Truly (De)Press(ing) Releases: Online Obits Boom

Every so often, along comes an artifact that perfectly expresses the character of our times. Sometimes, that artifact is a publicist's pitch that arrives in my in-box. Today, it's a pitch for a story about how the death agonies of the newspaper industry are creating all kinds of opportunity for the burgeoning online obituaries business. I don't know about you, but I never would have guessed that "2.5 million people die in the U.S. every year, and 12,000 of those people are turning 50 every day." Even now I find it a little hard to believe.

Read on

Hello Jeff,

At least 120 newspapers in the U.S. have shut down since January 2008, according to Paper Cuts, a Web site tracking the newspaper industry.

With many newspapers shutting down and others cutting back on home delivery, Tributes.com is becoming the most reliable resource for obituary news, making sure no one is left in the dark about a passing. Founded by Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, Tributes.com is a comprehensive resource for local and national obituary news and personal tributes. Tributes.com has over 82 million current and historical death records dating back to 1936.

WSJ writer Jeffrey Zaslow reported recently that, starting this month, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press will be offering home delivery just three days a week. So, readers who've made a daily ritual of perusing obituaries in the morning -- and who won't go out to buy the paper or go online -- aren't necessarily going to learn about the deaths of their acquaintances. See article here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431793199571075.html

Tributes.com makes sure that consumers can stay informed 24/7 and connected with obit alerts for any town in the US, alumni, family name, or military unit. Users can set up alerts based on the zip code they currently reside in as well as previous locations they have lived in, and when someone has passed away in their community, an email will be sent to them with names of those who have passed. Readers won't have to worry about missing the opportunity to leave a message of condolence or to attend a funeral because of missing the news in the paper.

A few interesting facts surrounding this include:

* The obituary market as a $750M-$1B nearly untouched industry
* Obituaries - major source of revenue for newspapers - every other classified section has gone online and made millions (Match.com, eHarmony.com, EBay, Craigslist, Monster.com, etc.)
* 2.5 million people die in the U.S. every year, and 12,000 of those people are turning 50 every day

Please consider covering this trend and speaking to a Tributes.com executive about how the economy is changing the way consumers get their obituary news.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact me at [redacted] or email me at [redacted].

Thanks for your consideration Jeff.

Best,

Colleen