OK, so Dali and I've done the math, the short-term projections, the even-further-into-the-future planning, and here's what we've got: We're aiming to add 3,000 new/returning subscriptions.
Meaning by year's end.
Three reasons why:
• That remains our lifeblood, our most dependable and largest source of revenue. The multimedia's been a blessing in that regard, but trust me when I tell you we aren't able to fund a staff of this caliber and more travel than any outlet in the city -- every single game everywhere -- without the paid subscriptions to the core product. Taylor Haase just spent two weeks on the road in Montreal and Boston, Greg Macafee and I've been in Bradenton, Chris Halicke's headed for a week in Indianapolis after his week in Mobile, I've bounced around to four different cities this month ... and none of those happen without the subscriptions. Not one.
• The 3,000 goal, if attained, would put us at a round, healthy total of subscriptions that we feel can sustain the current operation for many years to come. (And no, the total subscriptions aren't a number we've ever shared, though we do share readership numbers and pretty much everything else.) The cost of doing business isn't static. The work costs more, and the travel costs way more, even since a few months ago. We want to always be able to withstand that.
• We want to get better. At everything. And that means adding, albeit responsibly.
Now, why would I share this in Site Stuff, when most of you, I'll bet, are already subscribed?
Simple: We're hoping to reach the 3,000, in part, by discounting subscriptions for those who make the biggest difference in our communities: Police, fire, ambulance, teachers, nurses and, of course, volunteers. This on top of our annual military drive, which will always be a separate event later in the year.
That'll come in the form of contributions to a fund for that broad category. And from there, we'll be able to sell those subscriptions -- there has to be an actual sale to stay in our system -- at an unprecedented discount. Maybe just a few bucks.
Each contribution toward an individual would be $20. If you're interested in getting that fund going, email me directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
Now, one other semi-related thing: We always want to further incentivize regular readers to subscribe. So we'll be going beyond what's offered now to those who pay -- ad-free experience, Live Qs with reporters, commenting platform -- and creating exclusive content in that category. Possibly even sliding Friday Insider there.
Bottom line: Yeah, we offer this thing for free, and that's helped grow our overall audience. But we still very much need you to ensure that what's here is special.
I'll be in comments for any questions.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Our all-new college/team feeds -- Duquesne, Robert Morris, Penn State, West Virginia, Riverhounds SC, Riveters SC, Nailers and Wild Things -- are all up and running, and they've now been added as buttons atop the desktop platform, as well as inside our main menu. Soon, they'll be button options on the app, too. (Though you can only choose one.)
• Not getting our app alerts? Happened to us, too, with the recent 2.0 update. But there's a way to get them back: Go to your Profile (top left corner), thumb down to Devices, tap Manage, thumb down to Having Issues With Notifications, then tap Request Permissions. It's not as complicated as it sounds, and that should get them going again.
• Not getting the red-bell notifications when someone's responded to your comment? Email us about it with details, please: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• I'll make a second trip to Bradenton next month. While in Florida, I'll also cover two Penguins games in Sunrise and Tampa, as well as the Pirates' season opener in Miami.
• Greg's killing it in Bradenton, and all the comments on his files are all the usual Nutting-sucks fare. I appreciate the latter, but man ... give it up for our guy. We've never had someone crafting that much stuff from that scene, including his photos, videos and all else.
• Everyone 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 subscribe page. From there, 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 offer mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many are leaving us good reviews on other platforms. Feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Appleand Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 765,959, with 32,643 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Feb. 14-20. Our most-read original piece was my appreciation of Mike Lange, at 9,441.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were a staggering 410,439 -- more than two-thirds of those for our original 4 Nations Face-Off material, by the way -- and our podcast downloads were 84,752.
THE ASYLUM
Site Stuff: Our goal = 3,000 new subscriptions
OK, so Dali and I've done the math, the short-term projections, the even-further-into-the-future planning, and here's what we've got: We're aiming to add 3,000 new/returning subscriptions.
Meaning by year's end.
Three reasons why:
• That remains our lifeblood, our most dependable and largest source of revenue. The multimedia's been a blessing in that regard, but trust me when I tell you we aren't able to fund a staff of this caliber and more travel than any outlet in the city -- every single game everywhere -- without the paid subscriptions to the core product. Taylor Haase just spent two weeks on the road in Montreal and Boston, Greg Macafee and I've been in Bradenton, Chris Halicke's headed for a week in Indianapolis after his week in Mobile, I've bounced around to four different cities this month ... and none of those happen without the subscriptions. Not one.
• The 3,000 goal, if attained, would put us at a round, healthy total of subscriptions that we feel can sustain the current operation for many years to come. (And no, the total subscriptions aren't a number we've ever shared, though we do share readership numbers and pretty much everything else.) The cost of doing business isn't static. The work costs more, and the travel costs way more, even since a few months ago. We want to always be able to withstand that.
• We want to get better. At everything. And that means adding, albeit responsibly.
Now, why would I share this in Site Stuff, when most of you, I'll bet, are already subscribed?
Simple: We're hoping to reach the 3,000, in part, by discounting subscriptions for those who make the biggest difference in our communities: Police, fire, ambulance, teachers, nurses and, of course, volunteers. This on top of our annual military drive, which will always be a separate event later in the year.
That'll come in the form of contributions to a fund for that broad category. And from there, we'll be able to sell those subscriptions -- there has to be an actual sale to stay in our system -- at an unprecedented discount. Maybe just a few bucks.
Each contribution toward an individual would be $20. If you're interested in getting that fund going, email me directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
Now, one other semi-related thing: We always want to further incentivize regular readers to subscribe. So we'll be going beyond what's offered now to those who pay -- ad-free experience, Live Qs with reporters, commenting platform -- and creating exclusive content in that category. Possibly even sliding Friday Insider there.
Bottom line: Yeah, we offer this thing for free, and that's helped grow our overall audience. But we still very much need you to ensure that what's here is special.
I'll be in comments for any questions.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Our all-new college/team feeds -- Duquesne, Robert Morris, Penn State, West Virginia, Riverhounds SC, Riveters SC, Nailers and Wild Things -- are all up and running, and they've now been added as buttons atop the desktop platform, as well as inside our main menu. Soon, they'll be button options on the app, too. (Though you can only choose one.)
• Not getting our app alerts? Happened to us, too, with the recent 2.0 update. But there's a way to get them back: Go to your Profile (top left corner), thumb down to Devices, tap Manage, thumb down to Having Issues With Notifications, then tap Request Permissions. It's not as complicated as it sounds, and that should get them going again.
• Not getting the red-bell notifications when someone's responded to your comment? Email us about it with details, please: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• I'll make a second trip to Bradenton next month. While in Florida, I'll also cover two Penguins games in Sunrise and Tampa, as well as the Pirates' season opener in Miami.
• Greg's killing it in Bradenton, and all the comments on his files are all the usual Nutting-sucks fare. I appreciate the latter, but man ... give it up for our guy. We've never had someone crafting that much stuff from that scene, including his photos, videos and all else.
• Everyone 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 subscribe page. From there, 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 offer mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many are leaving us good reviews on other platforms. Feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Apple and Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 765,959, with 32,643 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Feb. 14-20. Our most-read original piece was my appreciation of Mike Lange, at 9,441.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were a staggering 410,439 -- more than two-thirds of those for our original 4 Nations Face-Off material, by the way -- and our podcast downloads were 84,752.
• Our company social media: 58,390 on Facebook, 57,657 followers on X, 46,712 on YouTube, 16,383 on Instagram, 5,754 on Threads, 4,465 on TikTok, 2,402 on Bluesky
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m., and our company merch can all be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this proud independent venture.
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