August 2010
Behind the Scene
By Randy Limbird The other day, I asked our internet service provider, Phidev Inc., to update me on how much traffic the El Paso Scene website was getting. It surprised me to find out that epscene.com is getting about 500 unique visitors a day and over 800 page views.
That adds up to roughly 15,000 visitors a month (undoubtedly many of those are repeat visitors) and 24,000 page views.
The print version still has a big lead in readership — we print 40,000 copies a month, and with some copies being shared with others, that means it’s reaching anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 readers. Assuming that at least one person looks at each page of each copy printed, that would add up to over 2 million page views per issue.
Nevertheless, the web audience clearly is increasing.
Last December we began using a service (www.scribd.com) that turns each edition of the Scene into an easy-to-read online magazine. We get 1,500 to 2,000 views of that version each month.
We also send out a weekly email digest of events to about 1,200 subscribers each month (you can sign up by going to epscene.com/newsletter.php). We even started a Facebook page recently, and now have over 100 fans.
A lot of our page hits come from search engines and outside links. Someone “googles” an event and up pops an online listing from epscene.com. The downside of this is that people often call El Paso Scene to ask for more information about the event, because they assume we are connected with it.
Our website is an accurate reflection of what we print, and the listings are slightly more comprehensive because we don’t have to cut anything to fit a particular space, like we do in the printed version. But we often get calls from people who submit an item and expect to see it appear instantly on our website. We have to explain that we only update the website based on what has already been published in the paper.
The weekly email newsletter is the one aspect of our “digital” operations that gets the most response. Since it only goes out to people who request it, the readership is loyal and regular. We get a few requests asking for items to be included specifically in the weekly email, often from people who failed to submit the item in time for our monthly publication.
Most of the time we have to say no — mainly because the “we” I’m using here is just me, and I don’t have time to be constantly updating these things. I do try to fix any mistakes that ran in the printed version if someone calls, so at least the web and email listings are corrected.
Also, I like to keep the email newsletter to a reasonable length, so it’s limited to items that have a broader appeal.
Although I’m sure the Internet readership of the Scene will continue to grow, it’s hard to know if it will eclipse or replace the printed version in the near future (i.e., my working life — after that, it’s someone else’s problem!). Most people still like the convenience of browsing through the paper.
Economically, the local market for Internet advertising is still iffy. I’ve never had a client approach me about advertising on the website. Other media are chasing web revenue to make up for losses in traditional advertising, but so far Scene advertising has remained strong.
For right now, the Scene will keep trying to make its Internet presence a helpful supplement to our printed product. But this old dog may still have to learn some new tricks before he retires!
El Paso Scene MONTHLY
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