By Cindy Gaedert-Gearhart

Publisher

— Sometimes, decisions you are forced to make can lead to unexpected good things. Such is the case with our switching to online publishing only in the wake of the economic fallout from COVID-19. While we continue to look forward to once again publishing our newspapers in print, we are currently enjoying an increase in the number of people visiting our website (county-journal.com). This is good news for both us and our many local advertisers.

On March 28, we moved both of our newspapers, The County Journal and the Flashes Advertising and News, to online only. Each paper can be accessed on our website’s main page as “digital editions.” These editions look just like a printed newspaper, but you flip through the pages with your keyboard or mouse instead of your fingers. We have also been posting individual staff-written stories, columns from community leaders and advertisements directly on the web, to be read on their own.

For some, this is not the preferred way of reading the paper. But, judging by the increase in the number of people using our website, many of you really like it. We have always had an online presence, but over the past six months, we have made an extra effort to get more content up there for you to easily access on your phone, tablet or computer. Over the past two months, we have been boosting the site, and it has made a real difference when you look up our web activity on something called “Google analytics.” The data there shows that, from Nov. 1, 2019 up through May 20, 2020, the number of website users increased by over 157 percent. Since the beginning of January 2020 our average number of daily users has shown a steady increase.

What this all means for you is simply that now is an excellent time to get in on the action. With ads being directly accessible on the web, we can provide a great way for your business (or special event, etc.) to get the notice it deserves. Call me or one of our sales representatives to find out more about how to take advantage of our increase in web traffic.

Cindy Gaedert-Gearhart is publisher and co-owner of this newspaper. She can be reached at 517-543-1099 or via email at cgwing@county-journal.com.