Welcome to the FIMS Lab newsletter

In this edition:

• Improve email open rates with two steps

• Does your audience agree with your definition of news?

• Should for-profits participate in Giving Tuesday?

• A short list of things to know

Total read time: ☕️☕️☕️ 3 caffeinated minutes.

(If you’re currently under-caffeinated, close this email and forward to a friend.)

Marketing Examples: Two steps can improve newsletter open rates

• Confirmation email

• Ask to be added to their address book

In this very brief post marketer Harry Dry offers his suggestions and shows how doing both in a single test improved open rates by more than 20 percent!

You call that news?

If you haven’t had time to read Joshua Benton’s recent Nieman Lab reporting about whether audiences are connecting with your news, here’s an over-simplified takeaway:

People are more likely to find content relevant and perceive it as news if they see themselves represented in the story. The study focused on groups of younger and older readers.

While not exactly groundbreaking, the studies at least seemed to confirm what many of you have already tested: when people see themselves reflected in your stories they respond differently.

For newsrooms looking to attract younger readers, the logic goes, it would be smart to publish stories that reflect their interests and experience.

For example, consider this appallingly unscientific anecdote. Here’s the local news section of the Arizona Republic:

And the front of the ASU student newspaper:

The Miami Herald: 

And the Miami Student:

All of the above contain what would traditionally be considered a mix of “hard” and “soft” news; however, would your younger readers agree with your definitions and are they likely to find content that reflects their current experience?

At the Salt-Lake Tribune, content that appeals to younger audiences includes abortion and women’s rights, LGBTQ issues and the environment, Danyelle White, VP of strategic initiatives, told Editor & Publisher in January.

Related, White also said another way to respond to the needs of younger audiences is to make purchases as frictionless as possible.

The researchers say the disconnect many young people feel (about news) may come from, “a lack of representation which we show violates a fundamental aspect of how audiences — teens and adults — define what is news.”

• More examples of how to build trust

Grants and funding 

At least one FIMS participant recently shared they were discouraged by a nonprofit foundation partner against participating in Giving Tuesday (November 28) because “It’s for nonprofits.”

At Newsgeist this weekend I posed this question to non and for-profit newsrooms along with a few funders. We all agreed Giving Tuesday should be for anyone who offers value to the Giver and is not the domain of the nonprofits.

However, building your foundation relationships can be critical to your success. Pointing to this study and reminding partners that funding for-profit journalism is increasing, could help. Disclosing funders on your website along with transparency statements that show how the funding is used, is also encouraged.

• Take a peek at Facebook ads already running for Giving Tuesday

• Newsfuel can help you find available grants

🤖 AI Prompt for great video script outline

From The Automated newsletter: A well-structured outline helps you clarify the key message or story you want to convey in your video.

This ensures that your content doesn't stray off-topic, making it easier for your audience to understand and engage with your video.

Here’s a ChatGPT prompt to generate a great video script outline.

You are an expert video script writer. I want you to write a script outline for my video please. 

It should include an engaging introduction, clear key points segmented into scenes, specific notes on visuals and sound, smooth transitions between segments, a direct call to action, and a strong conclusion or outro. 

Please take the following into account:

- Platform: [insert, eg. YouTube, TikTok]

- Topic or theme of my video: [insert]

- Target audience: [eg. age group, interests, cultural context, etc]

- Objective: [e.g., educate, entertain, inspire]

- Desired video length: [e.g., less than 1 min for TikTok, 10 mins for YouTube]

- Tone: [eg. conversational, humorous, formal]

Things to know:   

• Free workshop to measure and communicate impact by News Philanthropy Network, Tuesday October 10 at 2pm ET.

• Our next FIMS Group call on October 17 at 4pm ET with Borrell about What’s Hot in Local Advertising

• Recording: How NOLA.com succeeds with video ad sales by prioritizing content first

• Recording: Post & Courier on Fundraising and Events strategies

• Download: The events spreadsheet Misty Simons uses to plan Events at the Post & Courier