Advertising

• Banners and Boxes (locally sold, network/programmatic, etc…) — The Batavian
• Directories — Technical.ly, Red Bank Green
• Content Recommendations — Outbrain
• Sponsorships — Greensboro News and Record, Wired and Slate
• Underwriting — VT Digger
• Native ads — custom or automated

Events

• Industry (professional conferences) — Mashable, Recode
• Ideas (multi-day idea festivals) — Texas Tribune, Atlantic
• Political (issue panels) — NJ Spotlight, Politico, Texas Tribune
• Social (happy hours, pingpong) — WNYC, Geekwire
• Lifestyle (wedding show) — Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Cultural (film, food, etc) — Morristown Green, WBEZ, Sheepshead Bites
• Gala/Awards (Banquets) — Technical.ly, MinnPost
• Education/Training (classes) — Amherst Media, Brooklyn Based
• Travel — WFCR, The Nation

Newsletters

• Web content & Curation — VillageGreenNJ
• Niche content — ex. Dedicated food, event, or parenting newsletter
• Advertiser/Sponsor supported — Politico

Merchandise

• Shirts, posters, etc… — Richland Source, Techdirt
• Subscription Box — My Little Paris, New York Times, BespokePost
• Amazon Associate Links — Wirecutter, Brainpickings
• Daily Deals — BoingBoing

Memberships

• Membership Program —Berkeleyside,  CrossCut, Voice of San Diego
• Loyalty Program — Charging Readers — The Bungalower
• Loyalty Program — Charging Advertisers — Brick City Live

Services

• Digital marketing and social consulting with local businesses — NJ Bites, Gannett
• SEO advice and consulting — StateCollege.com
• Marketing Partnerships — JSHN and JS inMotion
• Job boards and networking — technical.ly
• Photography or Video services — Morristown Green

Side Businesses

• Web design firm — Heidi Heleniak
• Communications strategy and consulting — Deb Smith
• Coffee Shop that subsidizes a newsroom
• Co-working Space — Civic Hall/Civicist
• Financial Advice — Times of London

Print + Digital

• Magazines — LoDown
• Monthly Newspaper — NBToday
• Local Guides (food, outdoor, etc…) — Watershed Post

Premium Content

• Research (Industry and Issue) — NJ Spotlight, Skift, Economist
• Archives — especially creative uses of archives (WNYC, NPR)
• Apps — Radiolab, This American Life

Paywalls

• Hard or Metered — Franklin Reporter and Advocate
• Micropayments — Winnipeg Free Press, Blendle
• Google Surveys — Columbia Missourian, others

E-Books

• Exclusive editions (new content only available) — Forbes,
• Packaging older content — New York Times, ProPublica

Philanthropy

• Donations — MinnPost
• Crowdfunding — New Brunswick Today, The Lo Down
• Foundations — Tips from INN

For even more discussion of business models don’t miss:

Sources of subsidy in the production of news: a list. By Jay Rosen

76 Ways to Make Money in Digital Media. By David Plotz