Now one year later, the page views are through the roof. Thanks to the power of social media, the most popular stories spread like wildfire. TAN has over 500 followers on Twitter and the Facebook page is approaching the same figure. The website is viewed in well over 20 countries.
There are several groups and individuals we have to thank for their part in our growth over the last year.
The Readers - Someone must be reading this stuff! Through our Facebook and Twitter pages, we've been introduced to some of the most loyal fans in all of sports. Alcohol racing fans don't like alcohol racing. They LOVE it. The support and feedback from the readers keep this site going.
The Driver Bloggers - Shortly after the launch of TAN, we sent out a tweet looking for drivers to write blogs for us. Marie Ferriolo was the first driver to respond. Over the following months, a few other drivers signed on. Now our Driver Blogger list has 10 drivers on it; Marie, Jeff Ashwell, Cassie Simonton, Brandon Booher, Megan McKernan, Blake Alexander, Karen Stalba, Greg Hunter, Johnny Ahten, and Dave Hirata. Their blogs are regularly the most popular posts on TAN.
The Writers - In addition to our own content, we rely on teams and other groups to provide press releases and other news. John Rogers at THR5 Communications not only sends in press releases on a regular basis, but he has also been a big help on the creative side. Todd Veney's results and driver features for the Pro Sportsman Association have been invaluable.
The Drivers and Teams - The drivers and teams who sport our decals on their cars or share our stories on social media play an important role in the growth of TAN. We cannot name all of the drivers who run TAN decals because there are so many, but here are just a few: John Anderika, Mike Kosky, Paul Noakes, Brian Harvanek, Dyno Dave Heitzman, Dave Hirata, and Fred Hagen Jr. It is an honor to see the TAN colors on so many successful cars.
Spiro Kontos/Kon Rodz Racing - Without Spiro's help, we probably wouldn't have our decals on so many of the cars listed above. Spiro stepped up to be the primary sponsor of our 2012 shirts. He also gave me the opportunity to travel with Kon Rodz Racing for the entire schedule. TAN stickers were along for the ride when Cassie Simonton grabbed the first #1 qualifier for Kon Rodz at the Chicago regional, as well as the back-to-back finals at Chicago and Norwalk national events. All of the KRR crew members are also big supporters of TAN.
The Advertisers - Just like a nitro-burning A/Fueler or a screaming supercharged Top Alcohol Funny Car, this site runs on money. Hero Cards by Golden Belt Printing, Cold Hard Art, One Seven West Photography, and 1320 Concepts help us out . There are several other advertisers in the works that will be announced in the next few weeks.
Combine the above supporters and a few behind-the-scenes people and you have a recipe for success. TAN has grown by leaps and bounds over the course of one year. Who knows what the next year holds. We do have a few goals to accomplish before the calendar says July 27th, 2013. We're working on an online store where you can find t-shirts and other merchandise from all of the Top Alcohol teams that offer merch. We want to bring on an additional writer or two to generate original content. Those are just a couple of our plans for the near future.
The first year of Top Alcohol News has been extremely fulfilling for me. I've met so many wonderful people through this project. It has turned into so much more than I could've imagined a year ago. Bring on Year 2!
Thanks for reading,
Nate Van Wagnen
Top Alcohol News editor
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