Media News at a Glance

Note: For charts and graphs mentioned, see the PDF or printed versions.

• UCG E-mail Update Lists Show Growth
• Radio Program Now Airing in San Antonio
• Fiscal Year Growth Stats
• Bible Study Course

UCG E-mail Update Lists Show Growth

Staying in touch with readers is important, but it would be quite expensive if we were to mail letters every week. However, with e-mail, it is virtually free.

It is encouraging to see significant growth in new people signing up to receive our weekly “UCG Web Site” updates and “UCG Member” updates.

As of June 2007 we have 18,041 subscribers (a 17 percent increase) to our weekly www.ucg.org Web site updates. This service provides our users with the latest new items on our site. In addition, there are 8,921 people (a 3 percent increase) receiving UCG member updates (which give our members updates of Church news and other important developments).

Of interest to our teens and young adults is the Vertical Thought magazine e-mail update that alerts them to new material posted at www.verticalthought.org and links to new material as it becomes available. It also now includes a weekly Vertical Thought commentary written by our young people. We have 3,749 current subscribers to this service (a 97 percent increase over a year ago).

An exciting development is the number of Good News readers who are signed up to receive our monthly “GN Reader E-Letter.” At present we have 28,872—a very encouraging 45 percent increase. Samples of what our Good News readers have been getting can be seen at www.gnmagazine.org/gnupdate.

The e-news program titled “This Is the Way” goes to 10,870 readers—a 242 percent increase over a year ago! You can view samples of past commentaries at www.thisistheway.org.

The new World News and Prophecy biweekly update is showing considerable growth as well in its first year. You can sign up at www.wnponline.org.

[ back to top ]

Radio Program Now Airing in San Antonio

The Beyond Today program began airing Sunday, July 8, on KTSA 550 AM, a news/talk format radio station in San Antonio, Texas. The program airs at 6:30 a.m. Sundays, just prior to a program by a San Antonio-based evangelist, John Hagee Today.

San Antonio is the nation’s 32nd largest media market out of 276 media markets. KTSA is San Antonio’s oldest radio station (it began in 1922), which currently features mostly locally-based conservative talk shows. The station has 5,000 watts and reaches a huge geographical area—99 of 254 Texas counties including the area of metro Houston.

We hope to be given perhaps a dozen or so free 30-second promotional spots (as available on a weekly rotator) and a 15-second tag after each program.

[ back to top ]

Fiscal Year Growth Stats

Out of 30 categories, here are the media statistics showing the greatest growth (those that grew more than 15 percent) in the fiscal year that ended June 30:

•Magazine and booklet insert card responses processed: 302,071 (48 percent increase over previous fiscal year).

•Total incoming mail processed (including the Internet): 598,716 (24 percent increase).

•Coworkers: 3,740 (15 percent increase).

•Donors: 9,588 (21 percent increase).

•World News and Prophecy circulation: 47,833 (22 percent increase).

•Good News print run: 506,754 (23 percent increase).

•U.S. Good News subscribers: 386,180 (18 percent increase).

•Data served off ucg.org: 5.1 terabytes (65 percent increase).

•Data served off gnmagazine.org: 1.9 terabytes (160 percent increase).

•gnmagazine.org visitors: 1,907,759 (65 percent increase).

•beyondtoday.tv visitors: 294,791 (122 percent increase).

•Beyond Today phone and Web responses: 10,926 (263 percent increase).

•wnponline.org visitors: 96,892 (293 percent increase).

•verticalthought.org visitors: 231,882 (541 percent increase).

•Yahoo Internet ad conversions: 57,059 (19 percent increase).

•Google Internet ad conversions: 61,552 (56 percent increase).

•Total Google and Yahoo advertising impressions: 765,159,069 (189 percent increase).

•Print advertising impressions: 27,291,000 (425 percent increase).

[ back to top ]

Bible Study Course

The Bible Study Course was promoted and mailed to thousands of interested readers this past fiscal year. During the fiscal year, 130,000 copies were reprinted (3 percent less than last year). This all equates to 1.3 million total copies of all lessons printed so far. As of June 30, we have 11,093 people currently enrolled (65 percent more than this time last year).

An interesting note about our Bible Study Course graduates: 11 percent of them are either coworkers or donors, and 95 percent of them have ordered other literature beyond The Good News . In contrast, only 2.8 percent of our entire subscriber base are coworkers or donors. Therefore, it seems that our BSC readers are four times more likely to make a donation.

Contributors: Peter Eddington, John LaBissoniere

[ back to top ]

If you have questions or comments, please contact: webmaster@ucg.org