It's happening: subscription prices to increase at the Voice

As of January 1, 2019, subscription prices will increase for the Bonanza Valley Voice. We have wrestled with this for over a year, and it almost took place this year on January 1. We are going with the most minimum of an increase that will continue to keep the newspapers coming each week: $2 for local subscribers and $4 for local "snow birds" as well as out-of-area subscribers.

In 2018, the newspaper industry took a severe beating with large increases (30 to 50 percent) to newsprint costs. Luckily, those increases vanished this past fall, and now we will safety assume more reasonable increases (closer to the rate of inflation) will take place in the coming year.

Since advertising and subscribing prices last increased in 2012 and 2013, business costs have climbed for postage, printing, insurance, equipment and infrastructure costs. The Voice takes every step we can to minimize how those increases affect our news delivery each week both in print and online. Competition comes in many forms from radio, direct mail and the Internet. We welcome competition, and in some cases we work directly with "competition" with our weekly radio show and other partnering with Smooth Magic 107 FM radio of Glenwood.

The small subscription price increase still leaves us as the least-expensive weekly newspaper you can subscribe to in the area - and perhaps anywhere in Minnesota. We want to keep this price as low as possible while we continue to seek out new subscribers.

It is vital to have a strong base of subscribers and readers to make it worth it to businesses and groups to promote what needs promoting each week.

New subscription prices:

• $20 for subscribers in Pope, Swift, Kandiyohi and Stearns counties.

• $24 for subscribers in Pope, Swift, Kandiyohi and Stearns counties who change their address for the winter months.

• $24 for subscribers living outside of the above-mentioned counties.

We will continue to announce this each week in the newspaper for the foreseeable future.

 

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