2025 Reflection On My Newest Site for Drama Teachers

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

2 weeks ago

Reflecting on the growth of my newest website over the year

In February this year, I decided to start a new website in the Drama niche, which is a passion of mine. I am a qualified Drama Teacher, and I have been teaching for a long time, so I decided to create a site that could help other Drama Teachers, especially with the syllabi in the UK.

It's the newest of my three main websites, and in many ways, it is one of the most exciting long-term projects of them all because it is something that I have a lot of knowledge about and is probably the most niche and targeted of the 3 sites I have.

The site officially launched in February 2025, so at the time of writing, it’s still less than a year old. That context really matters when looking at the data, because everything we’re seeing now is early-stage growth rather than maturity – and that’s a good thing.

What the data is showing so far

Over the past year, there has been steady and encouraging movement across multiple channels.

I have:

• 35 posts
• 15 pages
• 124 approved comments

Indexing with Google seems fine for this new site.

In terms of traffic, this is growing but there is a clear increase after the 6 month mark which is interesting.

• Search visibility is growing, with impressions gradually increasing and more pages beginning to index
• Active users are rising, especially in the second half of the year

And these seem to be mirrored from Bing, too.

From a search perspective, I think this site is probably doing exactly what a young content-led site should be doing – slowly building authority, indexing more pages, and beginning to appear more consistently in results. So I'm just following all the training with this site and seeing what happens.

Social media platforms are still in their early stages

There are also social platforms that are obviously still in their infancy:

• Facebook - started first and is showing progress
• Instagram – started later in the year and is currently in the groundwork phase
• Pinterest – only active since November, but already showing promise
• YouTube – channel is set up, but no content published yet

Rather than seeing these as gaps, I see them as levers for future growth. There’s no rush to do everything at once – especially when the site itself is still bedding in, and I have 2 other sites that I'm actively working on too.

Facebook

I created my Facebook channel for this site first, and others followed later. I've found that Facebook continues to be a stable presence, particularly for sharing resources and updates. Although there is a spike in August that is odd and is affecting the graphs, the figures are showing progress.

Follows were up at the start when I invited people to follow the page, but there has been a steady trickle of people since then.

Instagram

I started my Instagram account for this later in the year, about June, and while still small, I think it’s laying the groundwork for future reach, but needs more focused work and for me to understand this platform better, as with my other channels. I need to work on better engagement and getting more followers here.

Pinterest

Pinterest was only introduced in November, so that account has less than 2 months' data, yet it’s already generating impressions and engagement, again because it was linked to my Facebook and Instagram accounts.

YouTube

I have set up the YouTube channel for this site, but with no content yet.

Content, content, content

One of my intentional choices with this site has been to prioritise useful, teacher-friendly content over speed. Since this is usually quite in-depth - ie. a Teacher's Guide to A Midsummer Night's Dream is an example of something you'd find on this site, it can be quite time-consuming to put together, but I think it is worth it.

This site is aimed at:

• Drama teachers
• Educators
• Those involved in drama education at different levels

Because of that, the focus has been on creating resources that genuinely help in the classroom, rather than chasing traffic for its own sake.

So far, this includes:

• Teaching resources
• Classroom activities
• Play guides
• Drama technique explanations
• Free downloadable content and lead magnets

I have devised a clear plan to expand this resource library significantly with Sparky, building depth over time so the site becomes a go-to hub rather than a quick visit. Hopefully, this content will stand the test of time because we've been studying some of these plays for over 400 years! So I figure, I have a bit of time on my side here.

I am encouraged by a few teacher/student sites that I use a lot - not in drama but in maths - which I've seen grow massively over the years, and these are now major authority sites that people turn to consistently. I'd like my Drama Teachers site to do that in time. I think this will then have the potential to have a subscription element where the major resources reside behind a paywall.

Email list and early traction

Another very positive sign is that the site already has:

• An email list is in place
• A small number of subscribers (5)

including two people who joined organically and are not personally known to me

That might sound modest (and it is), but for a site under a year old, I think it's actually a meaningful signal. It shows that the content is resonating enough for strangers to opt in, which in my book, is always a milestone worth noting.

The goal isn’t massive volume for newsletters here, because teachers are already inundated with 'stuff', but if I can build some more consistency and trust, then hopefully I can start to sell resources later.

The next step here is simple but important:

• Send a first proper newsletter
• Move towards regular, low-pressure updates

Plans going forward

Looking ahead, the focus for this site is clear and hopefully realistic:

• Increase the number of high-quality teaching resources
• Continue publishing play guides and classroom activities
• Make better use of Pinterest and Instagram to support existing content
• Begin sending regular email updates to subscribers
• Start using YouTube when the time and energy are right, rather than forcing it

Most importantly, the aim is to build something genuinely useful, not just something that just looks busy from the outside.

Goals for the next year

Now that this site has a solid foundation, the focus for the coming year is about building depth, consistency and monetisable value, rather than spreading things too thin.

The main goals are:

1. Expand the content and resource library

The priority is to continue growing the number of high-quality resources on the site, including:

• Teaching resources that can be used straight away in the classroom
• Play guides for popular GCSE and A Level set texts
• Practical classroom activities and drama techniques
• Clear, teacher-friendly explanations rather than academic overload

The aim is for this site to become a genuinely useful hub that teachers return to, not just a site they visit once.

2. Develop monetisable resources alongside free content

Free content will always be part of the site, but the next phase includes creating more paid resources, such as:

• Downloadable teaching packs
• In-depth play guides
• Ready-made lesson materials and classroom activities

The goal here is sustainability. If the site is supporting teachers, it should also be able to support itself over time.

3. Increase consistency on Facebook

Facebook has already proven to be a steady and reliable platform for this audience.

Next year’s focus is to:

• Post more frequently, but keep it manageable
• Share new resources, blog posts and helpful reminders
• Use Facebook as a way to stay visible and connected, not overwhelmed

Consistency matters more than volume here.

4. Be more intentional with Pinterest

Pinterest is still very new, but it’s already showing promise.

The plan is to:

• Create more dedicated pins for teaching resources and play guides
• Use Pinterest specifically as a discovery platform rather than a social one
• Build boards around key topics and set texts

This is a long-term strategy, but one that fits educational content well.

5. Start using YouTube for video explanations

The YouTube channel is set up, but the content hasn’t started yet.

The intention for next year is to:

• Create simple video explanations of popular plays
• Talk through key themes, characters and ideas
• Use video to support written resources, not replace them

This won’t be about polished production. It will be about clarity, usefulness and helping teachers and students understand the material more easily.

Lessons learned from starting a site from scratch

Starting this site from zero has been a valuable reminder of what actually matters when building a website, which I hope will help a few newbies as they set out.

Here are a few key lessons that stand out for me:

1. Everything takes longer than you expect

From indexing to traffic to audience growth, nothing happens overnight. Accepting this early on removes a lot of unnecessary pressure.

2. Foundations matter more than quick wins in the long run

Clear structure, helpful content and a defined audience matter far more than chasing numbers early on. It’s much easier to grow something solid than fix something rushed.

3. Small signals are worth paying attention to and celebrating

A handful of organic email sign-ups, steady impressions and returning users may seem small, but they are signs that the site is heading in the right direction.

4. You don’t need to be everywhere at once

It’s okay to start platforms slowly but consistency is what matters. Focused progress beats scattered effort every time.

5. Niche sites reward patience

Educational and niche sites often grow quietly at first. The payoff tends to come from consistency and trust, not a few moments that turn viral.

Final thoughts

When I look at the data for this site, what I see isn’t a finished project but a solid foundation, that is hopefully following the training and will show strong results in the future.

For a site that’s:

• Under a year old
• Content-heavy
• Niche-focused
• Built alongside other projects

…I'm pleased with my progress, and this level of growth is exactly where I’d hope it would be.

Slow, steady, purposeful progress really does add up – and this site feels like one that will reward my patience over time.

So there you have it - I have analysed my progress on all 3 of my sites for the last year and I've set up some goals and plans for the coming year.

Have you reviewed your own progress? What are your plans?

Let me know in the comments what you're planning for next year, or better still, write a short review and goal-setting blog so that we can follow your progress and help.

I hope this short series of blogs has been encouraging and helpful. They have been for me.

All the best for your own goals and dreams for 2026 and beyond.

Gail and Sparky.