The only human in the world better than Ramon Foster ... is Ramon when he's really happy.
And the big man's been really happy of late.
Ever since March 8, when we launched the daily run of The Ramon Foster Show, we've more than doubled our video/audio views and listens, and at times have greatly exceeded that ratio. And now, over the past 10 episodes, the show's averaging 5,420 views and 3,127 audio-only listens.
Crazy, right?
It's funny, because when Ramon and I -- along with our producer, Eddie Provident -- first broached doing this daily back in February, we'd fully expected it'd take half a year or longer to reach these levels. And within that, we'd been sure it'd take some promotional investment to get the word out to Steelers Nation far and wide, including people who've never heard of DK Pittsburgh Sports. But there still hasn't been a penny put into promotion.
So, how's it happened?
Well, most of it's the cyber version of word of mouth. Particularly on YouTube, where it's really taken off. The more comments and likes a video there receives, the more often it pops into the sidebar of casual surfers whose history shows they love the Steelers. From there, traffic begets more traffic, and away it goes.
If you like what you see/hear, the best way to help is to leave a review on Apple Podcasts and/or to comment and like on YouTube. The algorithms all feed off that.
But honestly, the part that's been most satisfying is seeing how into this Ramon's been. He's calling/texting all the time with ideas, with guests he'd like to bring -- Kevin Colbert's coming up Tuesday! -- and with ideas to build the brand further. He's also been active in community groups, including here on our site, eager to keep adding.
Hey, who am I to block an NFL lineman?
HQ/SHOP'S FIRST WEEK!
I'm typing this at our new HQ/shop Downtown at 224 Fifth Avenue, and we just met a terrific young man visiting here from Calgary, Alberta. For no reason other than that he loves our city. Not for the hockey game or anything stereotypical like that.
He bought a Terrible Towel, a Wendell August Forge trinket and, coolest of all, a subscription to our site. He'd followed Taylor Haase on Twitter and was pleasantly surprised to find out she works here, and that completed the sale!
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
We've had a ton of experiences like that since opening April 29, in addition to steady visits, sales and all else. The only negative, in fact, was that our sidewalk sandwich board was wiped out by the high winds the other night when there was that tornado warning. (I was in New York, and Dali forgot to bring it inside, so I'm off the hook on this one!)
We're open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.! Come see us!
ALWAYS HIRING
We're searching for as many as three additional full-time reporters, all experienced, all energetic, all equipped with writing and multimedia skills. Our wage/benefits are competitive with any local outlet.
Email me a full resume directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
WE GO EVERYWHERE
• Taylor and I will be right back in Manhattan for Game 5 of Penguins-Rangers this week and, for all we know, back yet again for Game 7.
• Alex Stumpf has baseball through the weekend in Cincinnati, this after having stopped in Detroit and Indianapolis. The coming week has the Pirates at PNC Park.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 683,478. Our most-read original piece was Dale Lolley's coverage of the Steelers drafting George Pickens, at 15,091. Broken down by team, articles on the Penguins brought 23.9%, the Steelers 19.6%, the Pirates 7.7%, Pitt 5.1%, and Penn State 2.7%.
• Our podcast downloads for the past week were 277,318.
• Our YouTube video views for the past week were 156,271.
• Our company social media accounts are at 44,648 followers on Twitter, 37,658 on Facebook, 14,538 on Instagram, 13,233 on YouTube.
• Our brand merchandise is available at the online DKPS Shop.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Anything you need, including lost/forgotten passwords, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
