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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On Writers and Writing review – Margaret Atwood on her profession

Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tumblr's 'big update' promotes essay writing, fewer GIFs

If we're honest, there isn't enough money in monochrome erotica and Benedict Cumberbatch GIFs to sustain a billion-dollar website. That's why Tumblr is doing its very best to become more of a publishing platform that can attract the sort of writing (... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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So You Want to Be a Famous Self-Published Author?

Veteran author Warren Adler offers a reality check for would-be authors who believe fame and fortune is just a book away. The post So You Want to Be a Famous Self-Published Author? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Complex Buys Fanboy Site Collider for Growing Media Network

Complex Media, a network of lifestyle and culture websites for young men, has acquired Collider.com, a news and information site that covers movies, television and video games.Founded by Steve "Frosty" Weintraub, Collider reports on the entertainment industry with an emphasis on fanboy culture,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic Media takes a page from Quartz with Defense One

Atlantic Media's business news site Quartz may draw the bulk of the headlines, but the company is trying a similar digital-first strategy with the niche but lucrative world of national defense trade publishing. The post Atlantic Media takes a page from Quartz with Defense One appeared first on... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Data Scientist Explains Some Approaches to “Big Data”

Context is everything when it comes to analyzing data, says Hilary Mason. Are you selling a million copies of a book, or one copy of a million books? The post A Data Scientist Explains Some Approaches to “Big Data” appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan Science and Education to merge with Springer Science+Business Media

Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and BC Partners have reached an agreement to merge Springer Science+Business Media (owned by funds advised by BCP) with the majority of Holtzbrinck-owned Macmillan Science and Education, namely Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan and the global businesses of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad fraud: The oldest trick in the media book

Ad fraud has been going on for decades. However, the sophistication of today’s ad fraud is something that puts sticky fingered program managers of yore to shame. The post Ad fraud: The oldest trick in the media book appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carol Evans Leaves Working Mother Media

Carol Evans is leaving Working Mother Media after helping to lead the company for more than 35 years. Evans grew WMM from a single magazine—Working Mother, launched in 1978—into a magazine, website, events producer and research institute, along with two companion associations. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quartz's Digital Media Strategy Begins to Crystallize

When Atlantic Media introduced business-news publication Quartz in September 2012, it spent about $10 million on the launch, according to people familiar with the matter. That's a far cry from the more than $100 million Cond Nast dropped in 2007 rolling out its glossy business magazine,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Haruki Murakami wants you to send him a question

The bestselling author is reportedly soliciting questions from readers about anything from problems in their own lives to queries about his novels. Murakami will publish his answers on his website over the coming months. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coming in 2015: reality check for VC-engorged digital media

Bleacher Report founder Bryan Goldberg writes that the major digital publishing narrative in 2015 will be revenue. Everything else will be a function of how publishers thrive or struggle to monetize. The post Coming in 2015: reality check for VC-engorged digital media appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Recorded Books Buys Tantor Media

In a deal that combines two of the largest independent companies in the spokenword audiobook industry, Recorded Books has acquired Tantor Media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Behold! Someone Made An Employee Manual You'll Actually Want To Read

EF Labs takes a colorful page from children's book illustrations for its employee manual.The company employee manual: Just saying those words is enough to lull you into a boredom-induced coma. And the idea of actually reading the content within—likely drier than the paper it's printed on—is... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More Top Media Publications Trust Programmatic For Premium Ad Inventory

More top publishers are opting into programmatic ad networks to sell premium advertising. Varick Media Management recently signed exclusive deals with Time Inc., News Corp., American Media Inc. and Wenner Media and will help them sell ad units that feature photography, videos and other types of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German newspaper publisher wants reporters to use English

Axel Springer goes Anglophone to seek an international audience Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want You Dead named Sainsbury's ebook of the year

Peter James’ Want You Dead (Pan Macmillan) has been named eBooks by Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year 2014. The award, which aims to let readers decide their stand-out “screen turner” of the year, is in its second year. Want You Dead was chosen from a longlist of more than 150 titles from a range... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brad Pitt and Seth Rogen lead backlash against media over Sony hacks

‘Everyone is doing exactly what these criminals want,’ says Rogen, after newspapers publish emails hacked from Sony executivesAaron Sorkin: news outlets more ‘morally treasonous’ than Sony hackersVarious Hollywood figures, including Brad Pitt, Aaron Sorkin and Seth Rogen, have publicly... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeb Bush Wants You to Read His Email

Jeb Bush announced this weekend that he is releasing 250,000 emails from his two terms as Florida’s governor. North Korean hackers may be dismayed that he beat them to it, but Bush 2016 boosters are happy. This move, along with a planned ebook incorporating the emails, was taken as the surest... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gino D'Acampo writes vegetarian cookbook

Chef Gino D’Acampo is to write a vegetarian cookbook for Hodder & Stoughton. Gino’s Veg Italia! The Healthy Way to Eat Like an Italian will be D’Acampo’s first exclusively meat-free book. Lifestyle publisher Nicky Ross commissioned the title in a two-book deal with agent Jeremy Hicks of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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