Obituaries and classifieds now available for publishers on Column

Aug 15, 2024

NEW YORK CITY, New York — On July 31, 2024, Column announced the official launch of its obituaries and classifieds categories. This expansion represents a significant product milestone for the company, enabling publishers across the country to centralize their entire advertising operations into Column’s advanced suite of software and services.

“We've dedicated our time and energy to ensure that obituaries aren’t just possible through Column, but done right. This service is about honoring lives,” Jake Seaton, founder & CEO of Column, said. “We want to empower publishers to provide a more supportive and valuable service to families and funeral homes.”

Earlier this year, Column began the process of expanding into these categories by acquiring Modulist, a software company focused on community-driven user-generated content, from Forum Communications. This acquisition opened up an exceptional opportunity for newspapers to further centralize their operations with Column and rejuvenate their business strategies.

Column’s intuitive platform sets a new industry standard for how publishers streamline their internal operations and enhance their service offerings. Newspapers using Column have reported significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

“Column doesn’t exist without media companies, whose feedback has been the primary driver of product improvement since our founding,” Leo Hentschker, chief technology officer at Column, said. “I’m incredibly excited to get this new product in our users’ hands and see what we can build together with them.”

With the expansion into classifieds, Column now offers businesses and advertisers a seamless self-serve experience for creating, managing, and publishing classified advertisements — including real estate, milestones, and business announcements. The platform supports 24/7 submission, multi-publication orders, simple invoicing, and digital marketplace listings, ensuring an optimized and efficient process for users.

“We launched classifieds to help publishers create a competitive marketplace for their communities,” Seaton continued. “Our software has one of the most intuitive interfaces, which makes it easy for anyone to publish ads. We also wanted to give our publishing partners a platform where they can manage all their ad categories in one place.”

In addition to this launch, the company has revitalized its mission statement and unveiled a new website. For more information about Column and its new obituaries and classifieds products, visit www.column.us.

Founded in 2019, Column has rapidly become the preferred software platform for the publication of public notices and legal ads across more than 750 newspapers and tens of thousands of law firms, government agencies, and businesses. Column's comprehensive set of tools includes self-serve order entry, secure online payment, inbox automation, and full affidavit outsourcing, tailored specifically for the needs of the newspaper industry.

“We’re excited for newspapers to use Column to revitalize such important and enduring sections of their publications,” Seaton said. “I truly believe Column helps publishers strengthen their connection to their local community.”

Contact: Kevin King, head of communications, Column, kevin@column.us