http://www.mediapost.com/publications/ How to grow your traffic, add more tools and sell more ads. en-us Copyright 2009 MediaPost Communications http://www.mediapost.com/rss Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:12:03 EST Question from the mailbag: Why can't I just cherry-pick placements that I need for my media plan? I've been working with a direct response client for a while now, and I know what works. When I RFP sites, I can't just get what I want. I have to buy other placements that don't perform in order to get what does. Lucky for them, the ROI is still there but why is this the case? http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=117811Amy Auerbach and Jason Krebs <>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:14 ESTThe bizarre concept that is newstainment has crept into the American lexicon and bombarded our TV sets. Ideological slants on the news, coupled with maniacal talking heads aiming for shock value over substance, are dangerous and growing trends. The misguided notion that it is okay to treat news as entertainment -- as long as it captures viewers -- has far-reaching ramifications for our democracy, and for online publishing as well. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=117354David Koretz <>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:50:36 ESTFrom the mailbag: Hi, I'm a developer trying to gain traction in both the agency and publishing worlds. I have a product that I think can make a real difference in how the business works, but getting traction isn't easy. This may seem like Sales 101, but please share any tips for getting me in the door. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116980Amy Auerbach and Jason Krebs <>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:30:56 ESTThroughout my career, I have always heard how a great salesperson can sell anything, but I have never bought into this concept. I can't sell ice to an Eskimo. I can't sell cars, homes or shower curtain rings. I can only sell media. And within media, I can only sell a well-branded content property. It gets even worse for my career opportunities: I can only sell media for a well-branded content property that has sold me as a consumer. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116851Ari Rosenberg <Ari@performancepricing.com>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:45:56 ESTThe recent WSJ article "Why Email No Longer Rules," by Jessica E. Vascellaro, made the case that communicating through social media like Facebook and Twitter is so much more "for the way we live" -- which just didn't make sense, and drew many objections and comments. So I am writing this because really smart email strategies may be publishers' single most important distribution strategy. Email may also be your most important advertising strategy. And I don't want you to be distracted from focusing on what is important. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116411Daniel Ambrose <>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:01:09 ESTQuestion from the mailbag: I represent a new, emerging media company and am making the rounds to media agencies. The sales cycle is much longer than I anticipated, and I'm left wondering why. Are agency folks really motivated to find and test new vendors? Are they happy to fill out plans with their usual "preferred" vendors, or do they want to try/test new, innovative things for their clients? What is the deal? I thought agencies wanted to be leaders. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116010Amy Auerbach and Jason Krebs <>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:29 ESTMy favorite new TV drama this fall centers around a global incident in which every person on earth dropped into a state of unconsciousness for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During that time, everyone mentally "flashed forward" to the exact same time, six months into the future. The characters see a variety of different experiences ranging from joyful and serene to horrific and terrifying. That got me to thinking. What if we could all see six months into the future? Aside from a huge ratings spike that ABC is hoping for with the season finale of "FlashForward," what else would I expect to see? More specifically, what would the online landscape look like in six months? http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115930Kory Kredit <>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:24 ESTEvery business and nearly every businessperson can be neatly put into one of three buckets. While we all hate being categorized, most of us fit better than we would care to admit. In business, there are three buckets: 1s, 2s and 3s. Ones are start-up types that are trying to go from zero-to-interesting. Twos are growth company folks that are attempting to build a scalable business. Threes are large, mature company people. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115543David Koretz <>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:30:48 ESTQuestion from the mailbag: I am now a VP-level media director. A premium site I have done A LOT of buying with for many successful branding campaigns over the years recently gave me the hard sell to become part of a client's direct-response campaign. I verbally informed them that their site was recommended as part of the plan at the negotiated rate for a pretty healthy budget amount, but couldn't sign an insertion order until the client approved the plan and the authorization was signed. Based on our history, I thought that would be enough assurance. Apparently it wasn't. The sales rep and site management contacted my CEO to see what could be done about getting an insertion order signed. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115169Amy Auerbach and Jason Krebs <>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:16:04 ESTI attended a formal gathering of the MPA (Magazine Publishers of America) here in New York last week dedicated to the topic of ad networks. The panel was made up of six top-level executives representing various ad network plays. The audience was filled with executives from major magazine publishers. The session turned quickly into six separately prepared sales pitches. Listening to all of the presentations in a row provided some side-by-side clarity. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115070Ari Rosenberg <Ari@performancepricing.com>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:45:12 EST