Blog: We Need You

February 7, 2008

This whole NorthEscambia.com thing has been fun. We’ve been doing this about three months now. Some of you have been here from day one; some of you have just starting visiting the site. No matter how long you’ve been visiting with us, we sure do appreciate each and every time you stop by.

In this blog, I usually make some grand point…or make a grand point with a local politician. But today I thought we’d just chat about the site in general.

We’ve laughed, raised an eyebrow or two and cried together on this site in the past three months. Now it’s time to move forward into phase two of this little project…advertising. More on that in a moment.

Our pages have been looked at over two million times in the past three months. That’s a lot for a North Escambia area that has 18,000 people. We’ve discovered that many people outside the North Escambia area look at this site on a regular basis.

Local politicians visit the site to see what we have covered and read our viewpoints. This site has finally given the “north end” a loud collective voice in local politics, an important factor as this county continues to grow and government tends to forget more and more about the rural areas to their north.

People in the Pensacola metro have turned to our site to learn more about North Escambia stories. Thousands turned to NorthEscambia.com, for instance, when three people died in a tragic auto accident recently in Walnut Hill. We, of course, had photos that the News Journal did not, so many people posted links to our stories and photos. We even provided a photo that the News Journal printed in their paper two days after the accident.

Speaking of that accident…that’s when came together as a family. After we ran the story, we started to get people emailing us with comments about those involved. We decided to put together a Memorial Message Board. You responded in a big way, with hundreds of heartfelt comments being sent in. We all had a good cry together and leaned on each other. That’s what good families do.

Now it’s time to move forward. The family needs you for this next move.

First…we need you to keep reading NorthEscambia.com as often as you can. There are new stories posted pretty much every morning. Sometimes, like when bad weather struck the area Wednesday morning, stories are posted during the day as events unfold.

Second…we need you to keep telling your friends and neighbors in the area about NorthEscambia.com. It’s getting to really rare that we run into someone that has not heard of the site, but there are still just a few people out there that don’t know we exist. Spread the word!

Third…we need your news tips. We don’t always know about everything that’s going on the area. No matter how big or small, tell us what is happening in your church, school or neighborhood.

Fourth…we need you understand that this site is run by just one person. It’s not humanly possible to be all places at all times. We will miss a story, especially if you don’t let us know it is going to happen in advance. Please don’t email “why didn’t you cover this event at my church?”. Instead, let us know about it before it happens. Or even take some pictures and email them to us.

Fifth…let us know how to improve the site. And yes, I know we need sports. That’s why we need someone to help us with sports. If you know that guy or gal that breathes local sports, send ‘em our way. If you go to a local team’s sporting events often, let us know. You can help us. And…don’t forget about little league. We are going to need your help with stats and photos. Let us know how you can help.

Sixth…money. This site has ran for over three months at our expense; there have not been any ads on the site. But the time for that is very near. We’ve have a list of people that have send us emails and let us know that they are ready to go and advertise on the site. If you’d like one of the remaining advertising spots, we need you to let us know quickly before they are all gone. If you don’t have a business, tell a local business you’d like to see them support NorthEscambia.com. And, by all means, when you do see advertising on the site, let those advertisers know just how much you appreciate them supporting us.

Did you notice a theme to all six things? “We need you.” That’s it. We need you to continue to be a part of the NorthEscambia.com family. I need you, and I personally appreciate each one of you. Thanks for being part of the NorthEscambia.com family.

To contact us about any of the things we mentioned, use our contact form.

—William

Comments

2 Responses to “Blog: We Need You”

  1. No name on August 6th, 2008 10:02 pm

    I’ve just discovered this site and I find it very interesting. Most of my relatives live in the Bratt/Century/Walnut Hill/Atmore area. I live in another state now but grew up in Mobile.

  2. randy on August 4th, 2008 9:34 pm

    I like your site very much. I live in another state;but am from north Escambia and like what you are doing.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Blog