Our website receives upwards of 1 million page views a year. While that could be considered a drop in the bucket when comparing news websites, we take pride in being considered a credible news source for the business-to-business community in the Central Valley.

We post several local business news stories daily, as well as can’t-miss business-related stories from the Associated Press wire service and other important outside news sources. Through our email newsletters including the Daily Update, Morning Roundup, Health Care Weekly and Executive Dining Guide, we deliver those headlines to nearly 20,000 inboxes.

Local business owners, professionals, elected officials, judges, attorneys, educators and more read our stories on a daily basis. They take time out of their lives to inform themselves, and we are an important source of that information.

As such, the entire newspaper industry is experimenting with new ways to maintain and inform their readership while also keeping the lights on. It costs money to produce news, and it’s up to our industry to provide that service while staying viable. It’s a delicate balancing act that requires readers to recognize the value of the service they are receiving.

We recently introduced a metered pay wall to our web site that is applicable to news stories only. That means the number of free stories unsubscribed readers can view is limited before access is restricted. After reading eight stories, website visitors will be asked to register their information, at which point they can view a few more stories before being prompted to subscribe. The meter reverts back after a month.

Pay walls are nothing new to newspaper websites. In fact, The Business Journal is a latecomer in the industry for doing so. We are taking this step because we recognize the value of the service we provide. We also want to give readers an opportunity to gain a deeper connection with our products. A paid subscription to the paper pays for itself, giving readers access to credit information, weekly fictitious business name reports and bankruptcies that are potent leads for other business owners. You also get access to our supplements, including the Legal Directory, Book of Lists, Health Care Guide, Relocate and Made in the Central Valley, for example.

If you visit our website, we hope you recognize the value in our daily news coverage, and consider investing in the products we know add knowledge and success to your business life.