February 5, 2024
Last year, in pursuit of continuous improvement, we sought input from newsletter readers on their experience. We conducted a pre-survey and made some changes based on it. We then did a follow-up survey to see if there were shifts that might be due to changes we made. The input will be valuable as we look to further enhance the newsletter to better reflect your interests. We are grateful to everyone who shared their thoughts, as the data yielded interesting and useful results. Before we dive into the findings, we’d like to congratulate the winner of our prize for participating in the survey. Kelso Anderson won the $50 gift card to The Herbivorous Butcher!
Results of pre/post comparisons
Increasing Newsletter Impact:
One of our primary objectives was to assess the helpfulness of our newsletter in raising awareness in different areas. These areas included: animal sentience, health impacts of a vegan diet, environmental impacts of a vegan diet, the treatment of animals in the food industry, and the intersectionality of human and nonhuman rights. Survey results revealed significant improvements in perceived helpfulness in all four areas. This seems to indicate that our content resonated with readers and effectively raised awareness.
Growing Awareness:
We were delighted to see a substantial increase in awareness regarding the treatment of animals in the food industry. This surge in awareness, from an average rating of 3.59 to an impressive 4.67, (on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest) suggests the effectiveness of our campaign to stop the growth of factory farms. We are thrilled to witness such progress in creating awareness surrounding this critical topic.
Readership Demographics:
The survey responses provided valuable insights into the diverse nature of our readership. From the 37 responses in the pre-survey and 57 in the post-survey, we saw that our readership is very diverse in terms of age, race, and dietary preferences.
Areas they appreciated and some suggestions:
In addition to the structured feedback, respondents provided additional comments. They expressed their appreciation for our work and the impact it has in the community. Some respondents offered their assistance if needed. Others expressed gratitude for being connected to our organization. Others suggested topics such as health disparities, cultural approaches to veganism, environmental concerns, and community engagement. Below are some sample quotes from this input:
Appreciation
“I love how much work y’all are doing and how frequently I get to hear about it! Clearly you’re staying very busy, and I love to support you!“
“I like how you have simple stories about animals’ positive traits. Also I like how you have so many positive things — events, stories about activists, wins. It gives me hope.”
“I like that they reflect a genuine fact/science/ world-environmental empathetic awareness and dedication to knowledge empowerment.”
Suggestions
“I’d love to see more info linking to environmentalism. More details about the environmental impact of factory farming would be welcome!”
“Interaction – polls, spotlights, maybe a column with info or vegan spotlights
“More diverse content to keep current /active vegans engaged while still providing outreach/ educational opportunities for newcomers”
“Include headlines for each of those main topics that match later in the body of each email. It will just keep the emails organized better.”
Note: We have recently started a new format with just headlines and photos, with links, for the three main sections of the newsletter. We hope that this addresses some of this concern, and that our readers like this new format!
Additional input and gratitude:
In addition to the structured feedback, respondents provided additional comments, expressing their appreciation for the work carried out by our organization and the impact it has in the community. Some respondents offered their assistance if needed, while others expressed gratitude for being connected to our organization.
“I started my journey with you at Veg Fest. It was a wonderful experience to see the community coming together for veg food. I have been following since and grateful for all insights being shared. Thank you!”
“Articles about not just our health but the health disparities for our Black and Brown brothers and sisters? How can we change those systems? Are there articles on what the different cultures and communities are doing regarding veganism?”
“I really appreciate all the work CAA does to connect people. My partner and I went on the bike ride before Veg Fest last year and are still hanging out with people we met there.”
We are immensely grateful to all who participated in our survey and shared their thoughts. The feedback received has provided us with valuable insights to enhance our newsletter and better serve our readership. We remain committed to continuously improving and delivering engaging, informative, and diverse content. We appreciate your ongoing support as we strive to make a difference in the lives of animals and promote a compassionate world for all.