2 Year Blogiversary, All Because of You

I like the sound of my own voice
I didn’t give anyone else a choice

– U2, All Because of You

Dear Readers of The Reformed Broker,

Today is the second blogiversary of this website.  I’ve written this letter to share some inside detail and to express how grateful I am for my audience.

I’ve been on my grind for two years now, blogging every single important story in these markets.  I blog with all the reliability of a Swiss watch, but none of the precision – I don’t post on a schedule or because I have to or for banner ad clicks, I post when I’ve got something to say.

365 days a year I’ve got worthwhile stuff up on the site in the morning, in the afternoon and then in the evening.  Relentless.  Weekends and holidays, too.  Possessed.

And no cut-and-paste content scraping here; my blood, sweat, tears, convictions, intellect, humor and conscience are spattered all over this site.  A visit to TRB is an opportunity to meet what’s left of my heart and soul after ten years of defeats and triumphs on The Street.  It’s all here.

Some stats for those who are curious:

An average of 4 posts a day.

Just over 2,000 total posts since November 1st 2008.

Over 2 million site visits in 2 years.

Current run rate of 80,000 visitors a month, 68,000 of them unique.

Over 100% sequential growth in traffic – 350,000 page views in October vs 153,000 in September.

Some other stats you may find interesting:

Editorial compromise: Zero

Advertising budget: Zero

Click-baiting gimmicks: Zero

SEO-driven content: Zero

The Reformed Broker began as a way to express my market interpretations to a small group of colleagues in the wealth management business as well as current and potential clients.  I wasn’t exactly sure whether or not it would open any doors professionally but that was certainly the original intent.

And then a funny thing happened: The blog became its own thing entirely, with regular readers and commenters who either agreed or disagreed with my take on events as they happened.

A casual browsing of my visitors’ domains tells me I have readers from various government agencies, every major investment bank around the world, more hedge funds than you could count and of course, the brokers, advisors and traders who I think are happy to hear a kindred voice in the media.

The Reformed Broker, in and of itself, is a constantly evolving work in progress and a proving ground for me to flesh out what my thoughts and opinions truly are.  It is the leather strap against which I sharpen my trading tools, the stage on which I hone my routine for future performances.

The fact that knowledgeable, clever and engaged readers like you are into this site fills me with a gratitude that cannot be quantified.  You guys cannot possibly imagine how much your ongoing readership means to me and had you not materialized as a sounding board and active participant, TRB would have faded away long ago.  But you did come along and all because of you I promise to keep kicking ass into year three.

So thank you and stay tuned!

Appreciatively,

Joshua Brown
New York City, November 1st 2010