here are a myriad of sites and tools, both free and paid, that can help you track how well your Web site is performing versus your competitors. Here are a few of my favorite, free online competitive analysis tools. 1. Web Traffic Comparison—Compete.com We all know our own traffic numbers from our analytics system (and we at least hope that our IT staff set things up properly so that the data is accurate). But what we really want to know is how much traffic our competitors are generating and how we stack up against them. There are a host of free players in this space (Alexa, Quantcast,...

A while back I wrote a post claiming I could launch a full-blown publishing web site in 30 days and for under $1K of hard cost to me. I got too busy with my consulting business and never got around to actually doing it. I’m not complaining as I was doing really well as a consultant, but it still gets under my skin that I never did it. Until now… I can’t get into too many details because of confidentiality, but I just helped launch a full-blown publication web site in right around 30 days and $1K of hard cost. I can, however, share some of the keys that made such a launch...

I’m honored to be part of a panel speaking at an upcoming webinar by min called “Monetizing Content Online: Turning Editorial & Eyeballs into Real Revenue.” The topic is a bit generic, but the panel min has assembled is excellent: Kevin Gentzel, Chief Advertising Office, Forbes.com Jim Berra, Senior VP & General Manager, Rodale Interactive John Alderman, Publisher, Slate.com And, of course, yours truly Key issues will include: Using content to create unique advertising opportunities and other revenue streams Creating content that readers want to use and share The role of...

What’s one of the most important keys to a good blogger? Well, the fact that they actually write a blog post now and then certainly would help. The reality is that I have been so busy both professionally and personally that my blog has fallen to the bottom of my priority list. I still want a life after all and given a choice between spending time with my wife and family or spending time writing my blog … well, the wife and family will always win out. The problem I have with keeping my blog updated is that I’m just not one to throw a lot of fluff out there. If you’re going to...

Are you able to answer the following questions off the top of your head? Why do you have a Web site? What is the purpose of your e-mail newsletter? These seem like simple enough questions, but for some reason, they’re incredibly hard for many publishers to answer – or, at least, it’s hard to answer them well. And, those companies that have difficulty answering these questions are usually the same ones with lackluster online media businesses. Online media, just like print, must serve a reader need that cannot be fulfilled in the same way by someone else. It’s the golden...

Back on May 2nd, I co-hosted a webinar on effective email newsletters (produced by Publishing Executive and sponsored by Campaigner). It was at a pretty high level, so I didn’t get to jump into a lot of detail, but there is some good info in the webinar that anyone doing email newlsetters should check it out. Key areas that I covered in my part include: Content, style, and frequency considerations for B2B and consumer e-newsletters What to look for when choosing and email service provider What can prevent your email from getting to your reader How image filtering impacts your newsletter and...