News Fetch Is Expanding, Looking For Editorial, Ad Sales Staff

NOTE: All inquries by email, please: lperdue@ideaworx.com

News Fetch has been a one-man (Lewis Perdue) band since its first issue on March 31, 2010.

It started out as my daily web surfing to keep myself informed. And as others in the industry realized what I had been doing, they asked for copies.

And so it has grown to the point that I need more resources, editorial and advertising. Both tasks can be done by people without giving up their current employment or activities.

NEWS FETCH BY THE NUMBERS

• 19,700+ subscribers
• 983 issues
• 5 days a week, every week day except for those falling on federal
  holidays and the time between Christmas and New Years.
• 237 web sites visited every day.
• 30 to 60 curated links in each issue

EDITORIAL DEMANDS

News Fetch’s links are “curated.” This means that the content at the end of every link is looked at to see if it’s worth a subscriber’s time to read it.

The links are then categorized under subheadings to make it easy for subscribers to find specific topics of interest. The links are then ranked under each subheading  with the most significant first, to the least.

The very most important articles go first, under “TOP NEWS.”

EXPERIENCE GUIDES THE NEWS

My experience guides the editorial judgement as to how the links are arranged.
That experience includes stints:

• As a wine wholesaler,distributor, importer,

• Founding Wine Business Monthly and WineBusiness.Com

• Covering the wine industry for Dow-Jones, TheStreet.Com and CBS Marketwatch

• Teaching in Sonoma State University’s Wine MBA program.

THE NEW EDITORIAL POSITION

I don’t intend to step away from the editorial role. Not any time soon, anyway. However, I am ready to find the right person so that I can take an extra day or two off every now and then.

To that end, I am looking for someone with substantial knowledge of the industry to work alongside me.

To begin with, that person will take a first pass at collecting links from the 237+ websites that must be visited every morning.

We’ll discuss those links, where they go and what makes one more important than the other.

I have confidence that the right person for this job will be able to pick things up quickly and launch into the process of putting items under subheads and orienting them in priority order. I expect this to be a back-and-forth process that will last quite a while.

But even at this stage, the new editor’s link gathering and first pass at prioritization  will allow me to gain an hour, perhaps two every day.

Eventually, we will move along to actually producing the News Fetch email document that subscribers receive. This will require a little knowledge of simple HTML and the ability to master the quirks of the publication system.

Once this goes smoothly for a while, I’ll take my first three-day weekend in three years that didn’t fall on a federal holiday.

Compensation will be based on the same hourly rate I pay myself. More if the new advertising sales person gets in gear.

ADVERTISING SALES

Advertising keeps News Fetch afloat. I recognize the value of advertising, but I am uncomfortable selling ads because I am the editorial guy too.

Here’s why:

Way too many publications slant editorial on behalf of advertisers. Sadly, that’s just another form of prostitution.

The editorial in a publication is the product that ads want to be associated with. A good solid product is the right vehicle for advertisers to associate themselves with.

But when editorial slants in favor of advertisers, when there is a practice of giving advertisers special treatment, then the product (the editorial) is adulterated.

It’s not the advertising that is the adulteration. Hell no! Well-done ads are informative, entertaining, amusing and they sell well.

But when a publication has a policy (usually unspoken) of slanting editorial on behalf of an advertiser, that’s the editors adulterating their own product.

And an adulterated product is not such a nice place for an ad to be seen.

That’s why a “Chinese Wall” has to separate editorial and advertising.

Without ads, the editorial doesn’t get published. Without solid editorial, advertising is not effective because readers are damn smart and quick to see the bias, lose faith in the product, and are suspicious about both the advertising and editorial.

And that is why —  as the main editorial guy — I am not comfortable selling advertising. I’ve been fortunate to have advertisers who have seen the value of News Fetch and come in “over the transom.”

THE ADVERTISING SALES PROFESSIONAL

But it’s time to get a genuine ad sales program moving.

Right now, News Fetch as 2.5 times as many subscribers as the other daily news briefing and yet charges only 1/3 of their rates.

A concerted, professional advertising sales person should be able to raise those rates to parity. And even without selling the vacant advertising inventory we have, could increase overall income 6X!

News Fetch will always have limited inventory because I am unwilling to clutter things up and degrade the subscriber’s experience. However, there are huge opportunities for the right sales person.

Compensation will be merit based and involve commissions substantially beyond the norm.