Milestones afford me the opportunity to brag a little. I try not to do it often, but every now and then I guess it's warranted. Hits alone are not success, but they are a measure of how many people are getting the message. While today marks our 1 Million Mark, October 16th, 2010 marks our highest readership in a 30 day period and October 17th was on the heels of it, with 95,800 hits in the previous 30 days. (No I can't say exactly who the 1 Millionth hit belongs to.)
There are approximately 40,000 sites that get more US hits each month than do we, as measured by Quantcast, which is the best index I have found of audience profiles of sites. Quantcast tells me that our readers are better educated than the average internet user and that is reflected in their income levels. They measure more than a Million sites, with a primary focus of allowing advertisers to find the audience they're targeting. See our "Who reads this site" page for updated stats, embedded from Quantcast.
Our most popular item is the daily War In Afghanistan News and the Afghanistan Category overall. This has led directly to the swell in subscriptions which currently rest around the 700 mark, particularly email subscriptions. That's a point of pride for me, as it indicates more people are interested in and getting the rest of the story. We're reporting what the MSM won't, the hard fought Victories of Our Troops. It is our contention that if Our Citizens know the truth, they will Support Our Warriors fighting for their safety, security, and freedoms.
If you are as disappointed in the MSM as I am, we encourage you to link to stories from the new media instead of the MSM. They have complained for years that the internet is taking away their customers, but they don't recognize that it is their content that is the issue. Whether it is our site or another, reward those reporting the rest of the story that you want America to know. Eventually, they'll get the message that you want the whole story, not just a friendly body count. Or they will find a strong competitor with less overhead and more objective story. Send the newsletter to your representatives, to let them know that you know the rest of the story.
When we started, a successful web designer suggested I build the readership and then charge for a newsletter. It is a successful model, but the news we offer is too important to charge for. And I can't think of any information I could responsibly add that I wouldn't publish here. In short, we have no plans to ever charge for a subscription. Our money is made based on advertising, whether on a commission rate or as a set piece/time based ad. We encourage readers to click through and buy from our advertisers particularly when their needs are in line with those companies we partner with.
The headline of the newsletter is chosen by readers. The article chosen by the most readers to share with their Facebook Friends is put at the top of the next day's newsletter.
So how did we get here and where are we going? War On Terror News was first launched on Multiply and later on Typepad. While we maintain the multiply presence, this is where we can reach the most people and this is where we've achieved the Million hits. Before Multiply, I had a presence on Yahoo360, which I started in frustration of the fact that the MSM wasn't reporting the whole story and knowing that Citizens deserved to know the rest of the story. Many honest, well-intentioned Citizens had come to false conclusions based on the partial information the MSM was reporting. When 360 shuttered its site, it was the motivation I needed to find a better way to reach out to more people. Typepad allows us to capture the commissions from the advertising on the work we do.
We launched in April 2008, here, and at the end of that first year, we were celebrating 100,000 hits. In the first 30 days, we had less than 2500 hits and it took 6 months to steadily average 10,000/month. By the end of the year, we had doubled that. In another 9 months, we had doubled our readership again. Indeed, on our 2nd Anniversary, April 2010, we were celebrating 600,000 hits. While we were happy with the 500% growth in readership, I was already looking to this milestone. Since April, our readership has doubled again.
Our biggest one day readership was in May, when 9,995 readers stopped in. The spike could have been an anomoly, as our story about the Germans awarding their highest Medal for Valor to Our Troops was highly popular, but readers came back, not in spurts but as regulars. That month we had 65,000 hits, as compared to the steady climb to 95,000 monthly since then. Statistically speaking our next record day should be next spring, but could happen anytime between now and then.
Traditionally, internet readership drops between October and December and begins to pick up again in January, but we expect to retain a steady readership above our May numbers and to exceed our fall numbers come spring. As happy as we are with the levels we've attained, we're looking forward to how to reach more of America, indeed more of the World.
On the left sidebar, you'll find links to many other great sites. We don't add them based on what their readership is, nor do we always agree with the content they post. We do encourage you to check them out, whether for a different point of view or to see the point of view of other Veterans and Troops on the same issues. While I form my opinions based on the facts on hand, most often I find the majority of Veteran websites are in agreement with my position, often articulating it better.
Some of those links could be considered "competition" to the news we provide, but they do it in a different way that may be better for some readers. I think we do it best, but the important thing is not which site you get your news from, but that you get as much of the story as we can provide. Our Citizens deserve to know the Truth.
Some of those links have very low readership, not because they're substandard, but because they've not been discovered. Though we like to hope that readers will click through, we recognize that very few even look at sidebars. Internet readers have learned to ignore advertising. I do the same. But take a look. Even those items on the sidebars which are advertising have been screened for good companies. And if you've linked to us, but aren't listed, be sure to let us know. We try to reciprocate.
And what about that advertising? We're proud to say that our commissions above site maintenance costs go to Non-Profits we support, that Support Our Troops. While we are set up as a for-profit site and we don't promise to always donate 100% of profits, we do promise that it will never drop below 10% and haven't taken anything for ourselves yet.
If you're considering a donation to a Non-Profit, we encourage you to check out their finances. We look for the very best to spotlight, but just because it's not listed here doesn't mean they're not doing great things. The Fisher House, Intrepid Fund, Operation Gratitude, Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and Beanies for Baghdad, are all wisely and efficiently spending donations entrusted them, but there do exist several organizations with important missions that are not. Some spend 25-90% of their donations to advertise for more money. I understand the need to get the word out, but at those rates you're funding advertising, not the mission of the Non-Profit. This is not even to mention the salaries some "Non-Profit" executives receive. Our mission is not to undermine the important missions these groups claim, but we can't in good conscience send readers to them.
One of those Non-Profits doing it right is the Semper Fi Fund and it is a great example of the standards we expect in a Non-Profit. Over 90% of its donations go to the mission it accepted. Administrative & Marketing costs are very small. We're proud to say that we've helped Jon White in his drive to raise $15,000 this year (the cost of a "cheetah leg" to help an amputee run again). He's not there yet, but he has achieved more than 21% and we encourage you to consider a donation. Many of Our Advertisers have donated as have many of our readers. Whether you can afford $2.62 or $2,620, it will help and will be appreciated. (Jon will run 26.2 miles in the Marine Corps Marathon, so those numbers represent a penny/mile and $100/mile.)
Speaking of Jon, it was his story that motivated us to start the spinoff site Overcoming Adversity. Often we run the stories here on this site, but we noted that they end up buried in the news while they deserve special visibility. These stories are of wounded warriors that are not willing to roll over and accept handouts. Despite amputations and other injuries, they literally pick up the pieces, strap on a prosthetic, and climb mountains or return to the fight. If you're seeking inspiration to do great things, these are stories for you. If you have come into a difficult situation, these stories may help motivate you to overcome it. If you're running a company and need to motivate your employees, these stories will do so. These are true Heroes. If you want Jon White to speak to your organization, we'll gladly put you in contact with him.
We have spun off other sites, but this is our main focus. If your focus is Our Troops, if you're a member of the Military, or a Veteran and considering a blog, we'll welcome you in as a contributor here or in a spinoff site of your own. It doesn't cost us anything to do so, so we don't charge you. The benefit is that it's free and you get access to our readers.
If you already have a site, we can import your previous work to the new site, or allow you to cross post on the main site with links to your established site. You retain ownership of your work. We're just a platform. We do have some standards that have to be maintained when posting to this site, but we avoid being too rigid, especially when it's your site. You've earned the right to free speech.
The standards? We avoid partisan politics or politics unrelated to National Defense. Individually, we have strong opinions on many issues, but at the War On Terror News main site, we stick to the issue. When specific politicians state or demonstrate their positions on National Defense, they are fair game, taken with their own words, with their records, with the bills they sponsor. But we don't engage in the mudslinging attacks based in rumors or personal lives.
And we can't use copyrighted material without permission. That generally means we don't post links to AP (or similiar agencies) and we don't copy their material.
What about the look and content of your spinoff site? Well, that is something I'd have to setup for you, but my goal is to set up the appearance according to your preferences and include sidebars and we can include ads of your own. The articles you post are up to you.
But what if you are interested in helping but don't have a lot of expertise? We can still walk you through the ways to do so, whether that includes contributing here, donating to worthy Non-Profits, or getting involved in a way connected with your hobbies.
As they say in investing, the first million is the hardest. We're not resting on our laurels and we recognize there is still a lot of room for growth. We have the best readers on the web and we thank you for it. We recognize that readers will only come back and only suggest it to friends if they like what they find. And we welcome your thoughts on how to do things better, even as we continue to study the things you do like and what you don't seem as interested in.
The bottom line is we welcome new contributors, new readers, new colleagues, and we're grateful for all. Thank you for helping us reach 1 Million as we look forward to even bigger numbers.
Stumble It!
