We took a survey of our readers last month. We wanted to see what interests you the most as well as determine how resourceful this magazine is to you. Do you read it for the entertaining articles or for the technical jargon? And are we doing all right with our current curriculum? I have some facts, but as in all surveys, are they really facts, or are they figures that reflect a certain demographic?
Who Are You?
Not every question pertained to the individual surveyed, so many were left blank. But one question that was answered by everyone was “What age are you?” This is where I raised my first eyebrow, but then figured it out quickly. Half of the readers who filled out the survey were over 50 years old. Another quarter of you were over 40. That may lead one to think that only the seasoned professionals in our business read our magazine. But I’m not buying that, for two reasons. First, I happen to know a lot of young people who read PLSN. I also know that, when I was young, I could not be bothered to fill out a survey. I doubt I filled out any survey until I was over 40. That said, I am still of the opinion that the majority of people in the entertainment business don’t act their age, nor do they keep the hours or play by the rules of normal working folk.
Half the readers deal with lighting gear predominantly for a living. However, 85 percent of you have something to do with lighting in your profession. Readers were evenly divided on whether they worked on live events or permanent installs. Interestingly enough, 50 percent of our readers work solely for one company, while the other half float between several companies or were just plain freelance individuals.
We asked how long you have been reading our mag. Thirty percent of you admitted to having been doing this for more than 10 years; and half of you for more than five. But then we asked you what happens to your copy of the magazine? Is it passed on to others, left lying around your office to get read or do you box them up and hold on to them? It turns out that each issue we print is viewed by an average of 2.5 people. Another quirk I found is that 30 percent of you hold on to your old issues. I know an LD who admits to having boxes of these that he simply can’t throw away. This means that 10 percent of our readers may have a slight problem with hoarding. Just kidding, but if you start collecting cats, I may become concerned.
What Do You Get Out of PLSN?
Almost three out of four of you have checked out some website because of our articles. But the advertisers do even better. Eighty percent of our readers have clicked on an advertiser’s site to check out their products. As I scroll through similar questions on the survey, it’s pretty plain to see what you all want. It’s knowledge. Sure, each of you has your favorite column and enjoys the entertainment pieces, but there were three things the readers certainly let us know were the main reasons you tune in to PLSN every month. To check out our quick, to-the-point, non-boring product reviews, our listings of new products, and lastly — to keep up with the innovative trends we report on each month in our publication.
This is where I, as the editor, got an education from you. This same result was evident in the last survey, which I viewed when I was hired earlier this year. That’s why I am not satisfied just reviewing one product per issue. I use lighting designers to review lighting products and video geeks to look into the video programs. I want a tech to look into special effects like smoke machines, because the techs are going to be honest and tell me if the product is going to leak oil, blow out too little smoke or be susceptible to constantly clogged lines.
Real people in the trenches, keeping the info down and dirty, that’s how we roll.
And 85 percent of you gave us the vote of confidence when you said our coverage of these products was sufficient. I read that as you got an education, but we did not bore you.
Keeping up with the latest technological advances is of the utmost importance to three out of four of you. What better way to accomplish that then to see what some of the largest productions out there are doing? We will continue to cover innovative touring productions as well as corporate events and installs. It’s evident that some people wish to see more on how products are used in Houses of Worship, and I’m going to pay attention to that. I do see that only 60 percent of people think the editorial content is of use to them. I expect that number to change now that I’m writing editorials. Two people actually find my writing to be of no use. That’s good. I like to know that I have a diversified audience.
I got the impression that not enough readers are interested in our interviews directly, but the info on companies is valuable. While I can find something of interest in every interview, I agree at times one just wants to turn the page and move on to something more interesting. That’s one of the driving forces behind PLSN starting a new series of interviews with design folks that I call “Chats.” These conversations are conducted more to give the reader a feeling that they know the person more intimately as we talk history and tell personal stories about anything and everything in their life. Here at PLSN we are not going to ignore your wishes. We listen to you and adapt.
How Do You Like Your News Delivered?
I’m quite pleased to announce that 81 percent of those surveyed like to hold the magazine in their hands. The printed edition still rules. Our publisher has vowed to not give up that right until you pull the last issue out of his cold, dead hands. Oh wait, that may have been someone else. But just because you prefer the print edition, that doesn’t mean you don’t check us out online as well — 40 percent of all the readers do that, too. About a third of our readers have our app on one of their mobile devices.
Sometimes it takes a prompt to get your interest. That is why we send out our newsletters every Monday as well as tweets with links to our monthly articles every day. Just to make it easier to get the latest news and stories at your fingertips, whether you wish to research something we may have written about or to just pass the time with some interesting reading.
Some of you pass through our Pro Lighting Space site (prolightingspace.com), where we encourage everyone to post pics of their shows. You can scroll through thousands of pictures there and also catch up on different blogs and discussions.
Overall, I gained some insight into what we need to do to keep you interested in the future. I thank everyone for his or her time in participating. To view the results of the survey complete with bar graphs and colorful pie charts, check out this link to see the results at plsn.me/PLSN2015readersurvey.
