Although the stats on quickanddirtytips.com are fairly impressive—in 2008 more than 20 million Quick and Dirty podcasts were downloaded, and Web traffic was up 125%—the effort for Macmillan is still largely about test-marketing potential books and authors. Richard Rohrer, director of digital business development, said that while he's happy the site is a “financially successful enterprise,” he's more interested in seeing which podcasts and podcasters gain an audience. “The thing about podcasts is that they're a cost-effective way to test a subject area and talent,” he noted.
New media and traditional media do better when they work together.