your site for the news. So we're making sure the news gets to them.

The Goal:
To substantially increase site traffic and let your readers know that your site is about more than just breaking news – it's about staying current in campus culture.

How it works:
College Publisher automatically generates a feed of stories that are most trafficked on the site. This "top stories" feed changes over time and measures what is popular. Until now, newspapers could only feature this on the site. Two times a week, this list will be sent to your readers with the help of our new email system powered by Sailthru – this is in addition to any breaking news or daily news emails you are already sending.

We know your first question:
How do we ensure readers don't feel like they are being spammed?

The Answer:
The email only goes out if the top stories on your site have changed between each round of the last time it went out. This ensures your readers only get new information.

The Calculus:
Across all newspapers in College Media Network, the average daily email edition is opened by roughly 15 percent of readers with only six percent of those readers clicking through to read an article. Based on case studies and projections, CMN estimates these data points to move up to 20 and ten percent respectively with the bi-weekly "Top Stories Newsletter".

Email marketing is an area that many publishers ignore, but it can contribute to as much as 25 percent in site traffic for newspapers that send it consistently and often. With a higher read and click-through rate on these new email blasts, the increased traffic on your site translates into more money in your revenue-share check every term.

Also, don't sweat it if you forget to send out your email edition. This new service ensures that your readers will be kept up to date. We've got you covered.

Questions? Comments?  Let us know.

Sincerely,
The College Media Network Team