Insights for Online Acquisitions or New Talent (1,129 words)

So what does this mean for catalogers in 2001? Two things: Buyers of interactive marketing services for new customer acquisition are in a great negotiating position and there's a lot of new talent in the marketplace. List managers, list owners and Web site managers are navigating new terrain as the value of their opt-in lists and banner inventory are furiously being reconfigured. In other words, if your opt-in list and your Web site ad revenues are your entire business model, you may want to postpone applying for that second mortgage. With demand for these advertising channels down, the channel owners are ready to negotiate. So while you still can expect some resistance, persistence will pay off. If you can define your rollout strategy, and what it could mean for the list owner or Web site owner, you'll be more successful in negotiating a better CPM, CPC or CPA (cost per million, cost per click or cost per acquisition) for your campaign, particularly while you are in the test phase—and that's where you really want to maximize your dollars.