Content area
Full text
PennMedia, Flycast lead e-mail trend for one-stop shopping
FIRST THERE were direct email ads.
Then there were ads in optin e-mail newsletters.
Now there are opt-in e-mail newsletter advertising networks: one-stop shops for advertisers seeking to reach targeted, amenable audiences across a range of newsletters with one media buy.
All this evolved over the past two years.
Targeting many with one buy
The network approach works well for photography portal Zing.com, San Francisco.
"I recognized right away that banners weren't getting the people to the Web site," said Bill Flitter, Zing.com online advertising manager. "I dabbled in buying newsletter sponsorships when it really wasn't that popular, and I noticed a good response."
Mr. Flitter soon found PennMedia.com, Tinley Park, Ill., which began an e-mail newsletter ad network in November 1998. It now claims a network of nearly 300 email newsletters and 11.8 million subscribers. Advertisers include iPrint.com and Borders.com.
Tens of thousands of e-mail newsletters are on the Web, said PennMedia.com CEO Jaffer Ali, but in 1998, not many ventures had...