As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to monitor and process, and for the more popular articles, it is either a case of only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used, or where online comments have been allowed, well written and good comments can be buried under poorly written and abusive comments.

Let’s face it, as well as being an overhead for the publisher, to most people it is an unrewarding medium in terms of effort required and response received, just think of the number of letters that go unpublished and unread.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and has opened up opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. The Internet is now a mature technology, no longer the preserve of the new fad brigade but a technology that has been embraced by a global population, young and old alike and it allows us now to re-evaluate the way things are done. There is now the opportunity for newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they now expect the opportunity to comment either by writing a comment, sending an email or writing a letter. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to craft an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a sample of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a letter may be well crafted and well written letter but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable readership feedback in a form that can be easily measured. Just as important as you communicating with your readers is providing your readers with a channel to communicate with you; a method where they know it will count.

Want an instant snapshot of opinion? Did they like the article? Did the sentiments expressed in the article have the support of the audience or do the readers have a different view?

Now it’s easy

Historically surveys would have taken considerable effort to design and publish and altogether was a process too long winded and often reserved only for the niche and bigger topics.

However, using sites like www.surveygalaxy.com surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect compliment to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback is managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can be complimentary

By linking each article to an online survey it will not only extend the life of the article, as people have a channel to express their views, but it will involve your readers in the discussion and in a way where they know their opinion will be counted.

If you think they would rather send an email? – no problem – include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s quick, low cost, and easy to do; it will empower and engage the reader, provide first class feedback and having established a communication channel you then have the opportunity to promote other related articles.

Try it for yourself and record your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to monitor and process, and for the more popular articles, it is either a case of only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used, or where online comments have been allowed, well written and good comments can be buried under poorly written and abusive comments.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, it can also be an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response that is received, just consider the number of letters that go unread and unpublished.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and created opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. Now a mature technology, the Internet is no longer the preserve of geeks and nerds but a technology that has been embraced by the global population, the young and the old, that invites new ways of doing things. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they appreciate the opportunity to comment either by writing a letter, sending an email or writing a comment. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to craft an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a sample of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a letter may be well crafted and well written letter but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable feedback from your readers and in a form that can be easily measured. Just as important as you communicating with the readership is providing the readership with an effective channel to communicate with you; one where they know it will count.

Want a snapshot of opinion? Did they like that article? Did the readership agree with what was said or do they have a different view?

Now it’s easy

Historically surveys would have taken considerable effort to design and publish and altogether was a process too long winded and often reserved only for the niche and bigger topics.

However, using sites like www.surveygalaxy.com surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking surveys and questionnaires created in minutes that make the perfect compliment to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback is managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can even be complimentary to sending an email

Linking articles to online surveys will extend the life of the article and involve your readers in the discussion in a way where they are confident that their opinion will be counted.

You think people will still want to send an email? – no problem – include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s low cost, fast and easy to do; it will not only empower and engage the reader but will establish a valuable communication channel that will provide you with measurable feedback and give you the opportunity to promote other related articles.

Join the revolution and have your say about this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey