Many newspapers have shifted from worrying to planning growth, writes Kevin Slimp.

Upon returning to my office following a 2,700-mile journey – Bellingham, Washington, happens to be the furthest city in the contiguous 48 US states from my home in Knoxville, Tennessee – this morning, I have three things on my mind.

And I’m unsure which of the three I should write about in this column. I often tell my clients that people like subheads in stories, so I think I’ll cover all three topics with subheads meant to entice my readers.

Grants for newspapers: I continue to hear from clients to share good news concerning their grant applications. Many of the newspapers I visit on-site have received grants – most often from their state small business administration office – that allow them to retain training for their staff, among other things.

Other grants are available from granting organisations that are not related to the government. I am convinced that if more newspapers knew there were grants for the taking, they would take advantage of these opportunities.

Most of my clients who have successfully followed this advice have received grants in the US$20-25,000 range. The smallest (I remember) was US$5,000 (A$7,600), and the largest was US$100,000 (A$152,000).

You don’t have to hire anyone to apply for a grant. At the risk of violating Nike’s trademark slogan, just do it. I advise contacting your county or state small business administration office and asking about grants for small business staff training. Afterward, contact me if you want assistance completing the grant application process.

Focus groups: Most of my hours in October and November have been reserved for working with newspaper focus groups. I can’t overemphasise the good that can be accomplished by hosting newspaper focus groups.

One of the first questions I get when talking with publishers about upcoming focus groups is, “How will we get enough people to volunteer to be a part of the group”. In the ten years I’ve worked with focus groups, that’s never been an issue. Last week in Washington, 25 focus group participants were selected out of the larger group that requested to be part of the opportunity. In South Carolina, where I’ll be next week, I understand hundreds have expressed an interest in being part of a focus group.

Whether you host focus groups on your own or get someone to plan them for you, focus groups are the best method I know of to determine where your newspaper should be headed.

‘Who’s Who’ in publishing: See how a subhead can draw your attention? Research indicates readers are much more likely to read a long story if it contains subheads to break up the information. As I’m apt to do, I digress.

The third topic on my mind this morning involves my email inbox. When I opened my email, I immediately noticed the inbox was filled with messages from some of the most respected publishers in the newspaper business. If I had seen these names listed in a column, I would probably think it was the ‘Who’s Who in American Newspapers’.

The most requested topic of conversation involved discussing methods to increase readership (and revenue) in their papers. It pleases me to no end to hear publishers interested in growing their newspapers. It doesn’t seem that long ago that many publishers were convinced they might not have a product in the future. In 2008, a respected leader in the journalism academic world told me he was convinced there wouldn’t be a single printed newspaper available in the United States by 2018. He asked my opinion. I told him it might have been the “dumbest thing I’d ever heard.”

He seemed a bit dumbfounded and asked why I felt that way.

“Because if there’s not one,” I answered, “I will start one and make a fortune. So, there will be at least one.”

He disagreed. He thought I was naïve to think there would still be newspapers in ten years. I’m so glad he was wrong. I’m still waiting for someone to create a teeshirt that says, ‘Kevin was right!’ on the back.

I’m nearing my 800-word limit. One column, three topics. Like most newspapers, I always try to give readers their money’s worth.

• Kevin Slimp is a consultant, advisor and trainer in the newspaper industry. From 1997-2018, he directed the Newspaper Institute of the University of Tennessee. He is currently chief executive of Market Square Publishing and chief guru at NewspaperAcademy.com. Contact him at kevin@kevinslimp.com

Pictured: A focus group in Bellingham, WA, examines newspapers popular among young readers in Tennessee, Florida and New York to determine what their newspaper might learn from each