UPDATE: 91 total subscribers and 21 paid subscribers already! Thanks, everyone ... and I haven't even sent out my first story proper - which should happen this weekend. This "introduction" story has generated almost 900 page views, which is not shabby. I look forward to the day when one of my local stories generates, say, 5,000 page views. I keep adding to my "stories-to-be-written" list. I want to read all of them ... but I guess I'm going to have to write them first!
UPDATE (NOVEMBER 1): In the first week of The Troy Citizen Substack newspaper, we had more than 4,200 "page views." This site already has 208 subscribers, including 40 paid subscribers. Thanks to everyone for supporting this venture. My goal for the end of November is to have 1,000 total subscribers and many more "story views." Word-of-mouth advertising and article/photo shares will be the key to me, hopefully, reaching this early goal.
Congrats Bill I wish you all the best success with this endeavor. I have long known how important your hometown is to you from your writings. I wish I had the same sense of hometown in my own but alas I will have to live vicariously through yours. I’m looking forward to, with much interest in, this exciting new venture. Maybe it will convince me to move there. 😉
Thank you! If you did move to Troy, I'd do everything I can to introduce you to all the right people. Troy is full of nice folks and is the proverbial "great place to raise a family."
When I published The Troy Citizen, once a year we produced a "keepsake" edition called "Reflections" that just focussed on local history - all the memorable events, beloved businesses, colorful characters, etc. This was easily our most popular edition. Just about every business and organization would buy an ad, which actually kept us in business. I can just re-print some of our most-popular articles from those editions.
My late father (and mother) both wrote weekly columns for The Troy Citizen that were great. All of Dad's were on history. Thankfully, I saved most of those editions and I will go through these boxes and pick out a few articles to re-run. They all "hold up" IMO ... and many readers today will have forgotten them or never saw them 24 years ago.
I'm also surprised more entrepreneurial journalists haven't started sports-themed Substacks. There's a proven HUGE market just for fans of the best-known college sports programs. Fans can subscribe to great sites like Tider Insider or Bama On-line, which produce excellent content and offer great comment forums ... however, the lesser-known or smaller college programs are practically begging for coverage. I may be wrong, but at Troy University, I think, the athletic department holds press conferences which, often, no reporters attend.
I'm throwing ideas out there - for free. I will get Troy a little more coverage with my new Substack, but I think a Substack with great content for, say, Alabama, Auburn or Georgia fans, would be a money-maker for the right person/people. There's hardly any quality competition from the state newspapers these days. The Montgomery Advertiser used to have a sports staff of about 10 writers. This paper might have one or two full-time sports writers these days.
Wow! We're off to a great - and humbling - start! I just checked my Substack dashboard, which tells me I've already gotten 53 total subscribers, 18 of which are paid! The logistics are new to me as I'm now operating two different Substacks, which few Substack authors do. I'm only aware of one other "Substack newspaper" (in Charlotte, NC). This Substack has proven to be very popular with readers, but I think I can add some features that newspaper veteran's not doing.
If I did my "settings" correctly, anyone should be able to add whatever comments they want in the "Reader Comments" section that follows every article (There should be no need to be a "paid" subscriber to make comments). This is a great place for people to opine about whatever they want to opine about.
.. I covered the Troy sorority "Haunted Hill" event last night and will work on a story about the history of that great event today. (I took many cute photos.) I also took a few photos at yesterday's CHMS basketball games and have some feature ideas about a couple of young basketball players who have very bright futures in this sport.
Check back often for new comments and ... new stories, which subscribers should begin receiving this weekend in their emails. If you have any issues signing up, please shoot me an email at:
Congratulations Bill. This is a wonderful idea. Troy is lucky to have someone of your calibre. I hope one day I can come and visit! Best wishes from Australia.
Thank you to my dear life-long friend, Sandra Huggins Lee, who just became the first official paid subscriber to the on-line Troy Citizen! Thanks, Sandra! If this was a brick-and-mortar business I'd frame the dollar bill! I love the paid subscriptions, but the free subscriptions will allow my stories to reach as many people as possible - which is the goal here. I've got to write, write, write ... interview, interview, interview ... and then market, market, market. (But I've done all these tasks before ... so they don't scare me).
A feature on the Troy University Lagoon Project - which will make Alabama's most beautiful campus even more beautiful.
A more-in-depth story on PLAS having to forfeit its football victories
Stories on Pike County novelties - like Butter and Egg Adventures - and how they became successful.
Memorable concerts held at Troy University through the years.
I'm going to re-run my late mother's funny column on local residents who were/are known only by their nicknames. (Like "Tip" Colley and "Boy" Motes).
And human interest feature stories galore.
I've already started snapping photos on my NEW (!) I-phone 16 and will take some at the Sorority Hill Halloween event tonight (how that event became so big and popular will be a good story to come). I hope to get lots of names and faces into this on-line newspaper!
UPDATE: 91 total subscribers and 21 paid subscribers already! Thanks, everyone ... and I haven't even sent out my first story proper - which should happen this weekend. This "introduction" story has generated almost 900 page views, which is not shabby. I look forward to the day when one of my local stories generates, say, 5,000 page views. I keep adding to my "stories-to-be-written" list. I want to read all of them ... but I guess I'm going to have to write them first!
UPDATE (NOVEMBER 1): In the first week of The Troy Citizen Substack newspaper, we had more than 4,200 "page views." This site already has 208 subscribers, including 40 paid subscribers. Thanks to everyone for supporting this venture. My goal for the end of November is to have 1,000 total subscribers and many more "story views." Word-of-mouth advertising and article/photo shares will be the key to me, hopefully, reaching this early goal.
got a hunch that this will be a successful venture for you, Bill
communities need more honest local news coverage
and i've always loved the south so this will be fun
Great concept Bill. Best of luck. I’m now a founding member.
Ron, I'm speechless. Thank you so much. That level of support means more to me me than you could know. God bless you.
Congrats Bill I wish you all the best success with this endeavor. I have long known how important your hometown is to you from your writings. I wish I had the same sense of hometown in my own but alas I will have to live vicariously through yours. I’m looking forward to, with much interest in, this exciting new venture. Maybe it will convince me to move there. 😉
Thank you! If you did move to Troy, I'd do everything I can to introduce you to all the right people. Troy is full of nice folks and is the proverbial "great place to raise a family."
When I published The Troy Citizen, once a year we produced a "keepsake" edition called "Reflections" that just focussed on local history - all the memorable events, beloved businesses, colorful characters, etc. This was easily our most popular edition. Just about every business and organization would buy an ad, which actually kept us in business. I can just re-print some of our most-popular articles from those editions.
My late father (and mother) both wrote weekly columns for The Troy Citizen that were great. All of Dad's were on history. Thankfully, I saved most of those editions and I will go through these boxes and pick out a few articles to re-run. They all "hold up" IMO ... and many readers today will have forgotten them or never saw them 24 years ago.
Per my experience, local history "sells."
I'm also surprised more entrepreneurial journalists haven't started sports-themed Substacks. There's a proven HUGE market just for fans of the best-known college sports programs. Fans can subscribe to great sites like Tider Insider or Bama On-line, which produce excellent content and offer great comment forums ... however, the lesser-known or smaller college programs are practically begging for coverage. I may be wrong, but at Troy University, I think, the athletic department holds press conferences which, often, no reporters attend.
I'm throwing ideas out there - for free. I will get Troy a little more coverage with my new Substack, but I think a Substack with great content for, say, Alabama, Auburn or Georgia fans, would be a money-maker for the right person/people. There's hardly any quality competition from the state newspapers these days. The Montgomery Advertiser used to have a sports staff of about 10 writers. This paper might have one or two full-time sports writers these days.
Wow! We're off to a great - and humbling - start! I just checked my Substack dashboard, which tells me I've already gotten 53 total subscribers, 18 of which are paid! The logistics are new to me as I'm now operating two different Substacks, which few Substack authors do. I'm only aware of one other "Substack newspaper" (in Charlotte, NC). This Substack has proven to be very popular with readers, but I think I can add some features that newspaper veteran's not doing.
If I did my "settings" correctly, anyone should be able to add whatever comments they want in the "Reader Comments" section that follows every article (There should be no need to be a "paid" subscriber to make comments). This is a great place for people to opine about whatever they want to opine about.
.. I covered the Troy sorority "Haunted Hill" event last night and will work on a story about the history of that great event today. (I took many cute photos.) I also took a few photos at yesterday's CHMS basketball games and have some feature ideas about a couple of young basketball players who have very bright futures in this sport.
Check back often for new comments and ... new stories, which subscribers should begin receiving this weekend in their emails. If you have any issues signing up, please shoot me an email at:
wjricejunior@gmail.com
Thank you very much for this early and impressive show of support!
Congratulations Bill. This is a wonderful idea. Troy is lucky to have someone of your calibre. I hope one day I can come and visit! Best wishes from Australia.
Thank you to my dear life-long friend, Sandra Huggins Lee, who just became the first official paid subscriber to the on-line Troy Citizen! Thanks, Sandra! If this was a brick-and-mortar business I'd frame the dollar bill! I love the paid subscriptions, but the free subscriptions will allow my stories to reach as many people as possible - which is the goal here. I've got to write, write, write ... interview, interview, interview ... and then market, market, market. (But I've done all these tasks before ... so they don't scare me).
Some of the first stories I plan to write:
A feature on the Troy University Lagoon Project - which will make Alabama's most beautiful campus even more beautiful.
A more-in-depth story on PLAS having to forfeit its football victories
Stories on Pike County novelties - like Butter and Egg Adventures - and how they became successful.
Memorable concerts held at Troy University through the years.
I'm going to re-run my late mother's funny column on local residents who were/are known only by their nicknames. (Like "Tip" Colley and "Boy" Motes).
And human interest feature stories galore.
I've already started snapping photos on my NEW (!) I-phone 16 and will take some at the Sorority Hill Halloween event tonight (how that event became so big and popular will be a good story to come). I hope to get lots of names and faces into this on-line newspaper!