So you want to implement or change your content management system (CMS)? Before you do, here are some quick things to consider that most media companies forget about: There is no silver bullet – There are some CMS companies who tell you their solution does everything … and to some degree they make a valiant effort at it. The problem, as one media executive recently told me, is that the one-size fits all solution is like a sofa bed. It’s a sofa and it’s a bed, but it doesn’t do either of them very well. When developing your emedia business system strategy, look for...

Yes, it’s true … I am taking a position as Exec VP of eMedia for Aspire Media. In the six months since I left Penton, I have thoroughly enjoyed consuting with many great media companies–both B2B and consumer–and hopefully I’ve been instrumental in helping build their online media businesses. However, I have missed the operating side and being part of a great team. Aspire was one of the companies that I consulted with and while working with them I was very impressed by the vision of CEO Clay Hall, the quality of the investment team, the quality of the brands, and the...

I recently wrote and article for Min’s B2B called The eMedia Revenue Pipeline. There is a logical progression to developing online revenue consisting of six steps:     Content – The type of content you publish (editorial, user generated, advertiser content, etc.), the depth of content you provide, and how you publish it (editorial workflow, frequency, etc.) Technology – How well you enable your content to be found, used, consumed, and shared with others in the community. Audience Development – How well you reach your traditional audiences via print / email, how well...

I am a Vonage subscriber and despite their financial difficulties, I really like their service. Free unlimited long distance anywhere in North America and several other countries … what’s not to love? One of my favorite features I subscribe to is called visual voicemail. For a few cents per email, Vonage will transcribe my voicemails and send them along to me as a text email. Since I hate listening to voicemail, but always have my BlackBerry with me, this is a wonderful service. (I wish my T-Mobile BlackBerry phone had the same service.) I’m not sure whether Vonage uses a...

There are five types of content that we as publishers and editors can leverage to provide the best resource for our readers, generate the most traffic, and thereby create the most revenue potential: 1. Editorially generated content (EGC) – This is much more than just taking the content from the print magazine each month and putting it on the web. And it’s more than making sure you have good titles, keywords, and meta data. It’s also about the type of content you generate, the frequency, and even the workflow. Perhaps some content should flow to the web first and THEN to print. Ask...

I conduct emedia sales training sessions for many B2B and consumer enthusiast media companies and in my training agenda (PDF file) is a section on how print and online work together from a seller’s perspective. One of the key points I stress is that there is very little overlap between the online audience and the print audience of a given brand. The research I have done with various publications shows there is typically 15% overlap between the two … sometimes a bit more sometimes a bit less. As a seller this is gold! It means that your customers need to buy both print and online to reach...