Adrian: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Tanya: I was born in New York and raised in Miami. I am an entrepreneur at heart and love traveling to exotic places. My parents are Colombian so I visit often..I guess I live on the edge..hehe. After graduating from Wellesley College, I came back to New York and have been here ever since. New York is an amazing city. There is an energy that exudes here you just can’t get anywhere else. As most already know, based on my instant message name I am an avid runner. One day I hope to complete in the Iron man or should we say “iron woman.”
Adrian: So where did you get started in the industry?
Tanya: I worked at a company called Xuppa, and I learned all about e-mail back when email sold for the minimum rate $5.00 CPMs. Some would call that time the wild west of the Internet, I think of it as a time when the excitement of online advertising just started. Many happy people 😉 Then I worked for online advertising publication, I was on the management team with an amazing lady called Tia and worked with all types of clients. I got to learn the ins and outs of the industry, the good and the bad, how your reputation goes a long way and sometimes how NOT to do business. During this time I met a number of great entrepreneurs and leaders in the industry. From there I worked for Hyperinteractive heading up the East Coast office and learning all about contextual advertising. After being well versed in online advertising in every area, I decided to start my own company. Number one rule is always treat your clients well and look after their best interest because they will always follow you wherever you land.
Adrian: Can you give us some examples of the good and the bad?
Tanya: It was during the time when the spam laws started, and a lot of people were using unsubscribe lists and then e-mailing them because they were responsive. That was a terrible thing to do and a lot of people were abusing their e-mail lists and the policy. A number of people were getting away with not paying their bills and just closing shop and starting another one. The online advertising industry was starting to get a bad name and being known as the step child of advertising. I ‘m glad we have moved past this and have proven to advertisers that online advertising; especially email is a great form of advertising if done correctly and ethically.
Hmm..good examples? Well, there were many who were small back then and now are power houses or have been acquired. I am sure its obvious who I am referring to, but its not always about the company, its about the management and how they run their business. Good service or fast money? everyone knows the answer but not everyone does the right thing.
Adrian: You are one of the few young, Hispanic business owners out there. You were actually referred to me twice so you must be doing something right. Why do you think there aren’t as many women business owners?
Tanya: There are many brilliant women in this industry. We are breaking barriers and changing how women are being viewed. Little by little I hope to see more women taking the challenge and starting their own company. Those who will rise to the top will always be using their intelligence and creativity. As for myself, I ‘ve had some amazing mentors and of course my family supporting me in every decision I’ve made. I also thrive on challenges and love breaking stereo types. I would say my company is comprised of 80% women. I am a big promoter of women in business. Before you asked me about good companies and I couldn’t really think of many that made an immediate impact but the women here are just a few: Taryn S., Tanya B., Slyvia, Lindsey M, Joy, Amanda…wow the list can go on. Rising stars and stars already!
Adrian: What made you want to start your own business?
Tanya: I wanted to have the freedom to create my own sites and come up with new business models. I also wanted to handle my clients more effectively. It has been an incredible experience! I have met many like minded people, formed partnerships, and had the opportunity to visit clients abroad. Coolest place by far has been Capetown, South Africa. Of course, there have been challenges but if there weren’t any bumps in the road how would you appreciate the journey?
Adrian: I did an interview with Lindsey Mure, which was really interesting, and she talked about booth babes. She’s quite passionate about that point and feels that there should not be booth babes at conferences because it’s detracting from people’s intelligence. What’s your opinion on that?
Tanya: Right now, this industry is male-dominated and having a pretty face to draw in response at your booth can be a smart idea, as long as they are dressed appropriately. It’s not a porn convention after all. Why are we only focusing on booth babes? It is also beneficial to have good looking guys. The majority of women are media buyers. When companies just have pretty faces at their booth and no intelligence to back them up they are informing their audience that they don’t have much to offer.
Adrian: Can you tell us a little about Blink Ads?
Tanya: We started on May 1, 2004, so it’s been over two years. My business partner is Emerson Smith. He handles all the data and technical side We have offices right on 23rd between Park and Madison.
We are a small advertising boutique. We do email, data management, own a number of sites, affiliate network ( www.icewatertraffic.com), lead generation, and contextual. We differentiate ourselves from other online advertising companies by being a one stop full service destination. We examine our client’s landing page and make it more appealing to the consumer, then we test the advertisement with our own e-mail list to make sure that it’s an effective CPA that will work on the back end for the advertiser ROI and for the publisher.
Adrian: For publishers that are interested in running your offers, why should they come to you?
Tanya: Well I think every good publisher knows they should be in business with companies they trust. Our affiliate managers don’t push our offers to publishers if they’re not performing. We have an e-mail list of about 10 million, give or take. We drop it through our e-mail, we test a bunch of subject lines, creative, text, and after we come up with the top two, we send it to our publishers. So if we haven’t tested it out ourselves, we won’t send it.
Adrian: How many affiliate mangers do you have?
Tanya: We have four affiliate managers, and every day they just build relationships with publishers and work on understanding their lists.
Adrian: So how do you build that relationship?
Tanya: The affiliate managers know when the person’s birthday is, how many kids they have, just important personal things that matter to the publisher. Almost every affiliate network is the same…. Sure, the networks might have exclusive offers, but the offers are usually only 10 percent different. The best way to differentiate yourself is having good relationships, good ethics, and taking the time to understand what performs on a publishers list.
Adrian: How many publishers do you have?
Tanya: We have over 150 active publishers. It’s not about how many publishers you have, it’s how many publishers you have producing. Any network can say they have over a thousand that sign up and never come back. So it’s all about having publishers who are active. Quality over quantity ALWAYS.
Adrian: Have you had any offers to buy the network out?
Tanya: Yes. We have been approached but the right offer has not come along.
Adrian: So how big is your team? Do you outsource a lot?
Tanya: We have a team of 10 people. We do outsource some tech and creative. Some employees work solely on icewatertraffic and others work on lead generation and connectingmoms.com
Adrian: What are the areas of your business you care about the most?
Tanya: I love learning a client’s business. It’s very exciting familiarizing yourself with rules and regulations of a new business and understanding how they generate profits. It feels like a crash course, and after, you have to take a test. The more creative you are, the more money they make. On the publisher’s side its interesting to figure out what creatives, subject lines and verticals work on the publisher’s list or traffic. It’s a good mix of never ending challenges and rewards.
Adrian: So Ace 8 Ventures is the parent company?
Tanya: Yes. You can find us at Ace8Ventures.com and see the sites we own. Ace8ventures is like an incubator. If someone comes up to us with a great idea we will partner with them, help them build the site, market and monetize it.
Adrian: Can you tell us a little bit about where you think the industry is heading in the future?
Tanya: I think more brand advertisers are noticing that the best way to spend their money is online. They are getting more “bang for their buck” online. With all the regulations and proven case studies it is no longer a guessing game. Advertisers are realizing that if they do not include online media buying in their mix that they are losing revenue and their competitors are taking advantage of this form of advertising.
Consumers are spending more time online and it is the best place to reach them at all times.
Adrian: Right. Do you see that clients are coming to you with more money to spend?
Tanya: Definitely. Advertisers are becoming more open-minded and more willing to try new ways to market with big budgets.
Adrian: Do you get tired of online advertising? Think that it’s just superficial and driving volume?
Tanya: I think that’s why we build other sites. Any time that I feel I’m not being challenged, I’ll build something and learn something new.
It’s so rewarding when you have a small company and you help them grow. You do their creative, you do their web site and you get to learn a new business. Then you see them hiring people and growing from small to medium to budgets that are literally a quarter million a month.
That’s moving. I love doing that, and that’s what keeps me involved in online advertising.
Adrian: Well, I really appreciate you making time.
Tanya: My pleasure
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