Inklink.news

What Inklink.news does

Inklink.news is an independent, paywall-free local news organization headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, founded in 2014 by longtime New Hampshire journalist Carol Robidoux. It operates the Manchester Ink Link site covering Manchester and southern New Hampshire (with readership extending into the Boston metropolitan area) across civic, business, education, community, arts, sports, and obituary beats, reaching 300,000+ monthly visits and 200,000+ unique visitors. The newsroom of approximately 11 people includes dedicated municipal reporters at Manchester and Nashua City Halls, a business editor, sports editor and writer, music and entertainment writers, a freelance courts/housing reporter, a social media and special projects manager, and a designer/web developer.

The platform is built on a WordPress-based content management system and is extended through a portfolio of adjacent products: a sister publication covering Nashua, NH (Nashua Ink Link), a Business Directory, a Community Events Calendar, an e-commerce Ink Link Shop selling branded merchandise, a daily eNews email newsletter, and the Inkubator program supporting aspiring journalists via tax-deductible contributions routed through the Local Media Fund as fiscal agent. Content distribution runs through the website plus a multi-platform social footprint spanning Facebook (70,000+ reach), BlueSky, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Ink Link generates revenue through a diversified mix of local and programmatic advertising, a Virtual Ink Link Patron (VIP) membership program starting at $4.99/month, tax-deductible and one-time reader contributions, merchandise sales, and program sponsorships. It is privately held, founder-owned, and bootstrapped with no disclosed external investment, funding rounds, or acquisition activity. The organization received NH Press Association Awards recognition in 2026 and operates as an editorially independent, community-focused local news brand serving Manchester, Nashua, and surrounding southern New Hampshire communities.

Name

Inklink.news

Legal name

Manchester Ink Link

Website

https://manchester.inklink.news

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Inklink.news is an independent, paywall-free local news organization founded in 2014 in Manchester, New Hampshire, covering civic, business, community, arts, and sports across southern New Hampshire and reaching 300,000+ monthly visitors through a WordPress-based platform and a multi-product ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Digital News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Local digital news
• Community journalism
• Online news publishing
• News membership programs
• Local advertising media

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Revenue from local and programmatic advertisers seeking to reach the Manchester Ink Link audience of 300,000+ monthly visitors and 200,000+ unique visitors
2. VIP Membership Program: Virtual Ink Link Patron membership program offering T-shirt, discount card for local businesses, invitations to publisher events ('news and brews'), and potential free tickets to Palace Theatre and Nashua Center for the Arts. ANGEL and ATLAS members get additional benefits including donating advertising to nonprofits.
3. Tax-Deductible Contributions: Tax-deductible contributions through the Community News Fund (fiscal agent: Local Media Fund), directed specifically to Ink Link News to support reporters and operations
4. One-Time Contributions: Direct one-time financial contributions to support local journalism (not tax-deductible)
5. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including hats, shirts, hoodie blankets, cups, notebooks through the Ink Link Shop
6. Inkubator Program Support: Funding to support aspiring journalists and community voices through the Inkubator program

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Inklink.news (Manchester Ink Link) operates an independent, paywall-free online local news publication covering Manchester, NH and surrounding southern New Hampshire communities, with daily editorial coverage across regional news, business, civics, education, community, arts & culture, sports, and obituaries. The company monetizes its 300,000+ monthly visitor audience through local and programmatic advertising, a VIP membership program (starting at $4.99/month), tax-deductible contributions via the Community News Fund, one-time reader donations, and branded merchandise sales through an online shop.

Product overview

Ink Link News is a local online news publication operating as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product is the Manchester Ink Link news site providing daily coverage across multiple categories (regional news, business, civics, education, community, arts & culture, sports, obituaries). The platform is supplemented by complementary services including a Business Directory, Community Events Calendar, Ink Link Shop, Daily eNews Newsletter, VIP Membership Program, and Inkubator Program for aspiring journalists. Additional sub-brands include Nashua Ink Link (sister publication) and specialty content sections like The Soapbox (opinion) and Letters to the Editor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VIP (Virtual Ink Link Patron): Membership program offering free T-shirt, discount card for local businesses, invitations to meetups, and exclusive event tickets for ANGEL and ATLAS members
• Inkubator

Products and services

• Manchester Ink Link News Publication
• Nashua Ink Link
• Business Directory
• Community Events Calendar
• Ink Link Shop
• Daily eNews Newsletter
• VIP Membership Program (Virtual Ink Link Patron)
• Ink Link News Hub

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ink Link Group FamilycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization operating multiple regional news sites including Manchester Ink Link (manchester.inklink.news), Nashua Ink Link (nashua.inklink.news), Ink Link News Hub (inklink.news), Business Directory, Community Calendar, and Shop
• Inkubator ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram to amplify aspiring journalists and community voices, supported through givebutter.com fundraising platform

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• New Hampshire Union Leader: The dominant legacy newspaper in New Hampshire, providing regional and statewide coverage. Direct competitor in the same geography and audience, though operating at much larger scale and legacy print model.
• VTDigger: Vermont-based independent, nonprofit digital news outlet covering state and local government. Closest comparable in terms of being a small, digitally-native, donor/subscription-supported local news organization with a professional newsroom.
• Valley News: Daily newspaper covering the Upper Valley region spanning New Hampshire and Vermont. Operates as a regional news outlet with a similar local coverage focus and community orientation.
• The Mendocino Voice: Small independent digital local news outlet serving Mendocino County, California. Closely analogous in size, model, and digitally-native local news positioning.
• The Concord Monitor: Daily newspaper covering Concord, NH and surrounding communities. Geographic and product overlap with Ink Link's coverage of southern NH and state political coverage.
• Cardinal News: Nonprofit digital local news outlet covering southwestern Virginia. Shares a small team, community-supported, locally-focused news model with Ink Link.
• The Connecticut Mirror: Nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet covering Connecticut state government and policy. Similar donor/subscription-supported model with focus on civic accountability journalism.
• Seacoastonline: Gannett-operated local news network covering the New Hampshire Seacoast region. Competes for the same New Hampshire audience and advertising base, particularly in adjacent markets.
• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit, digitally-native local news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods. Comparable model: small newsroom, supporter-funded, tightly focused local journalism, no paywall.
• The Keene Sentinel: Family-owned daily newspaper covering Keene and the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. Comparable local journalism model serving a similar geographic market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCehCWkE8W0XHqGOT3fNDa5w
• Facebookfacebook.com/info
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inklinknews
• Instagraminstagram.com/manchesterinklink

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inklink.news