Three weeks ago, subscribers to my blog were invited to participate in an online survey. The purpose of the survey was to gather basic information on subscribers, what topics to blog about, and how often to post new information. Blog subscribers refer to individuals who have specifically subscribed to my blog to automatically receive bi-weekly posts via e-mail. In contrast, blog followers refer to individuals who have accessed and/or follow my blog without officially subscribing. For this survey, only blog subscribers were invited to participate. Excluding registered Oaktree Products’ employees, as of May 31, 2011, 144 subscribers have registered to my blog. Of those 144 subscribers, 51 responded to the online survey resulting in a response rate of 35.4%. About half of the respondents (26.51 or 51%) learned about my blog from Audiology Online with the other half via either word of mouth (13/51 or 25.5%) or the Oaktree Products website (11/51 or 21.6%).
The majority of the respondents were female (37/51 or 72.5%) with a smaller percentage of male respondents (14/51 or 27.5%). About one-third fell in the 45-54 year age group (16/51 or 31.4%), nearly a quarter in both the 55-64 (12/51 or 23.5%) and 25-34 year age groups (11/51 or 21.6%), followed by 17.6% (9/51) in the 35-44 year age group. The remaining respondents were divided amongst the 18-24 year (1/51 or 2%) and 65 and older age groups (2/51 or 3.9%). Two-thirds of respondents earned either an AuD (21/51 or 41.2%) or Master’s degree (13/51 or 25.5%) with the rest reporting anywhere from “some college” to a PhD. Most respondents were from the United States (40/51 or 78.4%) with the rest from other countries including Belgium, Canada, Greece, India, and the United Kingdom.
According to those that responded, my blog is mainly accessed either once a week (24/51 or 47.1%) or about 2-3 times per week (15/51 or 29.4%). The majority indicated that new information should be posted once a week only (29/51 or 56.9%) with nearly a quarter (12/51 or 23.5%) requesting for the bi-weekly format to stay the same. When asked as to which topic category represents the most useful and/or interesting information, most selected the choice “doesn’t matter to me” (14/51 or 27.5%). An equal number of respondents indicated that the general categories of Audiology (10/51 or 19.6%) as well as Hearing Assistance Technology (14/51 or 27.5%) were the most useful followed by Tools & Accessories (7/51 or 13.7%).
So, what can you expect in the future? During the summer months of June through August, blog posts will be scheduled once a week (rather than bi-weekly) and occur every Wednesday to help break up the work week! Look for more posts addressing Hearing Assistance Technology including not only new products, but how existing products may be beneficial to patients. Also, look for guest bloggers to share their knowledge of the hearing industry. In the fall, I hope to introduce video to better illustrate features, benefits, and/or the how-to’s of a product. For now, enjoy the summer, keep reading my blog and always feel free to share your feedback!!
