What I Learned From My Reader Survey

Last month, I completed my very first Reader Survey. I have been writing this blog for 3.5 years now and I am ready to take it up a level. In order to do this, I felt it was critical to get your feedback about what you like best, what could improve, and any other ideas that might come from a survey.

Reader Survey Results

I had 71 responses overall. This represents just over 15% of the number of email subscribers currently receiving my posts. My goal was to exceed 20%, but I think 15% was acceptable for a first effort. I know I got enough consistent feedback to give me the direction I need moving forward.

I have heard from the results that some of you are interested in the results, so I thought I would summarize them in this post. First I will give you a profile of the typical reader. Then I will tell you the five conclusions I reached based on the comments and suggestions offered.

Reader Profile

Let’s start with the profile:

• My typical reader is male (72%) and falls between the ages of 45 to 64 (also 72%).
• He is a business owner, entrepreneur, or a leader/employee in a business (65%).
• He lives in the U.S. (86%) and his household income is over $75,000 (62%).
• He has been integrating his faith and his work for years (64%).
• His favorite topics have been Personal Growth (63%), Leadership (59%), and Business Practices (51%).
• He has recommended my blog to others (58%).
• He is most active on LinkedIn (86%) and Facebook (71%).
• He prefers to read my blog via email (57%).

Since this is my first survey, I will be interested to watch how these demographics change over time. I will keep you updated as I complete future surveys.

My Conclusions

Now, let me share what I have learned from this survey. While I took lots of notes and learned more than this, I will share the main 5 lessons I gleaned from your feedback. The following five conclusions stood out above the rest.

1. Keep focusing on application!

I heard loud and clear that you like that I most often focus on content that is easily applied to what you do. Like me, I understand that you are interested in reading about topics that you can take and apply to your own situation. This is cool to me because this was my number one goal from the beginning! I will commit to maintaining this focus.

2. Keep it real!

I am so thankful that the way I write seems to resonate with you. I am not fancy or scholarly. I simply write the way I think – real, honest, and to the point. Your feedback told me to keep it this way. Evidently, most of you are as busy as I am and don’t have time for eloquent, fluffy posts about theory. Good thing – I can’t write any other way!

3. Keep the mix as/is!

Your two favorite topics are also my top two most-frequent categories as well (Personal Growth & Leadership). For the most part, my mix of topics matches very well with your preferences. Since this mix has not been something I consciously determine, I will continue taking my own advice (and yours): I will continue to let God lead the content!

4. Keep it short(er)!

Another clear message from the survey results – you prefer posts that are short and to the point. You do not have time to read lengthy posts. In fact, there were a few that would like to see my posts a little shorter. My focus going forward will be to work harder to keep the length down without sacrificing the message. When it makes sense, I will break a longer post into two or three to help with this.

5. Add some variety!

I received many good ideas about what I could add to the blog to make it more useful to you. These ideas included doing more book reviews and adding video content. There was also the idea of taking time to go through Proverbs and apply it to business. I love the ideas and have already started working on some of them. Give me some time, but you will see some of these implemented in the not-too-distant future.

Thank You!

Overall, this survey was a great experience for me. I have received many new ideas from your comments and suggestions. I promise to take your feedback to heart and I hope you will see the benefits moving forward. Thank you for taking the time to give me your thoughts. I am grateful!