Search Engine Optimization
In the early days and for quite some time, most visitors will discover your Patch through Google search. That means you must pay particular attention learning about SEO and creating local content with SEO top of mind.
Think about what people will type into the Google search bar to find a story to help you craft "keywords" for your headlines and ledes.
Big news in town — local breaking news beats all other content on search. Crimes, fires, accidents, traffic jams, etc. The faster you are to publish this coverage, the more likely you are to rank No. 1 on search. Patch helps you by providing an optimized platform, with engineers and experts working in the background to ensure our site is built to maximize search.
Big events and games in town also rank highly for search, especially preview stories.
Big issues in town, particularly controversies, may also be among the stories local residents are searching for.
Big names in town also may be among top search terms.
Use Google Trends to discover search terms that may be trending in your town.
Newsletter Sign-Up Call-To-Action
On your highest profile content — such as election coverage or stories about an ongoing important issue — putting a brief call-to-action asking readers to sign up for a newsletter could help grow your subscriber list organically. Remember to hyperlink to your subscribe page. Here is an example:
To stay on top of this issue, sign up for our free daily
email newsletter and local news alerts.
Photo Galleries
People like to see themselves in local photos on your website. They also like to share the links with their friends and family. This helps spread awareness of your Patch and grow your audience.
Photo galleries of community events (like sports games and town fairs) are more well-read than feature stories about community events. Producing a lot of photo galleries in town will afford you the opportunity to promote your site by handing out business cards to your subject.
You may also create a secondary revenue stream by hosting your photos on a site like smugmug.com, which allows the subjects to purchase your photos.
Shareable Stories And Social Media Followers
Social media is another building block for audience growth. In time, as your fan base grows, your share of readership from social media will grow.
When it comes to stories, "talkers" are the articles most likely to be shared widely on Facebook. These could be stories about heroes, villains or amazing deeds. The key is people are likely to talk about them and very likely to share them. We call these "shareable stories." The more likes or shares your stories get, the more people discover your Patch.
You will want to meet a lot of local influencers in general to talk up your Patch. Invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. But ALSO ask them directly to like your Facebook page. The more they see and share content on your Facebook page, the more their friends will see your Patch and also become followers.
Iconic Businesses and Events
What is your town famous for? Are there longtime, extremely popular businesses? Are there events that draw people from miles around? Make sure you are writing about these to tap into the cultural zeitgeist of your town.
Tell People Your Patch Is Here
We learned in 2010 when Patch was new everywhere that we had to keep telling people Patch had come to town. Grassroots marketing can help. Every coffee shop bulletin board should get a Patch flier. Put fliers on cars in commuter lots.
Build an announcement list of local officials, business owners, community leaders and neighborhood groups by gathering email addresses. When your Patch is live, send everyone an email to let them know.
Share your own creative ideas with your fellow community publishers.
Newsletter Sign-Up Drawings
Your most valuable audience channel will be your email subscriber list. After people discover your site through search or through social media, ultimately we want them to subscribe to the newsletter and news alerts.
We can also grow the subscriber list through contests. Partner with a local business to offer a newsletter sign-up contest. The business puts up a prize and helps promote the contest and your Patch. You collect entries through a form, and the winner is picked in a random drawing. All entries get signed up for your newsletter. Successful contests can bring in hundreds of new subscribers.
Patch Meet Ups
Work with your local chamber of commerce, business association or town officials to host an event where you teach people how to contribute to and use your Patch.
There is a lot people can do on Patch:
become Contributors and post articles
post questions or comments on Neighbor Post
become badged and verified local officials who answer users' questions
add events to your community calendar
announce deals or changes at their business in Business Promotions
post Classifieds, including job ads and items to sell
These meet ups will help you grow your user base and build relationships that can lead to sponsors and supporters.
Annual Chamber Business Expo
The entry fee to get a booth at the local business expo can be pricey but could be valuable to build your subscriber base and make contacts with local businesses. If your chamber or business association is on board with publicizing Patch as a vital and necessary service to the community, you may be able to barter a trade or discount.
Join Facebook Groups
Join Facebook moms groups and neighborhood groups and tell them what you're doing.
