VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- We aren't a TV company or a multimedia company, but we're proud to be partners with WPXI, Pittsburgh's very best in that category.
Now more than ever.
Readers have seen our partnership in motion for years, through Sunday night's 'Subway Final Word,' the seasonal '11 On The Ice' Penguins show and other ventures, from being part of regular newscasts to sharing tips and clips to other online initiatives. It's been both fun and mutually rewarding, particularly given the caliber of the people at the station, most closely Chase Williams, Alby Oxenreiter, Dean Iampietro, Kellie Burkett and Kevin Hayes.
But now we're going a couple steps further, and we couldn't be more excited:
• There's a new weekly program called 'Halftime Adjustments.' It's available online and on your smart TV, too, if you download the new WPXI Now app. Here's the first episode from this past Wednesday, with Alby Oxenreiter and me discussing a bunch of Steelers/Penguins/Pirates topics for a half-hour:
• There's also an expanded content-sharing arrangement in the works, one in which some of our free material -- almost always straight news -- will be available on their sports page. They'll still have to come here for the full article, so it's a win-win in that we'll bring new eyeballs here from one of the city's busiest websites.
The possibilities are endless, really, and our minds collectively start swirling all over when we get to talking. But, as ever -- and I remind of this a lot -- we're 100 percent independent.
(Oh, and no, this was not the Big Announcement.)
DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL
The past five years have been stressful and frustrating and scary, but the fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from building something with your own hands makes it all worth it. This business pushes us every day. We grow. We learn new things. We meet amazing people. At the same time, everything we know, everything we do right followed many, many mistakes --all emotionally and financially taxing.
There was no template for this kind of business. Not one example!
This is why I was so excited when Fred Hildebrand, founder of Fortify Franchising, partnered with us this spring. If any of you are at a point in your life where the time is right to be your own boss, you have the option to buy a franchise with proven processes and tools for success. Someone else figured it all out for you, made all the mistakes first. Boy, I really wish we had that!
Every time I talk to Fred, I learn about different options that are available. Some more expected, like a specialty donut shop, others, totally out of the ordinary like a crime scene cleanup. Here is a bit more about those two:
• Donuts: This franchise model is simple and efficient, with a brick-and-mortar presence and a small team of employees. Donuts are a billion-dollar industry and growing. The idea of a fresh, made-to-order donut along with premium coffee drinks is a segment that this franchise will fill. I mean -- how can you go wrong with donuts? You don't even need restaurant experience for this one!
• Crime and trauma scene cleanup: A franchise that's home-based/truck-based with a low investment level. This is perfect for a retired law enforcement officer due to their expansive networks in the area, or a veteran. The marketing campaigns are industry-specific, innovative and have proven successful for years. This type of franchise has the ability to grow faster and generate higher margins than any other cleaning or restoration franchise on the market.
There are so many more option out there! Call Fred, he can tell you all about it. He is an awesome, super smart dude. Here is his number: 602-882-5162 and email: Fred@FortifyFranchising.com
Please tell him I sent you. — Dali Kovacevic
UPDATED TV AD
With Dave Molinari aboard, we've updated our TV ad, created and produced by Thad Christian and our friends at Mount Washington-based Phenomenon Post. Amazing how this thing has stood up for nearly five years. They did such a nice job.
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY BASH!
On July 23, 2014, this venture was born. On July 23, 2019, we'll celebrate.
Everyone's invited to our Highmark Stadium offices on that date. It'll be a Tuesday night, and as many of our staff as possible will be there -- the Pirates do play across the river -- in hopes of thanking as many of you as possible. We'll have giveaways, games, prizes and, of course, we'll have the game on the TV sets. Mostly, though, it'll just be us and you.
We talked about maybe doing this on a weekend, but this is No. 5. It's a big deal. It's no stretch to say a ton of people thought this thing wouldn't last five months, much less five years, and we're damned proud of it. So we'll do it right on the precise date.
No need to RSVP or anything like that. Before long, we'll set up an event page and more. This is just an early heads-up. -- DK
VETERANS COUNT: 170
Josh DeNinno at Moon Golf Club wants to remind readers of his Veterans Challenge to our subscribers. Josh is buying 10 a month himself for a total of 100 in 2019, and he's challenging subscribers to achieve a goal of 1,000 by year's end.
Current count: 170
Here’s where to contribute. -- DK
LIFETIMES LEFT: 46
We've sold 54 Lifetime Lunatic subscriptions, including two more this week, so 46 remain toward our new cap of 100, combined with the original 500. There's no plan to sell more in the foreseeable future. It costs $299. If you'd like one, buy it 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. We'll refund the remainder of your existing account. -- DK
BECOME A PARTNER
We're always looking to grow our base of business partners, and there currently are several very good opportunities available to take advantage of our unprecedented reach. Our 2019 media kit has all the info you’d want. Email me directly at Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com to set up a meeting. -- Dali
***premium***
WE'RE LISTENING
• The face/touch login will take longer than we'd expected, unfortunately. We're weighing other options. I'll keep you informed. -- DK
• In the interim, if you're logging in too often, delete the app from your device, power the device down completely, then reinstall the app. This has worked wonders for almost everyone who's tried it. -- DK
• If you enjoy the Hot Button feature and would like to receive app alerts when there's a new entry, open your app, then the menu on the top right corner, then ALERTS. Toggle the new Hot Button icon to ON. We had that added in the past week. -- DK
BACK TO BUSINESS
• New subscribers for 2019 are at 507. 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 12,059, broken down as 9,580 on Apple, 2,479 on Android. That total's plus-102 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 74,506. 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.
• Our most-hit original article of the past week -- exempting live files -- was Hunter Homistek's fun piece on Ben Roethlisberger saving Ryan Switzer from a worm in his food at 17,152. The Penguins accounted for 135,287 page views, the Steelers 90,519 and the Pirates 82,289.
• We're at 32,440 (+103) followers on Twitter, we're at 32,225 (+94) page likes on Facebook, we're at 10,898 (+23) followers on Instagram. These figures are just for our official company account on each platform, not for us as individuals.
• If you've got a blog or forum or social media account with some significant background and credibility, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com to see how we can partner up.
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