{"id":216215,"date":"2022-05-17T15:26:02","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T19:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/?p=216215"},"modified":"2022-05-18T12:11:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:11:23","slug":"why-north-salem-post-chose-patch-labs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/why-north-salem-post-chose-patch-labs\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting the news is hard enough \u2013 publishing and monetizing it doesn\u2019t have to be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post is sponsored by <\/em>Patch Labs<\/em><\/a>, the CMS that offers all the features that independent publishers need \u2013 and none that they don\u2019t. <\/em>Request a demo\u00bb<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hear this story all the time<\/strong>: A passionate journalist launches a digital news publication with big editorial plans, only to find themselves bogged down in the thankless work of building and maintaining a professional website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LION member and The North Salem Post<\/a> founder Sarah Gayden<\/strong> wanted to avoid that fate, especially as a \u201csolopreneur\u201d wearing multiple hats at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her solution: Patch Labs<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patch Labs is a simple content management system (CMS) that\u2019s built specifically for small independent publishers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other CMS platforms, it includes all the features that small publishers need to publish and monetize their work (a newsletter builder, events calendar, metrics dashboard, advertising software, etc.) without<\/em> the hassle of endless plug-ins and integrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah launched The North Salem Post\u2019s website on Patch Labs in December 2020, and she loved the CMS so much that she now helps onboard other independent publishers as the company\u2019s director of growth & partnerships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here\u2019s her pitch to you<\/em> for how Patch Labs can support your local online news business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first, what\u2019s the relationship between Patch Labs and the local news platform Patch.com?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patch Labs is the innovation arm of Patch.com<\/a>. We operate an independent team parallel to the larger Patch organization. At Patch Labs, we build technology and tools that independent journalists use to power and run their own news publications. Editors who use Patch Labs technology are not employed by Patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Patch Labs an especially good fit for small independent news publishers? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Local journalists are passionate about informing their communities, but technology all too often burdens when it should facilitate. Especially in micro-newsrooms (those run by just one person or maybe a handful of people), there isn\u2019t time or resources to connect various tech platforms, debug mysterious issues or sort through plug-ins. And there certainly isn\u2019t the luxury of spending several hundred dollars a month for a content management service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patch Labs built years of institutional knowledge and local news best practices into the platform: stats you need to see, newsletters, search optimization, a local events calendar (one of the most-read items) and so on. For independent journalists, we do the heavy lifting on the tech side, so they can just log in and publish the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earning revenue is often a big challenge for small independent publishers. How does Patch Labs help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Early on we realized our job was not to save local news; it was to save local journalists \u2014 so earning predictable, recurring revenue is at the core of everything we build. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labs sites are structured to accept both individual financial support and digital advertising, and the tools we\u2019ve built help make those revenue streams easier to launch and grow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n