Betches' Aleen Kuperman on explaining new media to immigrant parents—and not wanting to write about 'The Bachelor' again

Aleen Kuperman is co-founder and CEO at Betches Media. The company has grown from a blog created in a dorm room at Cornell in 2011 to a sprawling media network including nine podcasts, New York Times-bestselling books and millions of Instagram followers. In this episode of the “Ad Block” podcast, Kuperman talks about growing up as the child of Russian immigrants who escaped the Soviet Union in 1988, a year before the Berlin Wall fell. In particular, it was a struggle to explicate what “Betches” was to her parents, who had always had high expectations for her future. “I had to explain to my parents, ‘I’m not going to medical school next year,’” she says. “I was terrified to have that conversation. They were like, ‘What’s a blog? How are you making money? What are you talking about?’” As with many new media startups, the business model evolved quickly, and as soon as she had gotten her parents on board, things would change. “They had just figured out Facebook, now they have to go learn Instagram,” Kuperman says. Tangible successes helped, like the book deal the team landed while still in college. “To my parents, that’s legit. A book, they understand.” Kuperman grew up hearing the stories of the family’s journey out of Russia, living in Vienna and Italy off the personal possessions they could sell before eventually being allowed into the U.S. and settling on Long Island. “Only now, I think back to all the things they instilled,” like her strong work ethic, she says. “It... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-18 09:01:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #instagram followers #soviet union #high expectations #medical school #making money #long island #book deal

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Why some media newsletters aren’t designed for clicks

Email newsletters are increasingly popular as a way for readers to cut through the online clutter. That trend has given rise to newsletters that are designed to be read entirely in email. These products, say publishers including Quartz and Ozy, are based on the counterintuitive idea that the end... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Folio: Top Women in Media – Industry Leadership

Folio:'s annual Top Women in Media Awards were created to celebrate, inspire and bring together the women who make magazine media such a dynamic industry. The post Folio: Top Women in Media – Industry Leadership appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top Women in Media: Director-Level Doers

Folio:'s annual Top Women in Media Awards were created to celebrate, inspire and bring together the women who make magazine media such a dynamic industry. The post Top Women in Media: Director-Level Doers appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Folio: Top Women in Media – Rising Stars

Folio:'s annual Top Women in Media Awards were created to celebrate, inspire and bring together the women who make magazine media such a dynamic industry. The post Folio: Top Women in Media – Rising Stars appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Folio: Top Women in Media – Entrepreneurs

Folio:'s annual Top Women in Media Awards were created to celebrate, inspire and bring together the women who make magazine media such a dynamic industry. The post Folio: Top Women in Media – Entrepreneurs appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Girls like digital media while boys prefer print, finds study on reading habits

National Literacy Trust report also says girls continue to outpace boys in their enthusiasm for reading for pleasureGirls have more firmly embraced digital literacy and formats such as Facebook, email and text message, while boys are more comfortable with traditional printed media such as... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers stress authenticity is key to social media success

Publishers should help authors to identify their digital skills, but social media is “not the most important thing”, writers and industry insiders have told The Bookseller. Authors should feel comfortable with any digital activity they are asked to undertake, using tweeting, blogging and other... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wainwright to write Bronte drama

“Happy Valley” creator Sally Wainwright is to write and direct a drama about the Brontes for BBC1. “To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters” will explore the relationships between Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte and their brother Branwell, who was an alcoholic and drug addict. It will be filmed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Does writing a memoir help an author to heal?

Three writers share their thoughts and concerns about sharing deeply personal secrets in a memoir. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Randall Munroe's upcoming book 'Thing Explainer' is already a bestseller

'Explainer,' the upcoming book by 'What If?' writer Munroe, is already near the top of bestseller lists despite not being published until November. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Provocative' book on parenting for Bluebird

Pan Macmillan’s Bluebird has acquired a “provocative, conversation-starting” book which presents a “pioneering new way to think about parenting” by child psychologist Dr Lisa Miller. Carole Tonkinson bought UK and Commonwealth rights to The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media's Latest In-Demand Job: Platforms Editor

Media companies increasingly want to publish their articles, videos and graphics directly to social networks and mobile apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Call it modern syndication.Facebook, for instance, is talking with media companies about publishing articles within the social... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook debuts Instant Articles with 9 media outlets

Facebook has launched Instant Articles, enabling media outlets to publish their stories directly to the social network. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Leah Chase's Return to Cookbook Writing

After a two-decade hiatus, the author of the bestselling 'Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook' is back with 'New England Open-House Cookbook,' out from Workman in June. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HealthiNation Pitches Media Buyers on Mobile Lifestyle Video

For its first Digital Content NewFronts presentation, video startup HealthiNation kept its pitch short and sweet. In what was possibly this year's quickest NewFronts sell so far, HealthiNation showed a seven-minute video skimming over the publisher's fitness, cooking and health content to... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Ratings Council Issues Interim Guidance for Mobile Viewability, Adds a Not-Quite-Viewable Category

The Media Rating Council has issued interim guidance on what it takes for ads on mobile devices to be considered "viewable" and introduced a new category of mobile ad between "viewable" and "not."Advertisers and web publishers use viewability standards to determine whether ads that were served... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple reportedly wants free Spotify dead to pave way for Beats relaunch

As Apple works toward a relaunch of its Beats Music streaming service, it’s reportedly pushing labels to kill off the free version of Spotify.It’s a bold move by Apple if The Verge’s unnamed sources are accurate, coming less than two years after a judge found that the company colluded with... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Two Media Outlets Think of Facebook and Its Relationship With the Industry

Facebook drives 25 per cent of all social referrals online, and its algorithm changes can boost or blast a publishers' figures almost overnight.   The social network is also reportedly in talks with news outlets inluding the New York Times a ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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GIE Media Buys Into Cannabis Business

Acquisition of Cannabis Business Times adds to company’s assets in horticulture segment; print magazine on the way. The post GIE Media Buys Into Cannabis Business appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Outside Magazine’s Executive Editor Explains His Move to the Business Side

Sam Moulton talks about his switch to content marketing director—and why it makes sense. The post Outside Magazine’s Executive Editor Explains His Move to the Business Side appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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