This is a quick post to thank every single one of you that has visited the site over the past 12 months. The growth of the website has been crazy to watch and it’s all because you visit every month and share around the stories you like.
In 2020, roughly 5,000 people came through the site, and this year it’s crashed through 10,000. For a site that generally only publishes once a month and the majority of its traffic comes through in the first week of the month, that is fantastic to see.
In total the site has passed 17,000 visitors in the past two years and I’m only looking to keep growing it.
This is very much a one man operation. From managing the back end, ensuring everything is running smoothly, to writing every newsletter on top of researching, interviewing and writing every article.
I love my rugby league and I hope that’s coming through in the content I’m publishing.
I was inspired to start this site at the start of the pandemic to try and offer something to rugby league fans looking to get their fill of stories outside the usual news cycle.
As a journalist by trade, I feel the media environment is changing and the public is embracing fan-run websites that treat the sport and the players with the respect they deserve.
A site like this only keeps running though thanks to the support of the subscribers. There are 30 paying subscribers and you are the ones well and truly keeping things running by covering hosting costs and all the bits and pieces that simply keep the site functioning.
The growth of the site is also heavily reliant on content being shared, so if you like an article, perhaps tag a mate or email it to a friend who is looking to read something on a Sunday morning before the arvo footy.
The more subscribers that join up, the more content I can pump out.
It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. There have been plenty of late nights and long days spent writing and researching.
Speaking of which, I’m gearing this place up for a big 2022, just like I hope my beloved Parramatta Eels are.
I’ve got a podcast on the horizon, alongside a YouTube channel as well as a very special project for the upcoming NRLW season that I’m hoping to reveal in a couple of weeks.
Once again, thank you to everyone including paid subscribers, newsletter subscribers, readers and even those who don’t really watch footy that drop in to simply support the site (hi mum).
I also wanted to give a quick thank you to the media managers I’ve dealt with in club land the past two years. I’ve often approached them out of the blue without a masthead behind me or a recognisable name and they’ve treated me the same as a full time footy journo.
It would’ve been pretty easy for them to ignore my requests but they’ve been good at accommodating me.
Also a thank you to the current and former players who have been so open and willing to have a chat, along with the experts and academics who have spent plenty of time on Zoom calls with me.
And finally, thank you to my very patient wife who sometimes doesn’t see me for multiple nights in a row as I type away upstairs and the fact I looked like Charlie from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia during the 2021 Sydney lockdown.
The December edition is out now. There will be a January edition in the New Year. Rugby league doesn’t stop, so RLM doesn’t either.
As a Christmas gift, I have two discounts running at the moment.
- 20% off your monthly subscription
- $15 off your first annual subscription
Cheers,
Elliott Richardson