MediaBytes – The Traders Guide

The
Traders Guide, based in Western Pennsylvania, is the region’s premier classified advertising publication for vehicles,
merchandise, businesses and services. A new issue of The Traders Guide is published on Wednesdays. Sue Shank, General Manager of The Traders Guide, answered Mediabids’ questions. 

(MB) Five
years from now what role will publications like yours serve? For example, some
people predict a complete migration to the web for many types of publications, do you? 
(TG) Our area will be one of the
last in the world to give up reading print. Our population is primarily over
55, and many of those are not interested in computer or online at all.

(MB) What sort of measures has your
publication put in place to either conserve costs or boost revenue?
(TG) We have
cut out unnessary purchases, use scrap paper for notepads, monitor closely all
our normal expenses. Our revenues  continue to grow due the varied
products we can offer our advertisers, including online affordable
opportunities.

(MB) Looking forward to 2009, do you have
any significant changes in store for the new year?
(TG) I
intend to tighten up on the discipline.

(MB) What was your most successful
advertising initiative in the past 12 months?
(TG) Honoring
911 victims.

(MB) Do you have tips for other
publications about the best way to integrate print and web sales?
(TG) I
think we’re all experimenting to find what path our particular publications
will be successful in. You just don’t know till you try!

(MB) How does your publication hire and,
even more important, retain top sales personnel?
(TG) Our
outside sales team have 15-17 years each with our company. We grew this
business together and we shared in the decisions we made along the way. Our
inside sales department is younger, with younger people, and those with
children to raise. It is important for them to earn decent money, and we
provide a satisfactory wage that increases with each person’s success. This has
proven to  keep good people in our company.