Site Stuff: Let's talk consistency ... meaning what we've become
Things were wild here once upon a time: We were trying something no one had tried. We were amid covering back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. We were, very arguably, more successful than we needed to be so soon. And, on top of all that, neither Dali nor I had a solitary clue as to how to operate an actual business.
I wouldn't trade any of it, though. It's how we got to where we are now, our legit glory days.
Remember how a lot of you, our longest-tenured subscribers, would complain about staff turnover?
Well, how's that looking now? And for the overwhelming part of this decade?
Remember questioning the quality of this hire or that hire?
Well, how's everyone appreciating Chris Halicke on the Steelers, Taylor Haase on the Penguins and José Negron on the Pirates? And how all of us, including contributors Eric Bowser and Greg Macafee, work together to ensure no one wears out?
We've never had a collective like this. Never.
And on the subject of consistency, allow me also to mention that we've had a Friday Insider since our first month of existence a dozen years ago, a Site Stuff like this every Saturday for just as long, Live Qs with all of us since the first year, Rob Ullman's terrific Cartoon Canon forever, and Bob Maddamma's tireless Hot Button forever. Not to mention we've never missed covering a single game the Steelers, Penguins or Pirates have played in that span, no matter where in the world it was, or whatever pandemic might've been preventing others.
I have it on good authority that the resident columnist hasn't changed, either.
In an atmosphere that's seen both of the newspapers sadly shrink/change -- the Post-Gazette just finished gutting half its entire editorial staff, including sports -- we're now THE model of consistency in this market. And we've been that for quite some time.
All of which, I'm sure, contributes to us being No. 1 in readership among anyone who does what we do, including the newspapers, TV and radio outlets.
And that, in turn, points to you and, in particular, those who subscribe and support what we do.
Thank YOU for that!
SPECIAL WORKERS DRIVE: 269
For the week on our annual Special Workers Drive, we had 34 new subscriptions committed for a total of 269 toward our goal of 1,000. That included 1 yesterday.
For anyone unfamiliar, we offer deeply discounted subscriptions to teachers, police, fire, EMTs, nurses and volunteers, and we have this drive to ensure we're not doing so at a long-term loss. (Their prices never change.) Many of those people share that they'd never otherwise have signed up, so it's proven to be plenty worthwhile.
• App alerts are better than ever. Meaning those sent by our staff, and those that come from other subscribers replying to your comments. If you tap the notifications bell atop the home page and DON'T see alerts, visit your profile, thumb down to Preferences, then Notifications, and tap Select. Once there, atop that list, you'll see 'Show Alerts in Bell.' Toggle that on.
• We still have a few long-sleeve NFL Draft hoodies/sweatshirts at our ONLINE SHOP, with prices at HALF OFF, and shipping FREE! (The T-shirts and caps are all gone.) But hurry!
• Check out our all-new baseball statistics, standings, schedule and scoreboard. Of course, we'll add those for football and hockey once those seasons approach.
• Travel ahead: Greg Macafee will cover the Pirates' trip to Philadelphia later this month, and José Negron will have the rest in Washington. Then, Chris Halicke will cover his third consecutive All-Star Game, also in Philadelphia.
• Feel free to add a review of any aspect of our business on our Google business listing, or on our Appleand Spotify podcast channels. Makes a real difference.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for our most recent full seven-day span, June 12-18, were 502,163. Our most-read original piece was my return edition of 21 Takes this past Monday, at 10,771.
• Our video views, also for June 12-18, were 162,990. Our most-watched program was my Monday Daily Shot of Steelers on Mike McCarthy's stare, at 8,755.
THE ASYLUM
Site Stuff: Let's talk consistency ... meaning what we've become
Things were wild here once upon a time: We were trying something no one had tried. We were amid covering back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. We were, very arguably, more successful than we needed to be so soon. And, on top of all that, neither Dali nor I had a solitary clue as to how to operate an actual business.
I wouldn't trade any of it, though. It's how we got to where we are now, our legit glory days.
Remember how a lot of you, our longest-tenured subscribers, would complain about staff turnover?
Well, how's that looking now? And for the overwhelming part of this decade?
Remember questioning the quality of this hire or that hire?
Well, how's everyone appreciating Chris Halicke on the Steelers, Taylor Haase on the Penguins and José Negron on the Pirates? And how all of us, including contributors Eric Bowser and Greg Macafee, work together to ensure no one wears out?
We've never had a collective like this. Never.
And on the subject of consistency, allow me also to mention that we've had a Friday Insider since our first month of existence a dozen years ago, a Site Stuff like this every Saturday for just as long, Live Qs with all of us since the first year, Rob Ullman's terrific Cartoon Canon forever, and Bob Maddamma's tireless Hot Button forever. Not to mention we've never missed covering a single game the Steelers, Penguins or Pirates have played in that span, no matter where in the world it was, or whatever pandemic might've been preventing others.
I have it on good authority that the resident columnist hasn't changed, either.
In an atmosphere that's seen both of the newspapers sadly shrink/change -- the Post-Gazette just finished gutting half its entire editorial staff, including sports -- we're now THE model of consistency in this market. And we've been that for quite some time.
All of which, I'm sure, contributes to us being No. 1 in readership among anyone who does what we do, including the newspapers, TV and radio outlets.
And that, in turn, points to you and, in particular, those who subscribe and support what we do.
Thank YOU for that!
SPECIAL WORKERS DRIVE: 269
For the week on our annual Special Workers Drive, we had 34 new subscriptions committed for a total of 269 toward our goal of 1,000. That included 1 yesterday.
For anyone unfamiliar, we offer deeply discounted subscriptions to teachers, police, fire, EMTs, nurses and volunteers, and we have this drive to ensure we're not doing so at a long-term loss. (Their prices never change.) Many of those people share that they'd never otherwise have signed up, so it's proven to be plenty worthwhile.
If interested in helping, email me directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
INSIDE THE WORKS
• App alerts are better than ever. Meaning those sent by our staff, and those that come from other subscribers replying to your comments. If you tap the notifications bell atop the home page and DON'T see alerts, visit your profile, thumb down to Preferences, then Notifications, and tap Select. Once there, atop that list, you'll see 'Show Alerts in Bell.' Toggle that on.
• We still have a few long-sleeve NFL Draft hoodies/sweatshirts at our ONLINE SHOP, with prices at HALF OFF, and shipping FREE! (The T-shirts and caps are all gone.) But hurry!
• Check out our all-new baseball statistics, standings, schedule and scoreboard. Of course, we'll add those for football and hockey once those seasons approach.
• Travel ahead: Greg Macafee will cover the Pirates' trip to Philadelphia later this month, and José Negron will have the rest in Washington. Then, Chris Halicke will cover his third consecutive All-Star Game, also in Philadelphia.
• Feel free to add a review of any aspect of our business on our Google business listing, or on our Apple and Spotify podcast channels. Makes a real difference.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for our most recent full seven-day span, June 12-18, were 502,163. Our most-read original piece was my return edition of 21 Takes this past Monday, at 10,771.
• Our video views, also for June 12-18, were 162,990. Our most-watched program was my Monday Daily Shot of Steelers on Mike McCarthy's stare, at 8,755.
• Our company social media: 72,266 followers on Facebook, 62,672 on X, 61,142 on YouTube, 18,646 on Instagram, 10,365 on TikTok, 7,011 on Threads.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, big or small, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Our company-themed merch can always be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
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