We are pleased that we have over 8,500 members, many of whom read, but never post here at TOTV. There are also thousands of people who read, but never actually join. We have nearly 28,000 daily page views. As administrators, we are able to see when individuals were "last active." Many people read daily or weekly, but never post. Just like radio talk shows, 10% call and participate, 90% just listen and never call.
Our plan to "grow" the membership was derailed when, after several months of adverting, the Villages Media Group blacklisted Talk of The Villages. They will give us no reason, and will say only that they have the right to refuse our ads. We understand their right to do so, but would like to know the reason in our case.
We then tried to increase membership by personal contact with people at the town squares, but were asked by Villages employees to leave.
Hundreds of people have told us that they made the decision to move to The Villages after reading Talk of The Villages. That's what we are here for. An opportunity for individuals to ask questions and get answers from the people who know best, the residents themselves.
Now, if anybody has any suggestions on how we can spread the word about TOTV and increase our membership even further, we would love to know. Right now, the majority of our new members come from Internet search engines. Word of mouth is the only vehicle left to us at this point.
None the less, 8,631 people and nearly a million page views a month is a lot of activity and great for our advertisers.
JLK
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