The new DMNews.com – coming in mid-July – won’t look much like its predecessor, which didn’t look much like its predecessor before that. Not that we’re trying to make things more difficult for you; we’re just adapting to the technology with it and our sister site, iMarketingNews.com. Hopefully, we’re creating two sites that are easier to use and are more functional, allowing you to get news, commentary and reference services, including an all-new, free List Directory, faster and in a more organized structure.
A few years ago, we made the transition from a weekly newspaper to a daily news organization. With these two sites, we’ll take this another step, as we continue to add even more stories from our growing staff of journalists, along with fresh, updated news and features throughout the day with our DM News Wire feeds from The New York Times Syndicate, The Industry Standard, Business 2.0, Knight-Ridder, Click TV, PR Newswire, Business Wire, Associated Press High-Tech, American Banker, Red Herring, USA Today and many other news organizations.
The new sites will feel much more like our newspapers. The top stories will be displayed on the home page with greater prominence. You’ll also be able to personalize either site so that news of interest will be displayed on your home page first. Categories that can be personalized include all of the special topics we feature in the two print publications – everything from Database Marketing, List News and Nonprofit Fundraising in DM News, to Ad Targeting & Networks, E-Mail Marketing and eTV & Webcasting in iMarketing News. Each of these specialized “sites within sites” will contain articles and features exclusive to those categories that don’t appear on the home page.
Graphically, the sites will be more appealing. It will be easier for us to add images into the stories, whether they are a person’s picture, a catalog cover, a direct mail campaign or portions of an e-tailer’s Web site. Another innovation is the ability to insert audio clips, video clips and a slide show of photos along with the stories. Can’t attend the Direct Marketing Association’s fall conference in New Orleans? Don’t worry. With just a click of your mouse, our roving reporters will take you on a virtual tour, providing video feeds and photos from the keynote speeches, parties and big news events.
Though the DMNews.com and iMarketingNews.com sites will be separate, there will be a link between the two, and stories of interest to both audiences will appear on both sites concurrently. Our two free daily newsletters – DM News Daily and iMarketing News Daily – have attracted more than 15,000 subscribers each day, and we expect to add specialized newsletters in some of the various news categories we cover. We’ve increased the staff in the newsroom as we expand our coverage in both direct marketing and Internet marketing, but our mission has not changed. In a nutshell, we’ll continue to bring you the news of importance and relevance in direct marketing and Internet marketing. We’ll just be doing it even faster than before.
Tad Clarke
Editor in Chief
