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Forget about the big numbers of total page views per month or unique users per month. Fans are engaged and willing to give their time and money. Those numbers are misleading and meaningless. They had meaning only in the days when the media business depended on mass media , massive audiences , and products aimed at the masses . That was when the news media depended on advertising. Today the business of media is all about touching potential customers with personalized, customized messages. It's about identifying the small number of people who are truly fans of your publication or the stars on your team. It's about strengthening the emotional attachment people have to your brand and its mission. How the big numbers mislead us In their very successful campaign to reach 1 million paid subscriptions for their digital-only edition, the Washington Post learned that the users most likely to subscribe came to their site three times a month . Read more �

Over the past several years, I have written a number of blog posts about how journalists can get involved in sales and marketing without violating their ethical standards or damaging the credibility of their publication. Here are a few of them. 1. Journalists selling ads: think of it as a fair exchange When I was going through the transition from editor of a business publication to the role of publisher, I dreaded sales calls with clients. "It meant I had to ask clients for money, which was a new and uncomfortable experience. The hilarious irony of this is that, as a reporter and editor, it was my job to ask people much tougher, more-intrusive questions, and I did it with no problem -- grieving parents about the death of their child, a political candidate about his sexual escapades, a business executive about her salary. How tough could it be for a former reporter to ask an advertiser for money? Read more �