Slice was lucky enough to catch up with Jonathan Townsend, Publisher of Lookforward to look backward at how the site came to be.
How long has the business be operating?
Look Forward launched in May this year but prior to that I spent six months developing the site while our two content editors started the research.
Where did the idea come from?
Our family moved to Australia from the UK two years ago when my wife (Australian) who’s a journalist, was offered a job. She noticed that there was no forward planning service for the media over here – in the UK there are a number of services to choose from. So that’s where the idea came from and it grew from there.
What is your professional background?
My background was in advertising and publishing humorous greeting cards – I managed our export business, including Australia and NZ - which proves we share a similar sense of humour (maybe not about rugby – ha!).
The site is based on a UK model but has some unique features and is more visual in appeal. Although it is a subscription service the homepage content is free and we offer a 14 day free trial.
What's business growth like?
Growth has been steady and we’ve been excited by the quality of our subscriptions - we’re gradually building up our media exposure. For example News Ltd and Fairfax are on the site everyday. Furthermore the feedback has been great – we’re building up a few testimonials which we’ll be using for marketing purposes.
What's been some unexpected things you've discovered since launching the site? For example - have people used it in ways that you didn't expect?
We’ve been surprised by a few things - radio stations seem to love it – I suppose they have a high demand for content. We’ve also introduced a special price for charities and this has proved popular – the site enables them to know what events their colleagues are planning in advance and this helps to avoid clashes.
Best strategy for driving traffic to the website to date?
Our daily newsletter has been the main driver of visits to the site. It details events happening in the next few days with a direct link to each specific listing – together with all the press details. It’s easy for people to scan the list and click on an item of interest. Other drivers have been our press releases and of course, Google.
Do you have an editorial-type board that verifies listings?
All our listings are sent back to the contributors to verify and we try to ensure details are always correct but occasionally the odd mistake will occur given the amount of information.
What's been the biggest challenge about getting it going?
I think the biggest challenge has been to explain the concept of ‘forward planning’ and to convince people the site is a genuine time saver and ideas generator – in other words excellent value.
Plans for the site for the future?
Moving forward we hope to ‘personalise’ the site, offering specific RSS feeds for their areas of interest but our gut feeling is that there is enormous scope for more content and more subscribers.
Magnum or Cornetto?
Neither - I'm on a diet.
Elvis or The Beatles?
The Beatles – watching my elder sisters party through a haze of smoke to ‘love me do’ while my parents were out is indelibly stamped on my memory. Of course I was far too young.
London or Los Angeles?
Having lived 20 years of my life there it has to be London. Soho, Portabello Rd, St James Park, red buses, Chelsea on Saturday and Jools Holland in Kew Gardens.
So what if it rains? I suppose LA does have Paris Hilton but I’d cope.
Facebook or MySpace?
Facebook, of course – I’m reliably informed it’s slightly more ‘hip’ at the moment.
Track the media, monitor the message
