Pub Talk
By Rob Yoegel
About Rob
Rob Yoegel takes an active role in North American Publishing Company's online efforts including content, sales, marketing, usability, functionality and vendor relations as Vice President, e-Media. Rob works directly with publishers and editors in developing a consistent strategy from print to online.
A former journalist, Rob has been involved in Internet strategies since 1996 serving as an associate editor of Target Marketing magazine, where he regularly contributed articles related to the Internet, including e-commerce, Web site design/development, e-mail, fulfillment, customer service and marketing integration. He also spent one year as publisher of PhillyTech Magazine, a regional technology magazine published by Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. E-mail him at ryoegel@napco.com or call (215) 238-5344.
The Digital Market
Single Copy: The Sexiest Thing Going
Aug 5, 2010In the world of selling magazines to customers, newsstand is the unpredictable relative, the circulation no one wanted...
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The New, Simple, Easy, Fool-proof Method for Any Magazine’s Success
Jul 8, 2010For some reason, the latest mantra in the print world is that we have been saved and proven to...
Byte Back
For Advertisers, Will QR Codes Blend the Print-Mobile Experience?
Jun 9, 2010Ignoring Harold Ramis’ (playing Dr. Egon Spengler) dire warning: "Don't cross the streams," advertisers are daily crossing the...
Extreme Makeover - Web Site Edition
Consider the time I left my electric razor power cord in an Orlando hotel room. Within a few days, I had one from a seller on eBay who charged me $8 and another $11 to ship the thing. A friend reminded me that it probably was the hotel maid who listed it, while eBay could care less that the actual shipping cost was only two dollars.
Of course, news of an eBay overhaul caught my attention as the ever-changing competitive landscape we all face forces us to launch new Web site features or do redesigns.
I started to think about everything involved in such a daunting task. First of all, any publisher considering it should read two books: Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think and Actionable Web Analytics by Jason Burby and Shane Atchison. Krug offers simple, but not so obvious examples of what you can do to make usability less of an issue; while Burby’s and Atchison’s very short “Big Dog Syndrome” section and a chapter on site optimization based on solid analysis (versus just sending traffic stats to dozens of people at your company every month) make the book very valuable.
Perhaps the biggest issue we all face is that because everyone visits their favorite Web sites each day, our colleagues apparently know what a Web site should look like and how it should function, regardless of what role they actually perform. I compare it to going to your favorite restaurant every day and standing in the kitchen for 30 minutes. In a short amount of time, you may know more about what goes into your favorite dishes, but you still are far from competent to cook them.
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