Evans, Nancy
EVANS, NANCY
Nancy Evans is co-founder and editor-in-chief of iVillage Inc., one of the Web's largest content sites and the leading online service for women. Visitors to the site total more than 5 million each month. iVillage targets women between the ages of 25 and 54 with 18 different channels: Astrology, Babies, Beauty, Books, Computing, Diet & Fitness, Food, Games, Health, Home & Garden, Lamaze, Money, News & Issues, Parenting, Pets, Relationships, Shopping, and Work. iVillage users can converse with online experts on a variety of subjects, participate in support and discussion groups, read frequently asked questions and answers on a wide range of topics, take quizzes, post links to their own Web sites, enroll in giveaways, and purchase goods and services. Membership in iVillage is free. The site garners its revenues via advertising and sponsorships and also from taking a percentage of the profits of products sold online at iVillage.
An English literature graduate from Skidmore College, Evans launched her publishing career as an editor for Harper's Weekly. She left that position to serve as contributing editor for Glamour, where she oversaw book reviews and featured editorials for the magazine. In 1985, Book-of-the-Month Club hired Evans as editor-in-chief and vice president. Two years later, she moved to Doubleday, serving as both president and publisher until 1991. With partner Jann Wenner, Evans founded and managed Family Life magazine in the early 1990s.
In June of 1995, Evans helped former Time Warner executive Candice Carpenter create iVillage.com. As president and editor-in-chief, Evans was responsible for developing the site's content, including that available on iVillage's first two networks, About Work and Parent Soup. Evans continued to oversee the addition of new content to the site throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. For example, in November of 2000 iVillage launched Adoption Central, a clearinghouse of information on the adoption process for birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. Evans continues to work to maintain editorial standards and develop content at iVillage.
FURTHER READING:
"Adoption Central Debuts on iVillage.com 's Award-Winning Parenting Website, Parent Soup." PR Newswire. November 2, 2000.
"Corporate Profile." New York: iVillage Inc., 2000. Available from www.corporate-ir.net.
Flinn, John; and Laura Rich. "Nancy Evans & Candice Carpenter: iVillage is Building Virtual Communities for Grown-Ups to Call Home on the Internet." ADWEEK Eastern Edition. September 23, 1996.
Post, Tom. "It Takes More Than an Ivillage." Forbes. February 22, 1999.
SEE ALSO: Carpenter, Candice; iVillage.com