In General: Grandpa's 2015 Resolution

Hello and welcome back to In General. Every Sunday here at The General Zone, Grandpa Growth takes over to deliver you some knowledge on a wide variety of topics. This week we are discussing New Year's Resolutions, both how we measured up from last year, as well as what I want to get done in 2015.

Falling Short

At this time last year, I announced my goals for 2014. The mission was to: drive growth in readership by adding new content and posting more frequently. Specifically, I wanted to make Ill-Gotten Games a weekly segment. I also wanted to expand the variety of text-only posts that we make here on the blog by adding weekly news and two other weekly posts that were shorter and lighter in nature.

Now, if you are new to the blog and you have no idea what I am talking about, don't go looking through the older posts trying to find it. If you have been around long enough to remember me promising you more Grandpa Growth on additional days of the week, then...you are probably disappointed.

It is true that I completely whiffed on delivering any new content. I started off strong, but changes in my offline life made it impossible to sustain a near-daily posting schedule. I was simply drawn in too many directions and something had to give. Unfortunately, the blog broke first.

Changing jobs and cities while trying to maintain a weekly schedule of writing and editing has taught me one important lesson: From time to time you need a hand. Having people that you trust to help you out of a jam can make a world of difference when the chips are down. The sad part is that when it comes to The General Zone, it has become a two man show. Uncle Landdrops and I have both stayed committed to this project through thick and thin, but as our audience grows, so to must our ability to deliver new and interesting content.

I failed, painfully and embarassingly, to deliver on my promises for 2014. Importantly though, I didn't fail for lack of trying. I failed because I ran out of time. Working on the blog, at least at this point in time, isn't something that we can afford to do full time. We want to put in more hours, but UL and I only have so many to give per week. These obstacles necessitate a change in tactics.

A Seed of Growth

We have a plan. In order to make good on our promises from 2014 and also advance our position in 2015 we will need a few extra pairs of hands. My number one priority for 2015 is to add another staff writer. Someone who can contribute, at a minimum, twenty hours a month to producing content.

I talked above about the value of having that 'friend in need' and UL has done a great job networking with other online Magic community members. He has done a excellent job producing content for 'The Other 99', Commandercast, and he is active on MTGSalvation. My hope is that in the coming months we will be able to find opportunities to cross-promote each other's work, including guest articles here on the blog.

There is something else worth noting about 2014. Despite my real life struggles and triumphs, the blog grew. We passed the 50,000 view mark which represented a nearly 100% increase in readership over the previous year. This gives me confidence going into the new year that, if we can build it, the views will come.

Goals for 2015

My goals for 2015 are as follows:

• Deliver on 2014's promises. That means bi-weekly news on Friday, SNAP KEEP?! every week, You Make the Pick every week, and Ill-Gotten Games at least twice a month.
• Increasing our writing staff. We have hopes that our previous staff writers will return from hiatus sometime during 2015. I would also like to add someone new to cover the additional responsibilities that we will take on by adding content.
• Invite a guest writer from the online Magic community to post at least once per month.
• Hit the 150,000 mark. We grew by about 50,000 last year, I will consider it a victory if we can grow by 75,000 this year.

We have a lot to get done. A year always goes by a bit faster than you think it will, but I am confident that we can accomplish these tasks and I am equally confident that the blog will be in a fantastic place by year's end if we can make all this happen.

For every one out there who has been with us since 1/1/2014, I salute you. To all the new Zoners out there reading this, welcome aboard. It is going to be a great year.

-GG