ePUBLISHING NEWS & INFO

Web Publishing Rollup 2010

2010-08-07T22:48:00.002-04:00

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Web Publishing Roll-up: Q1 2010 Newspaper Ad Revenue Gets a Boost, Paywalls Might Deter Youngsters

By Marisa Peacock | Published Jun 2, 2010

Featured Webcast: Leveraging Enterprise 2.0 on Your Intranet

This week in web publishing: newspapers' first quarter 2010 results for advertising revenue, possible negative effects of paywalls on younger readers, Publish2 as a rival for the AP.

Q1 Results Inspire Hope for Newspapers

It’s that time of year again when we look at the first-quarter numbers for newspaper advertising revenue. The Newspaper Association of America reports that revenue fell 10%, marking the first decrease of less than 12% since the final three months of 2007 and a sign that the ad slump is gently getting better.

Some of the key newspaper players even reported their smallest drops in years, including Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher, whose ad revenue for publishing only fell 8%; The New York Times Co., whose advertising revenue fell 6.1%, the smallest decline since the third quarter of 2007; and Washington Post Co. who reports an 8% drop in the first quarter from the same period of 2009.

Such numbers, while still dropping, may signify a light at the end of the tunnel, but no one doubts there is still a ways to go.

Paywalls Will Keep Younger Generations of Readers Away

With many online newspapers moving towards a paywall model in an effort to save what is left of the news, James Seddon of Wired.co.uk says that paywalls will have a negative effect on younger generations of readers, who have been accustomed to acquiring their content, no matter the format, for free.

While one may argue that paying for things makes you value them more, Seddon argues that paying for online content “won’t encourage kids to read newspaper websites.”

Because the news is rarely high of young adults’ lists of sites to visit, Seddom claims that it’s even more “essential the next generation has a good understanding of current affairs, a passion even” something they are unlikely to develop if it continues to cost them.

News Exchange v. Associated Press

Publish2 has launched a content sharing network called News Exchange, which aims to challenge the Associated Press, the global news network which currently delivers news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.

Described as the “next generation of the newswire,” News Exchange is built upon scalable content sharing networks and a platform that uses FTP or authenticated Web feeds to import and export stories to publishers, formatted to their specifications. Ultimately, publishers will be able to create their own content sharing networks so as to cover any topic or issue from anywhere in the world.

The News Exchange boasts itself as a viable alternative to the AP, providing a platform for publishers from which they can share and distribute content for print and web publishing. At present the exchange includes content from TechCrunch, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund, Luxist, engadget and AOL’s Daily Finance.

Creative Advertising Ideas

2010-03-28T00:45:00.001-04:00

This vid says it all about Publishing then and now!

2009-12-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

ePublishing in Schools

2009-11-18T14:00:00.001-05:00

ViewPoint of Reading the News Online

2009-11-18T13:45:00.002-05:00

Who Isn't ePublishing These Days?

2009-08-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

With everyone hitting the computer these days for everything from buying theatre tickets online to checking the weather, one would have to think that everyone in the publishing world is providing some aspect of digital online news.

The benefit of companies like NewsReader Online over others is that it is webserver driven so that anyone can upload and produce their own publication from their print PDF at 2am in the morning. No intervention from NRO required. It's all automated with lots of manual over rides.

Additionally NewsReader Online provides a powerful subscription front end and a searchable archive system.

All this from $35 per month that includes hosting and up to 5 editions per month. Further, there is no advertising of any kind, not even a blink of NRO itself. The "Powered by..." even bears the name of the publisher. So it is very publisher brand oriented.

But then that is just the tip of the iceberg, check out the features. Embedded videos, hovering and link editors, background changes, unlimited customization.

If you are looking for an epublishing system, don't miss NRO, check it out! (newsreaderonline.com)

Digital Newspaper Leaping Forward

2009-06-30T17:02:00.000-04:00

John Curley Future for Newspapers

2009-06-30T16:41:00.000-04:00

eBook eReader - Online of Course

2009-06-15T23:07:00.000-04:00

Amazon has unveiled a new version of its Kindle reader, with a company spokesman having also announced that Amazon plans to offer Kindle books on cellphones.

This news countered Google's announcement that the 1.5 million public domain books available on its Google Book Search offering will soon be available (free, of course) via a new cellphone application.

I believe that cellphones will quickly outpace the dedicated e-book readers, including the Kindle, as the platform of choice for e-book readers. Leading the pack? The iPhone, ironically.

When asked by The New York Times a year ago about the quality of the Amazon Kindle , Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously said, that "it doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore". (It was an ironic statement, because one heard it by reading — all the more so for me, as I first read it on a Kindle.)

It's worth noting that Amazon.com sold more Kindles (at least 500,000) in its first year of sales than the number of iPods that Apple sold in its first year (378,000).

Apple may not understand the value of e-books, but iPhone users will embrace them anyway. The reason is simple: The iPhone has a decent sized, high-quality screen. And its user base includes millions of people who love to do everything on their iPhones, including reading, which they're already doing with online content.

Secret to Publication Growth

2009-06-15T11:45:00.001-04:00

ePublishing Viewpoints

2009-06-14T17:58:00.000-04:00

epublishing in the News Jun 09

2009-06-14T17:54:00.001-04:00

It is clear that many newspaper executives are convinced that having an online presence is going to wind up being a cost center with no hope of breaking even - let alone making a profit. They do not realize that having an Internet version of their paper can increase revenue and is an absolute competitive MUST.
Newspapers that do not dominate their trade area on the Internet will ultimately lose out to a competitor that does. And someone will dominate if you don't.

Move to Online News SkyRocketing

2009-06-08T11:08:00.002-04:00

US newspaper groups could face a US$20 billion shortfall in the next five years as readers and advertisers shift to the web, according to researchers .

Analyst group Outsell said a ‘perfect storm’ of declining circulation, pressure on print advertising and rapid growth of online news media would lead to a huge revenue gap for the newspaper industry by 2010.

It predicts that the decline of paid circulation revenue for print newspapers will accelerate as 18 to 39 year olds continue to shift online for news, with circulation of daily papers possibly dropping by as much as 19.5% from 2004 levels.

The report says growth in newspaper groups’ online ad earnings will not be fast enough to replace lost print ad revenue, and warns that they will need to generate new top-line growth and negotiate better revenue-producing agreements with Google et al in order to transform themselves in time.

“The estimated shortfall is even larger than newspaper executives have acknowledged,” said Outsell lead analyst Ken Doctor.

“The business of news faces an unprecedented transformation as these trends likely accelerate over the next five years.”

Building ePublishing, Build Sales

2009-06-07T13:45:00.001-04:00

Nike's ePublish Solution

2009-06-06T20:46:00.001-04:00

Watching Google

2009-06-03T23:58:00.002-04:00

When we talk about epublishing, we are also talking about new genres of communication. Google has changed the way we communicate with it's phenominal Gmail services being able to share, publish and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations and email. But the big news is only a few months away when Google challenges Microsoft with it's Android OS, which conveniently will be distributed by Acer Computers.
But that's not the really big news. Google's big news is Google Wave, a completely new way to send email, talk, share, publish, view and read information using browser based technology.
The world is a Twitter. Hey, didn't that just develop a few month's ago?

Content on the Web and Google

2009-04-12T22:09:00.000-04:00

There is so much misunderstanding flying around about the economics of content on the web and the role of Google in the web’s content economy that it’s making my head hurt. So let’s see if we can straighten things out.

Google isn’t stealing content from newspapers and other media companies. It’s stealing their control over distribution, which has always been the engine of profits in media. Google makes more money than any other media company on the web because it has near monopoly control over content distribution (i.e. like a metro newspaper in the pre web era).

Those who argue that Google is a friend to content owners because it sends them traffic overlook the basic law of supply and demand. The value of “traffic” is entirely relative. The more content there is on the web, the less value that content has — because of the surfeit of ad inventory and abundance of free alternatives to paid content — and thus the less value “traffic” has.

The more content there is on the web, the less money every content creator makes, and the more money Google makes by taking a piece of that transaction.

NewsReader ePublish Demo Link

2009-03-26T14:00:00.000-04:00

Publish your newspaper, magazine, newsletter, brochure etc easily. Take a look at this demo: http://flipbk.com/scripts/showbook.asp?ID=10000057_268547

NewsReader for Smartphones

2009-03-25T11:44:00.003-04:00

With the market wanting to be green and consume less trees for paper and with the cost of print, paper and distribution being at a high when the economy is low, we are happy to report our ePublishing products, NewsReader Online and FlipBook are doing quite well. NewsReader in particular with a subscription front end and searchable archives, now has the ability to be viewed on a SmartPhone. See demo: With your smartphone open this page: http://www.newsreaderonline.com/iphone/.

Action vs Analysis

2009-03-24T14:13:00.000-04:00

One thing I've noticed about business owners over the years is how they fall into two camps: those who think this marketing thing is a good idea; and those who think this marketing thing is a good idea... and then actually DO something with it.

Many people spend so much time thinking about and Analyzing what they should and shouldn’t do, they replace ‘Action’ with ‘Analysis.’

You can get away with this in a normal economy. We can’t get away with it now. We need to fight the Recession with massive Action.

So here's a foolproof system you can use to kick-start your marketing and avoid the "analysis paralysis". Believe me, no matter how many good ideas you have swirling around inside your head, not a one of them is worth a penny to you until you actually take action on it.

1. Make a list of your top 7 marketing ideas. These are the 7 different things you think have the best chance of working for you. Bear in mind you cannot possibly KNOW for sure until you test, so let go of any fear of "failure" you might have.

In marketing there is no such thing as "failure". There is only a result. And this is why we test small – no more than 1000 mailed pieces to a list and only one run of an ad (and make it a small one), until we have some actual statistics on how it performs.

2. Start working on the first idea and stick with it until you've either completed it or you can go no further. Then move onto number 2.

The trick here is not to get into the situation where you're getting diminishing returns. The 80/20 rule applies here.

For example, if you think it's going to take you 20 hours at the keyboard to write the perfect copy for your website, the truth is you're going to have it roughly 80% "right" after the first 4 hours.

The remaining 16 hours you work on it are largely a waste of your time, because they're responsible for such a small return.

So, decide how long you think it's going to take you, and then whatever you've got after, say, 25% of the time, you run with it. Get a kitchen timer, set it, and be strict with yourself.

3. Don’t waste time working out whether something will or will not work.

When I used to do consulting work, I would sit around board tables with business owners and their managers and listen to hours of mass debate about whether a certain strategy I had recommended would work. I can assure you that many years on, some of these companies are still having the same discussion. Being great at Marketing is not about trying to predict the future.

It’s about testing new methods and finding what works best. And wealthy business owners know it’s also about finding out what does not work so you can move on to the next approach.

4. Don’t do things one at a time.

If there are three new things you want to try to get more customers, do them all at the same time. It will triple your effectiveness because you’ll get the results so much faster. We’ve been conditioned to do things one at a time. That’s boring. Life’s too short.

So take action. Take massive action and do it all at the same time. That will make you so much more effective than the competition, it’s breathtaking.

Chuckle about CEO status Mar09

2009-03-21T19:17:00.001-04:00

REMAINING U.S. CEOs MAKE A BREAK FOR IT
Band of Roving Chief Executives Spotted Miles from Mexican Border

El Paso, Texas — Unwilling to wait for their eventual indictments, the 10,000 remaining CEOs of public U.S. companies made a break for it yesterday, heading for the Mexican border, plundering towns and villages along the way, and writing the entire rampage off as a marketing expense.

Robert Mueller

CEOnista Martha Stewart (Martha Stewart Omnimedia) was one of the few executives captured. Her mask is made from recycled Christmas paper wrapping.

"They came into my home, made me pay for my own TV, then double-booked the revenues," said Rachel Sanchez of Las Cruces, just north of El Paso. "Right in front of my daughters."

Calling themselves the CEOnistas, the chief executives were first spotted last night along the Rio Grande River near Quemado, where they bought each of the town's 320 residents by borrowing against pension fund gains. By late this morning, the CEOnistas had arbitrarily inflated Quemado's population to 960, and declared a 200 percent profit for the fiscal second quarter.

This morning, the outlaws bought the city of Waco, transferred its underperforming areas to a private partnership, and sent a bill to California for $4.5 billion.

Law enforcement officials and disgruntled shareholders riding posse were noticeably frustrated.

"First of all, they're very hard to find because they always stand behind their numbers, and the numbers keep shifting," said posse spokesman Dean Levitt. "And every time we yell 'Stop in the name of the shareholders!', they refer us to investor relations. I've been on the phone all damn morning."

"YOU'LL NEVER AUDIT ME ALIVE!"

The pursuers said they have had some success, however, by preying on a common executive weakness. "Last night we caught about 24 of them by disguising one of our female officers as a CNBC anchor," said U.S. Border Patrol spokesperson Janet Lewis. "It was like moths to a flame."

Robert Mueller

The CEOnistas path before Earnings Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization

Also, teams of agents have been using high-powered listening devices to scan the plains for telltale sounds of the CEOnistas. "Most of the time we just hear leaves rustling or cattle flicking their tails," said Lewis, "but occasionally we'll pick up someone saying, 'I was totally out of the loop on that.'"

Among former and current CEOs apprehended with this method were Computer Associates' Sanjay Kumar, Adelphia's John Rigas, Enron's Ken Lay, Joseph Nacchio of Qwest, Joseph Berardino of Arthur Andersen, and every Global Crossing CEO since 1997. ImClone Systems' Sam Waksal and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco were not allowed to join the CEOnistas as they have already been indicted.

So far, about 50 chief executives have been captured, including Martha Stewart, who was detained south of El Paso where she had cut through a barbed-wire fence at the Zaragosa border crossing off Highway 375.

"She would have gotten away, but she was stopping motorists to ask for marzipan and food coloring so she could make edible snowman place settings, using the cut pieces of wire for the arms," said Border Patrol officer Jennette Cushing. "We put her in cell No. 7, because the morning sun really adds texture to the stucco walls."

While some stragglers are believed to have successfully crossed into Mexico, Cushing said the bulk of the CEOnistas have holed themselves up at the Alamo.

"No, not the fort, the car rental place at the airport," she said. "They're rotating all the tires on the minivans and accounting for each change as a sale."

Real Specs on Followup

2009-03-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

Here's a question for you: when did you last get an email, letter or postcard from your favourite restaurant, or the last shop you visited, or your local supermarket?

My guess is probably never. You might get the occasional flyer, but nothing personal or even interesting. The best you can hope for is boring cut-price offers.

There’s a big lesson here for all of us.

As business owners, we can never be good enough at following up with our customers.
I refuse to let a business owner moan to me about the Recession until they have a multi step follow up sequence of 7-30 contacts (email, mail, postcard, telephone etc.) with everyone who comes into contact with their business as a potential or paying customer or client.

Funnily enough, when people do this, they tend to make so much money from increased sales, they just shrug off the Recession and stop talking about it.

As business owners, we can’t afford to make the big, costly mistake of not following up, because one way or another we pay good money to get leads, and if we let them disappear without them becoming customers, then it’s money we’ve wasted.

And just in case you have any doubts about how important this is, here are some scary statistics:

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect

25% of sales people make a second contact and stop

12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop

It’s staggering, but only 10 % of businesses make more than three contacts. This means they’re losing a small fortune.

Because...

2% of sales are made on the first contact

3% of sales are made on the second contact

5% of sales are made on the third contact

10% of sales are made on the fourth contact

80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

So if you’re like almost half of all businesses and make no more than one follow-up to your prospects... you’re leaving 98% of your income on the table for someone else to come along and pick up.

If that wasn’t bad enough, here’s why it’s even worse. Look at these eye-opening statistics about why people stop buying from businesses:

1% die.
3% move away.
5% follow a friend’s or relative’s recommendation.
9% find an alternative they perceive to be better quality or value.
14% are dissatisfied with the products or services.

And a massive 68% of people leave a business because of… indifference.

They take their business elsewhere simply because they do not feel valued.

Since you spend a lot of time, money, and effort to get a visitor to your business, if you let them leave because of indifference, you might as well be flushing $20 notes away.

They take their business elsewhere simply because they do not feel valued.

So, how often should you follow up? Most business owners I speak to follow up maybe once a month, if they use follow up at all. This is a mistake. You can quite safely send something once or twice a week.

See, it's not the quantity of stuff that annoys people. What annoys them is if it's boring, and nothing but requests that they buy something from you. As long as your follow up is friendly, personal, full of personality and fun, then you'll be fine.

There’s a golden rule in Marketing that will make you wealthy. Once you have someone’s details keep on following up until they either buy, die, or tell you to stop!

There's Money in Your Telephone

2009-03-16T22:49:00.000-04:00

Telemarketing has a bad reputation, and that puts many Entrepreneurs off using it in their business.

This can mean you losing out on a fortune. Because, approached correctly - and that means intelligently and sensitively - it is possible to use the telephone for sophisticated telephone marketing, which nurtures and grows your relationships with your clients and customers.

There’s the key word: relationship. If only more business owners would understand how important relationships are in business, it would make their lives so much easier, especially in difficult economic times like now.

It’s not unusual for a business implementing successful telephone marketing to see profits double within one to three years. It’s that powerful.

But organizing Telemarketing is not always so simple – so here are some guiding principles you may want to follow:

1. Integrate Telemarketing as part of your total strategy. Too many business owners see telemarketing as a separate activity from their other marketing.

And this is a big mistake, because experience has shown me time and time again, the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts when all the different strands to a marketing strategy are pulling together.

Your marketing strategy - if you pay attention to the marketing tips I've shared with you - calls for an integrated approach involving several media. Your marketing strategy has one purpose and one purpose alone: to make you money. To do that most effectively, it all has to be going the same way.

2. Follow up your mailing with a phone call. One of the mainstays of effective marketing is Direct Mail. But what isn’t generally known is if you follow up a mailing with a telephone call, you can improve results by 50 – 1000% (yes, one thousand percent - that’s not a misprint).

If you then get the prospective customer on the phone - and we’re not talking about the hard sell here - and remind them about the mailing you can often take the order right then and there. One way of looking at it is to say that your letter “softened them up” for the call.

3. If you’re unsure how your customers will react to being sold to on the phone – don’t sell to them. Selling on the phone can be tricky. You can never be quite sure what your prospect is doing when you call, so even the lightest touch with the softest intent can come at exactly the wrong moment.

That’s why it’s important to make your approach as unobtrusive as you can. And if you really are not sure how your prospects, customers and clients will react to being given a sales pitch on the phone, no matter how gentle, don’t do it.

Instead, use the telephone call to ask questions, gather information and ensure their needs are being met. Everyone likes to feel important, and everyone likes to feel someone cares. And make no mistake: even if you call someone to just make sure they are OK, then they’ll appreciate it.

In fact, a very powerful way of upselling your customers and clients, and for getting referrals is to call after you’ve made a sale, just to make sure things are satisfactory and the customer is happy.

4. Use scripts, but also be flexible. Telemarketing scripts are useful, especially at the beginning of a call, because they set the entire “frame” of the conversation.

But you must also allow some flexibility because your Telemarketers and the people they’re talking to are human beings, not machines, and no two calls are going to be identical.

5. Realize that Practice makes Perfect. It sounds obvious, but don’t let whoever is making your calls loose on your customers cold.

Make sure they’re not only properly trained, but are also familiar with your marketing strategy, your business, the offers, and any scripts they’re expected to be using.

Practice might take some investment in time and energy, but it always pays off, allowing your team to become more confident and you to spot and rectify mistakes before you let them loose in anger on your valued customers.

The telephone is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have available to you because it taps in to our in-built and very human need to communicate.

What's more, so very few businesses use it effectively (if at all), you're going to put yourself way out in front of your competitors.

Recession Proof Your Business

2009-03-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

People seem to be falling into two camps right now: first, we have the "Polyannas", who are refusing to see the recession for the reality it is and are happily and optimistically waiting for the so-called "Law of Attraction" to cast some good fortune their way; and then there are those who are telling you to get out there and do whatever it takes to make this opportunity work for you while at the same time NOT underestimating the potential danger.

I fall into the second category, and I sincerely hope you do, too. There is no substitute, in my mind, for getting out there and facing this serious threat squarely. Ignoring it won't make it go away, and by facing it, it forces us to start thinking of "solutions", rather than curling up into a ball and letting the "problem" jump all over us.

Here are 5 recession-busting things you can do right now to give your business a kick right where it's most needed:

1. Throw a "fence" around your customers and clients. While "customer loyalty" is increasingly rare these days, that doesn't prevent you from "corralling" your clients and customers so they don't want to go anywhere else. In fact, if you're smart about this, you can lock them in to you so none of your competitors ever even appear on their radar.

How?

By communicating with them regularly and often, giving them interesting, informative and useful information and NOT just asking them to buy stuff from you.

You should be emailing them at least every week, and preferably even more often. A free paper newsletter doesn't cost much to send (less than $20 per customer per year) and works well to tie them to you.

Truth is, your customers will buy when they're ready to buy, and not when you're ready to sell – so the most effective thing you can do is keep yourself in their view so when they DO decide to buy, they immediately think of YOU and not your competitors.

2. Increase the value of what you offer to your customers and clients. It's something I repeat often because it's absolutely true: it's not about price; it's about value!

If customers and clients object to your prices, it's not because they don't want your products and services: it's because they can't reconcile the VALUE you're offering with the price you're asking.

In this economy, most business owners cut their prices because this objection arises more and more often. But that's NOT the answer. Rather, the answer is to INCREASE the value of your offerings.

And the two best ways I know of doing that are first, by offering an amazing guarantee to remove the risk inherent in the transaction; and secondly, by increasing your levels of service. Customer "satisfaction" and even "delight" is no longer enough. You need to be thinking in terms of "customer amazement", "customer astonishment" and "customer bliss".

3. Get great at marketing! No matter what business you're in, your REAL business is in the "marketing of the business" business.

Yet, contrary to what most people believe, marketing is not about selling. Marketing is really about allowing other people to see the value your offer represents. Yes, selling, as in "sales" is important, but it's the marketing that gets them to the point where the sales person can do his or her job.

And if you get your marketing right, and you get great at demonstrating the value you offer, your business will be bullet- and recession-proof.

4. Cut the cost of your advertising in half while making more money from it. Right now is a great time to test some advertising. I'm not usually a big supporter of small businesses advertising, simply because it often doesn't work and can be an expensive and depressing lesson.

But given that when it DOES work, it's incredibly profitable, now costs are coming down (because almost all businesses are cutting their advertising budgets – and that includes your competitors), it’s a perfect time to start trying it out for your business.

And now, if you're smart, you can make your advertising 4 times more profitable by halving the amount you pay for it and doubling its effectiveness (remember: not only are your competitors NOT advertising because of the recession, so you have the field to yourself, but if you use all the advertising and copywriting strategies I share with you, you'll have a field-day and cream off all the best business for yourself).

What's more, because it IS so much cheaper at the moment, you can afford to test and see what works with much less risk than ever before.

Best of all, because of the way advertising works, if you craft an advertising strategy which works now, then it's going to work even better when we come out the other side of the recession.

5. Become the expert in your industry. Right now, people are afraid. They're confused, nervous and apprehensive about the future. This includes your prospects, customers, and clients.

And at times like this, they want reassurance, strong and confident leadership, and someone they can believe in and trust.

If you can position yourself in that role, you'll have customers and clients for life. Let your competitors join the fearful throng and lose their businesses. You can take this opportunity to establish yourself as a business leader and thus practically guarantee your status as the "go to guy" or "go to gal" in your industry.

How?

First, get yourself some FREE PR. Press releases are the fastest, easiest, cheapest, and BEST way to do this. Remember the media professionals are crying out for good material to fill their papers, magazines, and radio & TV shows.

Secondly, join toastmasters and other organisations where you get to speak in front of audiences as an expert in your field. Yes, I know public speaking is scarier than actually dying for some people, but there's no doubt it's a great way to promote your business with your calm, confident and strong message.

And thirdly, consider writing a book, or at least getting yourself a regular engagement writing editorial content for a local newspaper. They are desperate for quality content, even more so now their advertising revenues are down and their costs remain high. If they can get your free editorial material, they'll take your hand off!

Recession is here, whether we like it or not. Ignoring it won't make it go away, and nor will trying to hide from it hoping to weather the storm.

It presents us with a great opportunity to grow our businesses in an arena where our competitors are cutting back on their marketing at exactly the wrong time – which gives YOU the advantage.

But, it won't happen by itself. You have to take action.

Power of Referrals

2009-03-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

This is about how to tap into possibly the most powerful marketing strategy in the world.

Word of mouth recommendation is an incredibly effective form of marketing, because what other people say about you is more believable than what you say about yourself (this is why testimonials are so good for business).

And the very best word of mouth marketing of all is a referral, where someone is essentially saying, "this person solved my problem….you should go to them so they can solve yours too".

We all like referrals but most business owners are doing nothing proactive to get them. In a Recession, that is very dangerous.

Here are some fundamentals on how to maximize on the effectiveness of Free Referrals:

1 From day one, customers need to know that Referrals are a key part of your business and that if you do a good job for them, you expect them to give you Referrals. If that sounds like taking a tough stance – it is but try it – you’ll be surprised at how effective it is.

2 If you’re getting Referrals at the moment without asking for them, you’ll double or triple the number you get when you ask. Ask in person, ask by mail and email, ask on the phone. Ask – and keep asking.

3 Remember that customers are not just doing you a favor by giving you a Referral. We ENJOY giving Referrals. Don’t you love recommending a great film you’ve seen to a family member or friend? Your customers will actually get pleasure from giving the people they know the same experience they’ve had. This is one of the reasons that asking for Referrals works better than many think.

4 Thank your customers when they give you Referrals. Send them a letter or call them.

5 Reward your customers for giving you a Referral. Either with a gift, or something of value from your business or, if appropriate, with cash. The better the gift, the more likely they are to give you more Referrals.

6 Have a formal Referral system where you ‘Market’ referrals in the same way that you Market your product and services. Promote your business’s Referral process with emails, direct mail, phone calls and meetings.

One final point: Referrals are a vital part of the Marketing mix during the best of times. But in a Recession, they’re simply essential. People are far more cautious with the money they spend. If you’re recommended to them by someone they trust, it will massively reduce that caution.

Because they’re Free, the typical business owner thinks Referrals are too good to be true. In this economy, be anything, but don’t be typical.

Inspiration is Golden

2009-03-04T10:42:00.000-05:00

A Pick Me up Letter - from Chris Cardell

One of my favourite quotes is from Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

And never was he more right than now, when in the middle of the worst economy in living memory, when conditions are dire enough to lead to talk of the Great Depression of the 1930s, business owners are battening down the hatches and just waiting to "ride out" the storm.

Waiting for this to end will kill your business. It will be a long, painful wait. It’s as simple as that. You have to be proactive and that proactivity will be driven by persistence.

Yet you'll notice if you look around you, there are some businesses which are not only "getting by" in these difficult times but are actually growing. I have members of my Platinum personal consulting group who can’t cope with the number of leads coming into their business. All those who do well share the same characteristic: "persistence".

There's no doubt about it: Recession is here and we're in the middle of it. And every day the media is showing you the worst of the worst. This can effect how you feel, day to day. The solution? A commitment to persistence.

And no one is pretending it's easy. It takes a certain mettle to keep your doors open when business is hard to get. It's tempting to give in, and let it all fall apart. That's the easy way out though.

But you can be smart about it. Because YOU know all the marketing tips, strategies, and techniques I've shared with you... and you know they work. YOU know how business is a matter of finding out what people want rather than what they need, and then giving it to them.

You KNOW price is not an issue and it's all about value. You KNOW how to do all this.

You know that if you turn your website into a lead-generation website rather than a ‘sales’ site you can improve your results by hundreds of per cent.
Yet it takes courage and fortitude to "do it all" when everyone else is doing the opposite. It's hard to plug away with your marketing when everyone else is cutting back.

But, right now, this recession DOES represent a grand opportunity to anyone prepared to stand firm against fear, uncertainty and doubt. Advertising costs are at an all-time low, and all your competitors will have slashed their budgets and be running scared.

Your customers still have money and most still want what you have to sell... if only you can go that extra distance to show them the value in what you offer.
I’m not talking about positive thinking. We’re backing this up with solid, advanced Marketing and Internet Marketing strategies. But the thing that’s going to get you to IMPLEMENT these strategies when everyone else is moaning is persistence. It always pays off. Eventually when you hit that "sweet spot" in your marketing, you'll find you've cracked it – and your business with grow and grow, regardless of the economy.

Chris Cardell

NewsReader Online New Features

2009-02-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Main Features:

Digital Copy - of your print version for online reading
Searchable Archives - provides "Search All" stored archives
Online Subscription System - with client tracking to build revenue
Track Subscribers - with or without subscription front end
Track Readers - complete reader information.
Add Flash - components to NRO online publication
Add Audio/Video - for stories or manufacturer Flash ads
Link Editor - provides Linking after "PDF processing"
Auto Processing - 24Hr, 365 Days per Year minimal intervention
Add Embedded Flash - to Any Part of the Publication
Add Embedded Audio/Video - for Stories or Ads
Add Linked Audio/Video - Using Link Editor
Multi Language - Help System and Information Direction
Search Engine Tagging - for Google etc. to Pickup, Index your pub
XML Technology and Repository - to capture/export stories, ads
SmartPhone - XML export
Data Handling - wide variety of formats incl. Microfilm, Microfiche
Affordable Customization - from our inhouse development team
Add Banners - custom web appearance
Optional Rebrand - "Powered by NRO", Your Own, None Option
Two Versions - NewsReader for Newspapers, Magazines, FlipBook for Special Editions, Brochures and Newsletters

NRO-Built for a Tough Economy

2009-01-24T23:21:00.002-05:00

Industry Breaking ePublishing News
Built for a Tougher Economy & The Future!

The "Complete & Affordable" Bridge from Print to ePublishing

You won't believe the rates! From $35 per month includes up to 5 editions!

Put a Mirror Copy of Your Print Edition Online

Build "Online" Subscription - the growing number of Online Subscribers is like a "Tidal Wave".

Save Money - Print less and be part of the "Wave" - Net Result, Savings & Growth (save paper, print and
distribution costs).

NewsReader
Online is a leading provider of digital edition and archiving solutions
for the publishing industry.
Our solutions enable newspapers, magazines
and other content publishers to cut paper, printing and distribution costs,

boost online traffic, and create new markets and revenue streams.

Main Features:

- Digital Copy - of your print version for online reading anywhere, anytime, adding convenience for the growing number of online readers.

- Searchable Archives - provides ability to search individual copies and/or "Search All" stored archives and "reopen".

- Online Subscription System - with client tracking to build a whole new base of "online subscribers".
- Track Subscribers - with or without subscription front end, NRO will still track your customers.
- Track Readers - whether your publication is paid subscription or "free", NRO continues to track complete reader information.

- Add Flash - components to NRO online publication

- Add Audio/Video - to stories or run "manufacturer Flash ads" for advertisers

Other Features:

- Our flip technology is one of the fastest available anywhere.

- Fully featured, lowest price epublishing system on the market

- Online processing server available 24hrs a day, link and thumbnail sent to your email in seconds
- XML technology / database driven system

- Full linking of URLs, images and email addresses

- Change backgrounds using our database, use your own image or our colour selection

- Content index with subsections

- Advertiser index

- Unlimited zoom (for the fine print)

- Visitor counter

- Auto-email prior to end of subscription

Benefits:
- NewsReader Online provides a realistic ROI.
-
Growing number of online readers get a "special experience" reading the
digital version, convenience, searchable archives, AV clips etc.
- Add A/V clips to NewsReader Online for multi-dimensional stories, the next level in epublishing.
- Add A/V ads from advertisers for new revenue building.
- Advertisers get longevity and have a greater reason to be in every issue.
-
Advertisers ads "link" back to their site making them very happy as
they see a direct correlation and added benefit to their advertising
purchase.
- Active Flash can be easily added to "prime" Advertiser ads providing
"creative flare" and additional revenue to the publisher and more value for the advertiser.
- Once you have the print product prepress files ready, it just takes minutes to prep for NRO digital.
- Compare this with the time it is taking to move everything right now to the web
- Cost of NewsReader Online is a minute fraction of the cost of print, yet the ability to create revenue increases each day.
- No trees, very little production, no print costs, no delivery fees, fewer people required.
- It takes minutes to put your publication online with NewsReader Online.
Our online server provides 24hr/365 day access. Once you process, you
receive code immediately to place on your web.
- Build subscription with our "subscription front end", track and maintain your NRO epublications using our management system.
-
NewsReader Online is a "searchable archive"system. Your past issues can
be listed, shown, readable and searchable individually and across all
stored volume archives.
- In essence, NewsReader Online provides a truly unique "affordable bridge to ePublishing".
- Recession proof with a unique ability to increase revenue
- Uncomparable price point with unique features from $35 per month (for up to 5 monthly editions)

Rates:

Subscription Rate: from $35 per month, plus 15%
subscriber fee.

(this price includes 1-5 editions per month, see details
above for greater frequency)

Non-Subscription Rate: from $49.95 per month (if
you do not have or want a subscription system)
(this
price includes 1-5 editions per month, see details above
for greater frequency)

Customization Components & Pricing (click
here)

Demos:
http://www.flip100.net/scripts/showbook.asp?ID=10000057_744680
http://www.flip100.net/scripts/showbookvideo.asp?ID=10000176_277419
http://flipbk.com/scripts/showbook.asp?ID=10000057_725688
http://www.flip100.net/scripts/showbook.asp?ID=10001_100001

Demo above has over 260 pages and jam packed with images

Screen Pics:

Admin |

PubAdmin |
PubBooks |

Settings

Call Now, Getting Started is Easy!

Alan Arthur
NewsReaderOnline
The Ultimate ePublishing Solution for Newspapers and Magazines

Tel: Canada 416-879-9230 | US 520-829-1603 | Toll Free International Skype to Skype: alan.arthur.mcg

Email: info@newsreaderonline.com Web: newsreaderonline.com

Internet Growth Trend

2008-07-03T15:21:00.001-04:00

Internet ad growth defies economic trends
Story posted: May 16, 2008 - 12:46 pm EDT
OAS_RICH('Middle1');

New York—Internet ad revenue last year totaled $21.2 billion, up 26 % from 2006, according to a report released Thursday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Fourth-quarter Internet ad revenue totaled $5.9 billion, a 24% increase over the same period in 2006. Search, display, classifieds and lead generation all continued to grow at a healthy rate, according to the report.
“Despite the current state of economic uncertainty, 2007 was another record year, and [this was] the 13th consecutive record quarter,” said David Silverman, partner, assurance, at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a statement. “Interactive advertising is not just the future; it is the here and now, as it represents a meaningful and growing component of U.S. advertising and marketing spend.”
The report was conducted by the New Media Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers in conjunction with the IAB.

2008-06-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

Testimonial co-op advertising

Grab Your Share of Untold Amounts of Advertising Dollars

April 14, 2008 – 7:08 pm If you advertise in any way, the following information could show you how to find and utilize untold advertising dollars you may not be aware of.
In the mid 80’s I was an account executive for a radio station located in Santa Rosa, California. During that time I became very familiar with what is referred to as co-op advertising.
Co-op advertising is a great source of advertising dollars. And there is so much of it available to people, yet most people know very little, if anything, about co-op dollars.
Interestingly, I was one of the only reps at the station who made sure my clients knew about this benefit. The reason was simple, there was more work involved in getting my clients set up, and yet, there was financial gain for both my client and myself by taking time to help them stretch their marketing dollars.
Co-opting is where you put in money for advertising and the manufacturer of a product you sell also puts in money. Often it is as much as 50% of the campaign. It is a great way to stretch your advertising campaign and to beef up your campaign.
Unfortunately, even though the money is available if conditions are right, many people either aren’t aware of this or if they are they think it’s too much work to meet the criteria. Granted, in some cases it is, but often utilizing co-op money is a great way to stretch your marketing budget.
There are many co-op-advertising opportunities available if you plan to do advertising on the Internet. Not all are good investments though. Check opportunities out very carefully before making a final commitment.
Using co-op dollars is an excellent way to build a stronger relationship with your retail suppliers and to generate a lot more traffic in your store or on to your web site. If the overflow of business is handled correctly you will increase your sales and profits.
The great thing about using co-op dollars when you are dealing with standard media is that your account rep can handle the paperwork for you. Many retailers hesitate using the “hidden” dollars due to feeling intimidated by the paperwork, the unknown.
Not only can the rep help you with the paperwork, they can also help you to build the campaign. However, before you trust them completely, find out what their experience is, what successful campaigns they have spearheaded and get some references. Take the time to do some research upfront to save money over the long run.
The reality is, if they are professionals in the truest sense of the word, they will be more than willing to take much of the paperwork burden off of you by handling it. After all, the more value an account rep creates for their clients the greater chance for an ongoing business.
Co-op dollars are not limited to retail businesses. Often, there are hidden dollars for non-profits. There are city and state funds that are set aside to help various organizations increase their visibility and reach.
One nice thing about using co-op dollars from a large manufacturer is that brand names do attract customers to your business-that’s why you offer them. Advertising specific well known brands will increase your foot traffic. Harley Davidson has an amazing co-op program they offer to their retailers. It is a primary reason they have done so well. They encourage advertising based on specific guidelines.
It is to the advantage of an advertiser to utilize these dollars. Manufacturers in virtually every industry want to help with advertising costs. They are very aware that when you correctly advertise their brand name product you will probably sell more of it, thus increasing your orders.
The disadvantage of co-op advertising can be the restrictions set by the manufacturer. Often, they have such rigid guidelines about how to design the ad that you may lose all control of creative expression. For example, their logo may have to be positioned in an exact location in order for them to co-op the campaign.
If you are working with someone who claims to be an expert at advertising and they know nothing about co-op dollars they are not the expert they claim to be. Be aware.
Areas that you need to be educated on are program terms and reimbursement schedules. In some cases it can take months to receive reimbursement for a co-op campaign. In other cases, the company you are cooping with will send the money directly to the media source. Be sure to check this information out in order not to run into a cash flow problem.

2008-06-19T12:13:00.000-04:00

Brand Selling vs Ad Asking

Build Your Newspaper, Radio Ad Sales Business!

SalesBuilder
Provides one of the most extensive media ad sales programs and
services available anywhere! Put some power and excitement
into your sales team. Co-op, MDF and over 85,000 advertisers
with supplier assisted ad funding for retail. SalesBuilder is the difference
between Brand Selling vs Ad Asking. Grow your market with SalesBuilder!

AdTracker
Keeps track of all facets of media advertising, including supplier
assisted brand funding, co-op and manufacturer development funding etc.
AdTracker manages "brand selling" information requirements.

FlipBook
Publish your newspaper, magazine or brochure to the Internet and read it from
page to page, just like a hard copy. Zoom in/out, flip page to page.
FlipBook is so unique you have to see it to believe it.
It makes reading on the Internet fun.

Media Communications Group
www.mcgdata.com

Visit and bookmark our website above to find powerful media tools and information!

te an archive.

2008-06-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

The Bridge from Print to Web

Putting a mirror copy of your publication online will:
- Allow the heavy number of web users to read your publication they way print readers do
- Provide an increased subscription base without the materials and print distribution costs
- Add more excitement to you web site, more traffic and greater readership, web ad revenue
- Make advertisers happier, because their online ads are fully linkable back to their web site
- NIE favourable. Newspapers in Education are using this process for teachers and students
- Green. Less trees
- A great way to archive past issues from your web site

Look Closely Before You Invest:
Our products provide complete 100% control over the digital epublish product with the client. We have zero control over your product!
- You can purchase Olive products providing unlimited usage and fixed cost.
- With all of our products you are able to archive past issues "infinitely" creating a perpetual archive of searchable unlimited past issues, that can be fully monetized.
- Convert microfiche and microfilm to archives for monetization.
- All Olive digital solutions connected to Google search engine for fast response
Other systems can take control away by offering low cost solutions and either sell subscriptions to your publication or provide dominant hosting and advertising trade-off.
- Other products can take control over where the publication will be shown, distributed including articles etc.

Here are some of our "bridge" products & examples:
1) Active Daily Paper - The City Paper
2) ActiveMagazine - York University
3) FlipBook - The Telegram Special Sections

Read our June Newsletter on Bridging the Gap from Print to Web (using FlipBook). Plus information on products and services.

Products/Services
- SalesBuilder - Build Print and ePublish Revenue
- AdTracker - Total Brand Ad Manager
- AuctionSoft - Build site traffic and revenue. Divert from Craigslist.
- Active Paper Daily - Top of the Line ePublish / Print to Web Solution
- Active Paper Archive - searchable past newspapers from PDF, Microfilm, Microfiche
- AdLauncher - web visitors can search ads in current and past newspapers
- ArtSource - Low cost, huge categorized photo, art resource
- FlipBook - Low cost ePublish solution

MCG offers the very best in epublishing digital solutions in Active Paper Daily, ActiveMagazine, AdLauncher solutions or our entry-level FlipBook technology.

Please let me know if you have any questions. We would be happy to do a webinar on these products or any other of our other brands...

Sincerely,

Alan Arthur
Media Communications Group
Brand Management Sales & Support Programs

Tel: Canada 416-879-9230 | US 520-829-1603 | Fax: 480-247-5572 | Email: info@mcgdata.com Web: http://mcgdata.com
Mailing: Canada: 117 Lakeshore Rd.E. #317, Mississauga, ON, L5G 4T6 | US: 130 Church St. #12, New York, NY, 10007
Brands: SalesBuilder, AdTracker, Co-op/MDF, Media-Pros, ArtSource, AuctionSoft, Database Experts, Dbase ProServers, FlipBook, Olive Software, Active Daily Paper, Active Archive, Active TearSheet, AdLauncher

Brand Selling vs Ad Asking

2008-03-21T10:31:00.002-04:00

I would love to get input on what media ad reps and managers feel about this subject. Would you be interested in a webinar?

Welcome to Brand News

2007-11-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

If you are a media member and involved in newspaper, radio, television, Internet or outdoor advertising, we would like to hear your comments regarding the brand cycle (Supplier, Media, Retail) to improve the effectiveness of of the sell-thru from manufacturer into the hands of the consumer.
Similarly if you are a manufacturer, distributor or retailer, we also wlecome your valuable input on how to improve "sell-through effectiveness" in your experience or that of others.
We hope that this blog will bring constructive and effective ideas so that all can benefit in improving this all important cycle.