Support East Cobb News—it’s from the heart!

February is the shortest month, but the sweetest one.

A cliché perhaps, but with Valentine’s Day right in the middle, we’re asking readers once again for their support of East Cobb News.

This is our first request of 2024, and we’re very appreciative of those who have contributed when we began this effort last year and who continue to do so.

While access to all content on East Cobb News remains and will always be free of charge—including our Sunday newsletter—we’d like to ask readers who value what they get from our community’s only daily, all-online news source to consider making a contribution.

Every day we go deep into East Cobb, bringing you professionally-reported news and useful community information: local government and schools, crime and fire, courts, business and restaurant openings, quality of life issues and more.

We’re coming off our best traffic year ever in 2023, thanks to so many of you for your readership, with more than 1.7 million clicks.

Our audience keeps growing, as we average nearly 150,000 page views a month and more than 70,000 unique visitors a month.

That’s an important metric, as that latter figure is roughly one-third of our coverage area. We’ve also enjoyed growth with our newsletter as we approach nearly 9,000 subscribers, and are pushing near 20,000 in our overall social media reach.

Increasingly, local advertisers are seeing the value in having a dynamic digital presence to reach a growing, engaged audience. They tell us they love how hyperlocal we go with the news, and that translates into a hyperlocal focus for promoting their businesses.

As carry on with a new year, East Cobb News is adding features we think the community will enjoy. The East Cobb Biz Scene column, publishing on Monday, rounds up openings, closing and other news about local businesses with a focus on the people behind them and what makes them tick.

We’ve also launched a weekly short video feature called East Cobb On the Spot, where we visit with people involved in a variety of community activities. Look for that to be published on Friday-Saturday every week.

This year is an election year, and we will be providing coverage of local races and the Georgia presidential primaries in March.

We have some other plans in the works to give you even more of the local news you love, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, please consider making a contribution to support the work of East Cobb News—we recommend a recurring monthly donation of at least $6 a month, or $60 a year.

We’ve set up our subscription options along the lines of public radio fundraising drives, to accommodate whatever level you wish to support. You can donate on a recurring basis, or submit a one-time donation via the link below.

Our payment platform is hosted by Press Patron, which makes it easy to support independent local journalism. Several dozen publishers like East Cobb News are powered by this platform, and we’re proud to be a part of their community.

The Press Patron platform is safe and secure, and is connected with the prominent Stripe online payment system. When you sign up to contribute, you can control your account and payment preferences.

Thanks so much for your readership and support!

Here are some suggested levels of support:

• $6/month or $60/year
• $12/month or $125/year
• $30/month or $300/year
• $50/month or $500/year
• Custom amount
• One-time donation

 

Donate today!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

 

Last Saturday I had the privilege of profiling one of East Cobb’s longest-running businesses.

As we published earlier this week, Dance Stop Studios has begun its 50th year of offering dance instruction for youth and adults alike—from jazz and tap and classical ballet to yoga and Zumba.

Keeping people on the move, and in a healthy way, has been at the core of owner Lynette Strickland’s work.

As she told us, she started out in a small converted home in 1974 on the outskirts of East Marietta—the original East Cobb, if you will—and moved around as she needed more space.

Along the way, she taught a generation of young people about a love for dance that is obvious as soon as you step inside the studio space at the Merchants Exchange Shopping Center on Roswell Road.

Some of those former students are now among her teaching staff, including a woman whose own daughter is taking classes there.

The family atmosphere of many small businesses in our community is authentic, as I have learned in speaking with many of these entrepreneurs.

I admire their tenacity, resilience and vision, and their ability to adapt to trying conditions.

Most of all, I admire the sheer passion that continues to underline the work that they do.

They’ll tell you doing what they love doesn’t seem like work at all, despite the grind, tribulations and challenges that come with it.

That’s my outlook on what I have done with East Cobb News, as we enter our seventh year of giving you the local news that you love.

Many of you tell me this, and it’s so energizing to get this feedback on a regular basis.

I just got a note from someone sending in a calendar listing: “Thanks for your commitment to local news. There aren’t enough people like you—we need this info!”

The truth is, I love telling stories of people like these in our community as much as they do in sharing them with me.

That’s because this comes from the heart, and it’s about much more than just reporting the news.

It’s about building a sense of community that becomes more special with each new story I am honored to tell.

Last month East Cobb News began asking readers for financial support to continue the work that we’re doing. It’s called the “6 for 6” campaign, in honor of our 6th anniversary.

We’re asking readers to donate $6 a month, but any amount will be greatly appreciated. We have a few dozen individuals who have done that thus far, and we’re asking more of you to consider making a financial contribution.

We have set up a special page with more information and a link to donate to our crowdfunding platform, Press Patron, or. you can contribute directly below.

Press Patron is specially set up for local publishers like me who solicit support from readers. It’s encrypted and secure, and it’s flexible for any amount you’d like to give.

Contribute what you like, whether it’s monthly, yearly or a one-time basis. Here are some suggested levels of support:

• $6/month or $60/year
• $12/month or $125/year
• $30/month or $300/year
• $50/month or $500/year
• Custom amount
• One-time donation

Donate Today!

Your support will help us continue to grow and expand and serve a community of nearly 200,000 people—that’s a lot of folks!

While this kind of community journalism does come from the heart, it also takes some resources to do as well as we would like.

Most of all, we want to continue telling the stories of the people that make East Cobb a special place to call home.

I explained all this and more recently in an interview (video below) with Atlanta public relations professional Mitch Leff, who also champions the work of local journalists and lets us tell our stories.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with questions about using Press Patron and contributing to our “6 for 6” campaign, as well as general inquiries about East Cobb News: wendy@eastcobbnews.com.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks for your readership!

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!