A week ago in this space, I laid bare some challenges we're facing at DK Pittsburgh Sports, all of which are out of our control but all of which are no less real. Within that, I listed ways in which our current subscribers could make a difference.
No surprise to us, that's already begun in a big way.
• I brought up offering 100 Lifetime subscriptions, and you've already snapped up 48 of them. If you're interested in one of the final 52, email me directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
• I brought up buying our half-off gift subscriptions, and you've already bought 35. If you're interested in one of those, that's right here. If you're interested in multiples, email Dali directly: Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com
• I brought up donating subscriptions in bulk so we can distribute them to folks who can't currently afford a subscription, and you've already donated 95. If you're interested in doing that -- and almost all of these came from just a handful of generous individuals -- email Dali directly: Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com
And yet, that doesn't come close to quantifying the reaction. Because I also broached, publicly for the first time, welcoming outside investment into the company, and that, too, would bring an encouraging early response. There'd be a ton to work out on that front, obviously, but what meant so much was that, in each case, it was someone who was already invested -- emotionally -- in what we've built here. Trust me, that's everything to us in this specific area.
Oh, and this came up, too: Green Bay Packers.
Not going to take this overboard early, but we also were approached by a local expert in what's called crowd-funding that splits up symbolic shares in the company -- with gifts and goodies, but also with access to some of our inner workings -- to anyone who's interested. This is nowhere near done, but it's being weighed. Readers have brought this up for years, even citing the Packers' ages-old model in which their fans are actual stake-holders, but this was the first we'd been exposed to it formally.
I'll be in comments if you've got any questions at all.
TRIPLE MY PODCASTS
I've been doing my Daily Shot podcast for DK Sports Radio every weekday morning ... but it's never felt like nearly enough and, beyond that, it's always felt a little crowded with ramming multiple teams into the same episode.
So, beginning this week, I'll be doing one for each of the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates. They'll be a little tighter in terms of time, aiming for roughly 20 minutes each, and they'll involve our entire staff rotating through as guests ... as well as other surprises.
Being in the new studio and all, it'll be easier and more fun than ever. And no, as I hope I've shown in the past month and change, it won't take away from the writing at all.
Are you set for auto-downloads to our podcasts yet?
Take your pick of a platform:
• Apple
• Google
• iHeartRadio
• Spotify
• Stitcher
Thanks so much for everyone who's listening, as well as our podcast partners LGKG Law, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Mike's Beer Bar.
THESE LIVE WIRES
Our three Live Wire features -- round-the-clock news coverage of Steelers, Penguins, Pirates -- account for 10% of our total traffic just a couple weeks after being born. That's promising. It shows people are checking regularly to see the latest.
This is the way we're taking straight news now. We're saving our separate headlines, with few exceptions, for our premium content. This way, you can find news easily, and you also don't have to navigate through a lot of lesser stuff to find our best work. As a bonus, from the commenting standpoint, you've finally got a single spot for each team to discuss whatever you'd like, not just a given article's subject matter.
PROMOTIONAL APPROACH
A few things in the works:
• Our annual Black Friday sale, just like last year, has us selling full-year subscriptions for 75% off, meaning just $10. This is ONLY for completely NEW subscribers, with the obvious goal of growing our ranks. If we sold at this price to everyone, this would be the last Site Stuff ever. But if you want to let anyone know about it, the sale runs through 11:59 p.m. Monday.
• Most everything you'll see from us in public will be pushing our foundation, the subscriptions. December's been our best subscription month each of our first six years, and we're banking on that being the case again in 2020. We'll stick with what works.
• After that, in January, you'll finally see us really roll out the new app. Meaning to audiences that aren't already here.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our daily page views averaged 56,769 over the past week, up 27.3% from the the previous week. The most-read original piece was Tom Reed's feature on Sidney Crosby and the Trailer Park Boys, at 32,540. Broken down by team, the Steelers brought 32.6% of our traffic, the Penguins 14.1%, the Pirates 6.7%, Pitt 1.88%, Penn State 1.36%, and Duquesne 0.14%.
• Our podcast downloads for DK Sports Radio original content were 45,760, down 3.5% from the previous week.
• We're at 38,058 (+159) followers on Twitter, we're at 36,896 (+29) followers on Facebook, we're at 14,775 (-2) followers on Instagram. These figures are just for our official company account on each platform, not for us as individuals.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Anything you need, including lost/forgotten passwords, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com