Question from a buyer: My client complains that when they meet with a salesperson, they feel like their business isn't understood and it's a waste of time. What do salespeople think the benefits of these meetings are -- and why can't they be more impressive?

While living in San Francisco during the first dot-com boom, the success I enjoyed in business during this economic exclamation point was balanced by personal struggles. Everything has a way of evening out, you know.

Publishers need to think of themselves as a brand in order to attract the top-quality marketers who are interested in working with the most influential publishers to deliver their message -- from standard IAB-sized media buys to more creative, conversational campaigns.

A study from comScore gives new perspective to the old saying from John Wanamaker that "I know half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." Now we know it's a third that is wasted, not half, and it is wasted on the ad networks.

Question from a buyer: I work on digital advertising and have never done anything else. But more and more my counterparts in the agency are being tasked with learning about digital advertising. Some get it more than others, but I'm hoping you can help me to translate digital speak into traditional speak. Any tips?

In a recent post, Dave Morgan spun what many may be feeling: Something is amiss inside our own ad revenue growth. He points out that 20 years into this business, online spending is still predominantly driven by other online companies. He asks, where is Pepsi, and where is P&G?

In a recent article, Ari Rosenberg outlined some reasons why an ad exchange may not be of value to a premium publisher. The points were accurate and well-reasoned. They did not, however, cover all the potential opportunities that exchanges offer. As a counterpoint, here are some concepts that may provide value from a premium publisher standpoint.

At its recent annual leadership meeting, the Interactive Advertising Bureau introduced its first new standard ad unit portfolio in nearly a decade. This is significant because when the IAB rolls out a standard (whether it's ad units, terms and conditions, or otherwise) it is typically adopted by most, if not all, of the digital industry. Most intriguing about the new standards are the six new, larger units originally called "Rising Stars." Notably, the name for these units has already been changed on the IAB website to "Rich Media Branding Units." Officially rolling out a set of units focused on, and …

Last week's column by Amy Auerbach and Jason Krebs addressed a common issue that every publisher, online or off, faces: how to sell "competitively." There are really two issues here: How and when to sell "offensively" against a competitor -- and how to "play defense" when a competitor is trashing you in sales calls

Question from a seller: I've been told that my competitors spend a lot of their time on sales calls talking about my products and disputing them. I however, always try to spend my time talking about my products, not my competitors. Should I change my style and just start talking trash about others in the market? Does that work?