Should newspaper execs quit their whining?
I tend to agree with this article, which dissects arguments made by newspaper owners that the internet really isn’t all the profitable yet. As the author points out, very few of these newspapers are trying engage and attract advertisers online in the same way that blogs are currently doing.
Take the company blogads for instance. It allows you to find a blog by niche, view its traffic number, and tells you outright what the ad rates are for a week, two weeks or even two months. A savvy person can log in, quickly place an ad, and never have to speak to an actual human being.
How many newspapers are monetizing their sites in such a way? Not many. Most advertisers have to hunt down an ad rep on the phone, find out some sliding scale of rates, and then fax over proofs of the ads. A much longer and less efficient process. It’s certainly a process that has its uses, but if you want to attract much smaller advertisers, it’s just not going to cut it.
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Related posts:
1. Advertising in ebooks
2. The extent of the damage to the newspaper industry
