I first came to you during the pandemic when advertising had virtually come to a standstill. Up to that point, ads had allowed the website to remain free to anyone wishing to read it and I was determined, and remain so, to keep it that way. While advertising has returned (though still not to pre-pandemic levels) and remains the backbone of paying for server space, tech support, hardware, writers, and my time, the donations continue to put it over the finish line.
Those initial donations helped me survive and allowed me to transform the blog into a professional website with the help of Robin Easter Design. An important current issue is that, as I conclude fourteen years, if we want to continue the website into the future, I need to develop a dependable, professional stable of writers and I’m working on that.
And they need to be paid. Heather Ryerson has worked with me for two years and others are slowly coming aboard. Scott McNutt has been an absolute anchor, producing the prodigious Ten Day Planner every week. He’s never missed. Not once in over seven years! Thank Scott for all those events you’ve enjoyed that you otherwise might never have discovered!
The website continues to grow in readership and reach. Prior to the pandemic each year the site drew about a million page views per year and, more recently, each of the last two years have hit about 1.3 million page views per year. Clearly, interest remains high and is, in fact, growing. While I’ve periodically been encouraged to move the site behind a paywall, I remain committed to offering it as a free service. It’s everybody’s city and everyone should be able to be a part of the conversation.
I’ve gotten more from this venture than I’ve given over the years. I count many of you as personal friends and those friendships would not have likely happened without this connection. I’ve had the honor of telling the stories of so many great people. I’ve also learned so much from the work itself, but also from my interactions with the readers. As our collective knowledge of the city, and all the related urban issues of housing, parking, architecture, urban planning and more continues to increase, it’s my hope this builds momentum for a better Knoxville after we are gone. It’s important that we have places, either physical or virtual to have that conversation.
Many of you read faithfully and comment helpfully and those things are very valuable to the success of this website. If that is all you can ever do, know that it is appreciated. Spread the word. For others . . .
Advertise
Some of you might have a business or an occasional event with enough budget to run an advertisement. The prices are more than modest for the amount of readership in a very targeted audience. I’m always looking to take on new advertisers, so if you have a business, I’d love to talk to you. You’ll find rates here and you can email me for more info (Knoxvilleurbanguy@gmail.com).
Make a Contribution
If you are a reader and you like what we do, are entertained by it, or as many have told me over the years, feel it is important to the city, then please consider supporting it financially if that is within your means.
You can click this link to donate, and the link is always at the top of the page. One-time donations or recurring donations are appreciated, and major credit cards or Pay Pal may be used. Don’t want to use the donation software here? Venmo is also cool (Alan @knoxvilleurbanguy). Some readers have given every month for three years running and those monthly donations are truly sustaining. Others make annual donations when I make this request. I appreciate every single contribution to the effort and wish I could thank each of you personally.
I hope to sustain this website well into the future. Tune in every day or subscribe (at the bottom section of the page – it’s free!) to get an email in your inbox every time something new is published. I appreciate the community of readers who love this city as much as I do. I’m excited about what comes next for our city, and I hope you are as well.