Most current online sales materials are, let's face it, terrible. This is primarily because local media's audience research itself is limited or national. But this is about to change. Post-Gazette.com is testing a new method of researching its site visitors that is free, from a partner called Civic Science. Here is how it works and early results. more

For the 2010 PNA conference, we updated a number of revenue opportunities mentioned previously on this site. Find out how many press releases PRLink, a software created by Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, is selling on TampaBay.com and how EBay responded to BooCoo Auctions undercutting its pricing. more

As companies plan five year models, user-generated revenues should be part of the mix. AllMenus.com (owned by Dot Menus, Inc.) incorporates a field-tested online ordering services for restaurant and has recently signed up with two major dailies. Here's how the model works and early results. more

The St. Petersburg Times is launching a new, paid, press release site today that has a lot of potential. Businesses already pay to submit releases to PRWire, and a local service makes even more sense, because of the SEO value. Here's how it works, with images, vendor contacts. more

Update: LCE's E-commerce banners are now being marketed directly to Facebook users, rather than media companies. more

With media companies looking at reselling social media, there is a great tool that is not getting enough attention: Marchex will partner to provide an inexpensive dashboard that let's SMB's monitor social media mentions across platforms. Here's a look at the new tools: more

Boo Coo launched on June 21 with 1700 items, mostly from employees and friends of its 300 media partners. With 80% of U.S. residential zip codes left, the question for local media companies remains: Does this model have legs? Here is a brief overview of the upsides and downsides of the partnership as we see it. more

There are a variety of weather maps available for small media sites. In response to a reader question, we did a quick comparison of the options, looking at major functions, price, ability to place ads and keep a local brand. A couple of winners emerge. more

The President of Suburban Newspapers of America, Nancy Lane also runs Zip2Save, the for-profit site that aggregates retail circulars and local coupons. Since launching in October, 2009, the company has met some impressive milestones, including growing revenue streams for local partners. Here's how the partnerships work. more

Dallas-based Rev up launched its first Local Proud discount site in partnership with WKBW television in Buffalo and is actively seeking media partners in Dallas. The program uses a green "couponless coupon" theme and ties in with the shop local movement. National brands are not targeted. more