The Buzz is a year old!
Read on for a review of our first year - and learn about an important milestone achieved.
It’s hard to believe that we’re already celebrating the one-year anniversary of History Buzz. In honor of our first birthday, I thought we could take a look back at our first year together.
A few interesting numbers from the past 12 months:
9 History Buzz writers (Marilyn, Barbara, Angela, Gail, Floyd, Toni, Jim, Jane, and me)
117 posts and emails
2,600 History Buzz website visits
22% to 45% increase in average email open rate over the past year
2,143 email subscribers
50 paid subscribers (more on this later in the post!)
Revisit some popular History Buzz posts
Right after we launched History Buzz in March 2021, What’s It Wednesday writer Marilyn Helmers posted “What to wear, what to wear,” about the paper dress craze of the 1960s.
Another early History Buzz post was by writer Floyd Greenwood on the Woodbridge-Jenkins Cemetery, the William Jenkins House, and the Jenkins’ family’s abolitionist work and connection with the Underground Railroad.
Before History Buzz launched, when we were sharing emails from another platform, writer Angela McBrien ran a three-part series on John Smith’s travel journals. Visit History Buzz to read them all!
Writer Toni Armstrong has posted 17 Andover Bewitched stories. Recently, we welcomed new writers Jim Batchelder and Jane Cairns. Guest writers have contributed their stories as well!
A milestone achieved – 50 paid subscribers!
When we started History Buzz a year ago, we set two milestone goals for paid subscribers. Our first goal was to reach 50 paid subscribers. We’re so happy to have made our goal just in time for our first birthday!
I know that doesn’t sound like much in the Substack universe, but we love and appreciate every one of our paid subscriber supporters! We appreciate you even more so because History Buzz launched in the middle of the pandemic and lock downs and uncertainty.
The History Center and History Buzz are firmly in the “small but mighty” category. History Buzz is a labor of love made possible by the volunteers and staff of the Andover Center for History and Culture.
Our 50 paid subscribers contribute just over $3,500 a year (a few generous patrons subscribe at the $250 level) to support the research, writing, editing, and coordinating that makes History Buzz possible. Your faith in History Buzz means the world to us!
Our next goal is to reach 100 paid subscribers. Believe it or not, the revenue from 100 paid subscriptions will make an important impact on the History Center’s annual $300,000 budget. Like I said, “small but mighty!”
Would you help us reach our goal of 100 paid subscribers? A paid subscription is just $5/month . . . and every new paid subscription gets us closer to our next milestone goal.
What’s coming up next?
During our second year, we’ll start offering some content for paid subscribers only. It’s a big step for a Substack newsletter! I’m researching a story now for our first subscriber-only content and I’m excited to share it.
The idea of a History Buzz podcast is still on the table, so stay tuned. I’m hoping we can make that happen in the coming year.
Watch for a first-birthday Reader Survey in the next few weeks. It’s been a while since we surveyed you for your feedback and I’m looking forward to your input.
New from Substack!
Here’s some exciting news from Substack. Starting right now, you can receive History Buzz on the new Substack mobile app. With the app you can read, comment, share, and subscribe all on your mobile phone. At the moment, the Substack app is available for Apple users only. But if you’re an Android user (like me), be patient, they’re working on it. You can sign up to receive notice when the Android app is ready.
Thanks so much for reading!
History Buzz has been the highlight of my work over the past year and I’m looking forward to sharing many more fun, relevant, and real stories in the year to come. Leave a comment, like, subscribe, share, and please consider becoming a paid subscriber to History Buzz.
All my best,|
~Elaine
Did you know that in a search for "history" on Substack.com, History Buzz shows up in the top 5? With your email and paid subscriptions, you’re supporting the small but mighty Buzz! Thank you!
