For Rob Ostfield, giving a young online audience something cool, relevant and stimulating was the easy part. After all, he's part of that audience.
Mr. Ostfield, just 22, is co-CEO of AndPop.com, Canada's most-read privately held entertainment site, which reaches more than four million readers monthly. It was founded in 2000 by Ryerson students Adam Gonshor and Michael Levine. The term "AndPop" isn't rooted in any deep, sentimental history; Mr. Levine dreamed it up when he looked at his And 1 sneakers and applied the moniker to his and Mr. Gonshor's vision of an edgy pop culture site.
AndPop caters to techies and gossip junkies alike, featuring celebrity interviews, film, game, music and technology reviews, blog entries and entertainment news, giving the Web-savvy 13-to-34 demographic a one-stop shop for media scoops.
"The oldest person working for AndPop is 25 years old," Mr. Ostfield says. "We are our demographic. So we know what kinds of questions to ask, we know what people are talking about, and we know what's cool. The approach we take for our stories is very much from a fan's perspective."
AndPop's young staffers are no different than their audience, so one can only imagine their excitement when they interview the likes of Matt Damon, Hilary Duff, Carrie Underwood, the Olsen twins and, most recently, Heidi Montag of MTV's The Hills.
AndPop's goal: compete with the MTVs and Us Weeklys of the world to become the go-to entertainment source for young people.
Thanks to its steady traffic, AndPop sells plenty of advertising space, mostly to music labels. Toss in the successful syndication of its content on sites like AOL Canada and promotional ventures like video feeds at gas pumps, and AndPop makes a modest profit.
But AndPop has hit a wall. While traffic is more than respectable, it's levelled off.
"Everyone who goes to AndPop thinks it's a cool site, thinks what we're doing is great," Mr. Ostfield says.
"The problem is that not enough people know about AndPop."
"We have the content, we have the contacts," Mr. Ostfield says.
"We have the facilities and infrastructure to create the content. We have the greatest idea in the world, but not enough people know about it."
What the experts say
Brad Cressman is associate entertainment director for Sympatico MSN, which has more than six million unique monthly visitors, making it Canada's biggest entertainment portal. AndPop, by comparison, has 250,000 unique visitors a month. Mr. Cressman thinks AndPop should spend its tiny marketing budget entirely online, as it's much easier to migrate users to a site when they're already surfing the Web.
"Offline activities require a much heavier lift from your efforts, as the URL has to be remembered and then inputted when they are next in front of a computer," Mr. Cressman says.
Ken Hardy, a professor of marketing at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business, suggests using publicity stunts for free advertising. Just appearing on-camera at swanky events can get AndPop noticed, and "most startups of this type, especially as part of the entertainment industry, become masters at earning free buzz," he says.
Maybe all AndPop needs is patience. Will Leitch, founder of the immensely popular sports blog Deadspin, believes a good product can overcome any promotional shortcomings.
Mr. Leitch did little marketing as Deadspin grew, focusing on publishing unique, interesting sports stories and letting them speak for themselves. To say his strategy worked would be an understatement; Deadspin had more than 10 million page views in February.
"I think the key is being consistent and being prolific," Mr. Leitch says. "I never went out with some big marketing plan or anything like that; there was no promotions budget. I just trusted that there was an audience for what I was doing, and worked like crazy, trusting they would find it. I think that's not just the best way to do it, but the only way."
According to Mr. Leitch, a good Web publication rises above competitors not because it attracts attention through promotion, but because it offers something others can't..
"You can promote something all you want, but if you don't bring consistent, ongoing value ... people have millions of other options, and they will stop coming back," Mr. Leitch says.
AndPop has the unique, diverse content to attract its target demographic, so it should keep doing what it's doing, Mr. Leitch says.
Using the budget smartly and offering unique content can attract readers, but it won't guarantee that they keep coming back.
In order to retain its readers, AndPop should tackle its problem from the inside out, starting with assessing its site design, Mr. Cressman says.
Interesting content gives users entry points, but a site must be attractive and easy to navigate to retain its audience, he says.
He feels AndPop has an appealing, consistent look and feel, but worries the site may be oversaturated with ads.
"Websites are always challenged with balancing revenue opportunities against portraying an enjoyable non-commercial experience," Mr. Cressman says. "On one [AndPop] article page, I noticed that there were three separate ads filling 66 per cent of the page. Some users, especially the younger demographic, may start to question the credibility of the editorial [content] and, consequently, the brand."
Prof. Hardy at the Richard Ivey School believes AndPop has a better chance of repeat visits if it gives its readers exactly what they want. To do so, it should define its target audience more specifically.
"What are the psychographics: techno-heads? young professionals? What bands do they like?" he asks. He suggests AndPop conduct surveys to determine its audience's likes and dislikes before spending money on advertising.
Prof. Hardy also thinks targeting the 13-to-34-year-old demographic is too broad, as there are "at least three subsets of interests inside that spectrum, each with vastly different interests."
In a nutshell
Advertise online
It's easier to herd users to your site when they're already at a computer, and online traffic sources are much less complicated to track.
Establish what makes the site unique
What does AndPop offer that its competitors don't? If you feel you already have something unique, stick with it.
Keep readers coming back
Ensure the website is easy to navigate and has a look and feel consistent with the brand.
Target a narrower audience
If you cater to more specific needs, it's easier to advertise effectively. Niche users are also far more likely to return to the site.
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