WASHINGTON -- No, it's not Saturday.
I've traveled here to D.C. to cover the Penguins' suddenly seismic collision with the Capitals here tonight, which, coupled with the Pirates' home opener tomorrow back at PNC Park, would wipe out my two weekend features, Friday Insider and Site Stuff. And honestly, having skipped the latter this past Saturday, I'd rather put this one up early -- or late -- because I've got something I really want to share.
My friends, we achieved 5 million page views in March.
Five. Freaking. Million.
And as such, we've got our most awesome affirmation yet that we're being read more now than we've ever been. More than when we launched. More than the Stanley Cup years. More than in any single month of our near-decade existence.
The details, per Google Analytics, show an official count of 5,052,048 page views, with the home page topping the list -- of course -- followed by the Feeds and a handful of columns:
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Amazing. Just amazing.
Started from complete scratch, and now producing numbers on sports coverage I'm confident no outlet in the market can match. (But hey, if they can, everyone's free to publish them, right?)
I did a lot of thinking about this on the drive down here, trying to process not just what it signifies but also how it came to be. And when it comes to the very recent past, there's one glaringly obvious generator: We kinda went free.
It was a big risk. Biggest one we've taken. We put forth to a paying community that we'd make almost all of our content free, hoping we'd get enough volume in new readers to offset whoever we might lose from the subscription ranks. While simultaneously putting together an alternate package aimed at keeping those same subscribers, one that'd eventually -- at your behest -- include offering our very first wholly ad-free experience.
I'll be damned if it hasn't worked even better than either Dali or I had a right to expect.
We've lost less than 8% of our paying subscribers, thanks almost entirely to the continuing loyalty of our base, but also because a few who'd canceled right away would soon opt back in upon seeing the ad-free option being added. That was key in this, and we're grateful in hindsight to everyone here who suggested that option. It tends to be a good idea to listen to the customer.
Another positive: Because so many new people have had a chance to try us out, we've also had new subscribers who welcomed both the ad-free experience and becoming part of our global community of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates fans. And in March, for the first time, we gained almost as many subscribers as we lost. Not quite even, but close.
In the interim, the soaring page views, twinned with Dali's intensive efforts to get us the kind of programmatic ads we've long wanted, that's brought in a revenue stream that'd all but dried up in our previous incarnation. Which is always welcome, if only because the only times we've ever run aground here were when we've been overly reliant on one or two revenue streams. Now, it comes from subscriptions (still No. 1), programmatic ads, podcasts, videos, sponsorships and our Downtown HQ/shop. A diversified portfolio, as the financial gurus would say.
Anyway, it's fun, too. I'm writing every day, recording almost every day, bouncing all over creation, and the balance sheet's working out, as well. Rewarding stuff.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Our baseball coverage isn't confined to Pittsburgh or the Pirates. We'll be in Indianapolis tomorrow night for Paul Skenes' debut in that city, Corey Crisan making the trip, and there might be another surprise or two in that package.
• Important: If you're seeing ads and you're subscribed, that's NOT supposed to happen. Meaning not a single ad. Be sure you're logged in. If you can see comments, for example, you're logged in. And if you're logged in and STILL see ads, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Reminder: Our 10th anniversary is July 23 at the Downtown HQ/shop. We've already heard from quite a few of you planning to attend, including some from well out of town. For anyone looking into a longer trip, know that the Pirates and Cardinals have a three-game series at PNC Park at that time, so it's a nice double-dip.
• Grateful that so many of you have followed through on our request to support us without spending a penny, by simply leaving us good reviews on outside platforms. There've been hundreds of reviews already. For anyone who hasn't yet, feel free to add your own on our Google listing, our Apple or Spotify podcast channels, our YouTube channels for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and, last but definitely not least, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version. And again, thank you!
• Everyone still loving being ad-free? If you're not there yet, it's only for paying subscribers. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: this is our new subscribe page. Make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level. We also have discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• For anyone asking, yeah, there's still a subscription level. It's the level where there are zero ads, first and foremost. It's an infinitely better experience. It's also the level at which readers have access to our Live Qs, our commenting platforms, our in-person meetings and many other perks. We feel it's a really good value.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 1,027,605, with 52,227 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, March 27-April 2. Our most-read original piece was my column from Miami on the Pirates sweeping the Marlins, at 31,868.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 83,021, plus another figure we can't access yet on a second platform, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 109,220.
• Our company social media accounts are at 53,962 followers on X, 40,517 on Facebook, 30,589 on YouTube, 14,955 on Instagram ... and already 4,216 on the new Threads!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading.
• And for listening:
