By Frank J. Diekmann
There are a lot more of you reading this. And for that we say thank you. Let me explain.
Last week CUToday.info reported the Q3 numbers for credit unions, which showed strong growth across all loan categories. But it isn’t just credit unions where the numbers are robust; CUToday.info is seeing more traffic than a mall parking lot this holiday season.
Although we are just nine weeks old, the infancy didn’t last long. We’ve built CUToday.info on a foundation of providing content and resources to CU leaders so that they, in turn, can better grow their operations and serve their members. And we’ve provided that content in the way CU leaders told us they want it: concise, fresh and up to date (and with a touch of irreverence where we can).
Of course, all of that comes with no ties to the banking industry; not every news source in credit unions can say that.
So what has all that meant? During November:
- Unique Page views were up 49%.
- Total users soared 233%, which contributed to a 34% increase in page-views.
- New users were up by 211% and returning users were up by 55%.
So far in December, it appears the traffic trend line at CUToday.info is heading in the same direction: up. If you’re reading this, we have you to thank, and we’d like to invite you to tell a friend or coworker.
Finally, just a reminder: CUToday.info publishes a daily e-newsletter, Fresh Today, with more than a dozen news headlines. Just drop me a note if you’re not on the list. And a reminder 2.0 that you may be getting the Fresh Today e-newsletter, but it could be getting trapped in your Spam folder, so please check, and mark it as safe.
- Not sure if you saw this one during the recent cyber-Monday specials, but it appears the Washington Redskins didn’t quite get the concept, as you can see at right.
- While CUToday.info has provided ongoing coverage of issues related to credit unions and the budding marijuana industry (get it!), which you can find here and here, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions is reminding that members may be enticed by financial scams that seek to leverage the trend. With medical marijuana now legal in 23 states and DC, online and phone scams have been promoting investments in companies that cater to the marijuana industry, such as vaporizers, hypdroponics suppliers, etc. I’d add Cheetos vending machines, bean bag chairs and the like, as well.
- If you missed it, Martha Ninichuk of NCUA has spent 15 years volunteering her time to assist with the creation of a new credit union in Macedonia, where years of communist rule and bad supervision had led to bank failures and widespread distrust among Macedonians about financial institutions. In a recent Q&A with CUToday.info, Ninichuk shared an interesting tidbit about how experiences in that country had shaped people’s skepticism about the new credit union. “Members would also test us by depositing funds and then coming back in an hour to withdraw, Having that cash on hand for disbursement went a long way in building trust.” You can read the entire Q&A here.
Again, thanks for all your support; we look forward to hearing from you.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator-in-Chief with CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info.