We've sold 32 Lifetime Lunatic subscriptions, so 68 remain toward our new cap of 100, combined with the original 500. There's no plan to sell more in the foreseeable future.
Why would we cap that?
Simple: There will always be a need for recurring revenue.
The best way to ensure recurring revenue, of course, is to keep our existing subscribers and find new ones. That's why we've taken a triple-pronged approach to the business in 2019:
1. Sell those 100 Lifetimes.
2. Expand/personalize our retention.
3. Discount new sales.
The first point is self-explanatory. We had a lot of readers who'd asked to be part of the Lifetime program, so we expanded from the original 500 to this additional 100. It costs $299. If you'd like one, buy it right here. If you're an existing subscriber and want to go Lifetime, do the same thing, then email us at Help@DKPittsburghSports.com to let us know you did. We'll refund the remainder of your existing account.
The second point involves a whole lot of outreach. I'm handling a good bit of that myself when I get a free hour or two a day. We want existing subscribers to know we're listening and are always here to answer any questions and concerns.
The third one is the most visible, as we've been more aggressive than ever in chasing down new readers. There's a lot that goes into that, and it's seldom finger-snapping fast, especially as it relates to social media. But our early results have already brought a 79 percent increase in new readers -- we're currently at 363 for the year -- over the same period in 2018.
If it all works hand in hand in hand, all three can combine for both revenue and readership growth.
HUGE MATCH ON VETERANS!
Remember our Veterans Challenge announced last week?
The one where Josh DeNinno at Moon Golf Club pledged to buy 10 veterans subscriptions each month in hopes that others would rise up with him?
Well, one subscriber this week bought 60. For real.
And as one might expect when it comes to generosity of this level, he politely asked not to be identified. I really wish I could, if only so that we could all pile praise on top of this individual. But that won't happen, so he'll have to settle for our expressed gratitude right here and, indirectly, that of the veterans who'll benefit.
Total subscriptions contributed: 85
Our goal for 2019: 1,000
To contribute, this is the link. If you have any questions, email us at Help@DKPittsburghSports.com.
THE HOT BUTTON
A good many of you noticed our newest feature, introduced yesterday, judging by the page views and comments: It's called Hot Button, and it'll collect news of all kinds from everywhere that might be of interest to Pittsburgh sports fans.
That doesn't mean every entry will have a direct local connection. For example, Tiger Woods winning the Masters -- the event that really got me thinking about this -- has zero local connection ... except that people here watched it passionately. Most of it will be more direct, as was shown on Day 1 with entries.
This will basically take three old concepts -- Let's Talk, Hunter's Prowl and Campus Chatter -- and roll them into one highly visible, round-the-clock feature to which our entire staff can contribute. As can the readers, we hope. The more the merrier. -- DK
FROM THE EDITOR
Sports is entertainment, no matter how you parse it. But unlike going to a movie you know is going to last for 96 minutes, or a concert at which you saw the set list from the previous five shows, we never know how long the ride is going to last with a sports team. Heck, we don't even know the outcome from game to game.
That's what makes it fun.
This is the first time since this site's inception the Penguins are done playing so early. And the Steelers didn't make the playoffs, either.
But, as we saw with the Steelers, there are still plenty of stories to cover, even in the "offseason."
So, even though the Penguins' season abruptly ended last week, there will still be a lot for our team to cover. There will be comings and goings. There will be some change.
And we'll be there to bring you every last bit of it. It's what we do. -- Dale Lolley
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
If you are planning to watch the NFL Draft, come do it with us Thursday night at the new Dave & Buster's on McKnight Road, 8-10 p.m. Our Miller Lite friends are bringing autographed prizes you can win if you guess the Steelers' pick! I'm bringing Dejan, Chris Carter, Matt Sunday and Hunter Homistek. We'll do a live Q&A and talk Steelers all night.
Sunday threatens to beat everyone at games. We'll see about that!
Check out the details and tell us if you can make it here! -- Dali Kovacevic
WE'RE LISTENING
• We've added all our newest features, notably those related to the expanded baseball coverage, to all menus on all platforms. The Riverhounds' entry had all the schedule, stats, roster and other buttons added.
• No one needs to be logged-in to read Site Stuff or any of our free material. If you ever lose your login for the premium material, and you don't know how to reset it yourself, please reach out for a hand, OK? Email us: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
BACK TO BUSINESS
• New subscribers for 2019 are at 363. You can now track this figure daily at the bottom of the desktop and tablet versions of the site.
• Our daily active app users, averaged out over the past week, are at 12,533, broken down as 9,852 on Apple, 2,681 on Android. That total's minus-193 from the previous week. This figure will always fluctuate with the seasons and the news, so the goal is a steady, gradual increase, initially to 15,000, a number we've never achieved.
• Our daily page views, averaged out over the past month, are at 73,385. That's minus-1,473 over the same rolling figure from a week ago. The goal with this figure is also about a steady, gradual increase, first to 100,000, a number we've achieved only during the two Stanley Cup runs. (And we obviously won't be getting any help on that front this summer!)
• Our most-hit article of the past week -- exempting live files -- was my column on the Penguins' Game 4 loss to the Islanders at 12,828. The Penguins accounted for 181,490 of our page views, the Pirates 59,153, the Steelers 34,354.
• We're at 31,538 (+105) page likes on Facebook, we're at 31,382 (+131) followers on Twitter, we're at 10,564 (+62) followers on Instagram. These figures are just for our official company account on each platform, not for us as individuals.
• Join our group of business partners! This is our updated 2019 media kit with all our essential data. If you're interested, contact my wife directly at Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Get our free newsletter with a simple signup! We send out a new one Monday-Friday at 7 a.m.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• This is our new 2019 media kit. If you're interested in connecting with our large, passionate following, email my wife at Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Anything you need, including lost/forgotten passwords, email us: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
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