Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Reading & Blogging Preferences Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who participated and took my reading and blogging preferences survey last month. I had some ideas about potential content for Somewhere Only We Know, but before I made any changes I wanted to see what my readers and followers thought about a few questions. Plus I just wanted to get to know you guys a little bit better as well. I do have to say though that some of these answers were confusing or contradictory. Without further ado, here are the results from the survey and a few things I learned/took away from the information gathered.

Apparently more than 80% are 30 years old or older. This surprised me even though I fall into this category myself.

What country do you live in?

Out of 34 responses:

  • 2 didn't answer this question (it wasn't required)
  • 2 from Canada
  • 1 from Mexico
  • 1 from the Philippines
  • 1 from UK/France/Spain
  • 1 other UK
  • and the remaining 26 are from the United States
  • Thanks for following guys! Much love!

    If you follow Somewhere Only We Know, what method do you use to follow the blog?

  • 19 via Email for 55%
  • 14 via Google Friend Connect for 41.2%
  • 12 via Bloglovin' for 35.3%
  • 5 via Goodreads for 14.7%
  • 5 via Facebook for 14.7%
  • 4 via Twitter for 11.8%
  • 4 via Pinterest for 11.8%
  • 2 via Feedly for 5.8%
  • 2 do not follow Somewhere Only We Know for 5.8%
  • (See what I mean there? -- This question only shows 2 reads who do not follow Somewhere Only We Know, but the previous question shows twice as many.) However, I was surprised to see such a large number of email followers. That's my personal preferred method of following my favorite blogs, but I wasn't expecting that to be the same for others. Makes me smile!

    Again, THANKS guys!

    Considering over 80% of the survey participants are 30 years old or older, I'm not surprised that most of us like adult books. I'm also not surprised to see young adult take second place.

    Which genres do you enjoy reading?

  • 22 - Romance - 71%
  • 20 - Contemporary - 64.5%
  • 20 - Fantasy - 64.5%
  • 17 - Mystery/Thriller - 54.8%
  • 15 - Historical Fiction - 48.4%
  • 12 - Suspense - 38.7%
  • 12 - Humor - 38.7%
  • 11 - Science Fiction - 35.5%
  • 10 - Dystopian - 32.3%
  • 9 - Post Apocalyptic - 29%
  • 8 - Biography - 25.8%
  • 7 - Horror - 22.6%
  • 5 - Self-Help - 16.1%
  • 5 - Poetry - 16.1%
  • 3 - Graphic Novel - 9.7%
  • 3 - Christian Fiction - 9.7%
  • 1 - Anime - 3.2%
  • 1 - Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance - 3.2%
  • 1 - Romantic Suspense - 3.2%
  • Fantasy and contemporary tied. That's great to me because I really enjoy both genres. And it appears that almost everyone loves a good romance.

    Are there any genres that you really dislike/refuse to read?

  • Horror - 9
  • Erotica - 4
  • Romance - 3
  • Christian/Religion - 2
  • Historical
  • High Fantasy
  • Dark Psychological Suspense
  • Political
  • Dystopian
  • Paranormal
  • Anime
  • Not surprised to see erotica make this list, but the amount of dislike for horror was a bit surprising to me.

    (1 - VERY IMPORTANT to 5 - NOT IMPORTANT AT ALL)

    We love our book covers, right? They're not the most important thing, but they certainly are important!

    Though I'm not surprised that plenty of people still read hardcopy books, I am a little surprised at how much they beat out other editions. One thing I just realized that I left off the survey was AUDIOBOOKS? Do any of you listen to audiobooks? Let me know in the comments below!

    I was a bit surprised to see almost as many people don't read ebooks at all as those who use their smartphones. While I love my kindles (yes, plural), I wouldn't get much reading done at all these days without my phone.

    This one surprised me also. I personally try not to read book reviews unless I've already written my own review of a book or unless I don't plan on reading a particular book. I don't want to be influenced. But I have to say that I'm glad to see so many of you do read book reviews.

    Which types of posts do you enjoy reading that are currently featured on Somewhere Only We Know

  • Book Reviews - 29 - 85.3%
  • Giveaways - 20 - 58.8%
  • Book Hauls - 13 - 38.2%
  • Can't Wait Wednesday - 13 - 38.2%
  • Weekly Recaps - 12 - 35.3%
  • Top Ten Posts - 12 - 35.3%
  • End of Month Recaps - 10 - 29.4%
  • DNF Reviews - 10 - 29.4%
  • Problems Only We Know - 9 - 26.5%
  • Discussions Only We Know - 7 - 20.6%
  • From the Ashes - 7 - 20.6%
  • Cover Doubles - 6 - 17.6%
  • Upon Further Review - 5 - 14.7%
  • Series DNF - 4 - 11.8%
  • All Things Halloween - 3 - 8.8%
  • Mountains Out of Molehills - 2 - 5.9%
  • I have to say that giveaways being so high confused me a little because my last few giveaways haven't had as much participation as years passed. I don't do them as much as I used to because of the monthly giveaway for the series enders reading challenge. And do you guys not like Halloween as much as I do??? Just kidding.

    Which types of posts currently featured on Somewhere Only We Know do you not enjoy?

  • N/A - 15 - 44.1%
  • Mountains Out of Molehills - 8 - 23.5%
  • Weekly Recaps - 6 - 17.6%
  • Book Reviews - 4 - 11.8%
  • Cover Doubles - 4 - 11.8%
  • End of Month Recaps - 4 - 11.8%
  • Book Hauls - 3 - 8.8%
  • Discussions Only We Know - 3 - 8.8%
  • Giveaways - 3 - 8.8%
  • Top Ten Posts - 2 - 5.9%
  • Can't Wait Wednesday - 2 - 5.9%
  • Series DNF - 2 - 5.9%
  • From the Ashes - 2 - 5.9%
  • Upon Further Review - 2 - 5.9%
  • All Things Halloween - 1 -2.9%
  • So I guess this was another confusing one as some people answered the same for both posts they enjoy reading and posts they do not enjoy reading. Thankful to see such a high percentage of you guys that are okay with all of these posts. I'm not surprised to see Mountains Out of Molehills as a least favorite feature even though it's new. Politics and touchy subjects. I get it.

    YAY for following other types of blogs. I, too, follow other blogs that aren't book related.

    Food and lifestyle are where it's at I guess.

    What types of posts would you enjoy reading that are not currently featured on Somewhere Only We Know?

  • TV/Movies - 12 - 29.4%
  • Behind the Blogger - 10 - 29.4%
  • Recipes/Cooking - 10 - 29.4%
  • Blogging Tips/Tricks - 10 - 29.4%
  • Arts/Crafts - 8 - 23.5%
  • I'd Prefer to Only Read Book Related Content - 7 - 20.6%
  • Home & Family - 3 - 8.8%
  • Current Events Commentary - 3 - 8.8%
  • Spiritual/Religion/Inspirational - 3 - 8.8%
  • Mommy Tips & Tricks - 2 - 5.9%
  • Health & Fitness - 2 - 5.9%
  • Financial - 2 - 5.9%
  • I do occasionally do movie reviews when a book I've read has been turned into a movie. It has been a LONG time since I've done that though. I might consider some behind the blogger posts and potentially even some blogging tips/tricks posts--although I really don't feel hugely qualified for that one. Despite recipes and cooking getting some good results in this survey, I don't have current plans to do any of these types of posts. The answers to this question were extremely interesting to me.

    What types of posts not currently featured on Somewhere Only We Know would you not enjoy reading?

  • Scriptural/Religious/Inspirational - 15 - 44.1%
  • Current Events Commentary - 14 - 41.2%
  • Financial - 10 - 29.4%
  • Mommy Tips & Tricks - 9 - 26.5%
  • Health & Fitness - 8 - 23.5%
  • N/A - 8 - 23.5%
  • Recipes/Cooking - 6 - 17.6%
  • Home & Family - 4 - 11.8%
  • TV/Movies - 4 - 11.8%
  • Blogging Tips & Tricks - 3 - 8.8%
  • Behind the Blogger - 1 - 2.9%
  • Again, with the confusion. This one is totally warranted though because the wording of the question is quite confusing itself. I wasn't sure how else to say what I was trying to ask. You guys are obviously against religious posts. I don't see myself doing any current events commentary except where related to what I'm reading. But religious posts...well being a Christian is who I am at my core. This leaks into every aspect of my life and it does here on the blog too.

    Even though I do have some ideas about potential content for Somewhere Only We Know I don't see myself changing things up too much here. I might mix in a few different types of posts in the coming months and years, but if I decide to branch out with topics too far away from books I'll probably just create a new blog entirely. So no worries about Somewhere Only We Know being turned into some political and religious post central or anything like that. Again, I want to thank each and every one of you who participated in my survey. It meant a lot and it gave me some things to think about going forward.

    Total side note: Happy 9th Anniversary to my wonderful Husband. You make life so much better. You're still my favorite person. You're still my best friend. I'm in awe of the wonderful Dad that you are. You're a wonderful example to me and the kids as well. I can't wait to see Asher modeling himself after your Christian example of what a man should be and Ever comparing every boyfriend to her awesome Dad. And I look forward to all of the many more years to come. I love you.

    2 comments:

    1. This is really interesting! Thanks for sharing the results.

      ReplyDelete
    2. I thought the results were interesting so I'm glad to see that someone else thinks so too! Thanks for stopping by Rachael!

      ReplyDelete