Skip to main content

Getting bigger & better in 2012

2011 proved to be a turning point in my approach to hockey blogging, and I'm really looking forward to a productive 2012. They say that writing down your goals is the first step towards making them happen, so here we go...

In order to set my goals for 2012 in proper context, I think it's worth sharing some of what got done in 2011:

  • Roughly doubled the readership & traffic levels at OTF compared to 2010, which was honored by the Nashville Scene as Best Sports Blog in Nashville.
  • Added Marc Torrence (@OTFMarc) and Sam Page (@predsblog) to the writing staff at OTF, bringing different perspectives to the table.
  • Went through a redesign of Hockey Gear HQ and dove into the concept of internet marketing, earning just over $900 in revenue for the year. Having published less than 1% of the planned content for that site, I'm extremely hopeful that this can turn into a significant income generator.
  • Published an e-book on my fantasy hockey draft strategy, which, despite some glitches along the way, seems to have helped a number of folks. That strategy appears to be working, as I'm currently in 1st place in all 3 of the leagues where I used it!
  • Started an email newsletter at Hockey Gear HQ which now has over 100 subscribers, who receive updates every week or two about the latest sales and coupon codes related to all things hockey.
  • Dipped my toe into the waters of video blogging by setting up YouTube channels for both OTF and Hockey Gear HQ.
So what are my goals for 2012?
  • Double the readership at OTF again, specifically targeting 5 million page views for 2012.
  • Design templates which clearly present key hockey stats (including advanced stuff) for teams & players, to make their use in OTF articles more useful and accessible for the reader.
  • Publish at least one article per day at Hockey Gear HQ, and earn at least $10,000 there.
  • Revise and expand my fantasy hockey book this summer.
  • Grow the HGHQ email newsletter list to 1,000 subscribers
  • Produce at least one video blog each week, either for OTF or HGHQ.
  • Post at least one article per week here at OTF Classic, touching on issues relating to sports blogging in general (social media, search engine optimization, tips & tools, etc.).
Can I hit these goals? We'll see, but at least this takes care of my OTF Classic post of the week!

By the way, if there are any topics you'd like me to write about here, feel free to let me know in the comments...

Popular posts from this blog

Cheer up, it's the holidays...

Why is it that various media outlets continue trying to put their own spin on the "what's wrong with the NHL" story? Our latest example comes from The Hockey News , in a piece by Jay Greenburg entitled, "Excitement Level On The Decline." Take the opening sentence: Attendance is down and yet still up from before the lockout, leaving it arguable whether buildings in New Jersey and Florida are half-full or half empty. It's no surprise that attendance is down from last season, particularly if you compare the first half of 2005-06 to the first half of this year. Coming out of the lockout, there were legions of fans starved to see the on-ice product, particularly in light of the massive rule changes. This year is more indicative of business as usual, so the fact that the league is above pre-lockout levels is a positive. Toss in the projection that overall revenues are increasing despite a 1% decrease in attendance, and I'd say that paying fans have come back

How I'm Trying To Make Money Sports Blogging

To kick off this series of articles general sports-blogging articles here at OTF Classic, I think it's best to start with a comment that Brad left here last week, after I shared my goals for 2012 , which include specific revenue targets: I considered diving into the world of internet marketing myself, but I felt that my friends would hate me for bugging them about stuff. I mean, it's pretty low-risk high-reward, so it's tempting. I wouldn't mind reading about tips on how to maximize impact of blogging in general to make it a legitimate income source. Trying to make money at sports blogging can be a very touchy subject - for the vast majority of us, this is an activity we pursue to both exercise our creativity and share our love of the game, whether it's hockey, football, badminton, whatever, with fellow fans. Mixing that personal conversation with a commercial message can turn people off, especially if it becomes too intrusive for the reader. It's not unrea

Celebrating a milestone month

I've been remiss in providing regular updates on my quest to turn this whole sports-blogging hobby into at least something of a significant side income, if not a career, but good news has a way of prompting action. That, and I've been heads-down busy working on a few different fronts to push things forward...