Newspaper Training

Newspapertraining.ca approached Curve because they needed to build a new training website. It would be used to educate community newspaper employees across Canada. The website needed to be resourceful, neat, easy to navigate, and interactive.

The organization had an existing site, but it was rarely updated. Editorial, sales, design, and management staff members at Canada’s community papers did not visit it often – if at all.

“We wanted to create a hub of useful content and training modules where community newspaper staff could go to keep up with major changes in our industry,” said Tim Shoults, operations manager at Aberdeen Publishing.

To accomplish this goal, Newspapertraining.ca needed a few things.

First, they needed access to exceptional web design services. Second, they were going to have to secure additional funding to complete the project. Fortunately, we were ready to help with both efforts.

The Solution: Build a Budget First, Website Second

Before we began any of the real work, Curve applied for Government of Canada grants on behalf of the organization. Our goal was to secure the biggest budget possible – so our web specialists could build the best platform imaginable. In the end, we successfully obtained an extra $100K.

Next, we focused on building and branding the new online training hub. The goal was to market it as a resource created “by” and “for” community newspapers. This required a customized marketing strategy, which we were happy to provide.

We also wanted the site to function as a forum where reporters, editors, sales teams, and publishers could come together to share ideas. This forced our web design agency to get creative and ramp up the site’s capabilities.

Curve built the website to include a public side and a members-only side. The public side functions as a sales tool for individuals and newspapers who want to become members. The members’ section hosts articles, tips, videos, webinars Q&As, expert interviews, training modules, and much more.