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Uncategorized: Show me the money
Published on 03/11/08
by Zac Echola
Ad Rates Dropped 11% In The Third Quarter, reports Silicon Alley Insider.
The title of that post is a little misleading because these numbers reported are for untargeted ad network rates, but the telling metric may be that certain sectors had some difficulties this year.
While we see more pushes towards a social networking experience within news Web sites, the better situation you’ll want to be in appears to be figuring out how sell targeted ads to your news content, which looks like it’s still in a bit of a growth market…if done right.
The social networking angle is good for generating lots of content (for better or worse) while allowing management to make staff cuts, but there is often little business strategy involved in the process at many news organizations. It’s a lot like sticking a dirty finger in a sucking gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. You need to do more by considering the macroeconomic situation’s effect in your market, the overarching audience needs and your long-term information architecture strategy when making ANY decisions.
I know I’ve been away from this blog for awhile, but in the coming weeks, I plan to talk more in depth about how we can start building strategies that account for both business and editorial simultaneously (yes, expect some long posts I’ve somehow become known for). Gone are the days of the “build-it-and-they-will-come” model. The best situation we’ll want to see ourselves in as the market goes insane and advertisers drop like flies will be to cut the fat from our online offerings and to show new profits quickly, even if they are small.
The end. Or is it?
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