Why sponsor The Bedford Citizen?
You love Bedford, and so do we. From starting a family to starting a business, Bedford has a lot to offer. Great schools, recreation, hiking trails, restaurants, and lots of resources, all with that small-town feel.
Sponsoring The Bedford Citizen shows our readers that your business believes in The Citizen’s mission to report on local news and events and promote community engagement and participation.
Sponsorship
Supporting Local News
Local newspapers have been going out of business at an alarming rate – nearly a quarter of all local newspapers have gone under since 2004. And that’s not counting the fact that there are fewer journalists covering local communities than ever before. The consequences are immense.
Without reliable coverage of official meetings, the budget process, development plans coming up for approval, communities start to unravel. Shared knowledge about Bedford is vital to the town’s ability to thrive. Local news is the thread connecting people with varied interests, creating a common history by sharing what’s happening in our community, from local elections, to sports, to events, to new businesses. Knowing what’s going on is vital.
That was the idea behind starting The Bedford Citizen 10 years ago. Filling the void left by the decline in local news here in Bedford. It worked; the Citizen IS the go-to source for local news. We are that common thread that helps our community connect.
By supporting The Bedford Citizen, you strengthen that thread that keeps everyone in the know. In other words, you are supporting the Bedford community.
Paragraph
If you are a business in Bedford there is no easier, more effective way to show that you are part of our community in a very visible way than to become a sponsor.
Reach that Bedford Community
In 2021 The Bedford Citizen had over 1 million page views. A million views of Bedford news and events! That is all The Bedford Citizen does, we don’t have memes or clickbait. We don’t write about the Red Sox or Celtics (well, unless a Bedford resident is singing the Star-Spangled Banner at Fenway). We are all Bedford and only Bedford! What that means is that those people reading the Citizen are your customers, your employees, your potential employees, your neighbors.
Those 1 million+ story views come from many sources. In a town with 5,300 households, The Bedford Citizen has more than 2,500 Facebook followers, 1,650 Twitter followers, and nearly 1,000 Instagram followers. And Citizen stories are shared extensively on local Facebook pages. Undeniably, The Bedford Citizen is reaching people who are invested in Bedford and want to ensure Bedford lives up to its full potential.
By supporting The Bedford Citizen, you strengthen that thread that keeps everyone in the know. In other words, you are supporting the Bedford community.
Promote your business while supporting the Citizen
There are two ways to promote your business and support The Bedford Citizen. Both are easy, inexpensive, and impactful.
Logo Sponsorship
Keep your name and logo in front of the Bedford community on a constant and consistent basis. Located right below our top three stories on our homepage, your logo rotates with other sponsors, giving your business tremendous visibility. This isn’t a Google ad that is seen throughout the world. This is your Bedford business being seen by Bedford people as they read about Bedford. Restaurants, realtors, pre-schools, landscapers, dry cleaners, jewelers, bio-tech companies, dentists, etc.
If you have a presence in Bedford, this is an easy way to show you are part of our community.
| Your company logo rotates on our front page linking back to your site. |
What about just taking an ad?
We don’t allow ads on our website, just the logo sponsorships. However, we are starting something new this year.
Banner ads in our emails to subscribers
The Bedford Citizen is free to all. Beyond our website, www.thebedfordcitizen.org, we have nearly 2,300 people who subscribe to our Daily and Weekly summaries. These are emails readers signed up for and they read them regularly. Our open rates are in the 60% range, compared to other media newsletters that average 22.15%. Our subscribers love the summaries.
In terms of promoting your business, they’re the most effective way to reach Bedford. Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or just having a sale.
These ads are meant to be quick and targeted. Whether it’s an open house this weekend, or a Mother’s Day promotion, or something else: It’s inexpensive! It’s immediate! And it’s focused! All are ads in emails to subscribers while they’re reading about Bedford.
Examples of the summaries:
Sunday Summary: The Bedford Citizen Week in Review ~ V 10, N 36 ~ March 6, 2022
Daily Feed: Daily Digest: Posts from The Bedford Citizen for 03/07/2022
Pricing
Supporting The Bedford Citizen is easy and inexpensive!
Logo Sponsorship on the Citizen home page www.TheBedfordCitizen.org.
$110/month with discounts for a long-term commitment: $600/6 Months or $1100/year/
Banner Ads in Newsletters
There are three spots available on our newsletters both for the Daily and the Sunday Summary – a banner at the top of the newsletter or one of two business-card sized ads in the middle.
Daily: 5 days a week, 1,600 subscribers with open rates averaging more than 60%.
Sunday: nearly 2,300 subscribers with open rates over 50%.
Contact info:
Gene Kalb
781-771-9434
Expand the network