Here’s what you said: 2019 Bham Now reader survey results
Reading time: 5 minutes
In January, Bham Now asked you for your feedback. Now the results are in, with 669 survey responses. Over 170 of you even took the time to write a personal comment. Here are the highlights.
2019 Reader Survey Results
What’s your channel—social media, website or newsletter?
Isn’t this a pretty picture! Of 669 survey participants, 454 follow Bham Now on Facebook, 292 on Instagram, 213 via newsletters, 188 on bhamnow.com, 55 on Twitter and 30 on LinkedIn.
What do you like most about Bham Now?
“We all need ‘happy places’ at this stressful time, and Bham Now is one of mine.”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
- 605 out of 669 said you like that Bham Now content keeps you in the know when it comes to the local haps.
- 363 raise the roof when we cover local businesses and nonprofits.
- 317 appreciate that Bham Now is a safe zone when it comes to politics and negative news.
- 290 dig our events featuring locals doing great things, such as last October’s Bham Now BOLD speaker event with GlobalXplorer° founder Dr. Sara Parcak.
- 247 gave us a high five on our nice photos.
- 48 answered “other.” (Perhaps it’s our je ne sais quoi.)
“You are my source for knowing what’s going on around town, i.e. festivals, art shows, new interesting businesses and restaurants, civic center events.”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
Do you love our local sponsors? Check yes or no.
Next question. Some of Bham Now’s content is sponsored by local businesses and nonprofit organizations.
We label these stories with a “Sponsored” header and the sponsor’s logo at the end of the post. So what did our survey takers think about that?
The photos above represent some of Bham Now’s sponsored content. Click the links in this caption for corresponding stories. Clockwise from top left: Aviate, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Closets by Design and The TakeOut Bham featuring food from SoHo Social.
- 406 of 669 gave our sponsored content the thumbs ups. You enjoy learning more about local businesses, nonprofits and events through these articles. (Us, too!)
- 197 haven’t noticed the “Sponsored” label.
- 61 don’t read our content when it’s labeled “Sponsored.” (That’s okay. We’re just glad to have you as a reader.)
“I’m fine with the sponsored content, and I REALLY appreciate that it is marked as sponsored. You seem to take care making sure the sponsored content matches the values and missions of Bham Now (i.e. if I start seeing sponsored content for McDonald’s, I’ll be sorely disappointed.)”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
When you see this blue bearded man, you think [fill in the blank].
- 68.8% answered “locally relevant content.”
- 30.7% answered “fun and uplifting.”
- 0.5% answered “not for me.”
- Note: in addition to our Vulcan-inspired bearded blue man, this question applied to the Bham Now script logo, too, which appears at the top of our website.
What would you like to see more of on Bham Now?
- 510 said more events, please and thank you!
- 430 said food/drink.
- 197 said news.
- 196 said business.
- 144 said jobs.
Bham Now is locally owned and operated in Birmingham. How important is that to you?
- A whopping 567 (85.3% of survey takers) said that Bham Now being locally owned and operated is very important. (That is, you support local Birmingham businesses as often as possible, and we are so grateful.)
- 85 (or 12.8%) said it’s somewhat important.
- 13 (or 2%) said, “Meh.”
Newsletter Love
Happy early Valentine’s to me and my fellow newsletter writers. Y’all gave us some love in the comments.
“Yours is the only email I actually take the time to open and read through. It is relevant, doesn’t take forever to read through and gives me so many great options for our ‘kid-free’ and even the ‘kid-filled’ weekends. I’m hooked! Thank you!”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
“I originally got hooked with the weekly events email for plans for the weekend. Now I open every email eager to read about new developments in the city.”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
“I consider my newsletter to be essential reading! The content producers do a great job and always make me laugh. Keep doing what you’re doing!”
comment from 2019 Bham Now reader survey
Aw shucks. Thanks, guys. (If you’re not a Bham Now newsletter subscriber, you can sign up here.)
