Month: June 2001

Managing well means measuring well.

zsolt@blogads.net

Too many web sites were launched with only the vaguest of missions –“beat the competition” … “don’t embarrass us” … “don’t spend too much” … “do something with a database.”

So it is no surprise that the majority of sites are little-used money-losers.

It’s hard to run a race when you don’t know where the finish line lies, who you are competing against, and what the distance is.

Page views and unique users have become two common measures, but unfortunately, say little about a site’s health.

Can portals averaging 50 million page-views a month really be called a success if the cost is £50 million a year, barge-loads of management distraction and angry shareholders? Hardly.

Pressflex provides powerful tools for evaluating your web strategy’s efficiency and probable long-term success. Step back to see if your strategy measures up… your shareholders will thank you.

Is your site stagnating? Call Pressflex

zsolt@blogads.net

Serving both Europe’s largest and smallest publishers, Pressflex expertise includes:

Technology Optimization
In the rush to get online, many site developers ignored design principles and publishing opportunities. Their sites achieve only 5% to 50% of potential traffic. Careful, low-cost revision can dramatically boost revenue.

Re-integration
Striving to reduce headcount, many publishers are axing their Internet teams and rolling web sites back into their print operations. Drawing on the experience of other publishers, Pressflex can help plan this transition and make sure your work-flow remains rational.

Priority review
Internet teams are easily distracted by low-impact tasks. Pressflex reviews Internet team members’ responsibilities, pinpoints activities that are ineffective or counterproductive and recommends productive alternatives. Sometimes other people see things about you that you can’t — you don’t cut your own hair, do you? If you would like our help, please contact us.

Pressflex seminars fuel Internet success.

zsolt@blogads.net

Fast-evolving and complex, the Internet gives smart publishers a huge edge over sluggish competitors. But without proper know-how, investments in fancy web sites are often squandered.

With expertise gained serving publications across Europe, Pressflex can help maximize the Internet’s benefit to your staff and partners.
Our seminars include:
Site Kick-off
This half-day presentation introduces your staff to the new web site’s features. Don’t depend on trickledown — receptionists need to promote online archives, deliverymen want to know about online subscription forms, and ad reps need to understand the partner directory.
General Internet Literacy
This one-day course covers everything staffers need to know about the Internet (but are afraid to ask.) The course explains principles and teaches skills. E-mail, search engines, web browsers, directories, chat, forums, security, privacy, cookies and more are covered.
The Internet for Advertising Representatives
The morning introduces Internet concepts, while the afternoon covers Internet advertising terminology and selling tactics, and analyzes opportunities in the local market. This course is ideally scheduled three to six months after site launch.
The Internet for Advertisers
This afternoon session introduces a publication’s top advertisers to the Internet and its benefits. Ideally, this course is scheduled in tandem with training for ad representatives.
Executive Introduction to the Internet
This intensive one-day course covers Internet concepts and trends relevant to the newspaper executive, with an emphasis on strategies for online growth and benchmarking success.
For more information about Pressflex seminars, please click here.

From Budapest to Chapel Hill

zsolt@blogads.net

 

Budapest, Hungary
Most of Pressflex’s technical and consulting team work in Budapest, not far from the cafe that inspired the “six degrees” concept. Our software is built by graduates of the university that produced Rubik’s cube, the atomic bomb, goulash, the carburetor, the four-wheel sprung carriage and the ball point pen. Pressflex’s polyglot consultants cajole publishers across Europe.

 

Chapel Hill, NC
Our colleagues in the US enjoy the humid splendor of the Research Triangle, a technology center in North Carolina. They work on: AdBiblio, an advertising service for book publishers; Racery, a host of virtual races for companies and charities; and WhichWorksBest, an online toolkit for single person (n-of-1) experiments. Plenty of start-ups and smart people make the Triangle a cutting-edge infopolis.

Tel: +1 919 307-9404‬

Against long odds, print publishers thrive online

zsolt@blogads.net

A print publisher’s site is the first stop when the average Internaut logs on each morning. Unlike the other one billion-odd web pages it competes against, this site has

  • a thriving brand,
  • the nitty-gritty information people crave,
  • deep commercial roots,
  • an unbeatable print advertising platform
  • a proven community of readers and advertisers.

Pressflex knows how to make your publication thrive online.
Pressflex quickly and efficiently boosts a client’s

  • advertising revenues
  • subscriptions
  • reader and advertiser satisfaction

while leveraging the client staff’s commercial and editorial strengths.

The Pressflex Engine is:

zsolt@blogads.net

Cost-effective

Measured by cost per million page views, Pressflex sites are the industry’s most cost-effective. Our commitment to excellence and emphasis on service is reflected in our prices: rather than charge a large upfront fee, Pressflex bills a smaller fee annually. The fee covers Pressflex’s data center, bandwidth, site registration, system administration, software usage, and training.

Rational

While traditional web-design firms build sites one-at-a-time, Pressflex serves publishers from a single, constantly evolving data-center and software platform. The client’s site is turnkey; clients need no technology, software or technical staff, only quality content, a web browser and the desire to succeed.

Powerful

Pressflex sites include features not yet used by some big daily newspapers and national magazines:

  • publication of full content, instantly sorted by section, journalist, or geographic area
  • categories and subcategories
  • password-protected content
  • rotating banner and button ads
  • automated e-mail updates to subscribers
  • comprehensive searchable archives
  • an automated online directory of partners and affiliate sites
  • reader polls
  • headline export
  • an events calendar
  • easily revised print subscription forms
  • photos and graphics

Simple

Publishing one issue takes just one hour of an entry-level staffer’s time. By outsourcing site creation and maintenance to Pressflex, clients eliminate the need for all web hardware, software, webmasters, database administrators or designers.

Easy to manage

Traditional web sites are engineered by members of secretive guilds: the “sysadmin,” the “web master,” and the “page designer.” Do you have the time and stamina to manage these artisans? Pressflex speaks your language — using words like accountability, accuracy, and return-on-investment, rather than “CGI,” “DHTML” or “ODBC compliant.”

Traffic-boosting

E-mail updates and searchable archives guarantee site traffic will grow year after year. Standardized navigation ensures visitor comfort. And search-engine-friendly HTML and automated metatags for every article maximize placement in search engines.

Reliable

Pressflex understands that data is your most valuable asset. Our secure firewalls keep your data safe from prying eyes and tampering fingers. We use constant, real-time backups to protect it. And Pressflex’s team of system engineers has one job: To make sure your site is available 525,600 minutes a year.

Efficient

We specialize in serving publishers and excel in helping clients succeed online. Pressflex consultants know what news excites Internauts, which headline is effective for an e-mail newsletter, what publishing rhythm boosts traffic, what features best prompt revisits. Pressflex staffers save clients many hours finding, understanding and registering at search engines and directories that are crucial to building a site’s traffic. And Pressflex engineers administer each site’s hardware and software, fine-tuning constantly for performance and security.