Last week, I noted how the Wall Street Journal and New York Times were the only two media companies that can make money with their digital offerings. So what do the rest of us do? It’s fairly simply. Come up with a subscription plan that includes all of your print and digital offerings.

Newspapers now have four platforms for information distribution — print, online, mobile, and, shortly e-readers. For those that don’t want to jump into the e-reader fray, netbooks might be an option.

Many media companies make the mistake of looking at each of these products separately. They charge a subscription price for newspapers, might charge on an IPhone app, are trying to charge for online, and then will hit customers again with an e-reader charge. Users aren’t going to pay four times for information. But they might pay for a bundled package that gives them what they want on the platforms they feel like using at the time.

On Sunday mornings, I want my strong cup of coffee, my recliner, and my newspaper. When I’m on the run, I have my phone for quick bits of information (sports scores, stock prices, weather) and breaking news. I use my laptop to scour my favorite local news site for updates in the evening, and I can envision using an e-reader to get subscriptions to my favorite newspapers and magazines.

These platforms aren’t seperate; they’re part of the whole. As such, it’s important to differentiate among your platforms by figuring out what your users what at what time, and then delivering it at oneprice that doesn’t devalue the content. Cellphone companies have been tremendously successful at getting users to pay for all kinds of services by stressing value and utility. Do you really need a cell phone. No, but cellular carries have helped create a culture in which everyone believes they do. Do you really need information that helps make your daily life easier? Yes. No question.

Media companies need a bundling plan that makes sense, and need to support that with a marketing plan. That’s where the money is. And I’ll talk about marketing in my Thursday blog.

The views expressed on this blog are mine alone. For more digital news and opinion, visit www.raymarcano.com