Throughout February I ran a reader survey to find out more about YOU – who you are, what you like and dislike about the blog and what you want to see more (or less) of. The results were very interesting, and it gave me a greater insight into what direction I could be taking the blog into in the future. If you completed the survey, thank you – I really appreciated the time and trouble you took to do that for me!
There was an incentive to complete the survey for me: A prize draw for £30 to spend at online jewellery and accessories outlet yosa.co.uk. Congratulations to the winner Charlee S in USA!
So I’ve summarised the results very briefly, and then added in at the end what to expect in the future from Not Dressed As Lamb. It’s always great to know that what you’re doing is appreciated, and I must take a moment to thank so many of you for the added comments… You wrote some really wonderful things, I was incredibly flattered and humbled!
HAVE A READ THROUGH, ESPECIALLY THE “CHANGES I’LL BE MAKING (OR NOT)” SECTION AT THE END… LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS! COMMENT BELOW, OR TAKE IT TO TWITTER @NOTLAMB!
It seems that 38% of you are in your 40s (like me), so I’m right to be targeting that age group. However as you’re all aware I like to appeal to all ages, and 23% of you are in your 50s and 14% in your 30s which is great. I’m really happy that women of all ages are reading the blog, not just women in their 40s.
Most of you are not bloggers – 75% in fact – but I have a feeling that bloggers tend not to fill out things like these surveys so it’s maybe not entirely accurate. But it’s interesting to note that so many of you do not blog but aren’t the ones that tend to leave comments I think (I’d love to receive more comments from non-bloggers so please don’t be shy)!
A whopping 47% of you have been reading Not Dressed As Lamb for 1-3 years, so that’s wonderful to know that so many of you have been coming back again and again all that time. About the same amount – 42% – visit every time there’s a new post, and 25% visit a couple of times a week.
How you all follow the blog is very varied, but Bloglovin is the most popular (only just), with 36% of you keeping up with new posts that way.
I was very surprised that very few of you follow me on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), with only 25-32% of you following me on each of those. However, I do put that down to the fact that that’s because the majority of those filled out the survey were non-bloggers, and I think following others on all social media platform is very much a ‘blogger’ thing to do.
This is the best bit! It was very interesting to read what you are most interested in. The most popular aspects of the blog are currently outfit inspiration (a very encouraging 85%), my articles and musings (64%) and the quality of my writing (47%).
As for what I’m currently getting right frequency-wise, most of you said I’m posting the right amount of outfit posts, interesting articles and “Top 10” lists of featured bloggers.
However, the things you’d like to see more of seems to be overwhelmingly beauty / skincare / haircare posts (42%) and make-up tutorials (45%).
THE THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF SEEMS TO BE OVERWHELMINGLY BEAUTY / SKINCARE / HAIRCARE POSTS (42%) AND MAKE-UP TUTORIALS (45%).
To summarise, I think I’m getting most things right on the blog as it is, and many of you left comments to say you love the blog exactly how it is at the moment and don’t want anything to change. I’ve taken all the individual comments on board (the constructive ones at least, I’m afraid I can’t do anything about my grey roots showing occasionally, it costs a lot to get them done even as often as I do!). I’m not going to address all of them here but rest assured I’ll consider them all.
Something I have done is to increase the font size within the posts – since my redesign at the end of last year I’ve been so afraid to make any tweaks, but I too thought that the font was one size too small so it’s been increased.
Another thing that was noted by a few of you: Blogging tips posts are something that I’m fully aware are not relevant to non-bloggers. So it was understandable that as a high proportion of those that completed the survey were non-bloggers, many of you said they were of no interest. It will be one of those things I’ll put down to the fact that I can’t please everyone all of the time – I get a great deal of page views, comments and shares from those posts (personal emails thanking me for them too) so I know they are popular. I think the fact that I post four times a week and a blogging tips post is published at most once a month means I don’t have a high proportion of posts on that subject compared to everything else. I’m fairly satisfied that I’m not saturating my blog with blogging tips posts, so if they’re of no interest to you please bear with me on those.
IT WILL BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS I’LL PUT DOWN TO THE FACT THAT I CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE ALL OF THE TIME
The overwhelming response seemed to be that skincare, haircare and make-up are popular topics that most of you wanted to see more of. It’s been something that I’ve thought about for a while – I’d like Not Dressed As Lamb to be not just a fashion blog but more of a fashion and beauty blog. I’m still having technical problems with my YouTube channel/video tutorials (and I apologise for the amount of time I’ve taken to get that underway) but I can now see that it’s something you want more of so I’ll be pulling out all the stops to get that sorted.
I think there’s a distinct lack of health and beauty blogs and YouTube channels for the over 40s – there’s definitely a need to put a positive spin on ageing and feature more for this age group. Although you can get inspiration from the style of bloggers of any age, I think skincare and make-up is very, very different once you get to your late 30s/early 40s and there’s a gap in the market there that I think needs to be filled.
I THINK THERE’S A DISTINCT LACK OF HEALTH AND BEAUTY BLOGS AND YOUTUBE CHANNELS FOR THE OVER 40S – THERE’S DEFINITELY A NEED TO PUT A POSITIVE SPIN ON AGEING AND FEATURE MORE FOR THIS AGE GROUP
And finally – I’ll leave you with some of the lovely comments left in the survey. =she does a little happy dance=
“Simply the best over forties fashion blog”
“I get so inspired to try wearing my own clothes in a different way when I read one of your posts. It makes me feel more confident about my own wardrobe. You’re a real inspiration”
“I love your sense of style and your writing is so genuine and personable”
“I’m over 40 myself and I’m thankful for you for showing us a fun and youthful style but still not “clownish” for our age group, including hair and make up”
“I like that you enjoy life and either see the positives or don’t care about getting older. It’s depressing in the news/adverts, etc, that getting older is seen as a negative thing so it’s good to see a different point of view”
“I’m a fan of the blog because Catherine puts a lot of time and effort into creating visually stunning yet well worded and informative posts. She has a wonderful fashion sense and she has great ideas that I can incorporate into my day to day fashion. Also she is consistent in how often she posts which speaks to me that she is very dedicated to it. I love her positivity about being in her 40s and loving life in general. She shares aspects of her life but never over shares. That is appealing because it shows maturity and strength of character. I think her blog continues to go from strength to strength”
“A fantastic blog, so pleased I discovered it. As a woman in her 40s without children I feel more in tune with your lifestyle, style and outlook. I look forward to your articles!”
“I enjoy the openness and honesty of your writing, that you are willing to tackle topics in an appropriate way (because you presume the intelligence of your readers) that others might find taboo. Your blog has helped me, at 61 years, to bring back the fun of getting dressed for work on a daily basis”
Once again – thank you for all your help on this! Your support and kind words mean a lot. Watch this space…!
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