There is only one way to begin this blog post and that is with a HUGE thank you to everyone who completed the survey. The results included things I expected, but also lots of surprises. More surprises than you’d think possible from a four-question survey. I’ve read that it’s a good idea to do an annual survey of one’s readers and now I see why. The insight is invaluable.

I didn’t expect to write a full post about the results. But I started writing some notes. Then I started writing my thoughts about those notes and, turned out, I had a lot of thoughts. So, I decided it would be fun to share the results, a few things you might not know about the blog and reveal the adjustments I plan to make in response to your feedback.

Things I Guessed Correctly

In last week’s reflections on RV life, I mentioned website analytics (a program that gives statistical data about your site). From my analytics, I know that people who aren’t on the email list come to the blog primarily from organic searches in Google. What I don’t know precisely is what their search criteria is but assume it is something like: full-time RV living, Oliver Travel Trailer, solo RV travel and so on.

So, it was no surprise that the question about what topics people wanted to see related to all things RV. More posts on “RV life and life on the road” was selected by 87% of respondents. All the results for this question are farther down in the post.

The Biggest Surprise

By far the biggest surprise—and what a wonderful one it was—was that 97% of readers felt posts are about the right length. I haven’t mentioned it before, but I worried about the length of posts for a while now. Hitting the road created more writing time than I had during the first year of blogging while I was preparing for the road, working a full-time job and downsizing my life. More writing time has meant longer, fuller posts.

When I first decided to start a blog, I knew nothing about blogs, except that I enjoyed reading them. So I researched the heck out of the topic. If I didn’t have a strong feeling about a particular aspect then I let statistics dictate my decision.

One such example: posts go live every Monday. I wanted a weekly posting schedule, that, I knew. I read about the importance to consistency so I also knew posts needed to go live on the same day each week. But I had no opinion about which day was best.

Several reliable, high-authority resources said Monday was the best day to post. Mornings were the best time of day to post. And, if you are interested, Thursday is the best day to post on social media. And best means the highest open, click through and engagement rates.

I cannot say if the statistics remain true, but I’m guessing they do. Since I executed these and other decisions, I haven’t made adjustments based on new research.

In 2015 when I started the research and began making decisions, the recommended length for post was 500-800 words. I knew that was going to be hard for me. But I got lucky because the end of that recommendation was near. By 2016 I saw a shift toward making post “as long as they needed to be.”

But because that thinking was still new, it was hard to know if it was a trend or just a momentary blip. When I started, my goal was to keep the posts at 1,000 words. In that first year, I did a pretty good job of meeting my goal.

I didn’t consciously decide to start writing longer posts when I got on the road a year ago. It became a natural outcome of gaining more knowledge, having more experiences and, of course, having more time.

These days, I strive for posts to stay in the 1,000 – 2,000 word range though some have reached 4,000 words. When posts start getting over 2,500 words, I look to see if it’s feasible to break it into two. The Pros and Cons of Solo RV travel posts are the most recent examples. I planned that topic as a single post but ended up having a lot to say so broke it into two.

Can you see my progression over the last years and see why I might have been concerned about the longer posts?

I braced myself to find out readers thought posts were too long. However, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t have a plan for how to address the issue. You can imagine the big smile on my face when the results showed nearly all of you thought the length was okay.

Supersize Adventures

I discovered readers like the stories of my travels and adventures. Believe or not, this was also a surprise. Before the survey, I felt conflicted about writing up my adventures. Conflicted because I loved writing the posts but, in general, they receive low reader engagement.

The mistake I made, I can see now, was assuming low engagement meant low interest. More than half of the survey respondents asked for more adventure posts. I think the low engagement is because, unless you have been to the location, there isn’t much to add to the conversation. I loved discovering readers enjoy the adventure posts because they are some of the funnest ones to write.

More adventures posts, in fact, tied for the second highest type of content you wanted with 52% of respondents checking the box. It tied with “more personal stories.”

The Numbers

81% of respondents felt the website met your needs.

Blog Posts Content

• More RV life and life-on-the-road posts – 84%
• More Supersize Adventure posts – 52%
• Add more personal stories – 52%
• Campground reviews – 45%
• More RV hacks, how-tos and RV maintenance posts – 45%
• Explore full-time RVing expenses – 42%
• How to make money as a nomad – 32%
• Travel planning – 29%
• More photos – 26%
• How to create, maintain and write content for a blogging website – 19%

Reader Suggestions

The fill-in-the-blank sections offered ideas that never occurred to me. One person asked where I stayed and how I managed during winter months. The short answer is, badly so far. You might remember November and December last year I experienced a crazy ice storm in Walla Walla, Washington. But I’m learning and making adjustments. This’ll be a fun topic to write on in the future.

One person made me laugh out loud at her/his suggestion. The person asked that I include a map of my travels. No kidding, I laughed out loud at when I imagine my map looks like so far. Basically, a crazy chaotic scribble. Much like the first time I tried to sew—a zigzagging mess. I see other maps and they have a smooth organized look.

Let’s see, mine goes something like this: Alaska – Tennessee – Washington – Texas – Tennessee – Alabama – Iowa – Nebraska – Oregon. I think it was a good thing not too many people asked for posts on travel planning. Clearly, I kind of suck at it.

But here’s the caveat, I suck at it right now. It’s an area of improvement. And I’m working on it.

Another person wanted to read more about the people I meet on the road. I thought that an excellent idea and one I hadn’t thought of before. People on the road are fun and interesting. I look forward to sharing a few on the blog from here forward.

Blog Adjustments

With so many reviews available online, it surprised me that readers were interested in what I thought about campgrounds. I won’t write entire posts about campgrounds where I stay though many bloggers do. But I thought what I would do is add a paragraph or two about where I stay in the first post about each new area. The first post is usually history of the area and more general information so it seems like campground reviews would fit in nicely.

I’ve wanted to write about travel blogging and blogging in general. Since that wasn’t a big area of interest, I might do an overview post. Then, instead of additional posts, I am tossing around the idea of writing a guide that people could download. That way those who are interested could take advantage and those who aren’t can skip it. Ditto for making money as a nomad.

For the most part, the survey affirmed to me that I am on the right track, from topics to post lengths. And with a few small tweaks, I think I can address some areas of improvement to better provide the content most people want to read.

If you didn’t get a chance to complete the survey but want me to know your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment or email me at Debbie@supesizelife.com.

Links to Referenced SSL Blog Posts Above:

• Reflections on RV Life and Supersize Dreams
• Pros of Solo RV Travel
• Cons of Solo RV Travel
• Two Months in Walla Walla, Part II

To see products recently purchased by readers or to browse and shop at Amazon, follow either of these links. Huge thanks for your support.

• Carry-All Soft-Sided Art Portfolio
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Little Golden Book)