What you think really matters. The subscriber feedback survey results.
What you think really matters. The subscriber feedback survey results.
I spent most of my work years in marketing, communications, and business development. Surveys were a part of my life back then because as much as businesses - both large and small - think they know their ideal customer, they really don’t unless there’s some type of market research and feedback surveys periodically conducted. So that’s why I decided to conduct my very first Subscriber Feedback Survey to get to know more about the folks who have been kind enough to subscribe to Our Portugal Journey.
The insights from this survey were very informative and I thank everyone who took the time to participate. I take this feedback seriously – both the good and the bad. Many of the results of this survey will be taken under advisement for future development and improvements to the blog.
For those of you who are statistic-driven, the survey response rate was just above 17 percent. The survey was sent to all active subscribers to Our Portugal Journey at the time. It was sent by a regularly scheduled blog post. I did not post it on social media. My subscriber base fluctuates, but has increased significantly since this survey was sent on May 18, 2023. Some might call the questions I asked biased-based but I tried to keep the questions neutral whenever possible. Also, I designed this survey so that it was completely anonymous (even the IP addresses) so that respondents could express their views comfortably. So, unless you purposefully indicated who you were (some of you did this in the last question in the survey, where I asked for additional comments, feedback, and suggestions), I don’t know who the respondents were. That’s about as unbiased as I can make a simple survey.
I wanted to use this post to share with you a few highlights of the survey results along with some brief comments. The results on the colorful charts below are self-explanatory. In future posts, I’ll go into some of the changes that I’ll be making to the blog as a result. Here goes…
Question: What country do you currently live in?
CW’s Comment: Although I suspected that many of my subscribers were from the United States, it was interesting to learn it was the majority percentage. I was also surprised by the fact that Portugal came in second in the number of respondents.
Respondents in the ‘Other’ category included Italy, An American living in China, Brazil, Mexico, India, Sweden, and New Zealand.
Question: If you do not currently live in Portugal, please select from the following options (check all that apply).
CW’s Comment: I was surprised to learn that so many respondents are planning a move to Portugal, especially after learning that the majority of respondents were from the United States. I’m wondering what the reason(s) might be. Although I have my own suspicions, if you have any insights on this trend, let me know.
Question: How would you rate the value of the content on Our Portugal Journey?
CW’s Comment: I debated whether to even ask this question, because value (especially content that’s free of charge), is subjective. Although the above chart doesn’t show this, 8 respondents said the value was fair, and 5 respondents said the value was below average. I’m sorry that my content isn’t satisfactory to these respondents. I’m not out to please everyone - that’s impossible. But I am wondering why these folks even subscribe to my blog if it doesn’t provide much value to them?
Question: How often would you like to receive content from Our Portugal Journey?
CW’s Comment: For me, it was interesting to learn that the majority of respondents would like to receive content from Our Portugal Journey twice a month. This is something I’ll have to ponder on.
Question: Do you have the Substack app on your mobile device? The Substack app lets you read your favorite Substack writers in one dedicated space – including Our Portugal Journey.
CW’s Comment: I was pleased to learn that the majority of respondents use the Substack app, not only to read my blog, but to discover other writers on the platform. But I also realize that I need to periodically provide information to those who are not familiar with it on how to access the app.
Question: Please provide any other feedback, comments, or suggestions you may have to improve Our Portugal Journey.
There are no charts associated with this question because it was in essay form.
CW’s Comment: This was perhaps the most insightful part of the survey for me. Although this section was optional for respondents to answer, far more of you answered than did not. I’ve decided to address many of these comments in at least one future post. I hope you’ll stay tuned and read it.
There were other questions asked on the survey such as if videos or podcasts were of interest. And if the Substack Chat feature was of interest. Also, topics that respondents were interested in reading about. I didn’t include them in this post but the answers will give me plenty to think about in the coming months.
In the meantime…
Whether or not you responded to the survey, if you have additional feedback, comments, questions, or suggestions for me, you can click here to give me your thoughts on an anonymous form or click on the button below to get to the same link:
Until next time…
Obrigada!
Carol.