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September/October, 2009 - Table of Contents
Under the hood
Try the SCS faceted search site
Do you collect premium dollars for premium display ad positions?

FeatureUnderTheHoodWithTextd Article
Do print first

by Richard J. Cichelli,
   President

It's been said that a good way to build a five million dollar a year online web-based advertising business is to start with a fifty million dollar a year print-based advertising business and simply throw it away.

What makes the Internet great is the opportunity it provides for self-service. People who use the Internet want to be in control. If they are buying advertising, they want to be able to buy it online.  If they are looking for something, they want to be able to search for it online. There is a strong desire for control.

Read more ...
Try the SCS classified ad faceted search demo site

We talked about faceted search in the July newsletter and you can still read that article.

Richard Cichelli tells you more about how it can help you implement a really useful classified ad search site in his "Under the Hood" article to the left.

If you would like to try it out for yourself, point your browser at our demo site. This is a sample composite site on our own server.

Please experiment with searching the classifieds.

From the menu bar across the top, select "Inquire" and then "Classified Ads". Start by clicking on the "Search instructions" link on the right side of the screen.  That explains how to use the search facility.

As an example, try finding under "Transportation", an Oldsmobile (check under "Makes") with leather interior (check under "Other"). Click on "Search" after selecting your criteria.  Notice that this retrieves an ad specifying "leather" and also one specifying "lthr".

Now remove the request that the car be an Oldsmobile.  How many ads match now?  (I'll send you a "Keep Being Good" button if you prove you tried it by answering me.)  Notice how the count in the "Current search" line always tells you how many matches there are.

Branch out and have some fun with this. Just don't try to call and buy one of the cars - these are outdated ads.

Call Richard at 610 746-7700 or send him email and tell him what you think. Would you like to find out how we can host your classified search site for you?
Can you schedule premium ad positions months in advance and KNOW you've got it reserved?

If not, why not?  Is it too difficult to know what premium positions are available in real time? Do your advertisers want to browse for premium positions in future editions? Are you scheduling multiple publications in multiple cities?

We can help with web-based ReserveAdBoss™.
It's so simple to install and to use and it brings order to ad space reservations.. It's in production use at The Detroit News and at the San Francisco Chronicle (where they already have more than 100 named users).

Kurt Jackson can give you a live demo online in literally five minutes.  Call him or send him email.

SCS offers enterprise-wide and modular publishing solutions for advertising order entry and billing, edition design and ad dummying, press configuration, classified pagination, ad production workflow, digital asset management, editorial workflow and archiving.  Visit us at our website.  Send me email with suggestions for stories or anything else you'd like to say. Call our salespeople at (800)568-8006.

It's time to be BOLD. We're moving forward, and you should come with us!
 
Keep Being Good.   Why?      How?      Get a Button 
 
Sincerely,Keep Being Good Button
 
Martha Cichelli
Software Consulting Services