Why Feedback Surveys are Important for Bloggers
Table of Contents
You know that I conducted a website feedback survey about a month back on my blog’s 3rd anniversary, and I’m really glad that I did.
It has helped me fine-tune my blog, make it more relevant, and cater to the demands of my readers.
I know some bloggers might think that since they’re running a personal blog, what’s the need to have such feedback surveys?
While it’s true that you can do what you want, I don’t think it’s wise to ignore your users. I’ll give you my reasons and then we can discuss about it.
There are these two prevalent approaches to blogging.
Self-centric: I’ll do what I want and how I like. The users or readers should adjust to my style, preferences, and priorities.
User-centric: I’ll do what my users or readers like. I’ll sacrifice my personal preferences and priorities to help provide the best user experiences.
Well, there’ll be many bloggers who’d agree to either of these two extremes, depending upon their purpose of blogging.
If I use the blog as an extension of myself, to share my own thoughts, describe my own life, then I’d like to have a blog centered on my own self.
If my purpose is commercial and my ambition is to generate good traffic and reach high ranks, then I may prefer a blog focused only on the users.
What I try to do is take a middle path – have the blog my way but take into consideration the preferences of the readers, because my blog will be meaningless without them.
That’s why, before making any major changes or introducing new features, I like to know what my readers want and how they feel about the changes.
The best way to do that is to take a blog or website feedback.
What is Website Feedback
The dictionary meaning of feedback is a “critical assessment or suggestions to improve performance.”
Feedbacks are reactions or responses that contain critical opinions that can help you improve, and thus achieve success.
I’ve seen many websites prominently displaying a feedback button, while some have them hidden away. They’re mostly company websites.
Generally, a company or industry is concerned about their customers because they realize the sale of their products and services depend on their customers.
If you don’t keep track of what your customers want or like, and what all they have problems with, then you may lose them.
A blog or website feedback has a similar purpose. You want the visitors to keep coming back, so you want to know what will make them leave and come back for more.
Based on the feedback, you can give your visitors what they want to keep them happy. Of course, you can’t please everyone – nor make them happy, but this shouldn’t deter you from making your efforts.
Why Do You Need Feedback Surveys
It’s good to have a feedback form on a blog or website. Not only does it provide useful advice, but it also helps generate useful content for your website from the ideas your readers give you.
However, it becomes difficult to gauge the responses when there are many visitor feedbacks. Furthermore, it becomes tougher still to elicit responses to multiple questions from feedback forms.
Here’s where feedback surveys come to the rescue.
A feedback survey lets you present a set of similar questions to different visitors so you can get a better idea about the general opinion about a specific query.
You can get the answers in terms of simple statistics that also show the number of people who opt for a specific answer from the options given to the questions in your survey.
I used SurveyMonkey to create my survey. It was a paid survey, but it was worth my money as I got instant results accompanied with graphical charts to understand the responses at a glance.
But they also have free surveys, if you wish to take those, though they have limited resources available.
Feedback surveys help aggregate the information taking into consideration each response made in a timely manner. They are no longer time consuming.
In fact, a blog survey can be very revealing and inspiring, and help you take your blog to the next level.
My Blog Survey Report
My feedback survey has proved to be a great tool to help me plan my blog strategy.
Just like you create your life plan, you need to have a blog plan in place so you can set up intermediate goals and be able to measure your success.
I got important cues from my blog survey that helped me adjust its direction and focus, add new features, and take favorable actions.
I consider the survey takers as my random sample group. Though the results may not exactly represent those of my entire blog community and visitors, but it does give me a fair idea about what my readers want in general.
Let me share some of the inputs that I got through the survey.
Visitors
● It was surprising to know that the men visitors to my blog are almost equal to the number of women visitors.
● I didn’t know that I even had visitors in the age group of 18-34, and they constitute about half of my blog readers!
So, that revelation was very pleasant. Now I can keep that age group in mind and create relevant content for them. I better start thinking young again 🙂
● Aha!NOW does have almost an equal number of married and unmarried readers, and many of the married ones have kids.
That makes my family and parenting niches more relevant and necessary. I can help this group to become better-married partners and better parents.
The spinsters too can learn about love and relationship problems from my relationship category.
I hope you all do remember that I’ve my special “Share Your Problems” post on 7th February, 2014 that focuses on “relationship problems”. Don’t miss that!
● While visitors from India and the United States constitute about 60% of the blog readers, the rest flock from 201 different countries.
There is a large number of people coming over from United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
● Majority of my blog visitors are freelance writers and bloggers, while others are mostly related to computers in some way or the way, and about three-fourths of them work from home!
I’ll have “Work at Home” related posts for them in the “Work” category that also caters to posts on “Careers”.
Though I can get the demographic data from Alexa and Google Analytics too, but I trust the information that the readers have filled in themselves more than anything else.
Likes and Dislikes
● More surprising was that about 85% of the survey respondents wanted and enjoyed the “blogging” category on Aha!NOW.
● About 65% of them want to read weekly posts on blogging! So, my thoughts and feedback to introduce the new “Blogging” category wasn’t wrong after all! 🙂
Now, that really makes me think that I had better start a new blog focused on the blogging niche. But hey, I also encountered an unexpected response.
● About half of the survey respondents want my blog to remain multi-niche! Can you believe that!
I know there’s a big controversy and diversity of opinions about having multi-niche or single niche blogs, which I’ll talk about in some future post.
Receiving such a response made me more confident about the way I’m leading my blog.
● While most of my readers like the self-improvement, life, and blogging categories, many have even expressed their desire to read content related to writing.
● Some even would like to have content related to spirituality, while others wanted to learn about making money.
So, I didn’t waste any time and started the “Making Money” category with a wonderful post by Enstine on making money online by blogging!
I’ll also be adding the “Writing” category and have spirituality related posts within the “Life” category.
● Majority of people would like to see videos and polls in the post, but not always. And I respect that.
● Since many blog visitors are from non-English speaking countries, about 40% of the feedback survey respondents would like to see a translation facility on the blog, which I already have in place now.
● About 60% want to read my post on a weekly basis, and about 40% want a guest post once in a month.
● 70% of readers like to be notified of the new posts by email. What is your preference? You can use the subscription box below if you haven’t subscribed to the blog yet.
[wysija_form id=”4″]
Email subscribers are the first to know when a new post is published and about the new features on Aha!NOW.
● Half of the blog subscribers wish to receive a newsletter that contains tips on self-development and blogging.
This is something I feared and thought my subscribers won’t like to receive, especially if there are more than 1-2 post notifications in their mail, as it would fill their mail boxes too often.
However, I’ll start my newsletters soon, and keep them small and on monthly basis, initially.
Blog
● One aspect I consider as an important loyalty factor is that about 90% of the feedback survey respondents answered they would comment on my blog even if it didn’t have CommentLuv!
Not that I’m discarding CommentLuv, but now I know that bulk of my blog readers don’t come for the link love.
They come here for my relationship with them and my content – and I can’t be more thankful to them.
Another revealing fact that took me by surprise!
● About 45% find my post length as “perfect”, while another 40% found it only a bit lengthy, and only about 10% of them found the posts too lengthy.
This fact surely encourages me to write as I do, but I hear the opinions of many of my readers, and would also write shorter posts occasionally.
Did you notice that the previous post on getting online help was only about 1100 words! 🙂 I hope you’re not asking me to go shorter than this!
● I’m glad that majority of you have liked the look and feel of the blog. However, I do need to work on the aspects of speed, design, and display to make it better and more user-oriented.
● Ah, one thing you ought to know is that 60% of the blog feedback survey respondents say they got to know about this blog through my blog comments on other sites.
Now, this must encourage you to comment more on the blogs of other bloggers, your own blog visitors, and the blogs of your own niche.
I also enjoyed reading what everyone had to say about the appeal factor of my blog. I’ll write them here in points, so you can try them on your blog too.
● Informative, insightful, and thoughtful posts.
● Easy to understand.
● Unique writing style
● Frankness and friendliness
● Variety of topics
● My responsiveness
What appeals you most about Aha!NOW?
Apart from these, many visitors find the content inspiring and motivating. And that the posts are thought-provoking and opinioned.
Also, engagements matters a lot. You can bind visitors to your blog by having engaging conversations through the comments on your blog posts.
Of course, there’s no substitute for quality content, and I’m so thankful to everybody for liking the content on Aha!NOW and encouraging me to write more of them.
● Few of the readers were not happy with the Ads that appear within the content and overcrowding of the sidebar of the blog.
I’ve taken the appropriate steps to make the viewing experience of my blog readers much better.
● Almost everybody liked the idea of having “Interviews” on the blog. So, be there on Friday, 31st January when I’ll have a well known blogging personality as the first interviewee of Aha!NOW.
Aha!NOW Blog Plan
I’m was not a big fan of feedback surveys, but my first blog survey helped me plan the strategy for Aha!NOW.
I was able to identify what all I needed to have, to eliminate, to improve, or to modify on the blog.
I made the following blog post plan to incorporate most of the suggestions of my blog readers.
● My posts – 4 in a month
● Guest post – 1 in a month
● Interview – 1 in a month
● Share Your Problems – 1 in a month
This year I’m adding a new monthly post on “Infographics” that should be a welcome short post.
I’m also thinking to have “Sponsored Posts” and “Reviews” as permanent features on Aha!NOW.
I’m going to honor the trust bestowed upon me by the community and blog readers, so be assured that I’ll be presenting only the truth in my write-ups.
So, finally I’m going to have two posts a week, every Tuesday and Friday as before.
Phew! I’m going to have a busy year, but I hope this schedule is going to cater most of your requests and demands.
● I’ve also created a logo for the blog that you can see on the sidebar, and scripted the motto of the blog – “bringing happiness into your life”, which is what the blog is all about.
● Do view the refurbished “About” page and the new “Advertise” page.
● Now, you don’t have to search for the guest posts as you can find them right on the menu bar – guest posts are by invitation only!
● Talking of the menu, you can see I’ve streamlined and re-consolidate the menu options and the categories, and organized them as per your needs and convenience.
Feedback surveys have helped and given me what I needed.
It has helped me take the middle path and devise a blog strategy that will cater to most of my blog readers. I believe they are important for bloggers.
Blog comments too are great way of receiving feedback from the readers, and each one of them is important.
I wish to thank all those who took the survey and provided me with this wonderful data, which has helped me improve the blog and provide better service to all.
I hope and wish you too would receive benefits and success with feedback surveys, if you plan to have them on your blog.
There was also one important feedback survey result – 82% have recommended my blog to others, have you done that too? 🙂
You can let your family, friends, and fans know about the “Share Your Problems” feature on Aha!NOW.
Did you notice that I’ve a new “important post dates” notice on the sidebar so that you know what’s coming next. So, don’t forget to be here to read the first interview on Aha!NOW.
Over to You –
Have you ever tried a website feedback survey? How was your experience? Do you believe feedback surveys can help the progress and growth of a blog? What are your views about the Aha!NOW blog plan for this year? Share in the comments.
Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos
Hi Harleena,
Such an amazing post.
It is really remarkable to read this kind of post. The point you have defined about self-centric and user-centric is really appreciable. For a blogger it is necessary to choose for whom he/she is blogging. I totally in favor of writing for readers. For a blogger readers are the main priority.
When we conduct a feedback survey then we come to know about the thinking of my users who visit at our blog. And it is helpful in the improvement of our blog. At least we can come to know about the status of our blog.
Thanks for sharing.
~Ravi
Hi Harleena,
This is the first time I heard about the website feedback survey, so I’ve never tried it. Because of this article, I learned about about that kind of feedback survey.
In my opinion, website feedback survey is very influential to the growth of our blog. Because of the survey that we know the advantages and disadvantages of our blog. Based on that, we can build a better blog 😉
Nice article from you.
Thanks for sharing this information, Harleena.
Regards,
Nanda
Again such a great article come from you, I like very much, bcz your articles are explained in details, everything, in my idea feedback surveys are something like it’s own check, readers send feedback, we avoid such types of mistakes in the next posts, surveys are great, we know what our readers want, we have Google, in Google analytics all information about our blogs/sites, any how you did a great job.
Hi,
You have written a great post on feedback surveys..Last month, I have added a voting poll on my blog related to “what things my visitors want”. I got some answer from it.. Feedback surveys is really works.. You can easily know what your visitors want from your blog… 🙂
Ahoy there Harleena!
Here’s my quick opinions after I read this article: 1. To get the real answer you should disable CommentLUV for awhile and see if your visitors are that much loyal they say are. 2. I never tried surveymonkey or any other related service so far however I think that information, all those answers from your readers are pure gold, and that’s because you can improve so much you business(website) and solve people’s problems, that’s business in my opinion. 3. Aha!Now blog plan is pretty good, nothing much to say, interested in more make money ways, if you can share that you can be sure I will check those articles wih eagle eye 😀 . 5. Glad to know you’ll be presenting trust worthy business people whatever is are always welcome because I’m open to real business not some fly bloggers for example.
Okay this would be all, I just subscribed, we’ll share my opinion next time you come with news. Kind regards from I. C. Daniel
A great post! Survey always helps in knowing about pit and falls which really encourages us to improve for better results.
Hey Harleena,
As I was reading this post, my wheels were turning! Surveys are great because you get to know first hand of what your readers want. I was surprise with some of the statistical data that you received from the survey you gave a month ago.
But I do have to say that it beats Google Analytics. I’m not downplaying it because it does give you some very detail information about the traffic that’s coming in from your blog. But I also believe that nothing beats giving a survey to those people that you already have a great connection with.
I’m not going to lie. I’m not a great big fan of giving surveys. Mainly because I don’t want to find out what I don’t want to know LOL…but I know that it will benefit in the long run. But I guess a lot of us are like this!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Harleena,
Although it’s been quite a while I dropped a comment on your blog, it doesn’t mean that I don’t by as usual. You’ve got me thinking about running my own survey for feedbacks that would definitely improve my blogging career. Thanks for the article well written, it was worth every minute I spent reading through the lines.
BTW, I can’t leave without sharing this article on my social media accounts, thanks once more friend.
Hello Ma’am
Again such a great article. Every time I come to your blog, I always learn something which helps me to develop my blogging etiquettes. According to me feedback surveys are something like my teacher is checking my notebook and highlight the areas with red pen which I need to improve in future.
So, the feebdack survey paid off, huh?
Great 😀
I had voted for many of the ‘winning’ options. I love this blog because of the way it is – lengthy, multi-niche and so forth 😀
Also glad to see that you are bringing new features 😀 Can’t wait to check all of them out (I am off to check the chat right now :D).
Thank you for the update, Harleena 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Thanks for sharing the very interesting results of your survey – it’s great you have so many younger readers, also that people have asked for more posts about writing – I obviously approve of that!
I think it’s amazing what you’re doing to develop your blog, Harleena, and it’s so good that you’ve taken this step to find out exactly what your readers are looking for.
I wish you continued success with it in the months and years ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena Singh,
Thanks for this great article. I enjoy the fact that you are covering the ‘blogging tips’ niche gradually. Which your experience has made extremely relevant and helpful, particularly to me 🙂
I have never done a survey for my blog in the past. Reading this is post has given me a reason why I must run a survey for my blog.
Is it okay to start with SurveyMonkey?
Once again, thanks for this great post.
I just might do a survey now that you mention it. Been thinking about making some changes, but like you say, as a personal blog I hadn’t even entertained the idea of writing a survey.
Hi Harleena,
This is such perfect timing! I was thinking about doing a survey to see what my visitors were looking for more of. After reading this post, I will move foward on this.
This is what’s awesome about blogging and that is we continue to grow and evolve. Granted, that you’ve been in the blogging space for a long time, you always find new ways to tweak and scale up your blog. There’s a saying that I go by every day, and that is, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying”.
Great to see some of the changes that are being implemented on your site. Keep it fresh, keep it relevant and also allows you to grow your blog to reach a bigger audience.
Thanks for the great post!
Hi Harleena,
I stopped by here yesterday and read through your post but then had to run to an appointment and didn’t have time to comment so I’m back today.
Wow, your survey was a big success and you got a lot of feedback from your readers. I know that the one I’ve done in the past, the issue I had was that there were so many different things that people wanted that there was no way I could implement them all and stay sane. That’s the only thing I don’t like about surveys.
The one I did asking about what product I should create, every single answer was different. Amazing to me, just amazing.
I do like the additions you’ve shared though that you’ll be including this year and it starts tomorrow with your interview series. I know that will be exciting and to read about the people you think a lot of and share them with your readers. I’ll be stopping back by for sure.
Thank you again for sharing all of this information with us because you do always go above and beyond for us but in the end you have to enjoy what you’re providing. So thank you for that Harleena.
Enjoy the rest of your week and see you tomorrow.
~Adrienne
Hi Harleena,
Gathering feedback is soooo important, but I am not sure that many bloggers do it. I understand that because it’s another thing for bloggers to do!
However, as a social researcher I have lots of experience of evaluating user experience, surveying people and finding out what people actually want and need.
When we know this we can serve our communities better and provide content that they actually need.
Thanks for a great post,
Beth 🙂
Harleena,
Thank you so much.It has been on my mind that I must do something about a survey but wasn’t able to put it together .
Very soon I will and will surely let you know of the result
Hi Harleena,
Well, I sure had to chase after you to find a recent post I had not been on, and then I see that I almost missed two 🙂
Congratulations on your survey and that’s very interesting to see that such survey really gave you food for thoughts. I think that’s really something I should do in the near future.
Of course, my invitation as a guest blogger on my blog still stand, and I hope you won’t forget about it.
I’m also glad you have tons of project for you blog and it’s like a new beginning for you and the blog.
A very brilliant post Harleena,
There is really lots of benefits attached to carrying out online and customer survey on a blog and, I think we should all do it. I’m also planning to do it soon:).
You know I write a post similar to this last week and I’m happy to read this one too. I really enjoyed filling out your own survey form as I got to know of some questions to ask readers in such case.
The best part is that once you’ve conducted a survey on your blog, you’ll be able to understand more about what’s going on in your blog and you’ll also know the places that need more of your attention.
This is a very thoughtful post Harleena, thanks for sharing and have a wonderful Thursday.
Hi Harleena
Glad your survey was insightful and rewarding for you. Your plans for the year sound ambitious, but I am sure you can keep up with the schedule.
It is a great source for finding out what people need and want. Big companies do it all the time, so it must be extremely valuable tool to conduct their marketing.
Mary
Hi Harleena!
I read your post with great interest because my blog will be three years old this June and your idea about doing a survey might be the perfect “present” to celebrate. I agree that it is helpful to know where your audience is coming from and what they value. I completely agree that I want to blend both my needs as a writer AND the needs of my readers so a survey is an excellent way to find that out.
At this point I’m still playing with the idea of adding ads to my blog so I’ll probably be reading all your suggestion for best ways to accomplish that–but in the meantime I appreciate very much your openness and willingness to share ideas with all of us! Thanks! ~Kathy
Sorry i haven’t posted a comment sooner, but have been having a little trouble with the PC. Think I am OK now. Great post Harleena. It is very important to know what your readers are looking for.
On my other blog i did a survey once and it was very helpful. It was one of the free ones from Survey Monkey, sounds like I need to try it like you did.
Thank for the information as always. You wisdom never fails. Take care and it looks like you are off to a running start with your new lay out. Keep up the good work. Like the new logo.
Debbie
Wow Harleena! You’re going to be a busy lady. But, well done. I admire the way you took time to focus on your reader’s preferences. That’s really inspirational. I also love the relationship you’ve developed with them. I should take a leaf out of your book and learn from you.
I’m in the process of changing my blog but I didn’t run a survey. I emailed my subscribers last year asking for their feedback to some proposed changes, but only one responded. It was quite disheartening. 🙂 To be honest, I’m still not 100% sure what I’m going to do with my blog. I haven’t managed to build any sort of following. And I’ve only got a handful of loyal readers. Maybe it’s my fault for not doing things properly as a blogger. 🙁
Your blog is like a community. And I’m glad to be part of it. Thanks for sharing your survey results and your plans.
Enjoy the rest of the day. 🙂
I think it’s wonderful how you’ve grown, even during the short time I’ve known you. You serve as an inspiration to many, including me. I like learning from you, too!
I’m looking forward to seeing more good stuff, Harleena.
And I’m excited about making a move to my own site – one day soon, I hope, if all goes well.
Hi Harleena mam,
Feel good to see again nice and informative article from you. I read about feedback when i was in 11th standard in business policy during my study.It was about business organisation feedback like different kind of organisation prepare questionnaires and ask the customers to fill it after that analyse those questionnaires and get feedback. Further on the bases of these feedback they plan their future business policies.
Now after reading this article my knowledge about feedback get more enhanced. We can make these kind of plans for our blogs too and can engaged with our readers and it also helps to know what people want and
get more suggestions.
Anyway congrats for a great feedback by your readers, keep sharing such brilliant quality articles.
I never created a website feedback survey, but I believe they’re useful. You can find out what your readers want and don’t want to read. You can also find out what problems or additional problems they have that need solving.
I think the plans for Aha!NOW look good. I can’t wait to see how plan comes together. 🙂
Hello Harleena,
I once tried to run a survey on my blog. Unfortunately, that was when my blog was relatively new and I ended up getting no response at all!!
However, now that I have hit the Alexa first 100k mark, I think its a great time to ask my readers some questions again!
I am very glad that your blog will be moving in the direction the majority of your readers want it: that’s democracy in practice!
Always,
Terungwa
Hi Terungwa,
You’re right, a reader or feedback survey isn’t much successful on a relatively new site, so the results weren’t surprising. I’m sure the results this time would be quite good.
This is my first survey and am still learning about it. Next time I might create a better survey, but overall, I’m satisfied with how the things are going.
Democracy it is, and even the President can be ousted by the people if they’re not cared for!:) Jokes apart, I really intended to cater to all, but I know that its not possible to make all happy. There still might be some who don’t like the length of my posts or the design etc. But this survey gave me important data to shape the blog in a way so I can care for all.
Thanks you for sharing your own experiences with feedback surveys. Thanks for your visit and wish you a wonderful rest of the week! 🙂
You know Harleena you are so right on this. I have seen that you did a survey and was impressed with your ability to conduct such surveys. But so far, I have not done anything of this sort but I suppose I ought to. I am not sure if anyone will take part though. How has been your responses? But as far as length of blog posts are concerned, its a double edged sword. Some readers don’t mind it while some find it extremely boring to go through paragraphs and paragraphs of text. You just have to take your own call.
Hi Shalu,
It was easy to have the survey. I created the questions specifically to know the details that would help me redefine the blog, such as the categories readers liked, their interests etc. Your blog also has a community and good readership. I’m sure surveys can work there, or else there are other ways to take feedback. Even feedback through comments help. I’m satisfied with the responses and the entire report is in this post.
Yes, you’re right about the length of the post. I’ll be trying to mix short and long posts. Sometimes, when I sit to write, I want to be fair to the topic and analyze or grill it from different perspectives to help the readers, and that not only makes the post lengthy but even takes me a long time to write. But then, I don’t want to compromise with the quality at all. However, did you notice the previous post was among the shortest I’ve ever written! There will be more such posts to cater to those who don’t like long posts.
Thanks for visiting this post and for giving these valuable suggestions. I appreciate it. Do have a great rest of the week! 🙂
Hi Harleena, what an informative post.
I love how you are transforming this blog. I like the multi-niche – it mixes things ups and encompasses more than just one topic. Nice to read about the results of your survey and I was surprised about the age group. You got so much information, that is great! I love the new logo and slogan Harleena. I think you will have a fantastic year here! I may not comment on every post but I do read them all. It’s been getting a little harder of later to make the rounds and comment. Have a great day and rest of the week Harleena!
Hi Lisa,
I’m glad you like the post. I had planned to bring changes in the blog even before its 3rd anniversary celebrations. I thought I could do more, and have more services and options to help people and grow this blog. I hope the transformation unfolds as planned.
It’s good to have your vote as well for keeping Aha!NOW as multi-niche. I really can’t imagine how you and others maintain more than one blog. I too have a writing blog but I just can’t find time to maintain it. I can understand how hard it must be on you too, as its not easy to manage all aspects of blogging, especially more when you’ve multi-blogs. I don’t blame you and I don’t mind at all if you skip commenting here, because I understand that you would if you had the time. I know you’ve to be with your mother too and spend time there. After all these years, a few disappearances won’t affect our relationships, isn’t it? 🙂
I too was taken by surprise about the age-group and then I reconfirmed that stat with my Google Analytics, and found it to be true. I really loved analyzing the information, and it created a very different picture then what I had in my mind. It feels good when somebody likes your creation, so thank you for appreciating the logo and the slogan. 🙂
Thank you for taking out time to visit and comment here, I really appreciate it. You too enjoy and have fun for the rest of the week! 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Excellent post and interesting stats about preferences dear! You are very excited. Aren’t you? 😉 You should be and deserve it. Now I think you almost dedicated this year for blogging. You can never stop being a busy bee, eh? 😀 lol…
I haven’t gone for such a detailed survey but did once when I wanna ask about readability aspect from my readers dear. Glad I did but no changes were needed though 🙂 Now, sounds like more bloggers gonna try surveys soon.
Actually I love your blog for being multi-niche, Harleena. If your blog was all about a specific niche, it wouldn’t be this much interesting I guess.
Anyway, I gotta admit that I love your writings. Love the way you look at things! Your blog has been very influential on transforming my life for good and I really feel the difference, Harleena. Especially the inspirational, health and family related content. Now I’m kinda obsessed with those aspects 😉
Awaiting to hear your experience as you proceeding through the agenda, Harleena 🙂
Wish you much success for Aha!NOW and I’m sure you will definitely make it happen!
You have a wonderful week there dear 🙂
Cheers…
Hi Mayura,
I’m glad you like the post and its details. Yes, I’m very excited about the survey results and how they helped me to draft my blog strategy for this year. Aha.. I love to be busy if that’s worth it… tell me, do you too feel what I was thinking that may be I’m writing too much about blogging, and I should better get back to my original niches! 😉 This is what Adrienne once said that many bloggers drift from their original niche.. well do you think its time I’ve my blogging specific blog! 🙂
No, I prefer to remain multi-niche and that way I save my time and money on maintaining and promoting others blogs too, isn’t it? I’m glad you find it interesting the way Aha!NOW is.
Usability survey too is very important, which I haven’t done specifically and might plan to do at a later time. I think it will be good if bloggers try using surveys as tools, because there’s no harm in doing that, is there any?
Thank you for your kind words and I really feel so happy to read that my writings and posts have been helpful to you. I do believe in having a multi-perspective approach to life as that helps you in your understanding of life and problems.
Your feedback really makes me stick on to my plans to carry on with my other niches too. They certainly give me more opportunities to help people. Let’s see how I’m able to implement my blog plan, and I definitely need your wishes and support.
Thank you for this valuable comment and feedback. I appreciate it very much. Thanks for your time and wish you too have a great week ahead! 🙂
Sorry, I forgot to mention I just love your new logo! And the slogan. SWEET. (I had to do more arithmetic–serves me right)
That’s so sweet of you to let me know you like them. And I’m sorry for the math captcha and other conditions that I’ve put for commenting; they do help me cut the spam. I’m glad you take that in the right spirit. Thank you. 🙂
This is insightful! You had me chuckling at the word ‘spinster’. I didn’t know that was still in our lexicon. Aside form that though you’ve brought up valid points. “Without the readers, why blog…” I agree. I have a good number of unique visits, I don’t have many subscribers yet. Perhaps when there are more people to make a sample survey it would make sense for my blog.
I would like to be somewhere between self centric (not) and readercentric. Another awesome post,Harleena. Thanks for this info!
Hi Lisa,
I’m glad you found the post insightful. Ah.. spinster is really an outdated word and I wonder how and why I used it..perhaps I wanted to shorten the sentence and the old vocabulary was still intact in my subconscious! Lol.
You’re right, why blog if you don’t have readers..well some will still do if their purpose is just to seek a vent, or they love writing and expressing their views. But if you want a successful blog and increase your blog traffic, feedback surveys are helpful. I believe you’re in a position to conduct a survey if you’ve good number of visitors as the subscriber count hardly matters.
That’s the middle path I too believe in rather than going to extremes. I may not be this passionate about my blog if I weren’t able to do what I want. At the same time, I love my readers and care for them. I can’t be totally selfish and ignore them. 🙂
Thanks for your wonderful comment and contribution to this post. I really appreciate it. Do have a great day ahead! 🙂
Hi Harleena
Congratulations for such a successful feedback…it is well deserved as you work so hard for making your blog so magnetic and friendly! Your energy and the enthusiasm can be read between the lines.
Thanks for listing and revealing all the details which can be so helpful for fellow bloggers. You are so right, feedback really helps you to get into the minds and hearts of those who like to read the content and it is a sure way of making improvements.
Wishing you all the success you have planned.
Hi Balroop,
Thanks for your kind words and I’m really thankful to all my blog readers and the community for giving me the feedback to improve my blog. I’m glad you like the blog and its appeal.
I’ll be more than happy if my blogging experience can help fellow bloggers. I hope bloggers take the feedback surveys seriously as it can really help them in more ways than they can think of! I’m sure with this survey I’ll create a place in the hearts and minds of the blog readers when they see I’ve implemented what they asked for – its all about showing that you care.
Thanks for your helpful comment and I really appreciate it. I’m glad you visited this post and wish you’ve a happy week ahead! 🙂
I completely agree with you that reader surveys are crucial, not only to help shape the format and content of your blog but to help make decisions regarding products you’ll develop.
Blogs these days are a community. The days of the blogger as the center of the universe are for all intents and purposes over, except in some rare instances.
One suggestion and one question before I end. You can also use Google apps to set up a reader survey. Like Survey Monkey, it will also tally the results for you.
As for my question, how did you approach people to fill out your survey? I ask questions on my blog and also in my newsletter, but I find I don’t get that much of a response. Perhaps that’s because I’m still growing my blog readers? Or perhaps you presented your survey in a way that lead to more people responding.
Hi Leigh,
That’s right and you’ve summarized it nicely. Feedback surveys are great tool that can help you polish your blog gem, or set the sail of your blog boat. They help to create a stable and successful correlation between demand and supply, isn’t it?
You’re right again. Blogs need and thrive around communities, and surveys help create better bonds and grow the community.
Google apps is a great suggestion, which I didn’t know before. I’d certainly try that and thank for letting me know about it.
As for my survey, I planned for it and included in my 3rd anniversary blog post. I considered that as the right reason and a great occasion to ask my blog readers to take part and provide me with their feedback, and many of them obliged. I made additional request through my newsletter, floated the survey link on social media, and placed it on my blog sidebar. I guess it also helped and made a difference because my blog community is very interactive and responsive. I didn’t do anything else, and I hope you get favorable cues from my experience that work for you too.
Thanks for your wonderful contribution to this post. Thank for your time and I wish you’ve success with your own blog survey! 🙂
Hi Harleena,
I have been thinking about running a reader’s survey myself since last couple of months although I have not yet put together my questions because this is something I have had in my agenda since last year.
May be your post has pushed the envelop for me. I will run my survey soon 🙂
Yes, reader’s survey is a good thing to do and some of the top bloggers do this. I learnt about it first from Michael Hyatt who discussed about it in his book, PLATFORM and he does a great job of it.
Regarding your website, I also like your “blogging” category 🙂
Congratulations on all the success and all the appreciation you have received through this survey. I am sure this is going to help you propel your blog to the next level this year!
Wishing you all the very best!
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
It’s good to know that you too believe in feedback surveys and have had it in your agenda. I’m glad my post encouraged you to implement your long pending plan.
To tell you the truth, I too was inspired by Michael Hyatt but I didn’t refer to him in this post because I’m going to do that in another post where it would be more relevant. Though I haven’t read his book or ebooks, I’m sure they’re great and I did refer to his life plan in one of my earlier posts.
I really wish if I were a full-time blogger, I’d then have a separate blog only on the blogging niche. However, I’m not a blogging expert and I can only write about what I experience while blogging. But it makes me happy when you and others like what I write about.
I’m lucky and blessed is what I can say, and I humbly appreciate my friends and blog readers for their support. The blog feedback survey results are definitely going to act as the booster fuel to launch my blog into the next stage. I hope and wish your survey does the same for you.
Thanks so much for your candid comment that adds value to this post. Thanks for your time and do have a pleasant week ahead! 🙂
This is the best organizational strategic plan I’ve ever seen in the history of my blogging career. Now I have no doubt about your success in blogging. What I’m seeing in you, what I’m seeing you bringing out of this blog and blogging as a whole is an institution. This is fabulous. You are such a wonderful and different being.
In fact, I’m honored to have read this post because even as a co- blogger i was thrilled with the way you are carrying your me along when i was reading the blog, so let alone your readers and visitors. This is the height i want to reach in blogging… and i will get there.
i will certainly love and be honored if i can guest post on this great blogging institute; that’s what I’ll call it.
i just have to implement this survey too on my blog, though i had the intention, but never knew how to go about it. But now I need to take a serious action. Harleena the great blogger, thanks for this exposition I really enjoyed myself. God bless you.
Hi Asaolu!
Thank you for such an appreciation, I’m really honored! It’s been the first time that I had a blog survey and made a plan based on it, but let me tell you that I’m going to do that again as it really helps to develop your blog strategy.
Though I’ve had a growth as a blogger, I still do not consider myself as having exceptional success, and I’ve many peer bloggers to look up to for success tips. I’m a student and life and blogging, and I’m just trying to do the best I can with these subjects.
I appreciate your kind praises and remarks, but I’m far away from being an institution of blogging, yet. I’m sure we all are growing together as we learn more about blogging. I’m glad you liked this post and my style of writing. I wish my survey feedback helps other bloggers too.
As I’ve mentioned before too, guest posts on my blog are by invitation and only for the Aha!NOW blog community members. And since I plan to have only one guest post a month, I almost have the whole year planned out by now. However, I’ll keep you on my priority list and let you know if and whenever I do have a vacant slot this year.
It’s great that you too are thinking of having a feedback survey on your blog. I’m sure you’ll only gain from it as there’s nothing to lose.
Thanks again for this awesome comment, your love and respect. I really appreciate you as a valuable contributor to my blog. Thanks for your visit and enjoy your week ahead! 🙂
I was always afraid of asking people to do work, but I think training your audience to interact is actually the best thing you can do for business. Get them to get used to taking action and getting good value back for that action. Surveys are awesome. I think I will add that to my list!
Hi Jodi,
You can call it work, and I’d term it as an investment that my readers make in order to reap more value for their visit to my blog. After all, my readers are going to benefit too if their suggestions are implemented. You’re right in that open interactions and having action-oriented dialogue with your audience helps create a better bond and value.
I’m glad you too think that feedback surveys are helpful. I’d love to see one at your blog too.
Thanks for your visit and comment. I appreciate it. Do have a blessed week ahead! 🙂
Wow! You gathered some great information about your readers!! You’ve really got me thinking of doing my own. I wonder if this is something better done when you have a certain number of readers?? I just wonder what percentage of
I did something similar, but on a way smaller scale. And, instead of including it as a survey in my post, I emailed it to my list and asked one simple question about what they wanted to read on the blog. I got a great number of responses from that that really helped me out.
I definitely think it’s important to listen to your readers since obviously, they are the ones reading your content. In addition to that survey though, I’m constantly collecting reader wants and struggles from comments both on my blog and similar niches and from emails that I receive.
This is great info for sure! You’ve really got me thinking about creating a more specific survey!
Hi Jennifer,
This was my first survey, and it was really interesting to read what all the readers had to say about the blog. It’s a very precious and important data for me, to reshape and re-strategize my blog. I’m sure you too will benefit from a feedback survey when you’ve one.
I feel it doesn’t really matter much even if the number of readers are less, since its not the number but every reader that is important. So you can leave apart the demographic data, and at least start with a few basic questions about the likes and wishes of the readers. I’m sure they’ll have important pointers for you that will give you more readers for your blog.
The email feedback method too is great, and it’s good that it worked for you. I never tried that so I can’t say much about it. You’re right in that it’s important to listen to your readers. Blog comments too are quick and dynamic ways of receiving feedback, and it’s good if you use that as well.
Thanks for visiting this post and contributing your important comment. I’ll be looking forward to the survey on your blog soon! Do have a great day ahead! 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Gosh you have a lot of changes for Aha! Now and I know it’s going to be a huge success because you put your heart into everything you do.
I personally can’t wait read more from the making money category and starting with Enstine’s post was a perfect way to launch it! I do have to ask though…are you using a plugin for your “advertise here” button and if so care to share which one :)?
I’m glad you got some good feedback from your readers, doing a survey sounds like a great idea. I just might do one for my blogs too. :).
Hope you’re having a great day…well evening to you now ;). Talk to you soon my friend!
Hi Corina,
Yes, this year is going to be eventful for me! Along with my life plan, I made my blog plan too. It needed changes and a new strategy. Let’s see how much of it I’ll be able to successfully implement, but for now, I intend to cater to my blog audience in all ways I can.
Thanks for the motivation, and I’m lucky to have friends like you to support me. Oh yes, I’m so glad I was right about having Enstine for the new money making category and his post was just phenomenal. I’ll have more posts on it about the practical, easy, and the right ways to make money.
I use the WP125 plugin for the small “advertise here” banners that you see in the sidebar. For the bigger 300×250 sidebar banner, I just use the simple text/html code in a widget.
I’m really happy with the survey data and it has helped me think new and different for my blog. It’s good to know that you too are interested in having it for your blog. I’m sure you too will benefit from it.
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your precious comment. Good night if you’re still awake and do have a great day ahead! 🙂
Hi Harleena,
great blog post, I’m sure it took some time to put together. I agree about the whole concept of getting website feedback in order to continue growing – I just couldn’t not question myself; what to do when you’re kind of short of readers to gather the data from?
Thank you,
Alex
Hi Alex and welcome to my blog!
I’m glad you like the post. Yes, it did take time to create this post, but it was fun and interesting too. It’s like a picture puzzle, every time you play with the data and a new picture is created – you can look at your blog from a new perspective!
The feedback data really helps in assessment and planing. I’m glad you too agree with the importance of getting website feedback.
It’s a good question – actually you’ll be able to make a fair assessment even if you have a dozen feedback, though the more the better. I’m sure your readership number is much more looking at your site’s social stats. So, a feedback survey should work for you.
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting here. Have a great day ahead! 🙂