Merry Christmas
It is with deep gratitude I thank everyone who made this a relatively successful year for SUNonline/Orillia. In 2021 the average number of web pages sent from our server each month was more than 91,000. The best months were May – 141,000, August – 104,000 and October – 105,000.
That’s incredible. I was relying on Facebook and Google stats until during the summer when I finally learned how to see the statistical info about the website from our own back end. I was under the impression we were getting between 35,000 and 50,000 people monthly. I almost fell off my chair when I saw what was really happening.
The new data tells me many of you are checking in from your bookmarks and going directly to the website from habit instead of relying on the Facebook and Google links. To me it appears this little experiment is working.
As to the relative bit, revenue is not where it could be. This thing started with a grander vision in the works, which was preempted by the sudden closing of The Packet. It threw the entire launch and funding model right down the drain. The pandemic has not helped one bit. Yet, I believe what SUNonline/Orillia represents is important to the community (it appears many of you think so too) and I will keep plugging away.
Please sign up for email notifications when new stories are published – I promise not to flood your inbox. Of course, if you are reading this because of an email you already know that, but I’m sure you all have friends who might also join the party.
If you can, please consider becoming a subscriber. Every little bit helps to keep this project alive. Paid subscriptions were never a high priority on the list because I’ve always believed being informed about important matters affecting you and your community is more important than a couple dollars a week. Still, it’s nice to be able to have a second cup of coffee once in a while. There are links at the bottom of every story to sign up for email notification and to subscribe.
If you own a business, please consider becoming a sponsorship advertiser. I’d be happy to speak with you about it and you can send a note to johnswartz@sunonlinemedia.ca. The traffic report I gave above indicates people will see your shared commitment to Orillia’s general wellbeing.
So, with all that said, I want to wish each of you and your families a wonderful Christmas, and it’s a least as good as mine will be. I’m even hoping it snows a little bit tonight (for the kids) because Christmas Eve needs, at the least, a very light snowfall. I also hope each of you finds something under the tree you didn’t know you needed – those are the best gifts. Merry Christmas.
(Digital painting by Susan McTavish)