I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time. Jeff Jarvis urges journalists to be “entrepreneurial” and as business-minded as they are journalistically-minded. So, if you’re brave enough to go it alone, rather than try to find a hack’s job on a newspaper, how can you make a hyperlocal blog pay out?

Rick Waghorn suggests pitching your adspace to local authorities. He cites the example of an area with anti-social behaviour (ASB) problems and says it may be worth getting the local council to advertise their schemes targetting ASB on your hyperlocal site. It marries target audience and advert perfectly. I’m guessing this will work with any number of public bodies, like police forces, ambulance services etc. It might not bring in bucket-loads, but cash is cash is cash.

Of course there’s also the traditional route of advertising, by having banner ads on your page. You’ll need to be able to sell your audience though, so it’s essential you know exactly who reads your site. Google analytics, along with details of the sociological make-up of the area you cover should suffice, meaning you can pitch to businesses most likely to want to advertise.

You can also try an advertorial-style way of making revenue. Why not have a section of your site which spotlights a different local business each fortnight or so? You can charge a fee to write a feature about the company, profile the owner/employees etc. As long as it’s clear that this is an advert, I think it’s ethical. Plus, if it’s a nearby business or a company owned by somebody living in the area, it keeps your content localised and more relevant/engaging. By having it once every fortnight, you don’t overload your readership with advert-based content.

Putting up a pay-wall is not an option. But what about offering extra content, like a weekly podcast or vodcast, and charging a subscription for it? You can have special guests and interviews, offer exclusive audio/video material, discuss local issues and so on. Charge users five or ten pounds for a yearly subscription. If you can make it worth listening to/watching, maybe even a ‘must-have’ for local news, I think there’s a market for it.

If you can afford it, produce a monthly free-sheet focused on in-depth analysis of recent stories and local issues. Publish some letters from residents. Make it worth reading. Then you could make money by selling ad-space. Although I’m wary of using print-media as a way of making money, by only producing this once a month, and by delivering it to a very specific market in one local area, I think it’s still possible to make money. Plus it’s a bit of marketing for yourself.

Hold sponsored events. Once you’ve established yourself as a brand, why not hire out a hall, invite a couple of interesting guest speakers, and charge people entry? You could hold a monthly debate on a certain topic. I’m not very creative, so I’m sure you can think of a much quirkier event than me. I suppose this suggestion is a little far-out, but it’d be worth a try, even if only once.

Lastly, and this may seem a bit beggy, but why not ask for donations? If you’re giving users excellent coverage of local news, then they may be willing to voluntarily give you some money. After all, you’re providing them a great, and much needed, service, using your skills and time. You need to be able to live and I’m sure they’ll understand that. You might not make anything, but I doubt anyone would hold it against you for asking. Unless your site is rubbish. Who knows, maybe a generous and wealthy local businessman would give you a nice lump.

Anyway, they’re just a few ideas. Shoot them down, add what I’ve missed or just simply agree in the comments box below. All views are welcome!