4 ways your editorial teams benefit from quizzes

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Quizzes are presenting new possibilities for newspapers – and they're not just for the sales department any more.

It's time for your editorial team to take advantage of quizzes. Quizzes are versatile and can fit into just about any section or topic. From sports and local stories, to headlines and breaking news, quizzes are the perfect new addition to your editorial team.

Here are four big benefits you'll find from implementing an editorial quiz strategy: 

1. Promote Your Current Content

Your writers want people to read their content, and quizzes drive that engagement. Creating a quiz to complement your stories can be a perfect opportunity to bring people to your content.

At the Arizona Republic, they're frequently creating quizzes to complement existing stories. To correspond with their special coverage of the anniversary of the moon landing, they created a quiz that linked people back to their articles and content page.

2. Create Standalone Content

Quizzes aren't just for fun – they can be a unique and entertaining way to educate your audience. Instead of a traditional article, a quiz can be an alternative to present the same content in a different way.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a "Which Candidate Do You Align With?" quiz to tie into the 2016 election primaries. The quiz was taken over 14,000 times and informed users on the policies and viewpoints of the candidates.

3. Capture Valuable User Data

When it comes to sending out messages about upcoming events or breaking news, sending to the right people is important. By adding a registration form to a quiz, you can collect data such as age, gender and ZIP code and any other information that could help your editorial team send targeted messages in the future.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch created a "How Well Do You Know Richmond?" quiz. Each question shows a snapshot of a famous Richmond location or landmark for the user to guess. But the best thing about the quiz is the registration form – besides demographic data, it specifically asks the user what he or she would like to see more about on the site. What a great way to inspire future editorial content!

4. Grow Your Email Database

When it comes to sharing your content with your audience, email is key. Building your email database is crucial to ensuring that you're sending relevant stories to as many engaged users as possible.

The Bangor Daily News has been leveraging turnkey quizzes as a means of gathering email addresses – like this quiz around pro football's big game. These ready-to-run and ready-to-customize quizzes can be put together quickly for a simple way to build your database for newsletters and breaking news.

Quizzes are versatile – they shouldn't just be thought of as a tool for the sales department. It's time to get your editorial teams thinking about quizzes and developing their own editorial quiz strategy.

Matt Coen is the president and co-founder of Second Street, a leading provider of private-label online promotions platforms and partner success services for media companies based in St. Louis, Mo. He can be reached at (314) 880-4902 or matt@secondstreet.com.

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