Category: newsagency management

newsXpress is not a newsagency franchise and why that matters to local Aussie newsagents

newsXpress is not a franchise group and as such does not operate under the obligations and requirements of the franchise code of conduct.

newsXpress is a marketing group, a local retail business marketing group. It provides support, advice and nourishment for local retail newsagents around Australia.

It is the how and what of newsXpress that sets it as not being a franchise group.

newsXpress is not intrusive or demanding. It does not make demands in terms of products ranged, prices set or how a business operates. newsXpress does not have demands in terms of business name, layout or uniforms.

All of these things and more demonstrate that newsXpress is not a franchise and that newsXpress local retailers are not franchisees, which is liberating for them.

By not being a franchise, newsXpress can be more flexible in terms of what it offers its members while at the same time enabling a more flexible operation by newsXpress member businesses themselves.

This is good news for local small business retailers who value independence.

Now, let’s turn to the what of newsXpress …

The more money you make in your retail business today, the more valuable it is when you decide to sell.

This is key to cultivating joy in your newsagency business.

Focussing on profitability today is vital not only financially but also in terms of your happiness.

Growing profit is achieved through ranging products that attract new shoppers, pricing to maximise the opportunity, marketing outside your usual reach and turning product faster than usual.

newsXpress helps with each of these opportunities, and more. We have added many new suppliers this year, delivered unexpected bonus margin and delivered money-making strategies that go to the core of success.

We offer evidence-based advice to back our suggestions. What you do in your business is 100% up to you.

Here at newsXpress we help businesses that have limited or no capital grow in value. Our team of twelve retail professionals has a deep well of skills and experience.

For $175.00 a month, we think that newsXpress offers the most valuable marketing group membership available.

We’d love to help you run a more valuable business and more enjoyable business. If you’d like that, let’s talk.

Advice for retail newsagents and other retailers getting the most from your POS software commented Shopify website

newsXpress is grateful to share its e-commerce experience with other retailers through structured consulting and support for retailers going online through Shopify and delivering POS software connected Shopify websites.

What a retailer gets out of having a Shopify site is up to them. 100%

A website, is a hungry beast, it needs to be fed, with new content and changes, regularly.

Here is some advice based on our personal experience from years of successful selling online and experience and our work helping many small business retailers to bring to life POS software connected Shopify websites.

  1. Continue to add products and ensure they are named and described how people would search for them. For example, if you sell a Mickey Mouse teacup, in your POS software you might call it teacup – Mickey. From a search perspective, it needs to be called: Disney Mickey Mouse teacup.
  2. Refresh your collection / category landing page descriptions. A landing page is a collection page on which you have items for that collection. Write 3 or 4 crisp sentences of 15 or 20 words each with the sentences punching keywords people are likely to search for. Remember, you are writing for the search engines.
  3. The best photos are those you take, of single products. A photo of a display is not easily understood by humans or Google.
  4. Add articles. Your knowledge could be what differentiates your business from any competitor. Indeed, non-product content will most likely drive more traffic than product content. Write articles about what you sell and your business more broadly. Fresh text-based content helps drive the authority of your website. Each article should these rules to engage with Google:
    1. Be at least 350 words.
    2. Use a keyword or key phrase at 5+ times through the article.
    3. Be your own written fresh content.
    4. Cover a single topic or focus.
  5. Get suppliers and others to link to you. The more the better.
  6. Sell products on additional channels: Facebook, Instagram & eBay.
  7. Regularly pitch your site on social media.
  8. Use Shopify’s abandoned cart feature to push sales.
  9. Pitch promotional discounts to draw in new customers.

newsXpress would love to help you bring your retail business online through a Shopify site connected to your Point of Sale software.

E-Commerce strategies help newsagents find new customers

The e-commerce services offered by newsXpress help retail newsagents and other retailers to grow their businesses by commenting their POS software to Shopify and other platforms right from the sales counter of the retail business.

Using our own technical services based in Melbourne, Victoria, newsXpress and its e-commerce services is able to help retailers to develop and run successful e-commerce websites and through this top find new shoppers who can benefit the business beyond the local shoppers walking past the door.

The e-commerce services offered by newsXpress are backed by excellent technical skills including web development, SEO management and SEM for finding those most important shoppers.

The services offered by newsXpress help small business retailers to make the most of the Shopify POS software integration opportunity.

The reality is that a website will take more time than you can imagine. It most likely will not obviously make money, many don’t. We say obviously because there are ways websites make money beyond direct sales.

We suggest you approach launching a website as a start-up business. Sure, it may sell some or all of what you sell in your shop. However, it is different, it is its own thing with different needs and different opportunities. Seeing it as a start-up can help. Also, seeing it as a start-up could take you on a fresh path.

You need to love your website. If you don’t it will not get the attention and support it needs from you. By lovewe mean love what it sells, how it does this and how it represents you.

This brings us to what you sell online. That can only be resolved by you. It needs to be something, or a category of things, that people are searching for because if they are not looking, finding shoppers is much harder, something you feel good about.

Starting is key. In our experience, where people land with a website a year on, 2 years on and more is different to where they start. They would not have got there if they had not started. That is key in our view – starting, gaining experience, maybe stumbling or falling before moving on.

Think carefully about what you would like to sell, research it. Take your time. Make the move once you know. Starting before you know what you want to do could be a mistake.

Newsagents hear the most heartwarming stories

Storytime:  Some days, newsagents share the most heartwarming stories. A colleague shared this with me a few days ago. It chokes me up to think about it. Here is the story they shared…

A regular customer of mine, ‘Viktor’, put a small stack of cards on the counter, covering all the highlights of life: 18th birthday, 21st birthday, engagement, wedding, new home, first anniversary, second anniversary, a couple of new baby cards, some blank cards and a you’ve got this card.

I knew Viktor and said him “that’s a lot of cards there mate.” He glanced at me before looking away, saying nothing. I scanned all the cards, worked out that he bought enough for a couple of free ones, gave him the discount and put the purchases in a bag.

Viktor stood for a moment after paying. He took a breath, and told me the story. “The cancer they thought was gone, is back, in a couple of other places. Six months, maybe a little more, they think. I figured cards are the best way I can be part of Mel’s life as she grows up. So, I’m going home to write on these over the next few days and give them to Jill to give to Mel on each occasion. It’s the best way I can be there for her.”

My heart was full on hearing Viktor’s story from my colleague and what he planned to do for his teenage daughter. #love #compassion #family

newsXpress helps Australian newsagents turn their situation around

newsXpress has plenty of experience in turnaround situations, helping newsagents. While we will not reveal details of our strategy here, we note that it takes time, commitment, honest communication and a wish for change. We start by understanding the truth of a situation. We dig deep into the newsagent business data to get to the facts. This provides a basis for advice we provide.

Our turnaround work can consist of as little as suggestions on changes or as much as developing a comprehensive long-term plan.  Each newsagent turnaround situation is different – hence our position that a turnaround starts with understanding the situation of the business and the business owners.

We actively work with newsXpress members to understand the needs of their newsagent businesses, working individually, practically and locally.

This is another service from our engaged newsagency marketing group, helping newsagents create more valuable and sustainable retail businesses.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US?

By understanding what is important to us you can discover what we focus on for newsXpress members. Here are the top things we think are important:

  • Helping you save money. Because, cash is king.
  • Exclusive products. Through which to differentiate your business.
  • Helping you find customers you would not usually reach.
  • Change is inevitable. COVID-19 brought about urgent change and newsXpress was engaged from the outset, supporting, guiding, helping … providing confidence.
  • Good business data can help reveal trends. newsXpress has been first with advice to leverage fads and when to exit.
  • Brands support newsXpress and member businesses. We put brands first.
  • We love to see and hear newsXpress members talking with each other, sharing experiences and insights. Great ideas have been discovered on a shop floor.
  • The journey. We prefer to focus on the steps we take today rather than where we might be tomorrow because we know in small business, in retail and in newsagencies, tomorrow is an unknown. We focus on what we know and the next step we will take.
  • New traffic. We chase products and opportunities to drive new traffic, people you do not usually see in your business – ideally, new traffic that will return.

newsXpress helps newsagents through COVID-19

Newsagency marketing group newsXpress continues to support small business newsagents through the challenges of COVID-19. It is doing this through a range of platforms such as:

  • Daily Zoom meetings. These are a live meeting of members who are available at 2pm every day Monday to Friday. The sessions and filmed and made available to those unable to attend live.
  • Personal support. We work with retailers one-on-one on re-casting their business based on data and using videos and photos from in-store.
  • Virtual trade shows. Introducing suppliers and their products to retailers through video presentation and live Q&A – like a personal trade show experience.
  • New suppliers. newsXpress has welcomes eight new suppliers in recent weeks with each helping extend the shopper appeal for newsXpress members.
  • Mental health support. Offering encouragement and strategies for dealing with the mental health challenges of 2020.
  • Deals. newsXpress has unlocked some high value deals for its members, helping them drive excellent gross product percentage results that are best-practice.
  • Cash flow beneficial. newsXpress has provided cash-flow benefits to members through a range of negotiated arrangements.

COVID-19 is challenging for many. newsXpress is here to support retailers and provide them with tools they can leverage for a better 2020 for their business and all who rely on it.

We hope your 2020 is going well and that you are safe.

We are newsXpress #notanewsagent

Your local newsXpress is not a newsagent. In fact, your local newsXpress is nothing like a newsagency you may remember and here is how:

  1. We love trusted brands.
  2. We love collectors who love collecting.
  3. We love beautiful things and try and fill our shops with these.
  4. We love hunting down that special gift you are looking for.
  5. We love colour.
  6. We love quality.
  7. We love the keepsake of a beautiful card for that special occasion.
  8. We love the laughter of children as they play with the toys and gifts we sell.
  9. We love supporting community groups that support local retail shops.
  10. We love the internet and the new people it connects us with.
  11. We love seeing people celebrate life’s milestones through carefully selected cards.
  12. We love the opportunity of a future of change.

Like we said #notanewsagent

newsXpress offering free social media master class

newsXpress trains its members on how to use Facebook and other social media to attract new customers. As a gift, this training is being made available to all newsagents in a FREE live workshop.

  1. Discover how to attract new shoppers with Facebook.
  2. Learn the most time-efficient way to post to Facebook.
  3. Look behind the scenes at the best newsagent Facebook posts and learn how to use these ideas in your business.
  4. Find out how to reach beyond those who like your page.
  5. See how to thoughtfully target Facebook posts so they reach those you really want to reach.
  6. Find out how to organise photos for the best possible impact.
  7. Join a discussion about what time of day it is best to post.
  8. Find out which posts Facebook users like the least.
  9. We will do posts live for in the workshop, so you can learn first-hand.

BOOK NOW. Here are the dates:

  1. ADELAIDE. November 9 @ 10am. Rydges South Terrace. Book now.
  2. GOLD COAST. November 10 @ 12 noon. Sofitel. Book now.
  3. MELBOURNE. November 15 @ 10am. Hawthorn Arts Centre. Book now.
  4. SYDNEY. November 16 @ 10am. The Lakes Golf Club. Book now.
  5. BRISBANE. Nov. 17 @ 10am. The River View Hotel Kingsford Smith Drive. Book now.

How newsXpress helps newsagents confront challenges and changes

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group. We provide marketing assistance, management advice, supplier deals, business planning support and a range of other services to newsagents in businesses of any size and in any location.

In this document we put in writing what we do for newsXpress members. By putting this in writing, we hold ourselves to account and provide you a document you can use to compare us.

The most important service provided by newsXpress is the optimism it builds with members and those who work for them:

  • optimism in a bright future, that you can change your business
  • optimism that you can overcome road blocks
  • optimism that you can enjoy your newsagency business
  • optimism that you can make your business asset more valuable.

Watch this video explaining what we do and why it matters:

newsXpress helping small business newsagents at the Melbourne Gift Fair

Wow! what a terrific few days this week at the Melbourne Gift Fair. newsXpress offered a range of business meeting opportunities for its members as well as networking opportunities. Indeed, over the course of the Fair there were five separate events offering value to newsXpress members.

This is in addition to the considerable one on one support and assistance provided by newsXpress through the event – including hosted tours of supplier stands at the gift fair.

newsXpress provides small business newsagents with free lease advice

Newsagency members of the newsXpress newsagency marketing group have access to a free lease advice service. Not mandatory, the service offers lease terms reviews, negotiation support, operating cost guidance and plenty more in pursuit of more equitable terms for newsXpress members in their landlord dealings.

In one recent case a newsXpress member achieved a rent level 30% lower than the landlord starting point and 20% lower than the amount the newsXpress member budgeted for the major shopping centre location.

newsXpress provides small business newsagents free HR / IR assistance

Newsagency marketing group newsXpress has for years offered a free HR / industrial relations advice and assistance service. There is no additional cost for this service to members of the growing newsagency marketing group. The scope of the service and the value delivered make for a significant benefit for newsXpress members.

The service offers another opportunity for newsXpress newsagency members to not pay an extra fee to belong to a newsagency association like NANA, VANA or the ANF, which is now called ALNA.

Your locally owned newsXpress has the best range of Funko Pop! Vinyls in Australia

For Pop! Vinyls from all the movies and TV shows, get to your local newsXpress Funko Pop! Vinyl stockist. If they don’t have what you are looking for, they will hunt it down from the network of more than 100 newsXpress stores selling Pop! Vinyls.

We will do this because we love Pop! Vinyls. Many of our team members are collectors.  One made this beautiful homage to iconic Pop! Vinyl characters.

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newsXpress newsagency workshop digs deep into business

Day two of the newsXpress national conference in Sydney inc;lured a four hour business building workshop / round table with members attending participating on building stronger healthier businesses. People get out what they put in and this group of seventy newsxpress members did put in – it was a terrific and eye-opening event.

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