RIGHT now, The Bellman’s volunteer editorial team is very small – and we could really do with some help to cover all the events and happenings in our busy community.
The website has one inhouse reporter – myself, Jane Cruickshank. I am supported by Lisa Lawman, who helps with emailed content, and who has kept ‘the show on the road’ while I’ve been away on holiday.
Unfortunately, our site does not reflect the fact January turned out to be a busy month in the town. Stonehaven and District Community Council were back in action and held a special meeting about SSEN’s proposed infrastructure, and the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee considered matters including the planning application for a visitor centre at Dunnottar Castle. None of this was covered, so we really could do with another reporter!
Growing readership
The Bellman has been publishing Stonehaven’s news since January 2019. With no real marketing push, we have allowed our readership to grow organically along with our reputation for trustworthy reporting.
Our site host SiteGround provides statistics showing a steady year-on-year increase to visitor numbers. In 2024, we recorded an average of 15,469 unique site visitors per month and 65,385 page reads. We almost published daily – we averaged 28 items per month last year.
The links we post to both our own Facebook page and Stonehaven Chat provide a significant readership. But about forty percent of our readership arrive directly to our site via search engines, which tells me we have a core of readers who check in regularly to keep up with Stonehaven’s latest news.
Would you like to help?
What the numbers tell me is we have a readership – a growing readership, so The Bellman is a project worth pursuing. But it needs a bigger team to make it sustainable and more effective. Would you be interested in helping in any way? If so please do get in touch via news@thebellnan.co.uk
I’d be more than happy to meet for a coffee and a chat and hopefully welcome you to join our wee team.
