A few weeks ago, I sent out a survey to my newsletter subscribers, and I also posted it on Facebook. The purpose was to determine what kind of content you are interested in and how often you want to hear from me. It is still open. If you wish to participate, click this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GZPCMRG

I did a similar survey in 2017 (time flies), and published the survey results in another post: This Is Who You Are and What You Want from Marketing Tips for Translators

I wanted to share the survey results I have received so far in the current survey, and give you a chance to provide feedback.

I sent the survey primarily to my email subscribers, so the first question was whether you read the monthly newsletter. Most of you read it consistently, and the rest of you read it at least sometimes. See the image below.

Monthly Newsletter

I also include a free checklist or guide in every newsletter, usually based on your requests and tied to the content in the podcasts and blog posts for that month. I wanted to see whether you found them useful. It turns out that just under 40% of you download and use the checklists every time, and slightly more than 50% download and use them sometimes. The remaining 10% don’t use them.

Checklists

It looks like you find at least some of the checklists useful, so I will keep creating them. I would love to hear which ones you find helpful, and if there are any topics or checklists you would like to see more. You can let me know in the comments for this blog post, or you can email me.

Podcast

When it comes to podcast episodes, there seems to be a mismatch between subscribers and podcast listeners. While each episode is downloaded between 500-2000 times, many podcast listeners don’t appear to subscribe to the newsletter. Out of the subscribers, many of you have only listened to about 10-50 episodes.

However, most of you still want to be notified when a new podcast episode is out, so I will keep sending an email when I have published a new episode. This might change if more of you only want to be sent a summary in every monthly newsletter.

My deduction or conclusion from this is that my newsletter subscribers enjoy the podcast episodes but might not always find the time to listen to them. I completely understand that. I am an avid podcast consumer but go through phases of listening to many episodes and then phases when I don’t have much time to consume podcasts. I usually listen to podcasts when I am out hiking or walking or driving in the car. There are also many different podcasts to choose from, of course.

Up until now, I have published three podcast episodes and one blog post a month. Since the podcast episodes are a bit time consuming to produce, I have decided to cut back to releasing two episodes a month from now on. That way, you can catch up with the 260+ episodes produced, and I have a bit more time to create other types of content.

Based on the podcast reviews, though, there are listeners that listen to almost every episode. For example, this listener groups the episodes into different topics and binge-listen to them that way:

“I’ve been listening for years to the Marketing Tips for Translators podcast. At different points in my career, I listened to specific topics, or I binged-listened to them. I’ve learned a lot, and I still do. I appreciate the dedication, commitment, in-depth talk with the guests. The icing on the cake is the available notes and lists Tess sends in her newsletters.”

Another avid listener consumes them as a motivator and enthusiasm generator:

“Ever since I started listening to this podcast, my enthusiasm for a career in translation has grown exponentially. Here you’ll hear excellent tips from successful and seasoned translators. The episodes are 40 to 45 minutes long, just the right time to listen to while you are doing menial tasks at home. This is the highlight of my day. I admire Tess Whitty for all her dedication to putting this together and sharing it with other language professionals. Highly recommended!”

Another one compares the podcast to an audio encyclopedia for translators:

“I came across this outstanding podcast quite recently and couldn’t stop listening to it since. This is an encyclopedia of freelance life for translators. Tess and her guests answered all my questions and more. I feel immensely grateful for this new source of education in my life. Thank you, Tess! I can’t wait for more episodes.”

What about you? I would love to hear if and how the podcast has helped you? And also if you prefer to consume content in written or audio format?

Books and Ebooks

When it comes to written format, about 30% of you have read one of my physical books, available on Amazon, and around 10% have purchased one of my ebooks. The ebooks are “Quick Start Guides,” with step-by-step tips and instructions to either create or optimize a website, create a marketing plan, develop a client-attracting resume and cover letter, or finding a unique selling point (USP) to stand out among translation buyers.

One thing that was not part of the survey but that I have analyzed in my email service provider is the free downloadable ebooks that have been the most popular. Here they are, in order of most downloads:

1. Direct Clients Ebook
2. Agency Clients Ebook
3. The Ultimate Collection of Checklists for a Successful Translation Business
4. Agency Email Checklist
5. Cover Letter Template
6. 10 Steps to Define a Target Market and Ideal Clients
7. Website Optimization for Inbound Marketing – 18 Easy Steps

Courses and Workshops

I also asked how many of my subscribers had taken one of my courses or attended one of my workshops. This information is available from my email service provider, but I also wanted to ask you directly. A little over 40% have taken one of my courses or attended a workshop. Perhaps I’ll see the rest in a course or seminar in the future then.

Finally, I wanted to determine what marketing topics you would like me to cover in future episodes or other content. I am planning to integrate your feedback from the survey results into future content. Thank you to all who answered and provided ideas and requests. I am always interested in how I can help you, so keep your suggestions coming.