The Survey Says...

"Feedback is one of the most important things your readers can give you." 

(http://www.blogtyrant.com/blog-survey/)

Are you thinking about making major changes to your blog?  Try conducting a blog survey first to see if your readers will appreciate the changes.  Blogger Kiersten Frase, who writes a vegetarian blog called "Oh My Veggies" (http://ohmyveggies.com/) considered adding a menu planning service to her blog.  She decided to conduct a reader survey first only to discover that most of her readers weren't interested in such a service.

According to Kiersten, here are some other reasons to conduct a blog reader survey:

-find out why your blog has experience a drop in traffic
-plan a redesign
-conduct an annual health check; are you on the right track?

Several sites offer blog survey services including Google, Wuffo (http://www.wufoo.com/guides/create-a-poll-with-instant-public-results/)  or SurveyMonkey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/).

When creating your blog survey questions, avoid leading questions like "Do I write too many history posts?"  Instead, say something like:

     I post five history posts per month.  Is that:

     a.  too many?

     b.  too few?

     c.  just right?

You can include multiple choice questions or open text or a mixture of both.  SurveyMonkey will help you with the wording of your questions if you visit http://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/Writing-Survey-Questions-Tips-for-effective-and-relevant-questions.

Here are some of the questions that blogger Kiersten wanted answers for when she held her reader survey:

1.  Who are my readers?

2.  How did they find my blog?

3.  What did they like about it?

4.  What new features would they like to see?

5.  How long have they been reading my blog?

6.  How often do they visit my blog?

7.  How do they find out about new posts?

8.  How frequently would they like me to post?

Kiersten embedded her survey in her blog post.  She publicized the survey on Facebook and Twitter.  If you have a newsletter or other website, don't forget to advertise there as well.  Kiersten received 550 responses to her survey, including many from readers who had never commented on her blog before.  She warned bloggers not to offer a prize for completing their survey.  A fellow blogger made this mistake and spent a lot of time sifting through answers from readers who had never read her blog before, who just completed the survey for the prize.  

Kiersten included her survey results in a blog post.  SurveyMonkey created charts and graphs based on the survey's results.  Kiersten also had a blog designer create an infographic for her (see http://ohmyveggies.com/oh-veggies-reader-survey-results/).  Kiersten is publishing a vegetarian cookbook later this year.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/08/20/run-a-reader-survey-on-your-blog/

Billion Dollar Graphics

"Infographic:  graphic visual representation of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly." (Wikipedia)

www.milliondollargraphics.com

Infographics, or information graphics, such as graphs, charts, tables and maps, can be used by bloggers to enhance their blog.  One website claims that if you give an oral presentation, your audience will retain about 10% of what you presented.  However, if you include visuals and written words in your presentation, that figure rises dramatically to 50%.  To read about the power of visual communication, visit http://www.billiondollargraphics.com/infographics.html.

                

                               

                                     Infographic courtesy www.millerbusinesscenter.org.

While we think of infographics as a recent phenomenon, they have their roots in the early 19th Century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic).  Back in 1801, Englishman William Playfair, a political economist, published the first area chart and pie chart in his Statistical Previary.  In 1857, the famous nurse, Florence Nightingale, used inforgraphics to persuade Queen Victoria to improve military hospital conditions during the Crimean War.  In 1861, Charles Minard prepared a complex infographic on Napoleon's disastrous march on Moscow.  

Charles Minard's infographic courtesy en.wikipedia.org.

In 1933, the London Underground was the first to make use of modern maps to sketch out its complicated subway system.  In 2010, an infographic illustrated how buildings have grown over the past several decades, starting with the Empire State Building and finishing with a modern marvel in Dubai (Skyscrapers Through History:  The World is Getting Taller).  Our brains crave infographics as explained by the following infographic http://visual.ly/13-reasons-your-brain-craves-infographics?view=true.  

"The World is Getting Taller" infographic courtesy thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com.

Here is a metro Washington subway map which makes good use of infographics.  

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are litterered with infographics.  They not only convey information, but they also advertise your brand and generate more traffic to your blog.  Why not add them to your blog posts?  For tips about creating effective infographics, visit the following website at https://www.visioncritical.com/pretty-and-pretty-useful-how-create-awesome-infographics/.

Ten infographics on Pinterest at dailyinfographic.com.