By David Chaston
I hope you will forgive this post, but we need to blow our own trumpet.
August is going to be our best month ever in terms of the number of unique readers coming to this news service, and the number of pages of content they read.
In fact, August was a new record for us after beating the previous record - in July. Bring on September!
And it is not because of lazy clicks. We are relatively heavy with readers using desktop screens. More than 40% read that way, 55% read on mobile devices.
And you read each story for a relatively long time. Most articles are read all the way through. Our average engagement time per article shows that. And scroll tracking shows most readers go to the end of the articles.
Yes, we are permissive with commenting, but not too much. You will see a wide range of comments representing a broad spectrum of views. We let some edge comments 'through to the keeper', but we delete a handful, and we engage with commenters by email when we think it's helpful.
You may also notice that recidivist commenters who disrespect our comment policy disappear. But comment volumes are never a good indication of an article's popularity with general readers. Most days we get 40,000 unique readers reading more than 100,000 pages of content. But only about 150 readers engage in commenting. They are a special breed, not representative of the overall readership.
We love having your company. Our brilliant team work hard to ensure we explain the New Zealand economy and what drives it - even if some parts (residential real estate) dominate more than they should. But we have to cover that even if it does represent an unhealthy twist in our economy.
In 1987, the "stock market crash" affected the way Kiwis looked at our economy from a personal point of view, for two generations. It altered our DNA. Maybe the 2024 housing market downturn will do the same, killing off the mantra that housing is always a good 'investment'. Going forward it would be a whole lot healthier if we invested properly.
But wherever our economy takes us, we will report on it.
If you are a new reader, we welcome you. We hope you like what you found. If you are long-time reader, we have always appreciated you joining us.
The hardest part of what we do is earning a crust from our always-free access. The free access for almost everything won't change. And neither will the struggle to pay the bills. If you aren't already doing so, we hope you value what we deliver enough to support us. You can sign up at any of the Press Patron buttons on any page. And you can then go ad-free if you wish. I hope you can do that.
23 Comments
"But only about 150 readers engage in commenting. They are a special breed, not representative of the overall readership." That's an interesting comment for sure. I guess some of us just like having a voice, having never been in a "Management" role, apparently I was not entitled to have one.
I didn't take it as critical, just stating a fact. We're a small sample size, so it would be dangerous to draw conclusions about general opinions in the country from what you see on here. I was surprised just how few commenters there are, but I guess some people contribute more than their fair share of volume.
Well done David and your team. Interest.co.nz has so much useful info from day to day news to investing and updates in the rural section etc.
To survive you require funds so hopefully more will appreciate the service you provide and will be able to afford the $100yr subscription ($1.92 week)
It's akin to Interest.co.nz hosting a presentation, with no cover charge and no premium for people to have a voice in the panel discussion at the end.
David and team do a great job of setting up the venue and presenters. They cover costs by running sponsor ads on the walls and ask for a koha if people find value in it.
If we had no context first, the discussions afterwards would have no relevance.
I appreciate the contributors, but the hosts deserve the most credit
And scroll tracking shows most readers go to the end of the articles.
And I wonder whether that includes to the end of the comments? That would be an interesting stat.
What I most enjoy about this site is the diversity of topics covered - and the diversity of opinions given by the readership/public. I always learn so much from both!
Blow those trumpets all the crew. The number of times I have read an article, and it is nowhere to be found elsewhere. A case in point many years ago was your reporting I think in the 4pm update, the cancellation by China of taking our "recycling". From memory it was 4-6 months before Granny Herald caught up.
Just returned on Thursday last from a month away and I can assure you I was then one of the mobile devicers, as opposed to 99% of the time on a desktop.
AS Neil Young sang to "his present car and previous girl friend - Long May You Run."
Thanks David, it's a fantastic website which publishes a genuinely broad range of views, usually presented thoughtfully and constructively.
The editorial focus on helping people actually understand cause and effect is so important. The knowledge and engagement fostered on this site filters through to other platforms too. I'm convinced the website makes a big difference to the general quality of economic discourse in NZ
I hope you will forgive this post, but we need to blow our own trumpet.
Well done Interest, at least some companies are growing !
Also, I find it sad that in NZ, it's seen badly if we dare to say that we're doing well. It's great to compliment other people, well "we" are people too, and there is nothing wrong with saying: "I am doing well !"
Here's an idea to lift financial literacy across NZ (and costs $0):
1. Every high-school student, as their first task of the day, is required to read the "Breakfast Briefing" on interest.co.nz, including the comments section.
2. Student to get in front of class and talk about one key takeaway from the events unfolding and how they impact NZ.
Love your work team - a daily reader of most articles published.
I will return to doing so, Yvil.
I just wish David and co. would be more open to ideas and feedback. While most articles range from fair to excellent, some information gets repeatedly propagated that is wrong / flawed. Some things need to be sharpened up.
In my view one of the marks of a good business, that deserves to be supported, is one that takes on board valid feedback from its customers, to improve.
Well done to all of you on providing balanced commentary and reportage.
And have you ever considered limiting posting comments to those who subscribe?
Would solve the free rider issue, and validation of who commenters actually are might alter the tone of comments a smidge.
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