As 2015 winds down to its last remaining days, I wanted to say a few things regarding what this blog has meant to me and how I hope to carry it forward into 2016 and beyond.
If you haven't heard my story before, I am a former employee of a small daily paper in the southwest corner of Utah who struck out on his own in June in search of his next big adventure when new powers that be came into the place and basically gutted everything.
If you had real talent and a passion for auto racing like I did, it didn't matter to them. If it wasn't getting clicks -- and I can say with dang straight certainty several of my pieces had clicks in the hundreds -- just shut it down.
Well, I decided that 10-plus years of relationships that had already been well-established weren't going to be shut down on my watch. It's all about moving forward, not three steps backward.
I am employed on a part-time basis by the community weekly in my hometown, and they have been a wonderful backbone of support in allowing me to continue writing about auto racing, a sport I love to cover and have gotten pretty good at.
And I know the audience in my home state is there -- from north or south. Just check the infield parking lot at Las Vegas in March and you'll see plenty of Utah plates on the motor homes and RVs.
This blog was born -- actually an extension from what I had produced in print and online at the old place -- in June, and this is the 58th piece I've produced, an average of around 12 per month.
Some have resonated with you more than others, but all have drawn a consistent audience. I'd love if the audience were bigger, but around 2,500 total page views in the space of those posts isn't half bad for starting from scratch.
I know I can do more, though. I'd love a little bit of help.
I've appeared on the radio in multiple venues to talk up racing with great people. I was a weekly regular on Racing Fan Radio out of Salt Lake City on 1320 KFAN for nearly 15 months and still appear on the air occasionally. I was a guest on Press Pass on SiriusXM with PRN's Mark Garrow and my friend and colleague Jerry Bonkowski of NBC Sports three weeks ago.
That's a national audience -- seriously cool stuff.
I've appeared on the Happy Hour Garage podcast -- www.happyhourgarage.com -- with friends Shannon Yochim and Maureen Kelly, and that feels like another good, logical step to help me continue building a brand as a member of the motor sports media.
The first essential need is some good podcasting equipment. I've learned that recording each show with no distractions or background noise is essential to the quality of the work, too.
I can work on the show details as each week comes -- journalists are masters of planning on the fly -- but don't want to break the bank in getting the show off the ground.
Any advice or knowledge is more than welcome. You can share with me on my Twitter, which will display at the end of this post.
As for the immediate future, I'm going to enjoy the offseason and let 2016 slide into place. I'll be around and return to full-on posting here as warranted through January, then hit the ground blazing as racing at the Daytona 500 gets closer.
Thank you all for reading this blog. I hope you and yours have an awesome, speed-filled season in 2016.
Followers and comments are more than welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.
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