For its last wave of hires, HuffPo relied on those with major media experience.  The next wave of hires will be in the social media space, Coleman told paidContent in an interview. “We’re looking at building out a team of social marketing managers to help direct our marketing program and capitalize on the Twitter sections and integrated social advertising efforts that were begun last year.”

SEE ALSO: HuffPo Launching New Verticals, Expanding Into Food And Arts

Among the new names coming on board are former Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) entertainment accounts director Terry City, executive director for Entertainment Sales and Strategy; ex-Forbes’ Marcia Greenblatt; Wenner Media’s Jim Iacono as LA sales director; AOL’s Laura Krebill as account director; and USATODAY.com’s midwest sales director Mark Walker, among others.

While Coleman and CEO Eric Hippeau would not provide specific dollar numbers, they both insisted that revenues were growing rapidly and that HuffPo might reach profitability sooner than expected, perhaps before the end of the year. Last month, Outsell’s Ken Doctor estimated that site could have made $12- to $15 million in revenue in 2009. He surmised that with continued traffic growth—the most recent comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) numbers said HuffPo and its 19 site sections drew 24 million monthly uniques, while the panel-only numbers have the site at 12 million.

But to Coleman, traffic was only a factor. “Up until I arrived, there were not many resources in the sales and marketing arena,” Coleman said. “We’ve been able to introduce the brand to the marketing community. We did not even have syndicated research when I arrived. And in my 30 years in this business, if you didn’t have research, you didn’t get listened to. That still holds true.”

Among the details in the Feb./March IPSOS survey of 1,200 general news readers, plus 111 HuffPo “loyalists”:

—Affluent: The HuffPo user has an average household income of $143K—vs. $86K for the general online news reader.
—Educated: 73 percent of HuffPost Users are college grads (190 Index compared to general online news readers.)
—Youngish: 46 percent of HuffPost Users are between 18-34—vs. 38 percent of general online news readers (121 Index).
—World travlers: The HuffPost User is 42 percent more likely than the general online news reader to have traveled for leisure in the last six months.
—Techies: 45 percent of its users look at news daily through a mobile device (174 Index compared to general online mobile news readers).
—Foodies: 47 percent of HuffPo users cite “restaurants, bars or clubs” as subjects about which friends ask for advice (130 Index compared to general online news readers); 53% cite “music, books and movies” as areas in which others ask them for tips (136 Index compared to general online news readers).
—Sharers: Social Sharing is second nature to HuffPost Users: 3 in 4 (76 percent) of HuffPo users have shared a news article through a social networking site (138 Index compared to general online news readers), and 24 percent have done so today (218 Index compared to the general online news readers).

The site has also begun to expand its verticals into food, art and in a few weeks, travel. Mobile is another area Coleman wants to focus on over the next few months. “The ad recovery has certainly provided a little benefit to us, but mostly, it’s the fact that we’re adding people, adding verticals,” Coleman said. “And it’s a fun, popular site, and that makes it easier to attract new blood.” More details on the new hires in this release (PDF).