A Few Suggestions for the Newspaper

The third phase sold over 120 units; the fourth phase maintained the same number.

If the fifth phase continues, the number will likely stabilize at this level.

If the newspaper were priced at around one hundred coins, such sales would be normal. But now that the price has dropped to thirty coins, sales are still so low, which displeases Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui.

The two had wanted to discuss a solution with Zhao Ruxi for a while, but Zhao Ruxi needed to focus on her exams, so they felt it was best not to disturb her and hadn't come looking for Zhao Ruxi.

If Zhao Ruxi hadn't brought it up herself, Madam Cui wouldn't have mentioned it at all.

"Have you asked why?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

Madam Cui nodded. "I've asked. Everyone says the content is engaging and the price isn't high. But there's too little content to read, and even less to attract them; they can finish it in no time. Sometimes people get together and pass it around, finishing the whole newspaper in no time. Once they've read everyone else's copy, they naturally lose interest in buying it themselves. The reason so many copies are sold at the academy is because the students want to support the academy's newspaper."

Zhao Ruxi seemed to be deep in thought.

Madam Cui continued, "Serialized stories can attract readers to buy them. But the students say that the story only has a short portion to begin with, and they have to wait a whole month to see the next part. By the time they buy the newspaper a month later, they've forgotten everything from the beginning. If they want to read a storybook, it's much more convenient to just buy one directly from a bookstore."

"Another issue is the hassle of purchasing; servants need to travel by carriage from the capital to Beining to buy them. We can solve that problem. The next two batches will be delivered to the Shen residence in the capital for sale, saving everyone the trouble of traveling such a long distance."

Grand Princess Shangde's husband's surname was Shen, and the Shen residence was the husband's residence.

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "I have a few suggestions; please discuss them with Her Highness the Princess and see if they are of any use."

"Wait a minute." Madam Cui quickly took out a notebook and a charcoal pencil, preparing to take notes.

Lady Zhu was somewhat stunned as she watched this scene unfold.

Between these two, who is the teacher and who is the student?

"First, you need to confirm with Her Highness the Princess whether it's possible to change the newspaper from a women's newspaper to one that can be read by both men and women. If it can be changed, then my suggestion will be useful; if it can't be changed, you can selectively listen to the following suggestions."

Madam Cui was taken aback. "Why change it? Aren't we targeting women?"

"Yes, it targets women. But the market is too small, and the influence is limited. Low sales lead to higher costs, which is detrimental to the newspaper's development."

Seeing that Madam Cui did not understand, Zhao Ruxi explained, "Men are the masters of this world. Changing a woman's mind is sometimes not very effective. Only by changing a man's mind can a woman's situation be fundamentally changed. For example, He Yuqi, although her and her mother's thoughts are important, it is her father's thoughts that can completely change her situation."

"So..." Zhao Ruxi winked playfully at Madam Cui, "Our newspaper may seem like it's for both men and women, but we can subtly insert our own agendas in many places, quietly changing men's minds in a 'gentle and pervasive' way."

Madam Cui's eyes lit up, her expression excited. "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. I was too narrow-minded."

"However, this is not something we can decide; the Princess must go to the palace and ask the Emperor first," Zhao Ruxi said.

Newspapers are the mouthpiece of the imperial court, so it's fine to publish a women's newspaper. But if it were aimed at men, the emperor probably wouldn't let Grand Princess Shangde run it; the court would have to do it itself.

She suggested, "If the Emperor disagrees, then Your Highness should propose that the court also publish a newspaper. This newspaper would only be supplementary and would not involve political issues. Even if it does, it should follow the court's lead, and the content should not be too extensive, focusing more on everyday life."

Madam Cui nodded solemnly. "I'll go back and tell the Princess."

"If this works out, then your newspaper's name will have to be changed; don't include the word 'women's' in it. Otherwise, men will be too embarrassed to buy it. Secondly, the number of pages will be increased from four to eight, and the paper size will be increased to make the content more comprehensive."

The original newspapers, because of their small page size and large font, could only publish four or five hundred words at a time for serialized stories.

In modern times, online novels release 4,000 words daily, and readers still complain that the updates are too slow and unsatisfying. Madam Cui's newspaper publishes only 400-500 words, and then you have to wait a month for the next installment—who can stand that?

Xu Xue and her colleagues didn't write their storybooks in classical Chinese; they used a mix of classical and vernacular Chinese, containing more content than modern online novels, but only to a limited extent.

"Third, I suggest publishing a ten-day report, or even a bi-weekly report if necessary. Publishing it only once a month is too infrequent. If we don't have enough staff, we can hire more. If sales go up and we make money, we can afford to hire more people."

"Fourth, adopt a one-year subscription model. If customers are willing to subscribe to the newspaper for a year and pay in advance, then you will send someone to deliver the newspaper to their door each time it is published."

"As for those who don't want to subscribe, you can cooperate with major bookstores to sell the newspapers. The bookstore will receive two coins for each copy sold. If the sales volume is large, they should be very willing to cooperate with you."

Fifth, lower the price further. Set it at around twenty coins per serving.

"Wait a minute," Madam Cui called out, her hands still busy writing down what she needed to remember. Then she looked up at Zhao Ruxi and said, "A price of thirty cash is just enough to break even. If we lower it to twenty cash, we'll lose money. Although the Princess and I can afford that, we can't afford to lose money if we want the newspaper to go far."

Although printing costs have decreased, the fees for writers and the salaries of staff like He Yuqi still have to be covered by the costs.

Especially regarding payment for articles, their original purpose was to help impoverished women. If the payment is too low, it will not have any effect and will not encourage people to write articles and submit them.

Thirty copper coins was supposed to break even, but in reality, Madam Cui and Grand Princess Shangde hadn't factored many costs into the calculations. Without their support, the newspaper simply couldn't operate independently.

Zhao Ruxi smiled and said, "Master, don't be in such a hurry, I haven't finished yet, please listen to me."

Madam Cui immediately fell silent, looking at Zhao Ruxi with expectant eyes, waiting for her to speak.

"If newspaper sales go up, advertising can follow suit. We don't make money from newspaper buyers, but from advertising."

"Advertisement? What's an advertisement?" Madam Cui asked.

Zhao Ruxi explained the meaning of the advertisement to her, and Madam Cui's eyes lit up immediately. She stood up excitedly. "This is a great idea! Oh, it's wonderful!"