During the month of November and December, we asked our subscribers to provide some feedback on our monthly newsletter. Nearly 200 people responded by filling out the questionnaire and adding comments about what they would like to see more (and less) of.
Here’s what we learned:
The Good:
- Above all else you LOVE our tips and product recommendations. Frankly, I was surprised at how many of you really enjoy learning about new products, gear and clothes that are suitable for travelers. I thought it was just me :-).
- You also love contests. What came up most notably in the comments was that you want more writing contests. Specifically, you want to feel like you’re participating in Wanderlust and Lipstick, part of a community – all through writing.
- The majority of you are happy with the Length and Content of the newsletter.
- You also want more: solo and budget travel tips and more information on destinations.
- While some of you would like to see the newsletter more often (twice a month or once a week), the vast majority (76%) prefer we keep it at just once a month.
The Bad:
- There were a number of comments that the newsletter font is a bit difficult to read (I’ve already fixed that by increasing the font size).
- You want more white space and some of you want less content (we’ve already pulled out the sections that rated the lowest).
- You weren’t as interested in seeing all of our WanderBloggers but you wanted more specific content (again tips, budget travel and destination info). To address this, rather than feature all the bloggers in every newsletter, we’re going to feature specific posts from select bloggers.
So what’s in store for 2013?
My plan is to blog more about solo travel and to provide you with more tips on traveling on a budget. I’ll also be continuing WanderGear Wednesdays to bring you the latest in travel gear. We’ll also bring you more content throughout the site on these topics. (By the way, we’re planning to launch a new blog, WanderDude, which will be written by two guys, yes… guys, and it will focus on travel gear. It’ll likely get very geeky but you might find some gear there for yourself or for a favorite dude in your life.)
What would you like to see from our newsletter? Or perhaps you have some feedback about the site in general? Feel free to leave comments below. (Not a newsletter subscriber yet? Simply add your email in the box way up in the top right of this page. Yup, up there ^)
Thanks to ALL who took the time to respond to the survey. And congrats to Lynne W. who won a $50 Amazon gift certificate for having filled it out. She was randomly drawn from those nearly 200 people. Yay for Lynne!
Travel Well,
Sandy Seale says
I love that you show the “index”, “menu”, on the left side so we can pick & choose the subjects we are interested in. You give something for everyone. So much to choose from I could sit here all day enjoying & get absolutely nothing else accomplished…..but be in complete bliss 🙂 I don’t do the organized tours but travel on my own with my daughter, who is a travel writer, so really enjoy the individual ideas & info.Love gear, packing, etc. posts. Carry on with the great job you are doing at Wanderlust & Lipstick.
Beth Whitman - Wanderluster says
Thanks for the feedback, Sandy!