Posting will be light the next 36 hours

Posted by Howard Owens on May 27, 2009 - 1:40pm

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thebatavian

Most of the rest of today will be taken up with errands related to moving and then I'm driving to Toronto where I'm speaking tomorrow to a group of online news people about The Batavian and new media.

The good news is, by Monday, I'll be a Batavia resident. This is going to have numerous benefits, I think, to The Batavian -- I no longer spend two hours per day in a wasteful commute; I'll be able to attend more events and more meetings; I'll know more of what's going on; and I'll have more time to devote to getting more sponsors (and more Deals of the Day!) to keep this venture in online community news going.

While I'm gone, I'll still have my computer and my phone, so keep those news tips coming. If I can't get to something that needs gotten to, I'll call on Brian Hillabush, or cover the news from a distance (much easier to do in this digital age).

Speaking of advertising, the Daily takes a full page today to run logos of all its online advertisers. It's impressive page. Of the 50 or so businesses, only 37 are local. The rest are out of the county. It makes me pretty proud of the fact that 36 26 local businesses are now turning to The Batavian to help reach a loyal, local audience. That's 36 26, with two more on the way, and I'm just one guy bringing sponsors on board (and covering the news with the help of my wife and alert readers) against a team of people who have been selling newspaper ads in the community for years. (OOPS. I don't know why I wrote 36. It's 26. I was just driving down the road and thought -- oops -- so pulled over for this correction. But I stand by how pleased I am with the progress so far.)

It's been heartening the degree to which people in Batavia and the rest of Genesee County have embraced me and Billie since I took over sole ownership of The Batavian. The friendliness and support from readers, business owners and community leaders has me looking forward to being a resident with great anticipation. Everywhere I go, I meet people who tell me how much they love The Batavian. I never experienced that kind of appreciation for a newspaper in all my years in the print business. I have great hopes for The Batavian and I hope both community members and business owners will be pleased with how we grow and what we deliver.

Howard Owens
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Posted by Andrew Erbell on May 27, 2009 - 2:11pm

"Of the 50 or so businesses, only 37 are local. The rest are out of the county. It makes me pretty proud of the fact that 36 local businesses are now turning to The Batavian to help reach a loyal, local audience."

????????

Those 13 other businesses probably figure folks travel outside of this little patch of heaven now and again. I read the Daily just about every day, plus listen to the radio, and watch tv now and again. Many of the advertisers here also have a presence in those mediums as well. There isn't a single business advertising here that I didn't know about and several I spend a fair amount of money at long before The Batavian came along. Oliver's for example - is there anyone within five miles of Batavia that doesn't know about the place? You can probably count on one hand the number of people that can't sing; "Furniture Man" by heart.

The underlying question for all of them should be, are their advertising dollars being well spent by being here? Of the dozen or so I've been in lately, none have asked how I found out about them - something I ask regularly with our client base. Perhaps they take more of a "splatterball" approach to spending their advertising budget. I gave that up long ago, along with much local advertising because we haven't needed it for quite a while.

Posted by Peter O'Brien on May 27, 2009 - 2:19pm

Furniture Man?
This site is responsible for introducing me to Essence of Candles and for my decision try and use Charles Man's Shop for my wedding. may be difficult due to Navy buddies that are scattered across the country.)

Barret's, Autospa, Fastec, DnR, Adam Miller Toys and TF Brown's are all companies that I didn't know about till I read this site.

Posted by Bea McManis on May 27, 2009 - 2:21pm

To paraphrase Sally Fields at the Academy Awards, "We love ya, we really, really love ya".
Keep up the good work.

Posted by Gabor Deutsch on May 27, 2009 - 2:32pm

I dont know the furniture man song. I sure dont know what your business is either. I think running an ad here must be at a decent price and maybe a reminder that these places still exist. When I visit one of these sponsors and spend my money i will let people know good or bad experience. I would hope a business wouldnt be concerned as much how a person found them as much as that they purchase. Unless its a coupon or deal of the day. Then you can track it.

Posted by Beth Kinsley on May 27, 2009 - 2:36pm

I've learned about a lot of businesses on this site also - Blue Pearl Yoga, Autospa, Herbly Wonderful - just to name a few. And I signed my daughter up for all of the Holland Land Office's summer programs on their website which I accessed through here. I had no clue they even had a website and no idea that they had so many great things for the kids to do.

Posted by Brian Hillabush on May 27, 2009 - 2:36pm

I think the advertising here is very effective. I hadn't been in Adam Millers for many years, but after seeing the ad enough, I got it in my head to take my nephews there. Yes I know it is there, but I think the ad is the reason I wanted to share a place I enjoyed when I was young with a new generation.

Posted by Mark Potwora on May 27, 2009 - 2:51pm

You are doing a great job..It seems to get better every day..I like that you and WBTA share info..their sound bites and your pictures.....Keep it up...

Posted by Laura Scarborough on May 27, 2009 - 3:00pm

Howard, you actually care about the area and the people. You take the time to answer people's questions directly. You actually get out and about and talk to people. I've seen you walking around town greeting residents. That is why I log onto this site daily. :0)

Posted by Howard Owens on May 27, 2009 - 3:42pm

Thank you for all the kind remarks. As I said, the support from the community has been great and greatly appreciated.

The reason established businesses advertise here or anyplace else is to remind people they still exist. This is especially important in the age of big-box retailers. It's so easy to forget about the local businesses if you get in the habit of going to the chains. More than one of the current advertisers mentioned that issue to me specifically when they decided to be a sponsor of The Batavia (they brought it up, not me).

Yes, and advertising helps businesses reach new customers.

If you talk to any of the owners participating in the deal of the day program -- they're happy when somebody comes into the store or restaurant whether a new customer or loyal customer, because the program helps reinforce their relationship with existing customers and bring in new customers. They don't ask -- even if it were possible -- that the offer only be restricted to new customers.

There are many reasons advertising is important. It is effective, and the feedback I'm getting from readers and sponsors is that The Batavian is working for them.

It's important to me to help keep local dollars in Genesee County. That's also a reason it's important that Billie and I are moving here. It's what I've wanted for more than a year now and it's what I think is best. That's why I constantly talk about shop local and why I'm trying to build this business, and emphasize as I did above, our commitment to local business. The Daily is welcome to their business model. The Batavian has a different one, and I want people to understand that it is different and why.

Posted by Chris Olin on May 27, 2009 - 5:01pm

Brian isn't the only person you can turn to if you're tied up, in so many words.

Being a local computer geek, I loved the idea of an online newspaper, for obvious reasons. However, I wasn't entirely sure if the idea of a online newspaper would take hold here in Batavia. A year later, it seems my original assumption was wrong. This is one of the occasions where I'm glad I was wrong.

Posted by George Richardson on May 27, 2009 - 5:04pm

Every advertising dollar that comes into the Batavian is money well spent. If you have a website, as most businesses do now, this is an excellent way to promote it. I haven't used a phonebook in ten years. Online is now, online is the future. I know it sucks but that's reality.

Posted by David Dodge on May 27, 2009 - 5:18pm

Howard, I'm glad you are going to be a Batavia resident soon so that you can stay on top of local news easier. By the way, The Batavian is a MUCH better source of news and advertisements than The Daily - HANDS DOWN! If you ever need news about what is happening at Genesee Community College I could give you information easily.

Posted by Howard Owens on May 27, 2009 - 5:38pm

David, thanks ... we get lots of press releases from GCC, but if there's something going on you think we should know about that wouldn't be covered in a PR, please let me know.

Posted by Chris Olin on May 28, 2009 - 6:20am

There is a lot happening at GCC that usually isn't covered in Donna Rae's press releases, unless there are others that myself/we aren't aware of.

Posted by Mardell Lamb on May 28, 2009 - 7:58am

Welcome to Batavia, Howard & Billie. Keep up the great work! Appreciate ALL that you do.