Reader Survey Results + A Look Ahead
I’m excited to share the results of my reader survey with you today! If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably interested in hearing what the results ended up being for the survey you took! 🙂
I like to do reader surveys at least a couple times a year because they are a great check-in point with you all! It is really helpful to me to hear what types of posts you’ve been liking…and then I can go ahead and guide the direction of the blog from there! Of course, since it’s my personal space on the internet, I will keep posting what I love to post about, to a certain extent; however, I really do appreciate all of the feedback and insight since my aim is that Just Bee continues to be a helpful place of encouragement for you!
Today I wanted to go through some of the feedback I received on my reader survey at the start of this month…and I’ll also share a little about what you can expect from me looking ahead!
Reader Survey Results:
The majority of Just Bee’s readers are in their 20s and 30s. That’s pretty much what I expected or knew to be true. There is also a large percentage of you who are not bloggers, which shows me that sharing tons of blogging-related tips isn’t the most helpful to you.
(However, for those of you who are bloggers, I do still have some posts you may enjoy, like the ones listed below!)
How to Make a Blog Content Calendar in Google Drive
9 Ways to Take Your Blog More Seriously
Why I Left Bluehost (+ Who I Went With Instead)
Tips For Managing Your Blog When You Also Work a Full-Time Job
About 60% of you who answered the survey are married – so it does make sense for me to continue posting about marriage! Almost 30% of you are single, which reminds me to consider posting about life before or outside of marriage. I know that more than one single reader has requested more posts on singleness, so I will think about what I could share on that topic as well. A few of you who answered the survey are engaged, so you may enjoy my post on why I wrote letters to my future husband – even before I ever met Bjorn!
The number of Just Bee readers who have children and don’t have children is almost equal. It’s fun to write about motherhood but I also want to serve those of you who don’t have children, too! 25% of you are stay-at-home spouses or moms — a new experience for me, and one I’d love to share more about moving forward, since I’m at home with Sophie this school year! And, of course, I absolutely love any advice that you have for me. Isn’t it nice to get advice from those who are a step or two ahead of you in life? I love being able to ask moms or teachers who have been there before me!
It was really exciting for me to see that so many of you are newer faces around here! A large percent of you have been here 6 months to 1 year, and another good sized percentage has only read Just Bee for 1-5 months!! The third largest percent of readers have been reading Just Bee for 1-2 years! That means we are reaching new people and connecting with new people, but we are also steadily growing our community that includes readers who have been around a while! I’m SO grateful for each of you!
If you’re a newer face around here and want to catch up, here’s a post rounding up The Best of Just Bee 2017. 🙂
As far as favorite topics go, here are your top favorites in order of popularity: homemaking/cleaning/organizing, personal life updates, pregnancy/motherhood, faith/deeper topics, and marriage.
In terms of least favorite topics, the least favorite to read about was product reviews. This is not a surprise to me! First of all, I did make that survey question a required question, so I know you had to pick something as your least favorite. But secondly, I know there is a stigma these days about sponsored content on blogs. I want you to know that while yes, Just Bee pulls in a side income for me, and yes, I do receive payment and products for sponsored content, I work hard to make sure that content is as authentic as possible. In addition to authenticity, I also only share products with you that fit the values/aesthetic of this blog…and are products that I think you’ll love! I have actually turned down multiple collaborations that were offering me money…but the products or the vision of the company did not fit Just Bee’s mission. So, I do aim to be selective in the collaborations I consider, to make sure I’m bringing you only authentic content. This isn’t meant as a defensive response – I just want you to understand where I’m coming from.
Most of you follow along with Just Bee on Instagram and if you don’t, you may just want to join the rest of us over there! 😉 I share a LOT on Instagram, including little snippets of everyday life in my Instagram Stories. I love following along with others’ lives on Instagram. It’s such a fun way to connect with new friends and see snapshots of people’s lives!
Many of you also follow Just Bee on Facebook. Just Bee’s Facebook page is where I always share all of my new blog posts, so if you want to stay up-to-date on all the newest posts, that’s where you’ll want to be! You can find the page here. You can definitely still follow along on Pinterest, Bloglovin’, and Twitter as well!
Now, let’s talk about the email list question! I asked in my survey if people were subscribed to Just Bee’s email list, but I also included options that said “Not yet – I’m subscribing now” and “No – not interested.” I was curious to see if some people just plain aren’t interested in being on an email list for whatever reason. While it’s exciting to see that many of you either already subscribe or have decided to (thank you!), there are also some who weren’t interested. I know that there are so many email lists we’re all on nowdays; it can get rather overwhelming, especially when some lists we’ve signed up for go the spammy route. If you just don’t want more emails, I understand! But if you are worried about getting hounded with emails, then I want to set your mind at ease! I don’t do spammy things! 🙂 I actually send out an email newsletter less frequently than I’d like!
Here’s what you can expect if you’re on Just Bee’s email list. Joining the hundreds of women on this list brings you two things: first, you’ll receive periodic emails rounding up Just Bee’s latest blog posts, providing you a space to catch up on past posts, as well as see what else I’ve been loving around the web. Secondly, and probably most importantly, subscribing gives you access to an exclusive resource library! The resource library is a page full of my favorite downloadable printables that I have created for you! These range from various housecleaning checklists and printable Bible verse cards to wedding planning resources! I’m a huge fan of creating and using printable resources, so I’m only going to keep making more as we go on! You’ll definitely want to be a part of this!
Thank you, each of you, for all of the insightful feedback you gave me in this survey!! I appreciate it so much! The constructive criticism was helpful and your kind comments were encouraging!
A Look Ahead:
Moving forward, the topics I can see myself writing more about are those that affect so much of my day-to-day life now. That means I’ll be continuing to write about homemaking (cleaning/organizing/routines) and motherhood. Many of you mentioned at the end of the survey that you’d like to hear more on motherhood. Although I don’t have dreams of necessarily turning Just Bee into a mommy blog, it only makes sense for me to be writing about my daily jobs and routine!
I’m also passionate about marriage. Bjorn is my best friend. In our almost 4 years of marriage, I’ve become more and more convinced of the importance and priority that marriage should hold in my life. Since I care so much about this subject, you can definitely expect some future posts on cultivating a healthy marriage. In addition to this, I’m a Christian and my relationship with Jesus means more to me than anything else. Therefore, while not every post will be strictly a faith topic, you will see my faith infused into many posts!
I already touched on the sponsored post subject above, so I won’t beat a dead horse, but I do plan to continue to share products with you that I love and think you will as well! I have a couple upcoming collaborations that I’m excited to share with you before long! 🙂
As far as post frequency goes, I would LOVE to get back into 3 posts a week!! Really, I would. However, right now it’s looking like 2 posts per week is the most reasonable and consistent with what I can do right now! I will definitely try to ease back into posting 3 times a week, but I’m just being upfront in letting you know it will probably be 2 for a while. 🙂
Again, thank you so much for being here and for being a part of Just Bee’s online community! I’m incredibly grateful for and blessed by you! Please feel free to connect with me on Instagram and Facebook!