We’re putting out all our content for free.
At the same time, we’re more committed than ever to keeping our existing community intact.
And yeah, that’s the big change. Both parts. And it’s a plan that’s been in the works for months, aimed at expanding our reach to Steelers, Penguins and Pirates fans worldwide -- at a fascinating stage of evolution for all three -- even while enhancing our subscribers’ experience.
Anyone who'd be confused, that's understandable, so I’ll explain it in a question-and-answer format that, hopefully, checks all the boxes:
WAIT, FOR REAL?
For real. This isn’t on a whim. It’s the biggest business move we’ll have made in our nine-plus years, and there’s obviously a lot on the line. We’re aiming to have all facets of this fully functional by the time the Steelers and 49ers kick the football on Sept. 10, and there’ll be no going back once we do.
WHY?
We’re approaching our 10th anniversary next summer, and we want to move forward with confidence that we’ve got as many safe, secure revenue streams as possible and, within that, that the brand keeps expanding to connect with new readers far and wide.
In other words, we’re eager to have as many people as possible enjoy what we offer and, if they like it, they can choose to support it through a subscription … or not.
A SUBSCRIPTION?
Yep. All current subscriptions still apply, as will new ones. Only they’ll now offer the following:
• Exclusive participation in the dramatically upgraded commenting platform we’re about to unveil. Meaning no one comments outside our community. They’ll be able to read the comments, but our community remains our community. And this will include, for the first time, internal communication with other readers through alerted replies on the app
• Exclusive participation in the every-weekday Live Qs with our full staff
• Exclusive meetups with our full staff, some at our Downtown HQ/shop, some on the road (New York, St. Paul and Atlanta this month), some virtually by region for our international readers. We haven’t been doing meetups of any kind since the pandemic, but they’re returning.
• Exclusive newsletter each Saturday that’ll be the new format for Site Stuff. Because, as Dali put it, that’s for our subscribers to know and nobody else.
• Exclusive deals at the HQ/shop on any and all DKPS merch, beginning with a 20% discount coupon, is one thing we've just kinda floated. We have other ideas in the works, too, and we're certainly open to hearing more. Taylor suggested, for example, creating a general Asylum forum where our community can congregate on anything they’d like. (Except politics, of course! Some things never change!)
WHY THE SAME PRICE?
There’ll be no price change. And, don’t laugh at this, but there’s literally no way on our payment platform to change the cost of an ongoing subscription unless it’s done manually. Which is … quite the task for tens of thousands of entries.
Hey, I said don't laugh. This isn't PNC Bank here.
So our focus instead turns to pumping as much value as possible into a subscription, while also hoping that the people who’ve supported us and our coverage for so long will continue to do so.
If they don't, they’re free to cancel and/or ask for a refund of the remainder of a subscription. No questions asked. Just email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
What’s been encouraging on this front is that I laid this out for a few longtime subscribers in recent days as they’ve visited the HQ/shop, and they came across as both supportive and optimistic that we’ll keep who we’ve got while also adding new subscribers along the way. Their main point back: Keep the coverage and content the way it is, and it’ll all work out.
Can’t thank those folks enough, by the way, for their ears on this.
AND SENIORS, STUDENTS, MILITARY?
Nothing changes. Not one thing.
And specifically regarding the military, our drive remains intact, as our goal will be to ensure that all active-duty (that’s on us) and veterans (that’s on you) never pay a penny to be part of what we’ve all built here.
Our drive’s at 304 purchases out of the annual goal of 1,000, by the way. To contribute, email me: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
IS THIS A REACTION TO SOMETHING?
Honestly, it is. It’s about YouTube’s explosive growth. Meaning just how YouTube has grown as an enterprise and why. And how they treat their community environments and all that’s offered there. Fell in love with it. That’s what I’ve wanted for here ever since we got started over there three years ago.
It’s also allowed us to reach all-new audiences following all three teams, but especially the Steelers. Most of whom had never heard of us. And that’s been both uplifting and unsettling at the same time, the latter in the context that it hit me that we’ve got so, so, so many more fans to find all over the globe.
In that same spirit, the consumers of our videos and podcasts weren’t making any connection with our written content, which will always mean the most to me. And I found that frustrating, as well, since that’s by far our best material.
This way … we’re just out there. Come and get it. Read, see and hear everything. And if you like it, feel free to join our dedicated, one-of-a-kind community.
Is this starting to make sense?
WHAT ARE THE PLUSES?
As I mentioned above, there’s always a benefit to varying revenue streams. When one well goes dry, there are always others.
We’ve got a few now, and we’re happy about that. Subscriptions have been on the climb for a couple years now. (They weren’t within the pandemic, as one might imagine.) The multimedia’s headed back up, too, after a bumpy beginning to 2023. Our familiar local sponsors that’ve stuck with us for years are still with us. And the HQ/shop, which isn’t a huge piece of the budget, is headed toward a marked increase over a first year that was already profitable.
What’s missing from the above is programmatic advertising, which we believe we can double, even triple eventually; by virtue of increased page views and a few related tweaks. No, that won’t mean junking up the place with rollout/takeover/popup ads. The current configuration actually won’t change. Rather, it’ll just get a little … smarter. There are currently, for example, zero ads in any of the feeds. And none of the individual entries in the feeds get indexed on Google, that sort of thing.
Heck, we've never really had any SEO for nine years because of the paywall. And that, in and of itself, is an impediment to the scale of growth we're seeking.
Oh, and here's another: Our readers will be able to share our content, meaning a full article and not just 2-3 paragraphs, an option that wasn't available under our current tech. That's a big, big deal, as it's the ultimate word-of-mouth.
THIS MAKES YOUR LIVES EASIER HOW?
In the previous Site Stuff, I let readers know that this venture has basically consumed our lives, Dali’s and mine. I love it. We love it. But there’s such a thing as too much, and we’re there.
Wording this bluntly, we’ve never been fully equipped to be a paywalled subscription site. Not from a human standpoint. It requires an immense amount of maintenance and, way more significant, an immense amount of promotion. The latter … that’s time-consuming. It’s tiring. We don’t have an ad sales staff. We don’t pay into any marketing. And our individual staffers are reporters, not salespeople, by trade. So the only way we’d ever sell subscriptions is if Dali and I somehow found even more time/energy.
This new way, it’s so simple: Just put the content out there, and let it do its thing.
We’ll do no selling, no promoting of subscriptions anymore. They'll be presented within comments as an option, and that’s it. No social media. No ads. Nothing.
I can’t begin to tell you what a load off that’ll be for both of us. Even just mentally. Same for the staff. They can push their own content with no issue, and they’ll actually have an easier time of that than ever since it’ll be free.
For me, that’s more time, less stress … yeah, I can’t even picture what it’ll be like to not have to sell anything for the first time in forever.
WHAT NOW?
To repeat, there's nothing anyone needs to do.
Our developers at BoomPress are putting the finishing touches on the new feed/commenting platform. It’ll be up on the app/site by month’s end, allowing some time to fuss with it before football gets busy.
From there, we’ll be relentless in responding to any questions anyone might have, whether here in comments or via direct email. We want everyone to be completely clear on the what and why.
________________________
I express appreciation on here all the time. I do it at the end of columns. I do it in comments. And when I’m really lucky, I get to do it in person, usually with a hug.
This one’s being done in advance.
Thanks in advance to everyone who reads, watches and/or hears what we do, but especially to those who’ve been with us — and will continue to be with us — as subscribers, supporting our content, our coverage, our staff, even as we embark on this new course. Thanks from Dali, Dara and Marko within our household. Thanks from Taylor, Alex, Corey, Chris, Ramon, Matt, Cory, Bob, Rob, David and our entire staff. And thanks from me, yet again, complete with a Kevin Stevens-sized bear hug.
As the locals tend to say this time of year: Here we go.
