COVID-19 has created havoc in our economy and has affected all businesses in one way or another. It has certainly forced everyone to rethink the way in which they do business. In the publishing world for one, many magazines that have been household names for years were closed or face closing eg. Cosmopolitan, House & Leisure, Country Life, Essentials, Food & Home, Garden & Home, Rooi Rose, Vrouekeur, Woman & Home and Your Family. Although the introduction of digital platforms and social media rang in the changes in this industry years ago, mainly due to reduced advertising revenue in magazines and newspapers, COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin for many.
As The Post is distributed for free, our only source of revenue is the income from advertising – and with all businesses suffering losses in some way or another, many advertisers are simply not in a position to advertise as usual. Apart from the fact that the printers were closed during the first stages of lockdown, The Post, like many other small newspapers, had no option but to go digital in order to stay in touch with our readers and advertisers. Since our first digital edition in May, we have had many requests to print The Post again. Even though we would love to do so, we need R19 000 to pay the printer for a monthly print run of 5 000 copies. Admittedly, the digital route is less expensive than printing, but please bear in mind that we have offered advertisers special discounts during this time (on already reasonable advertising rates). This obviously has an impact on our revenue too and we still have to cover editorial, design and administration fees (Facebook and website) as well as bank charges. Fortunately we are blessed with people on the team that feel passionate about publishing a monthly newspaper of high quality while spreading positive, uplifting news.
Lastly, our heartfelt thanks to all advertisers and contributors that have supported us during these challenging times. This makes every effort to publish The Post worth it. We salute you!
