2017 Survey Results: I’m still glad you’re here!
178 of you took my recent survey, and I’m so grateful! I loved learning more about y’all, and especially hearing more about what you love about Em for Marvelous and why you read. In fact, I think you fired me up for at least another 8 years – so thank you, truly. Many of you asked about seeing survey results, and I agreed it would be fun to share a few. So here we go!
Love my four friends from the earliest days! Pretty sure that number includes my Mom and two sisters. The biggest lump of you have been reading for at least a few years, which is neat.
I was a bit surprised by just how many of you are married. Always, always happy to have my non-married folk in the mix, though, too.
I’m no statistician, but I believe we’d call this a bell curve! But really, not a statistician – I didn’t realize I gave my 30 and 35 year olds two choices until I was making these graphs. Oh well, you get the idea :)
I sorted the 22 people who chose “other” into one of my categories – nurses, teachers, counselors, journalists, etc. went into traditional, and stay at home moms went into “not currently employed” (no shame in that!). I love that most of you have a “traditional” job, and am glad you are finding some of what you are looking for here.
I was limited to ten questions, but if I had had an eleventh, I would have asked how many of you have kids! Still curious about that…
The favorite posts numbers roughly broke down into three categories. Personal finance, goals, travel, love and marriage, parenting, life updates, and deep thoughts were across-the-board popular. And the finance posts, wow! I was a bit surprised to see that they were the most beloved, but I suppose I shouldn’t be. It’s obviously something I’m passionate about, and I guess that’s a bit contagious. It’s also one of my more unique offerings. Regardless, I’m so glad you love them, and since you do, I’m going to do my best to make sure I write at least one a month going forward.
Bringing up the rear were spotlights, Triangle features, and wedding things. Not terribly surprising, and I’m also reminding myself that just because y’all didn’t mark them as favorites doesn’t mean you don’t like them – in fact, many people brought up the spotlights as being very helpful when answering my next question.
Which brings us to… open-ended feedback! To a number, every single person wrote something sweet here, and I truly treasured each comment. I was actually kind of like, where’s the constructive criticism?! But I’m not going to complain :) You guys are just the best. Here are a few selected quotes from what you love and don’t love to read:
— “We visited my aunt in Beaufort and rather than staying at a traditional hotel we stayed at the hotel you recommended. I would have never taken the chance if I didn’t read your review.” Some of my FAVORITE comments were when you told me you took action on something you learned through EFM, whether related to travel, finance, a wedding reading, or a purchase.
— “Your interviews with great moms were some of my favorites!!” Marvelous Mama came up over and over again! I do plan to continue this series off and on, and have a few more pending from the first batch that I’m hoping to get up soon.
— “I can’t wait to see those Triangle guides!” Bless this person’s heart. I just had to laugh when I came across this response. Whenever they get posted, the Triangle guides and our wills will go down as the most long-suffering posts in EFM history.
— “I think you have a real gift for simplifying complex topics like budgeting and marriage! I love your thoughtful posts on “why” or “how” you live your life – I think it elevates the idea of living by your values and helps me think about my own values.” I wanted to hug this person! At my best, I think my posts equip you and help you feel confident, and the best way I know how to do that is to walk you through my thought processes.
Next, a few things came up over and over again in response to “why do you read Em for Marvelous?” The most common:
— authentic, honest, and genuine
— real life and relatable
— cheerful and positive
— practical and helpful
— good writing and grammar (ha!)
— wide range of topics
— you care about me and like following my family’s story
And something SO many people said: “I feel like we would be friends in real life!” Yes, I wholeheartedly believe that we would. Probably because you’re all so nice!! Seriously.
Finally, y’all put me in some great blog company. Ladies that came up over and over: Call Me Callie, Cup of Jo, Emily Ley, Lara Casey, Nancy Ray, Something Pretty, Southern Weddings, and Victoria Strader. Also mentioned frequently: Mix and Match Mama, Love Taza, The Small Things, The College Prepster, Smidge of This, Sarah Tucker, Design Darling, Emily Henderson, and Sequins & Stripes.
And that’s a wrap! Thank you again for sharing your thoughts – it truly meant so much to me. I hope you found this interesting, and please always remember how glad I am you’re here!
