THEBUSINESSDESK.COM has signed up 50,000 registers users across its sites in Yorkshire, the North West and the West Midlands, it was announced yesterday.
The regional business news website reached the landmark number just seven months after launching in the West Midlands, where it already has more than 7,500 registered users, with a growth rate that is outperforming its sister titles.
West Midlands editor Marc Reeves said: “This is a phenomenal rate of growth that clearly demonstrates that the future of regional media is digital. We continue to see hundreds of users signing up to our service every week, providing a compelling argument to advertisers to work with us to reach a very valuable business-focussed audience.”
In August, the service sent more than 1.1 million news emails to its readers in the three regions, and it is continuing to grow its registered user base at a rate of around 8 per cent every month.
The site was founded by former Yorkshire Post business editor David Parkin in 2007 with backing from a consortium of private investors. It opened in Manchester in 2008 and expanded to the West Midlands in February this year under the editorship of former Birmingham Post editor Marc Reeves.
In August, the website added live share price and markets data , and two new channels dedicated to news from the creative and manufacturing sectors. This week it launched its innovative online supplements channel with a NatWest-sponsored series on the West Midlands firms that feature in this year’s Legal 500 list.
Mr Reeves said: “In just a few months we’ve grown our audience at a tremendous rate, and have more than doubled the extent and variety of our coverage. We’ve launched an Iphone App and a raft of new channels and services.
“The supplements channel in particular will be a boon for businesses looking to communicate a detailed, targeted message about their expertise to a highly discerning audience of key business decision makers.”
Managing director David Parkin said: “We have very favourable readership and growth levels that outstrip our main competitors with our audience growing by over 33 per cent in the last quarter. Crucially, revenues are up by more than 100 per cent on the same period last year.”
The business has a UK staff of 18 including 12 journalists. Its three websites are visited by more than 250,000 business people every month and readers viewed around half a million pages in the past month.
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