<center><img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/thankyou.jpg border=1 alt="Thanks VERY Much!"></center><br>
Thanks to Our Friends, Readers and Advertisers!
From PenGwen and the Crew at Steppin' Out <br>
They say “Change is the only constant” in our world and at Steppin’ Out over the years that adage has certainly proved true. Both our paper and our web site have grown and evolved in the last year in ways we barely imagined a year ago.
You’ve probably noticed this site has grown but our paper edition also grew last summer to 16 pages. Then late in the summer the dimensions of our paper edition pages grew too. Our pages are now about 20% larger than they were a year ago too. We’ve managed to stay at that size in 5 out of the last 6 issues; but we’re now approaching the bursting on that size too. During the same period our number of printed copies also grew by 33%... from 25,000 printed copies last spring to 33,000 copies today. Printing industry stats tell us each copy we print is read by about 2.5 people so that means our paper edition is now being read by over 80,000 art lovers statewide. If we add the large number of monthly visitors to this site to that count, each edition of Steppin’ Out now reaches over 100,000 readers in New Mexico and around the world. We’re pleased about having reached that milestone and wanted to take a moment to say, “Thanks!” to our loyal readers and advertisers who have continued to support us as we grew.
We won’t even try to list all the changes and growth visitors to this web site have seen in the past year. We’ve talked enough about that along the way. Let’s just say our paper and our web site have grown with each issue. In fact, as many publishers struggle to keep their circulation from falling, we’re actually growing and that alone has brought us lots of attention. Along the way, we’ve been imitated, praised, criticized and envied by other publishers who’ve been studying what we do and trying to replicate our success. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then we must be doing something right because it’s pretty obvious we’re being watched and mimicked by several New Mexico publishers.
The odd thing is there’s no secret to what we’ve been doing. We decided two years ago to focus directly on the needs of the communities and readers we serve and do the best job we could at giving them what they need to promote their communities better. That hasn’t always been easy or fun; and honestly, it has required lots of hard work. But it’s the basic principle we’ve been following and from where we stand now, it seems to be working. Focusing on giving our readers and advertisers what they need has enabled arts, events and tourism promoters throughout our state to be more effective and Steppin’ Out has grown as a result.
With that principle in mind, we’ve added yet another new feature this month we hope you’ll like. This month we published an article (http://sonewmex.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewreview&id=353) about a business in Pennsylvania that gave one of our staff excellent customer service. We’d like to hear about more businesses who are doing the same thing. Can you tell us about a business you’ve dealt with that has gone beyond the call of duty to meet their customer needs? If you can, please do so and tell us what they did. We’ll do our best to help you thank them in print. We think that acknowledging and applauding great service when we see it will tend to encourage and promote better service overall and in the long term, that should be a good thing.
And now we’d like to ask our readers and customers to help us out. If you think there’s something we can or should do better, please call or write to us and give us your feedback. We promise we’ll listen and do what we can to change things to make our product and services better serve your needs. Of course, some things take time. But we do pay attention. In fact, many of the changes we’ve made this past year were in direct response to feedback we got from readers, advertisers or members of the arts, entertainment and tourism communities we serve.
That’s the reason for this article. To say “Thanks, for helping us improve and grow!”
Ben Moffett
04-24-2007, 07:15 AM
:) I've been noticing the superior look and feel and tons of great reading material posted on your website as well as the fatter, bigger papers. Congratulations to you, Gwen, and to Greg.
Wasn't it Apple that started out of a garage? You seem to be on a roll of your own. :)
Thanks to Our Friends, Readers and Advertisers!
From PenGwen and the Crew at Steppin' Out <br>
They say “Change is the only constant” in our world and at Steppin’ Out over the years that adage has certainly proved true. Both our paper and our web site have grown and evolved in the last year in ways we barely imagined a year ago.
You’ve probably noticed this site has grown but our paper edition also grew last summer to 16 pages. Then late in the summer the dimensions of our paper edition pages grew too. Our pages are now about 20% larger than they were a year ago too. We’ve managed to stay at that size in 5 out of the last 6 issues; but we’re now approaching the bursting on that size too. During the same period our number of printed copies also grew by 33%... from 25,000 printed copies last spring to 33,000 copies today. Printing industry stats tell us each copy we print is read by about 2.5 people so that means our paper edition is now being read by over 80,000 art lovers statewide. If we add the large number of monthly visitors to this site to that count, each edition of Steppin’ Out now reaches over 100,000 readers in New Mexico and around the world. We’re pleased about having reached that milestone and wanted to take a moment to say, “Thanks!” to our loyal readers and advertisers who have continued to support us as we grew.
We won’t even try to list all the changes and growth visitors to this web site have seen in the past year. We’ve talked enough about that along the way. Let’s just say our paper and our web site have grown with each issue. In fact, as many publishers struggle to keep their circulation from falling, we’re actually growing and that alone has brought us lots of attention. Along the way, we’ve been imitated, praised, criticized and envied by other publishers who’ve been studying what we do and trying to replicate our success. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then we must be doing something right because it’s pretty obvious we’re being watched and mimicked by several New Mexico publishers.
The odd thing is there’s no secret to what we’ve been doing. We decided two years ago to focus directly on the needs of the communities and readers we serve and do the best job we could at giving them what they need to promote their communities better. That hasn’t always been easy or fun; and honestly, it has required lots of hard work. But it’s the basic principle we’ve been following and from where we stand now, it seems to be working. Focusing on giving our readers and advertisers what they need has enabled arts, events and tourism promoters throughout our state to be more effective and Steppin’ Out has grown as a result.
With that principle in mind, we’ve added yet another new feature this month we hope you’ll like. This month we published an article (http://sonewmex.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewreview&id=353) about a business in Pennsylvania that gave one of our staff excellent customer service. We’d like to hear about more businesses who are doing the same thing. Can you tell us about a business you’ve dealt with that has gone beyond the call of duty to meet their customer needs? If you can, please do so and tell us what they did. We’ll do our best to help you thank them in print. We think that acknowledging and applauding great service when we see it will tend to encourage and promote better service overall and in the long term, that should be a good thing.
And now we’d like to ask our readers and customers to help us out. If you think there’s something we can or should do better, please call or write to us and give us your feedback. We promise we’ll listen and do what we can to change things to make our product and services better serve your needs. Of course, some things take time. But we do pay attention. In fact, many of the changes we’ve made this past year were in direct response to feedback we got from readers, advertisers or members of the arts, entertainment and tourism communities we serve.
That’s the reason for this article. To say “Thanks, for helping us improve and grow!”