VillageSoup Enterprise Edition
VillageSoup Common »The Enterprise Cloud
Sometimes it just makes more sense to lease than to own.
Cloud Computing is the way that businesses obtain the rights to use software as needed, rather than actually purchasing it. Basically, the provider licenses an application to clients and customers for use as a service on-demand.
On-demand licensing eliminates the need for high capital investments and high ongoing support costs. Since you don't own the software, you don't have to worry about the upkeep.
1. A Cost Saving Model
VillageSoup Common operates the VillgeSoup Enterprise Edition as a Cloud Computing operation. This cost saving model allows you to access the software only as needed. We pay the hosting, maintenance and support costs.
Not only does it save you time and money, but it allows you to focus on the primary functions of your community publications - professional content and increased sales.
2. Decrease Your Business Costs, While Increasing Your Business
Most businesses create an IT department for helpdesk functions and management of an IT infrastructure and system. With Cloud Computing, you greatly reduce or eliminate…
- Servers and hosting contracts for web operations
- Licensing operational systems for front end publishing, marketplace and real estate systems
- Excessive and costly IT staff
- Sophisticated helpdesk functions
3. Compare that to a typical small publishing operation.
| Annual support and maintenance costs for inside-the firewall applications - CMS, Classifieds, Subscriptions | $50k per annum |
| Annual support and maintenance costs for web hosting solution and support | $20k per annum |
| Ammortized licensing costs for 3rd party solutions | $50k |
| Ammortized server and hardware costs | $30k |
| Skeletal IT staff of 2 FTEs | $100k in salary, benefits and overhead |
| Overhead of managing and operating multiple systems - both IT and business staff | $50k (lost productivity) |
| Total annual cost | ~$300k |
VillageSoup Enterptise negates these costs, increases staff productivity and allows your organization to focus on being the Community Network in your local area.
In many instances, your VillageSoup Enterprise costs are completely covered after signing up your first 50 bizMembers. After that, your online revenue is yours to keep.
It's rare indeed to find a software service that so clearly decreases your business costs, while increasing your business revenue.
We can have you up and running in five to seven business days. And we do mean running!
We're ready when you are.
| Module | Web Only | Web to Print Export |
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| News CMS | ||
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| Classified | ||
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| bizMember & orgMember CMS | ||
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| Real Estate | ||
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The Enterprise Fuel
With print publishing revenue streams declining, identifying fresh, new income pools is no longer a luxury. It's a necessity. Finding a print revenue generating online platform that immediately delivers online revenue is the obvious reason to implement the Enterprise Edition.
Our platform currently incorporates four proprietary revenue generating components - memberships, web advertisements, classifieds and real estate listings.
- Memberships
Users to the site can register for paid user accounts with a credit card payment. The platform can be programmed to offer a printed product subscription with any membership registration. There are three types of revenue generating memberships.
- iMember Premium
This is the entry level, paid user account. iMember premium benefits include unlimited archival search, breaking news alerts and the ability to post comments, blogs, member stories, calendar events and classifieds.
- bizMember
bizMembers have full iMember Premium privileges and the added benefits of premium directory search placement and posting of s micro website, bizBriefs and bizOffers. A searchable business directory that prominently features bizMembers is available.
The listing includes a logo and a link to the bizMember's micro site, which is created by the business, using VillageSoup tools. The micro site features a detailed company description, company logo, a company display ad, photos, links, a map and current postings by the company. The page is also tagged for search engine optimization.
In addition, company posted bizBriefs and bizOffers are featured immediately on the Village Soup home page and on dedicated center pages. These posts can be easily leveraged for your printed product through the Post Manager - and offers the business an immediate outlet for press releases.
The number of views that a posting receives can be monitored in the user's account. Also, bizMembers receive further exposure on the site through a banner advertisement that is rotated in the header throughout the site's center and story pages. Banner advertisements are uploaded by the user.
- orgMember
To better serve non-profit organizations, there is an orgMembership program. The program is analogous to the bizMember program - with posting distinctions of orgBriefs and orgOffers.
- Web Advertisements
There are numerous locations throughout the site that are available for web advertisements. VillageSoup suggests Google Ad Manager to schedule and deliver ad inventory.
- Classifieds
The classified ad interface allows both non-registered and registered users to post classified ads to the site with a credit card payment. These posts can have a lead image included for online viewing. Classified ads appear online immediately on the classified content page, as well as rotating through a featured area on the home page and on all center pages. The platform can also be programmed to offer discounted rates for paid user accounts and additional fees for online photos.
Content from these posts can be easily exported to your printed product through the Post Manager.
- Real Estate Listings
In addition to the property listing and broker information, a real estate post can feature a lead image, a photo gallery and a map. These listings appear online immediately and are rotated through a featured spot on the home page and on all center pages. They are searchable by town, type, status and price from the Real Estate content page.
Real estate posting privileges can be offered as a membership type and payment can be received through credit card. Alternately, it can be an administrative function, manually added to membership with payment and number of allowable posts, monitored and invoiced by staff.
Real estate listings can be easily exported to your printed product through the Post Manager.
With the 1.2 release of the VillageSoup Enterprise Edition, all components of this platform, with the exception of display ads, can be initiated through the user interface. Payment is collected through an online payment gateway or as an administrative function by staff.
If you have any further questions about how any of these components can inflate your revenue streams, we're just a phone call away.
- Centers
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Site Centers
These links take you to collections of news and information posted by your newspaper's professional journalists and your community's citizens and business owners who have paid you to become members. Featured Stories
Breaking and lead stories posted by your newspaper's professional journalists.Other Headlines
All news stories posted by your newspaper's professional journalists, usually appearing as they happen and exclusively focused on people, events and activity in your market area.bizBriefs/orgBriefs
Timely news, information, events and activity posted by businesses and organizations who have paid to become members.
These posts are unfettered and unfiltered by you and appear under the business or organization byline linked to their self-administered Soup microsite.
Briefs are representative of information shared in real space, sometimes an employee award, a recipe, a legal term definition, how to prepare a home a season, the dangers of oral piercing or how often to change an air filter.
The only requirement is that goods and services are not offered in this area. That is the domain of bizOffers/orgOffers.Community Happenings
Press releases that have appeared in your newspaper from businesses and organizations that are not Soup members.Religion
Timely news, information, events and activity posted by religious organizations who have paid to become members.
These posts are unfettered and unfiltered by you and appear with the religious organization's byline linked to their own Soup microsite.
Religion posts are representative of information shared in real space, sometimes an inspirational thought, service hours, cancellations due to weather, a special service or study group or an appeal due to a disaster.Member Stories
Timely news, information, events and activity posted by citizens who have paid to become members. These posts are unfettered and unfiltered by you and appear under the individual's byline.Opinion and Comments/Discussions
A collection of your editorial postings, columnists edited by you and posts by citizens who have paid to be members and offer up their blogs, comments on all posts to the site and forum topics to discuss unfettered and unfiltered by you and appear under the individual's byline. You determine whether it is a true or alias name.Announcements
Obituaries, births, weddings and engagement announcements posted by your newspaper's staff.Act Panel
A convenient place where your community members join as iMembers, bizMembers, orgMembers, login, search the entire site and enter the simple and powerful account management interface to post new content to the site and manage their profile and previous posts.bizOffers/orgOffers
Timely offers posted by businesses and organizations who have paid to become members.
These posts are unfettered and unfiltered by you and appear under the business or organization byline linked to their Soup microsite.
They may offer a luncheon special, an evenings menu, an office space for rent, a class schedule, a gallery opening, an extra concert performance or a special discount to the auto with the highest milage during the next three hours.Classified
iMembers post online classified ad at any time free of charge and special rates are offered for print placement of the ads.Business Search
Citizens can find all area businesses through name or category search. bizMember listings appear first, linked to their Soup microsite. All other businesses appear with name, address and phone.Real Estate
Local real estate agencies, in addition to their bizMember privileges can also upgrade their membership to allow them to upload their listings into an exclusive data base of local listings including photo gallery, map mashups, video and broker biography.Photo Galleries
Collections of photos taken by your professional staff and made available for purchase.Auction
Items from local bizMembers open for bid. You collect the payment and apply it to your member's account.