Some of you may be unfamiliar with our newsletter, which is a monthly mix of the best stories from our blog as well as some links to good external content that is sent to our subscribers’ mailboxes at the beginning of the month.
For the second January in a row, we surveyed our subscribers to find out where and how we could improve. As our readers appeared to take interest in the previous survey’s results, and because we can now compare data (which always makes the analysis more interesting), here comes a brief summary of what you, the readers, told us.
Coincidentally, we received the same amount of completed surveys as last year: 66. This forms a small – but arguably the most dedicated and positively biased – portion of our subscribers’ list (ca. 3000). Then again, we have about 500 active readers monthly whom we know to actually open the newsletter and click the links, and within this valuable group 66 responses form a remarkable 13 percent.
But let’s get to some meatier numbers.
Almost half of the survey participants thought that the newsletter has slightly improved over the last year. However, when it came to evaluation of certain quality characteristics, the picture became less optimistic.
Compared to 2009, the newsletter has slightly lost points in all of the above categories. So, where is “the slight improvement” buried?
The list of priorities has somewhat changed compared to the previous year, when the order was: studies, events, research, Tartu, student life, Estonia. Strategic development and alumni remain the least interesting topics.
Obviously, we should invest effort into increasing the share of multimedia content, especially photos, videos and slideshows. However, the way the question was framed leaves things unclear regarding textual content: Should we provide more stories, longer stories or both?
So, these were the main results for us to work on. We also got plenty of good advice and suggestions for topics to cover in the newsletter. A big and sincere thank you to all who completed this questionnaire!
By the way, last year 43 percent of respondents requested a comment section below each story. Please go ahead and use it now – good discussion adds a lot of value 🙂
