What sells papers
Circulation figures for The Border Watch are compiled monthly. Yesterday we laid all the July papers on a table and noted their individual net sales.
I was pleased with how consistent the sales were. Circulation was up on the same month last year as well, which is always the aim.
We could only identify one edition where the front page content obviously influenced sales.
It was a controversial court story with the headline “Sex verdict waits”. It involved an 80-year-old man facing trial for alleged sexual offences against his niece when she was a child 40 years ago. We also published a photo of the man entering court with a walking frame.
That paper sold about 200 copies more than other Tuesday editions, or nearly three percent extra.
It was controversial because the man was found not guilty and the judge cautioned us for giving it such prominence before the verdict was delivered.
We saw a follow through in sales to Wednesday when we published the verdict.
I’ve got no doubt sex and crime sell papers. I’m wary though of exaggerating this or making it too frequent. The shock value can wear off.
While it’s an objective to convert impulse sales into regular sales, the reality is that something will always happen irregularly to trigger a surge.
An editor can’t manufacture these events, but needs to be aware of them to capitalise.
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