YourNews Leverages Mapping Software to Publish Nationwide Local News Online

Daily news platform YourNews brings local news online to audiences across the United States. By partnering with network affiliates and advertisers, the company serves a nationwide audience by Zip Code. The website—an aggregate of city, county, state, regional and international news stories—aims to provide accessible local news to as many readers as possible amid declining print newspaper readership. To achieve his goal, Sam Anthony, CEO and president of YourNews, needed to find affiliates to help serve news, as well as advertisers to promote it. When a colleague recommended he try a geographic network map, Anthony questioned the idea. Did he need to plot points on a map? How would creating a network map pay off for his business in the end? A map, his colleague insisted, could improve communication with clients, optimize sales presentations, and simplify Excel spreadsheet data. Anthony found his colleague’s argument persuasive, and he soon realized he needed a visual representation of his data. Anthony turned to Mapline for a solution he admits he wasn’t aware he needed. However, after trying the mapping software, he discovered it was not only easy to learn and navigate—it transformed how he approached his business and met his goals.

Plotting Points on a Map Visualizes Affiliate Networks

As a Mapline customer, Anthony can easily map his markets to gain a better understanding of opportunities, territories, competition, and more. According to the entrepreneur, conversations with potential affiliates kickoff with a look into his markets. Both affiliates and advertisers can see all Anthony’s current markets represented by plot points on the map, called pins. As YourNews grows, it’s important that Anthony’s clients are accurately and clearly represented in their geographic locations—and thanks to pins, they are.

Color Coding Reveals Competitive Opportunities

As an organization with nationwide coverage, Anthony finds value in Mapline’s boundary mapping tool. For him, this feature gives a high-level snapshot of his geographic territories by state, county, Zip Code, and more. Boundary mapping offers clear visibility into larger geographic patterns and trends, which can help streamline internal processes like insights, analysis and performance reporting. By creating a geographic network map, Anthony has been able to find the support he needs to funnel much-needed local content to eager online readers. To learn more about how Mapline’s online mapping solutions transformed YourNews from the ground up, explore the full case study.

Read the Case Study