Michele's List
Building blocks in the emerging local news ecosystem

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Statistics
Unique monthly visitors

37,600
Average page views

119,300
Average visits

97,333
E-newsletter

  • Yes, a single newsletter
E-newsletter subscribers

1,943
Facebook likes

12,534
Facebook followers

12,930
Twitter followers

8,808
Instagram followers

1,542
Revenue

  • Less than $50,000
Primary revenue source(s)

  • None at this level (at least 50% of total revenue)
Ad products

  • Traditional Web display advertising sold directly by your organization
  • Video advertising
  • Sponsored content or native advertising
  • Social media services

Paywall

  • No
Distribution

  • Direct to web/mobile
Total personnel/contributor FTE

1.75
Last Publisher Update

  • 2019-06-10 21:07:02 UTC
Planet Princeton
New Jersey
Planet Princeton

Planet Princeton aims to be "an online forum for all things Princeton," covering highly local news, events and community issues. 

Who is in charge?

Krystal Knapp

Job title

Founding Editor

City

Princeton

State

New Jersey

Zip code

08542

Year launched

2011

Tax status

  • LLC

Geographic scope

  • Small city or town

Other geographic focus

Greater Princeton area - 08540 and 08542 zip codes

Population of coverage area

40,000

Scope of coverage

  • General news or a number of topics that are not necessarily closely related to each other

Primary focus

  • Current news and events

Topics of coverage

  • Education & schools
  • Events in coverage area
  • Food
  • Government
  • Planning & development

Watchdog journalism?

  • Yes, occasional

Facebook link

https://www.facebook.com/PlanetPrinceton

Site Twitter handle

http://planetprinceton.com/

Effective engagement practice

My newsletter, a recent addition, is my best engagement tool in terms of getting feedback and financial support. Push notifications are also a driver of engagement and support. More people are commenting directly on the site as a result. Social media engagement has declined but the newsletter and push notifications have made up for those losses. I used to be very fixated on the number of social media followers I have, likes, pageviews, etc. While one can't ignore those stats, I now look at whether I'm being effective in a more holistic way -- It is hard to measure, but if people are commenting, bringing up my stories at town forums, writing letters to the editor, and people of all ages are engaging and commenting, then I feel I am being successful. I also care about community members engaging and working to find solutions to problems I cover. Planning and development, taxes, and education are big issues here as Princeton becomes less affordable and property taxes increase.

Revenue challenges

Revenue is always a challenge, of course. The biggest challenge I see is communicating effectively with readers and business owners so that they understand how my site operates and makes money. People make assumptions that ads bring in a ton of money, for example. A second challenge is focusing on several revenue sources (ads, subscriptions, consulting, events.) It is tough to have the bandwidth to do it all as a solopreneur.