As we pointed to a few days ago, in the coming weeks there are going to be some changes in the way that we bring you news about the Isle of Wight.
We know – because you tell us – that one of the things that you value most highly about VentnorBlog is Trust (which makes us very proud).
Your Trust has been hard-earned, so rather than land the changes on you suddenly, we think that it is only right to invite you along on the journey.
We’ll be sharing details of what we’ve got in store over the coming days/weeks, explaining what the changes are, why we’re making them and how we reached that point.
All of this is going to be a lot of work, but we know within ourselves that it’s going to be worthwhile in the end, and we’re pretty sure that when you see it all you’ll agree.
Where the story starts
So where to start? We guess probably back at the beginning is as good a place as any.
VB started out six years ago, as a tiny personal blog about interesting things going on in and around Ventnor.
Those of you who’ve been with us since then will know that within a few months it spread to cover art and music across the Island.
Then, because many readers told us they just didn’t feel items of concern to them were being covered properly elsewhere, its brief widened to cover news over the whole of the Isle of Wight.
You’re a big team in large offices, right?
One of the things we thought we’d clear up is how many people work on VB.
People often tell us they think VentnorBlog runs a large office of staff and must be making huge amounts of money.
The truth is significantly less exotic. VB is run out of a home office and up until recently it’s been cobbled together (aided by a small number of donations from readers and some advertising).
Most months are a struggle to pay our bills and cover our costs and we certainly aren’t in a position to take a proper salary yet.
Island people having a voice
After six years, we’ve achieved one of our original goals. To give people a channel to express themselves and, to that end, we now have lots more people contributing articles … and story tips. It’s a great pleasure to see.
The editorial side (publishing the stories and giving guidance to contributors) is still mostly the work of myself and Simon (we’re a husband and wife team).
Talking about the money
As for the money, that’s been a difficult one.
As you might guess from the output on VB, we’re driven by the content – following up leads; digging out stories; researching articles – and unfortunately, up until recently, we haven’t been great with the advertising side of things.
Those who have come to us for advertising and promotion have been very pleased with the results, but chasing sales isn’t our first impulse.
Time to step up a gear
This year we’re facing up to the reality that we need to start making some money out of VB. It takes up so much of our time, it’s just got to pay its way.
So it’s time for a change and time to move up a gear.
Do stay with us as we take you on the journey, sharing with you our thinking on the improvements that lie ahead.
We think you’re going to like it.
Images: Julian Winslow, Dafne Cholet and Tim Green under CC BY 2.0
