HomeStation Pushes Toward 50,000 Unique Visitors
“But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
–John Kennedy
In business, there’s a phrase which has become so overused that the truth behind it is often overlooked: “Set outrageous goals.”
The reasoning behind it is simple enough. Set an outrageous goal, and you just might achieve it. Set an outrageous goal, and when people tell you you can’t achieve it, you use that negativity as rocket fuel to propel yourself even further. Set an outrageous goal, and you end up surrounded by people who are just as determined as you are.
There’s a certain momentum that builds when you’re a part of what Gallup University refers to as “a legacy team.” There’s a quiet confidence, a charged tingle in the room, and the sense that you are part of something really special. These teams set outrageous goals and achieve them.
Bill Walsh’s 49ers are one such example. In their heyday, they were almost unstoppable — not because they were better than everyone else at their game, but because because they *rewrote* the game with the West Coast Offense and assembled a team which could execute it perfectly. It took the rest of the NFL the better part of twenty years of copycatting to catch up. That team set outrageous goals and achieved them.
So when HSM started, we set outrageous goals:
1. We will be the most literate and mature publication devoted to Home.
2. We will hold ourselves to very high editorial standards, and build a brand synonymous with high-quality work.
3. We will produce a polished product that can stand shoulder to shoulder with commercial publications.
4. We will conduct ourselves as upstanding members of the Home community, and take the high road in the face of adversity.
5. We will constructively criticize instead of destructively criticize. We will be the “Firing Line” of Home.
6. We will publish a new *unique* story every single day.
And, in the beginning, a lot of people wrote us off — because no one had ever achieved anything like that before. HomeStation is an all-volunteer publication, put together by working professionals who have careers, families and responsibilities. Aside from all the usual challenges about group cohesion that any organization faces, the biggest question of all, that everyone asked:
Is it really possible to write a new story — a really proper, high quality story — about Home every day?
I know that seems like a silly question now, but at the time, it was unheard of. There was a prevailing belief at the time that Home simply didn’t have enough going on to support that kind of intensive coverage, and that there just wasn’t an audience for our sort of journalism. Home’s just full of kids, right? Why go to all the trouble of putting together Home’s equivalent of The New Yorker if no one’s going to bother reading it?
Because Home *is* rich with stories — human stories — and Home is populated by far, far more than just kids. Nobody had ever reached out to the more literate and mature section of the Home citizenry — the people who want to read journalism devoted to Home that’s written at their level and talks to them like adults — and this was a golden opportunity to give something of value back to the community.
Somebody had to do it. Might as well be us.
And, with 494 stories published over the last year, I’d say we’ve raised the bar.
(One of my favorite sources of inspiration: people told Michael Flatley that at thirty-eight he was too old to star in a dance show, that he was insane for creating his own show — and paying for all of it himself — to prove them wrong, and that there was no way in hell that Irish step dancing was going to sell out arenas and stadiums. So he went and created Lord of the Dance, put together a truly astonishing legacy team, and they proceeded to become one of the top touring shows of any kind ever. Oh, and at fifty-three he and his team are still selling out arenas. That’s how you do it.)
Set outrageous goals.
So now then. HomeStation Magazine. Since January 1, we have recorded 47,132 unique visitors. 100,129 visits. 339,409 pageviews. We now average between 5,000 to 6,000 unique visitors per month. True, this is nothing compared to a commercial publication, but for a Home community media outlet, those are damn respectable numbers. And that’s thanks to you. All of this was built on the gamble that there was a pent-up appetite for the sort of journalism and entertainment we provide, and we are enormously grateful for your patronage.
Thus, we ask you, now, to join us in crossing the finish line.
As of this morning, we’re less than 2,900 visitors away from hitting our year-end goal of 50,000. Think about that for a moment: fifty-thousand Home citizens having checked out HSM. To put those numbers in perspective, we’ve already sold out the City of Manchester Stadium. Now we’re going for the Aloha Stadium.
Here’s the promise we make to you: we’re going to continue to deliver the kind of product that you enjoy reading. And we’ve got one or two tricks up our sleeve that we haven’t shown you yet. In return, we simply hope that you’ll continue to check back in every day, as you have for the last year, and if you like what you see, tell your friends about us. Let’s do this together. This is a publication by the community and for the community, and on behalf of the entire HomeStation team, thank you for coming along with us on this ride.
December 2nd, 2011 by NorseGamer | 3 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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I too want to thank everyone on the magazine and those who read it. This has been a very enriching experience for me, it has made me get up each morning looking forward to reading the newest article and also looking forward to producing them as well. It has kept me writing almost everyday, something I haven’t done in a long time, but thoroughly enjoy.
When I first started with the magazine back in January, I had never before written a news or interview type of article in my life. The genre was new and so it took me awhile to grasp what was expected of me. Now I feel as though the steady hands of Terra and Norse have taught me a great deal and I also want to thank them for the tireless effort they have both contributed to this publication.
Production at the level that we as a volunteer group have been able to achieve is very hard to come by. We all must love Home, as well as its people to do such, and we all obviously love to write. HSM has given us a place to accomplish personal goals in this area and I for one am enjoying the ride immensely.
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I was never a writer, and if you ask me now I would still say I am not a writer, yet I write. When I wrote my first article for HSM I didn’t think I had what it took to make it as a writer. But with the help of NorseGamer and others, my article was refined. I’ll never forget reading the final draft and crying. I cried because I was so proud. I have written a few article now but none mean as much to me as the first. You can not understand the feeling till it has happened to you, and I highly recommend it. You wouldn’t be here reading this if you were not interested in PSN, Home and gaming. So you have the interest, I’m betting you have a point of view or a story or a message you could write about. Try it. Sit down and line up the words that you would use to tell others how you feel, what you see or what you have done. I’m sure there are others that would find interest in what you have to say whether they agree,disagree or what ever feeling they might have. Trust me, its worth the time and effort. You have a voice! HSM such a wonderful place to use that voice and help it be heard by so many and by those that count. Thanks HSM for not only letting me use my voice but for tuning it so that could be more palatable.