Should a local news site charge for obituaries, classifieds or featured spots?

Legacy local media figured this out a long time ago, and it's worth copying.

How should obituaries work?

Freemium.

"You can do an obituary on your site for free but only one photo and three paragraphs. For $99, up to 20 photos and as long as you want. Who wouldn't pay a hundred bucks to have a real obituary?"

In other conversations I've put obituary posts in the $100 to $200 range. I haven't built this myself yet, and I'm still deciding whether to collect them or promote submissions.

Can you charge for featured restaurants and events?

You could. Everybody wants to read about restaurants, and a "featured restaurant of the week" is prime real estate. Same with a featured event of the week. I'm not doing much paid featuring yet, but the slots are obvious.

Do classifieds still work?

We started doing classifieds. Think about the back of an old local newspaper: one or two lines that people paid about $20 to run.

"Again, it takes time to get people used to it and willing to pay for it."

Classifieds are a habit and relationship product before they're a revenue line. Readers and businesses have to learn the section exists and that it works.

How do these fit together?

Product	Free version	Paid version
Obituary	1 photo, 3 paragraphs	About $99 for up to 20 photos, any length
Classified	None	About $20 for a couple of lines
Business profile	Basic listing	About $50 a month
Featured restaurant or event	Editorial pick	Paid placement

None of these is huge alone. Together they add up, which is why I price software for local site owners against everything they can earn this way: business profiles, paid content and obituaries. More in city directory revenue math.

What's the rule for small products like these?

Self-serve. If someone has to do manual work for every $20 classified or $99 obituary, the margin disappears. Let people submit, pay and publish on their own.