Janice Marzano, director of the Depot, has TheDailyDarien.com bookmarked on her computer and checks it every day. She enjoys seeing friends on the site, and sometimes forwards articles to over 100 people.
"I think it's awesome. I love seeing all the kids who come through the Depot, as well as friends from around town. I tell people to check it out all the time," Marzano said. She also hands out TheDailyDarien.com shopping bags to kids and parents in an effort to help build awareness of the site.
TheDailyDarien.com and its nine sister sites in southern Fairfield County passed a milestone 1 million visits this week, nine months after the company launched. Main Street Connect, parent of all the sites, currently has 109 contracts with local advertising partners.
"At the rate we are attracting readers, we will hit 2 million visits by May," said Carl Lavin, managing editor of MSC. Starting next week, registered readers will be able to sign up for daily headlines delivered directly to their email.
Cumulatively, readers have spent the equivalent of nearly five years reading their local news on MSC. That's an average of 2.39 minutes a day, as reported by the data-gathering service Google Analytics.
MSC also gives back to the community, while building awareness of its sites. Its Better Schools Bonanza contest last fall awarded $35,000 in checks to Parent-Teacher Organizations. Local nonprofits won $20,000 as part of the Santa's Wish List competition. The Valentine's Day promotion Close to My Heart closes this week. The company will award $15,000 to the winners on Monday.
Carll Tucker, MSC's Editor, Publisher and CEO, is "dazzled by the reception" of the company's first 10 sites. "We work hard to provide a rich offering for readers and an opportunity for advertisers to bring their message to their most likely customers and clients," he said.
MSC's Fairfield County sites are the first step toward bringing useful and engaging local news to communities all over the United States, Tucker said. "Our towns are good places to live and bring up families. and we want to show that. We're grateful to all the readers and advertisers who have given us such a vote of confidence."
Marzano said that she will continue to check the site every day and is eagerly awaiting having daily headlines emailed to her.
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