I don't think I've ever done this in the 3 years that this blog has been around, so I think I'm allowed one every year or so.
But I'll keep it brief.
In short, just about every week, I get an email, or read a comment from a reader requesting specific kinds of coverage, articles, interviews, essays, video content, etc, etc, etc, that they'd like to see on the site.
And as much as I'd love this site to be everything to everyone who reads it, it just can't be. At least, certainly not in its current state; by that I mean, as you've all probably noticed, this isn't exactly a fully-staffed operation, and a lot goes into the work that we do here to provide you the content you read daily – work done by people who have full-time jobs AWAY from the site, which might come as a surprise to some of you.
This isn't a money-making machine that can afford a fully paid staff; we all work full-time "day jobs" and have other commitments.
No I'm not asking for sympathy; we do what we do because we love what we do; however, what I am asking for is that, if you appreciate the work that is done here, help ensure that others who aren't already reading the site, join the movement and start reading it.
There isn't an S&A marketing budget, nor a marketing department; you folks are IT essentially!
As many of you have noticed, and alerted me to over the years, Shadow And Act has become a source for news and information that many rely on (and not just audiences, actors, filmmakers, and other industry talents; but other media sites also use S&A as a source for their own coverage). And while awareness of the site has certainly grown since it began, I really do believe that there's still tremendous upside.
There are a lot of folks who should be reading S&A but aren't, likely because they don't know it exists; there are people who are looking for a site like this, and are glad when they do eventually discover it, wondering why they hadn't sooner.Thus, I'm always thinking of how to expand the site's reach and raise awareness for it, which will then hopefully lead to increased readership, which could then result in increased revenue – revenue that will allow us to actually assemble a full-time (or even part-time) staff (including those already here) who can be PAID a reasonable wage for their efforts, allowing us all to invest even more time into the site, and bring you all the wonderful content you're asking for.
So what can you do? Simple. The 2 top social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter) are both incorporated into every single post, and all you have to do is click the "LIKE" button (for Facebook) at the top of every post you read – especially if you do like it.
What that relatively simple act does is that it opens up the site (via that post) to countless others who may not be currently reading the site.
Facebook has this wonderful utility that shows me the potential reach that the S&A Facebook page has, based on the number of existing fans. And right now, that figure is at close to 6 million users. What that means is that, if everyone of the 11,600+ Facebook fans S&A currently has "LIKES" any one post on this site, that simple act will expose that single post to about 6 million people! That's a lot of eyeballs.
Granted, I certainly don't expect that every Facebook fan is always connected to the site – certainly not all 11,600+. However, even if those who are active enough (whether readers, commenters, or both) perform this simple, single act of "LIKING" a post, the effect that would have could very well be incredibly significant and important to helping raise further awareness of the site, and get us even closer to our end goal.
The same goes for tweeting/retweeting items on Twitter.
So, help us out! You don't have to give any money, no Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign. Just "LIKE" and/or "TWEET" a post after you read it. That's it! Easy as pie! One or two clicks and you're done!
And now I'm done.
By the way, if you aren't already a Facebook fan or Twitter follower, click HERE to like S&A on Facebook, and HERE to follow us on Twitter.
