2013 Reader Survey Results

I put out a short survey for reader feedback on December 30. I received more than 100 responses. I want to thank everyone for taking the time in giving me feedback.

Overall Rating

To the question

Compare The Finance Buff blog with other personal finance blog or media you also read, how would you rate it?

readers responded this way:

I’m very happy to see these ratings considering that other personal finance blog or media you also read include those produced by professional journalists and editors, financial advisors, and full-time bloggers. Thank you for your vote of confidence!

New vs Long-Time Readers

Among those who responded, 40% have been reading longer than one year. The actual number among all readers is probably lower than that because I suspect the response rate among long-time readers tend to be higher.

I’ve been writing this blog for seven years. I’m going to update and bring to your attention some previous articles that are still relevant today. It will be new to new readers. For long-time readers, it will be a refresher with updates.

Keep It Actionable

Many readers said they like this blog because it presents practical and actionable information. I’m going to keep it that way.

Variety of Topics

I choose topics primarily from my own interest and the decisions I face myself. As such, the topics will drift depending on what I’m doing at the time. You will continue to see a variety of topics. Many readers said they like it that way.

When I’m looking into something new and big, such as the Affordable Care Act, I get into a spike when I look at it from different angles. If you have good coverage from work and the ACA doesn’t affect you, please bear with me. It will pass and I will move on to something else.

Reader Questions

I don’t get many questions from readers. If you want to submit a question, suggest a topic for a post, or even offer a piece to share with all readers, you can just reply to one of the emails you get or use the contact form. I can’t promise everything I receive will get to the blog though.

Small-Dollar Deals

Some readers said they are not interested in small-dollar deals, both on the spending side and on the income side. At the same time, some other readers specifically pointed out those as things they like.

This is not a coupon blog, nor a credit card rewards blog. I curate some deals so that readers can still benefit when they don’t follow noisy deal sites. I will continue to share deals I do myself. I promise they won’t dominate the blog.

Length and Frequency

Some readers said I’m too long-winded. Point taken. I will try to be more succinct and to-the-point.

Some readers wanted more articles more frequently. I’m sorry to disappoint. I value quality greatly over quantity. I don’t want to put out something just to meet a quota or schedule.

The best way to get notified of new articles is to subscribe by email or by RSS reader. That way new articles come to you. You won’t have to check the website only to see there haven’t been new articles since you visited last time. You also won’t be bothered by ads on the website. On mobile devices I use Reeder app on iOS and gReader app on Android, both hooked up to Feedly on the web. You can unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any time.

I will do my best to deliver quality content you come to expect.