Six mantras for newspaper sales reps

  Selling ads is hard work. These tips from buyers should help.
  These must seem the roughest of times for people who sell advertising space in newspapers, with so much doom about their future. But one thing reps need to keep in mind is that for all their troubles newspapers are still seen by media buyers as a vital part of the media mix in any community. As much as anyone, and a lot more than many, they'd like to see newspapers rebound and reinvent themselves. 

  What follow are tips from media buyers to help newspaper reps compete in this new, tougher environment. These tips have been culled from reader surveys over the years, as well as from industry analysts and insiders.

Bogus Web Traffic Continues to Plague the Ad Business

  Trade group finds no improvement in the amount of online ad fraud that exists on the web.
  Despite numerous warnings that the online advertising business is rife with fraud, marketers continue to waste billions--an estimated $7 billion, at least, this year--on buying online ads that people do not see, according to the Association of National Advertisers.

Inserts: Hanging on in the digital age

  Though digital has gained in many areas over print, inserts have maintained surprising relevance. Research from Nielsen Scarborough says 37 percent of adults over age 18 read the circulars in newspapers.
  So while they're costly, they remain in the media mix.
  "One of the things that's unique about FSIs is they reach 70 million people on a given Sunday, and those people often engage with them when writing shopping lists," Kitrell says.

Is Digital Display A Dead Man Walking? Or Could Native Replace The Addiction To Spray And Pray?

  With digital display, it's probably too difficult to make a firm call because the billions of dollars that go into the channel beggar belief when, depending on whose figures you read, half could potentially go on un-viewable space, be blocked or fall prey to ad fraud. When there are such potential problems, one is left wondering why the money still rolls in.

Newspapers aren't dying as fast as you think

  Digital media executive Richard Tofel made a splash last week with a brief but alarming post on Medium arguing that newspaper print circulation has fallen surprisingly low.
  Most oddly, Tofel concedes in the post that 2013 audited numbers for "total print circulation" and 2015 "individually paid circulation" are not an "apples-to-apples comparison."  But he plows ahead with comparing them anyhow in a then-and-now listing of 25 of the nation's largest papers  - and doesn't bother to check how much differences in definition might account for a good share of the apparent declines.

Rachel, I don't get native advertising
It may be all the rage, but she doesn't see what the excitement's about

  Dear Rachel,

  I 'm a planner. I hear so much about native advertising and now clients are asking about whether it is something they should get involved in. I just don't have an answer because, quite frankly, I truly don't understand what it is. Is it advertising? Editorial? Seems like a lot of words to me. Who has the time to read it all? Your insights would be appreciated. 

  Sign me Lost for Words

2015: One very robust year for advertising

  Spending is up 7 percent for the full year and 17 percent in fourth quarter. 
  Any growth in advertising from one year to the next is always a good thing, even if it's up just a couple of percentage points. Slow growth has become the norm in recent years as more ad dollars shift to cheaper media, notably digital.
So by those standards 2015 looks to have been one boffo year for American advertising.
  Total ad spending was up 7 percent, according to Standard Media Index, with really strong growth in the fourth quarter, up 17 percent.
The big gainer, no surprise, was digital, up 26 percent for the year and 35 percent in fourth quarter.
  But also up-and here's a huge surprise-were newspapers, according to SMI data, gained from tracking ad spending on the part of 80 percent of U.S. agencies.

Business of News: Five Ways Newspapers Can Deepen Their Relationships with Readers

  Newspapers have made up ground. I spent some time with Rich Schiekofer, senior vice president of business development for Newspaper Association of America. He emphasized the important legacy strengths of newspapers-high quality audience, strong use of coupons, long-term relationship with audience. 

  Schiekofer fanned out a variety of impressive digital options newspapers are using to engage consumers and then track their use. Newspapers are clearly going in the right direction, but here are five ways I'd suggest newspapers interact with their communities to keep driving that relationship deeper.

How Newspapers are Unlocking the Full Sales Potential Behind Sponsored Content

  Sponsored content-also known as native advertising, an odd little nickname that confused more than defined-isn't about a choice between journalistic integrity and fiscal favor. Rather, it's about blending the very best of both.

  It's nothing more than a publisher or publication leveraging its best assets-reporting, storytelling-and maintaining one of its core value propositions as an advertising partner.

4 reasons Web hosting offers sustainable revenue growth for media companies

  Media organisations willing to take on Web hosting can secure additional revenue because it locks in clients, requires fresh content (that those organisations can help provide), and is only the first step in a myriad of Web services.