The writer in me, perusing the results of our first-ever readership survey, can get a little steamed. For instance, how could only a quarter of our readers enjoy "Some Dogs' Lives" -- a totally wonderful story totally written by me? (The writer in me is age four.)
The editor in me -- an aspiring serene octogenarian -- just glows with pride and purpose.
Last spring we mailed a questionnaire to every 140th person on our list. We addressed and stamped the envelopes by hand and enclosed a cover letter, post-paid return, and raffle card. We asked mostly multiple-choice questions, leaving room for comments, and also requested some basic demographic information so we could compare readership groups.
The response was fine: 357 completed questionaires representing a 34 percent return. In a random sample, that's enough to suggest something about the readership at large. And the results could hardly be better. (For more detail, and for the comments included by respondents, call or write for our report or visit our website with the full survey results.)
The best news is that lots of people read the magazine. Ninety percent of respondents say they read the magazine with some frequency. Over half say they read most or all of it. Three-quarters say its interest to them is considerable or high. Over 80 percent give it good or high marks.
In most cases, most of the responses fell in the next-to-highest category. That is, more people called the magazine "good" than called it "excellent." Our respondents were more often"considerably" interested than "highly interested." So we have room to grow.
Somewhat surprising to us was our readers' selectivity. We thought that you'd either read nothing but the classnotes, or everything in the book. Actual indications of which things you like draw a different picture. Any given article seems to be enjoyed by a sizable minority, actively disliked by a few, and passed over by most. (Thus the adorable dog story, which not only was liked by just 25.6 per cent but was deplored by 3.7! What's the world coming to!)
Even the old reliable classnotes -- which I personally consider the New Yorker cartoons of the alumni-magazine genre, and which some people consider our raison d'etre -- are a preferred feature among fewer than half of respondents. (Though this is an example of the usefulness of cross-tabulating: if we look at alumni alone, the numbers are considerably higher. And alumni are by far the largest sector of our readership.)
In the two issues we asked about, the highest rating went to a pair of stories on the campus pond. This suggests to us that the physical campus is of strong interest to our readership. "Ten at the Top," a story about nationally ranked departments, also scored with over 40% of readers, suggesting the importance of stressing the academic excellence of UMass.
On the other hand, we were disappointed in the showing of "First Impressions," the grouping of short items near the front of the book. Unlike "Schools and Colleges," which first appeared in our Fall,1995 issue, "First Impressions" has been around awhile. So we decided to make some changes for this issue: a new slant, a new focus, a new look, even a new name--"Around the Pond.".
Here's where your comments were so helpful. Often just a word or two answering a question we hadn't thought to ask can be illuminating. I'm thinking here of a particular respondent's remark that his or her "interest is low only because I'm on campus and the stories/features are old news to me."
Now, a relatively small number of our readers are on campus, but well over half are in Massachusetts, almost a third in Western Massachusetts. To focus on this fact is to focus on the importance of freshness, topicality, and imagination--on giving you, in all sections, something you haven't gotten in virtually the same form somewhere else.
That's what we're taking as our marching orders: freshness, topicality, imagination. (Also more on students: a recurrent theme.) Doing this survey was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Present plans are to do a full-scale version every two years, with perhaps some smaller efforts in between. If you'd like to see the questionnaire or the full results, let us know, we'd be glad to send them. And if you have any comment at all on the magazine, at any time, please share it with us. You can't imagine how much it helps. This mag's for you.
-Patricia Wright
Illustrations by Cynthia Fisher
