Two months ago, I wrote about getting help when building a new community. Today, I return to the idea an even bigger believer in that idea. When I started Mitsubishi Gearbox Magazine back in October, all I wanted to do was create a community wherein the average Mitsubishi owner could get a little time in the spotlight and maybe meet another Mitsubishi owner he’d never have met otherwise. It’s working, and let me tell you, when you base the success of your new community on the amount of good it does its members, it really feels good when that fire gets to burning nice and hot.
Just how hot? In the last thirty days, the Mitsubishi site has had 5270 pageviews on 2827 visits from about 2355 unique visitors. Those visitors have spent an average of 2 minutes on the site, reading just under 2 pages per visit. Just over 80% of those readers come from referrals, with direct and organic search traffic splitting the other 20% right down the middle. These numbers thrill me. Sure, there are probably thousands of sites out there seeing far greater visitors than this, but it means a lot to me, because the more people visit Mitsubishi Gearbox Magazine and read the interviews, the more value there is for those whose stories we share on the site. I’ve said since the beginning that “Gearbox Magazine ONLY matters because YOU matter” and these numbers prove it.
So back to the importance of getting help. In the past two months, I’ve gone all out trying to find a variety of Mitsubishi owners from all over the world to interview. The stories shared have been entertaining, informational, reassuring, and inspirational. People are starting to see the value in being part of something greater than themselves. What’s more, some of them are reaching out to help with the project. New interviews are posted and mentioned on Twitter, only to have multiple people – some who don’t even own a Mitsubishi – re-tweet the announcement. The Facebook page, which merely summarizes and links to the same content has grown from one to over sixty fans. And it just keeps getting better.
Last week, I received a direct message on Twitter from Kim expressing interest in taking the reins of another Gearbox channel. We tweeted and emailed back and forth for an afternoon and the decision was made. Gearbox Magazine would be doubling in size by the end of the year. A day or two later, I was up late and browsing a forum when I came across someone with more passion for a community than funding to play. I totally identified with this guy. Here he was, 2:30AM, posting a monologue on YouTube and then making his way through somewhat negative, mostly indifferent, and vaguely supportive responses. I sent him a private message sharing the idea of Gearbox with him and we’ve spoken every day. His name is Jason and, as he put it, “It is exactly what I am thinking. Only you have taken the chaos in my head and given it order, drive, and a direction.” Gearbox Magazine will be tripling in size by the end of the year.
Kim and Jason are like-minded individuals; kindred spirits who share a passion for lifting up fellow automotive enthusiasts and building something bigger in order to do an even greater service to our global automotive community. I spent over 17 hours this past weekend building the two new Gearbox sites, setting up Google Analytics, related Twitter accounts, and creating Kim and Jason’s editor email addresses. It was a LOT of work, but it was easy because I knew it would enable us to work together to show more gearheads in the world that they matter.
GM Gearbox Magazine and Rally Gearbox Magazine officially go live on January 1, 2010 and we’re already excited about the stories to come.