Published on braggcreek.ca - May 7, 2004
It's a Wrap
(Bragg Creek, AB) – The braggcreek.ca web site is shrinking. I can't afford to maintain it. Its viability has been affected by competitive pressure from The Bragg Creek Community Association and The Bragg Creek and Area Chamber of Commerce. A lack of support from local community groups, the Municipal District of Rocky View and above all, local business were significant factors in the decision.
The bottom line is that it is not possible to operate a commercially viable web site in Bragg Creek. The web is a marketing tool. The larger the audience, or share of the market a web site has, the greater its value to advertisers. As new web sites appear, the market fragments and there is no one to support a general interest site. I operated the site for six years as a public service and business development tool, but the business didn't develop.
I tried to create a web presence for Bragg Creek that reflected the charm and character of the community making it an attractive destination for visitors. I tried to provide a central resource for information and services that would add value to the experience of living here. As an average of 1,000 people visited the site weekly, I think I was somewhat successful. That success was due to the depth of the site and the quality of the content. There were close to 300 densely packed pages on the site as well as interactive tools like the bulletin board and the electronic postcards.
I started the site in 1998 as a way to try out new web development techniques and to create an attractive and useful web presence for Bragg Creek. I thought it would provide some income at some point in the future. I didn't think the revenue would come from advertisers as local businesses don't advertise as a rule and don't see the web as a good advertising investment. I thought revenue would come from an online store. I tried selling a Bragg Creek calendar online for Christmas 2003, but only sold one for a total revenue of $11.95. At the same time I ran out of money to add inventory and that was the end of the store.
What's it worth?
The operating costs for the site are not too onerous, but it takes considerable time to keep it working and up-to-date with fresh content and services. I spent a considerable amount of money on advertising and promoting the site. I had been able to support the site through my communications design and web development business, but found that my business was suffering due to the time spent on braggcreek.ca and other volunteer activities. It's hard to put a value on the web site, but I estimate that it would cost about $60,000 to collect the data, write the content, acquire photos, create the graphics and build the web pages and the interactive applications. The audience base has a certain value, but I have no idea how to value that.
Let's look at some stats. Wait! Don't stop reading. During the first quarter of 2004 (when Bragg Creek is all but dead) the web site had an average of 1,374 visitors per week. They viewed 4,684 pages (an average of 3.4 per visit). During the same period, a local service business, with a high profile, had an average of 197 visitors to their site and 439 page views. This comparison doesn't mean much, but it shows that there is a fair amount of interest in braggcreek.ca.
During the same time period, the ads in the Shopping & Services section were viewed an average of 11 times per week. The average cost per advertising page view was about 50 cents. Advertisers didn't see a good return on investment and there wasn't much interest in repeating the ads among the 6 who purchased the first ad placement. No new ad placements resulted from the 180 promotional sheets delivered to businesses during April. So the site is quite popular, but no one is willing to pay for it.
When I launched the Shopping & Services section in December 2003, I promoted it as a unique opportunity to provide local business with exposure in Bragg Creek, in Calgary and across the Internet for $69/3 months. Viewers could browse through the colourful, attractive ads using a simple drop-down menu interface. There weren't enough ads to present a vibrant and attractive offering for visitors. I hoped that interest would build as people saw that a good ad could generate business. But people don't go to braggcreek.ca to find out about products and services available here. They come for the free maps and information about activities in the area.
The competitive challenge
I should explain the competition from the BCCA and the Chamber. The web, like any media, lives by market share. The web site had experienced steady growth from the beginning, reaching a high of over 2,100 visitors per week in July of 2003. But, the growth had levelled off and I needed to provide more value for advertisers. So I offered to host the community association web site, for free, to attract a local audience. The association agreed at first, then reneged when several individuals saw an opportunity to exercise their influence and reverse the decision. This is a small town after all, and the petty politics can be quite harmful.
The Chamber was eager to promote their new web site and purchased a membership in the Cowboy Trail. With the membership they got a link on thecowboytrail.com. Up to that point the Travel Alberta sponsored site had used braggcreek.ca as the link to Bragg Creek. The link to the Chamber site replaced the link to braggcreek.ca. As I couldn't afford to purchase a link on the Cowboy Trail site, I lost the exposure and the Cowboy Trail audience lost access to information about the attractions, activities and services available in Bragg Creek.
When the Municipal District got around to developing an Area Structure Plan, starting in the fall of 2003, I saw an opportunity to use Internet technologies to: provide information, facilitate discussion and capture input. It would allow people, who have busy schedules and family commitments, an opportunity to provide input from their home. This would extend the democratic and consultative nature of the process. I offered to do this for free, anticipating more viewers and again more value for advertisers. The M.D. chose to use their own site as a "one stop shop" on the web for the ASP.
Although I had a standing offer to host web pages for local non-profit groups, only the boy scouts and the church took advantage of it. None of the groups provided news and announcements of events and activities to braggcreek.ca. They lost participants and I didn't have the information my audience were looking for.
So, without the support of the community and no income, it's time for a change. I intend to rebuild the site around the theme of Bragg Creek as a Gateway to Kananaskis.
Who are you?
It is hard to know who the audience is as we have many of the same Internet Service Providers as Calgary. But it is possible to identify locals from visitors by the pages they look at, the comments they post on the bulletin board and the e-mails they send to me. The interaction with the audience is the fun part of running a web site. I like looking at usage reports to see what's popular. I like answering questions about what it is like to live here, as in, "Where is camp cadacazoo & how do you spell it?" or "We would like to make a day trip out to Bragg Creek in May when my 88 year old grandma is coming for a visit. She loves to go for walks and we are looking for some info on a nice scenic walk around your area." and I love this one, "Check out the Bragg Creek web site to see more about where we live."
A lot of people use the site to decide whether they want to move here. There has been a noticeable increase in interest from Britain after a British TV program helped a family follow their dream to Bragg Creek. But, the greatest reward comes from knowing that this sophisticated communications technology helps people deal with intensely personal experiences. I was able to help a man in Ontario learn how his sister died in a tragic road accident. Using maps, photos and a description of the conditions that led to the accident, the Internet provided a bridge to understanding. I couldn't relieve the pain, but I helped reveal the facts.
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