Can The 'Net Do This?

[Bruce_Shoebottom]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

I've actually heard people say that the piles of paper they've accumulated and not necessarily read but have to be disposed has been a factor in deciding to cancel subscriptions.

I'd have to say they are in the minority. Most people want the ads/coupons. In fact, they are a big selling point for Sunday papers. Many papers have signs/cards promoting the fact that you can save $50 (or whatever) with the coupons in the Sunday paper. In fact, one of the papers around here will sell you the regular Sunday paper packaged with the early Sunday edition. People buy it because that way they get twice the ads/coupons -- God knows there is little to nothing worth reading in most of those early Sunday bulldog editions.

That's a good point.

 

[Lugnuts]

As a consumer, I shop at Bluefly.com, Zappos.com, drugstore.com, Amazon... etc.

Here's what gets me to buy:

Periodically, I will get an e-mail from these sites saying,

"You haven't bought anything from us lately. Please come back and take 15% off your next order. Enter coupon code UYHXBF."

That kind of "coupon" is highly effective at getting me to place an online order.

Free shipping is another pretty good enticement.

 

[EE94]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

But you didn't read any of them. Eventually that might start to annoy advertisers. At least internet ads could be a potentially tailored directly to the reader.

Internet ads already are tailored to specific readers. The popups that appear on your computer - depending on the sophistication of the site - are different than the guy next to you.
The site reads your ISP (or whatever it's called that distinguishes your computer from all the others) and keeps track of sites you visit.
So if you play on-line poker, for instance, you will get poker related advertising.
The woman next door to you might get a women's retailer, depending on what she has looked at on-line.
It's not illegal, and its happening.

 

[lantaur]

... and more and more sites (and advertisers) are using video, whether imbedded in the page or as a commercial before playing that latest The Office deleted scene (for example).

There's also a site - not sure if it is still around and can't recall the name off the top of my head - which has grocery coupoons. Boodle maybe?

I sure do prefer those 20% online coupons over the save 50 cents off some product I'll never buy.

 

[SoSueMe]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

But you didn't read any of them. Eventually that might start to annoy advertisers. At least internet ads could be a potentially tailored directly to the reader.

Internet ads already are tailored to specific readers. The popups that appear on your computer - depending on the sophistication of the site - are different than the guy next to you.
The site reads your ISP (or whatever it's called that distinguishes your computer from all the others) and keeps track of sites you visit.
So if you play on-line poker, for instance, you will get poker related advertising.
The woman next door to you might get a women's retailer, depending on what she has looked at on-line.
It's not illegal, and its happening.

No, not illegal, but it can be stopped to a degree.

1) Turn off your cookies
2) Turn on your pop-up blocker
3) Download a BETTER pop-up blocker
4) Run two or three spyware removal programs (I use AdAware SE and SpyBot Search & Destroy)

Do all that and you're like me: No pop-ups in AGES!

So, someone tell me, how can I eliminate ads from the newspaper?