• DMNews.com, Thursday, April 6, 2006 11 AM

Newspapers eager to remind advertisers of their value are taking a look at a cool feature that transforms their Web sites into more effective, powerful sales tools.  DMNews.com explains that one such paper is The Palm Beach Post, which reaches 700,000 readers a week. PalmBeachPost.com recently, albeit quietly, introduced the Talk to Seller feature which allows users to click on an icon attached to an ad in order to be immediately connected to the seller. On the other end of the Internet connection, the seller sees a pop-up notation that reads, "Another lead from The Palm Beach Post."  There are no plans to charge advertisers for the Talk to Seller feature, says The Post.  It's meant chiefly as a value-added enticement.   "It's that instant gratification that people want today that really excites folks," says Dan Shorter, general manager of PalmBeachPost.com, in explaining the upside of the new online feature.  The program solves two problems at once: It draws readers to the online ads, and it cements advertisers' relationships with the paper's Web site.

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